Welcome Abroad

Short Film

Welcome Abroad

Welcome Abroad is a short comedy film that centers around a job interview for a photographer role at a magazine. The main character arrives with a portfolio and some peculiar items that hint at his true identity. As the story unfolds, his tail is revealed, and the water he is about to drink starts boiling from his hand. The pictures he shows are also strange and outdated, suggesting that they are over 300 years old, which doesn't match his appearance. Eventually, the interviewer sees his tail and confronts him, revealing that he is the devil. In this production, I worked as the Gaffer, which is the Chief Lighting Technician. During pre-production, I visited the location with the DoP and Director to determine where the camera would be positioned and where I would set up the lighting. I created a 3D plan of the office to get a better idea of the space.

My approach to lighting involved finding different excuses to use them. After discussing with the production design team, I ended up using a total of 8 lights. The main source of light was the overhead lighting of the office. For the character's entrance through the door, I added a door light, acting as a backlight, to create a menacing look. As it was a comedy film, the lighting had to be high-key. Therefore, I added lights as an excuse for sunlight from the window, an extra eye-light for the interviewer coming from the computer screen in front of her. Finally, for the bathroom scene, I decided to improvise and create dramatic lighting. I placed a bounce on a C-stand above the actor and aimed a spotlight at it to create an overcast look. The overall look of the film was in line with the director's vision and allowed the camera to be exposed correctly while maintaining the comedy/dramatic lighting.