6 minute read

Garnering Growth

Tender and contemplative, Annalise Lockhart’s Mirasol encapsulates a human need for beauty, signifies broadening horizons for the director, and illustrates the impressive creative capacity of FUJIFILM X-H2

Desert dust filters through broken, golden rays, mingling with the blue hum of grow lights and illuminating a most secret space. Surrounding the pensive face of a blossoming child, sunflowers stand open in full bloom. It’s a compelling scene, and one that sits at the heart of Annalise Lockhart’s Mirasol.

According to Annalise, the short film is less of a far-fetched, post-apocalyptic tale than many – set in a near future we’re already sliding actionless towards. Civilization has not yet been reduced to its last dwindling few, but harsh climates have left the landscape surrounding her characters’ homestead baren and uninhabitable.

“My interests have always been in science fiction, horror, and the fantastical,” Annalise muses. “This film is the closest thing to a drama I’ve made, but it does take place in 2043 – and I think there is a gesture towards sci-fi in the look, production design, and some of the themes.

“I have a fascination with how humans interact with the natural world, agriculture, and survival. Those topics have become a through line in a lot of the things I’ve made – this time in a very wholesome way, because the film is about flowers, and a relationship between mother and daughter.”

Growing up in New York, Annalise’s childhood was not steeped in nature, but the rare taste proved all the more compelling. Through the years, her passions grew.

“I spent a lot of summers in Vermont and Maine. New York City is wonderful, but it’s not a natural oasis. Because I got less access to the natural world throughout the year, when I did have it, I soaked in every moment. My deep appreciation of the world emerged naturally through those experiences.”

Although just a few minutes long, Mirasol’s scenes transform dramatically. Viewers are carried from arid desert to a verdant shack of flowers, on the wave of one girl’s exploration and a mother’s devotion to nurturing.

“Mirasol, the daughter, is having a coming of age, dealing with the desolation around her. She finds a seed and it becomes the thing that sustains her. Upon showing her mother, she discovers they’ve both been growing flowers,” Annalise continues. “The shack is this fantastical space that feels almost outside of the story, because it’s so lush with growth. We learn both mother and daughter had a desire to care for something, but there’s also the message of people needing things other than food to survive – and that cultivating beauty in such a way is a very innately human thing, that doesn’t need to be taught.”

“I’d say all my films definitely have a very specific world in them,” Annalise says. “I come at any project from a perspective of world building. The color palette and sets have a unified look, and the cinematography is there to accentuate that. I’m always wanting, especially with a short film, each scene to be summed up in one iconic shot. If each scene is a word, then ideally the finished product is a beautiful sentence.

“Working with limited time, we became economical with camera movement. We had many locked-off frames, which I don’t normally do. It was nice to have these static moments, where relationships between family members played out without too much interference. It also, to me, speaks to the pastoral Americana farm vibe of the film, that each scene is like an old photo, or snapshot of their life.

“Another piece of cinematography was working in extremes. We have a lot of very wide focal lengths, where you’re seeing the whole setting, in an attempt to get into Mirasol’s head. Even though she has her mom and grandmother, she’s quite isolated within herself. Having these great expanses was important in that sense. On the other end, we have photography that operates closer to a macro level, as we see the plants and details of people’s hands working with them. That ecosystem of plants is really on the same level of importance and scale as the wider landscape they’re living in.”

Lending its impressive cinema specs to the film, FUJIFILM X-H2 was utilized alongside the FUJINON ZK Series.

“We did record the sunflower room scene at 8K, and that actually proved extremely helpful,” Annalise explains. “The scene is a departure, in terms of look, from the rest of the film – but the higher resolution also gave us a lot more capacity to punch in during post-production. We tried to get as much coverage as possible, but did have a tight schedule against us. During the edit, I found we could take a wider frame and close in on a character’s eyes, and still retain amazing quality.”

FUJIFILM X-H2 with cinema lenses and monitors

Photo 2022 © Matthew Weintritt | FUJIFILM X-H2S and XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR, 1/125 sec at F2.8, ISO 6400

With both a futuristic setting and distinctly gentle narrative in mind, Annalise settled upon a finely balanced image – neither romantically soft, nor clinically sharp. X-H2’s astounding 40.2MP sensor was juxtaposed by the very things it was set to record.

“Through a lot of costume and set textures, the world itself has a softer look. That was on my mind, and I think it ended up working out. Any film should be beautiful, of course, but I feel the image has to be perfect with anything that lives within the realm of genre. Charlotte and I are certainly perfectionists,” Annalise laughs. “I was super-happy with the quality X-H2 provided. Being on set is always challenging, rushing around, and making sure you get everything you need within the day. So, when I walked into the production motorhome and heard the DIT saying it looked amazing, it was good to hear. After balancing all the things you need to get right, it’s great to have that assurance.”

Considering its wealth of features – including 4:2:2 10-bit internal recording and 12-bit Apple ProRes RAW via HDMI – X-H2’s compact size is all the more impressive. It came into its own, within the close confines of Annalise’s set.

“Our spaces were often extremely cramped, so the maneuverability was very welcome. The zoom lenses were much larger than the camera itself, but we could easily have used a smaller selection, if needed. Being on the zooms just meant not having to spend time swapping out lenses.

Camera crew recording in cramped kitchen set

Photo 2022 © Matthew Weintritt | FUJIFILM X-H2S and XF18mmF1.4 R LM WR, 1/125 sec at F1.4, ISO 4000

“The collaboration between the on-set Fujifilm team and other filmmakers was a really nice chain of communication, where everyone was working together to get the very best image for our needs. The fact that I don’t have any stories of technical difficulties speaks for the camera’s quality. Everything went really smoothly in that area.”

As quickly as it began, Mirasol has drawn to a close. Reflecting on production, and realizing the impact of the film she’s created, Annalise seems moved.

“It’s been wonderful to see what all the creatives I’ve been collaborating with have brought to the project. The subject matter is poignant – but more so, it’s very emotional to people in different ways. I’m thankful to have worked with filmmakers who were so excited to put so much of themselves into it. It’s been a very humbling experience.”

Two women walking towards small desert house at dusk

Mirasol 2022 © Annalise Lockhart | FUJIFILM X-H2

FUJIFILM X-H2 is coming soon to your nearest FUJIFILM Authorized Dealer. Learn more and read the full specifications here.

MIRASOL Film Festival Laurels

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