The colour behind Veracitum.
Vercatim is a psychological thriller, short film, that we are currently in the midst of producing.
The story is about a bemused artist (Reo) who awakens in a familiar but totally new environment. After being informed he has been missing for several months, Reo must seek the truth to his disappearance before it’s too late. A cinematic short trip that will leave you gripping the edge of your seat in the pursuit of answers!
We got a chance to sit down with Writer/Director Dustin Moore, and Art Director Shawn Hamilton to get a inside look at the way colour is used to tell this story, and what we might expect to see in the film.
Editor: Can you tell us a little bit more about the story of Veracitum?
Dustin: On the surface, the story is about survival and overcoming adversity. But underneath that, it’s really about questioning and exploring truth. Reo, finds himself in a perplexing situation where he has very little information about what is going on around him. His survival depends upon a single decision he must make, but he only has scraps of information to go off of. I wanted to create something with suspense, mystery, and a touch of sci-fi. I’m a huge Philip K. Dick fan, I also love shows like Black Mirror and The Twilight Zone. For me, a story is most satisfying when the twist at the end completely changes how you interpret everything that came before it. That’s what I set out to do with Veracitum.
Editor: Shawn, why do you feel colour is important in story telling?
Shawn: If you think of colour as one of our most primitive and simple tools of survival, it’s not hard to see how important it is when telling a story. Our brain is wired to associate colours with thoughts and emotions. Using colour to make the viewer feel a certain way before anything is said or done, while also creating a beautiful image is pretty awesome.
Shawn: I approached the mood boards for Veracitum the same way I would when I’m working on designing a brand. I start with using images and colours as a base to convey the mood, time of day. Once that is established, I try to include textures, clothing, facial expressions, sometimes furniture to really help understand the style, age, even financial situation of the setting and characters. Those are all things that are packed up and molded into a scene, just like a well designed logo gives the viewer/customer an emotion and experience when they view it, without spelling it out for them.
Editor: Why the aesthetic of the film, and why is colour important to you as a director?
Dustin: I have a very eclectic taste in movies. Aesthetically, I find I’m drawn to bold choices. Films like “The Fall” (2006), “Suspiria” (1977), “2001: A Space Odyssey”, “The Grand Budapest Hotel”, and “Bladerunner: 2049”, just to name a few, make incredible use of colour that I think every filmmaker should aspire towards. I love colour. Saturated, vibrant colours. They should be used to reflect the character and story. I mean, everything you see and hear in every moment of a film should be supporting the character and story, but colour is a very powerful tool for this. For Veracitum, we wanted to create a world that was a visual metaphor for our character. Each scene has a distinct colour palette that is directly tied to our main character, Reo, and his experience within that scene. We wanted to fill the frame with visual clues, both subtle and overt, that help tie the whole narrative together and create greater depth and meaning, as well as create a very specific tone and mood.
Currently Veracitum is still casting for the role of AMY. Please click here for more information on how you can audition! For more details keep checking back for updates on a release date + more!
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