C. M. Franke | Photography

Recently I hauled the lights out into the inky darkness of night to fire off some test shots for an upcoming project. The idea behind the shot in question was to pay homage to a very dramatic moment that has been played on the silver screen (in countless films) for decades. But as I was setting up, it occured to me that I had often seen such night scenes  over-lit . By this I mean that the darkness of night was often lit by millions of watts of blue-gelled HMI's, and somehow wound up looking like it happened in a football stadium. Not only would something like this be nearly impossible with small monolights - but I was not sure I really wanted to go in that direction after all.           When we go outside in real life, night is DARK. It is, after all, NIGHT. So the question of how to light this project suddenly became one of how to creatively draw attention to the subject - the narrative of the piece - but...

For many of us, the idea of being in a motion picture - in either a small part, or a leading role - is something dreamed about since childhood. For most, that dream may never happen. Or at least, not until now... If you take a few moments and read through the posts on this blog you will see that I have been honing and fine tuning a specialized type of photography with a very cinematic approach. The newest development is something called Single Shot Cinema . What is it, and why should you care?               Have you ever wanted to be in a movie? What would it be? Western? Action film? Romance? Comedy? Single Shot Cinema creates an image that looks like it came straight off of the silver screen. The lighting, the props, the locations... Whatever it takes to make it look less like an ordinary 'picture' and more like a frame-grab from a film. When someone comes into your house and sees one of these shots on the c...

Most of the project ideas that I have been working on with Single Shot Cinema thus far have been dramatic: Images of people contemplating something, or stewing in some emotional state; the exact definition and reasons for these being largely ambiguous, and left up to the viewer to decide. The catalyst for these dramatic images was a photo in one of the text books I had while studying with the New York Institute of Photography. It was a black and white image that showed two people sitting at a table - one looking downward sheepishly while the other seemed to be glaring at him from the distance. It was within that simple, yet intriguing photograph that I realized the capacity of a single image to paint an entire dramatic "movie" in the mind's of viewers.           However...  I am coming to the realization that these one-shot-movies need not be strictly limited to high human drama and nuanced emotional subje...

For me, part of the fun of sitting in that darkened multiplex has always been in waiting to see the title of the feature presentation appear on screen. From the visually arresting intro of any given James Bond film, to the three hour wait before those plain white letters labeled the last shot of Inception , the titles have a certain magical quality to them. An aura that is part of the movie-going experience.            So, that having been said, I have been toying with the question of whether "Single Shot Cinema" images should contain titles; and if so, where? After all, the whole idea is to mimic the feel and texture of a motion picture, using a single photograph. So why not have titles? The key is not to have them overpower the image. Locating them in the bottom corners, or in the letterbox margin seems to be the most logical solution, for the most part.    ...

              S ince I first got started in photography, I have had a fascination with creating portraits that bore what I liked to refer to as "Cinematic Style." I tried to incorporate lighting and camera angles used in Hollywood to create photos that looked less like traditonal portraits, and more like the client / subject had been photographed on the set of a blockbuster movie.                Now comes the next step in the development of this style: " Single Shot Cinema ." Not just portraits that use movie techniques, but images that are stand-alone narratives themselves. Single image movies, for lack of a better euphamism. The concept of these shots is not just to capture the subject, but to incorporate them into a 'story.' A story that the viewer creates in their mind. Complete with titles and a treatment that dupicates th...

A shot of myself with actor Lloyd Meyer during photography of The Tidewatcher . The shoreline of West Haven Connecticut stood in for the the fictional town of "Shadow Bay." (That's me on the left trying - pretty unsuccessfully - to look taller...)

After putting together The Tidewatcher , putting it up on the website, re-cutting it for length and clarity, letting it sit for a month - then cutting it yet again, I think I can finally say... This is about as good as it's going to get! Actually, the project was a HUGE learning experience. I discovered that imagery which might make for a great motion picture does not always translate well (or with as much impact) in the form of still photos. Less definitely is more here. And the fact that there is no music, nor sound effects means that the dynamics of a "still-image movie" are much different in the final form than they might be when originally written or imagined. But overall, it is a project I am glad I attempted - and I may try another such 'cinematic project' at some point, who knows.... Stay tuned