January 6, 2024
Shot Talk – The Color Purple with Dir. Blitz Bazawule & DP Dan Laustsen, ASC, DFF
Summary
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Lawrence Sher, ASC sits down with Blitz Bazawule and Dan Laustsen ASC, DFF for an in-depth discussion on The Color Purple, a story of love and resilience based on the novel and the Broadway musical. The Color Purple is a decades-spanning tale of one woman’s journey to independence. Celie faces many hardships in her life, but ultimately finds extraordinary strength and hope in the unbreakable bonds of sisterhood.
From the logistics of filming in both practical and stage locations, to how they approached retelling the classic story, the duo break down important moments behind the scenes of production that helped bring the film to life in this Shot Talk!
Key moments
- 00:01:20 How Blitz Bazawule Would Describe the Film
- 00:03:14 How Dan Laustsen Came on Board
- 00:05:35 Challenges of Tackling a Musical
- 00:08:09 Blitz’ Approach to His First Major Motion Picture
- 00:12:48 Scene Breakdown: The Opening Number
- 00:15:55 Importance of Testing and Pre Lighting
- 00:17:55 Dan’s Testing Priorities for the Film
- 00:19:21 Prep for Shooting Big Dance Sequences
- 00:21:34 Scene Breakdown: The Juke Joint
- 00:26:26 Shooting Ext. on Location and Int. on Stage in the Same Scene
- 00:30:19 How Spielberg Would’ve Done the Original Film Differently
- 00:32:07 Dan’s Preference for Using Large Lighting Units
- 00:36:15 Importance of Director and DP Alignment
- 00:38:07 Scene Breakdown: The Giant Gramophone
- 00:42:21 Director as Conductor: Grounding an Imaginative World
- 00:46:27 What Surprised Dan Most About Shooting the Film
- 00:48:33 Importance of Refusing to Compromise vs. Making Your Days
- 00:52:22 Scene Breakdown: Dress Shop
- 00:55:36 Silhouettes in the Dance Scene
- 00:58:57 Importance of Prioritizing Exciting Sequences in the Shooting Schedule
- 01:02:20 Creating a Great First Impression for an Audience
- 01:04:20 Final Thoughts
