OVERVIEW

COLD SUMMER IS A STORY ABOUT A YOUNG GIRL, WHO HAS TO DEAL WITH HER ABSENT MINDED AND SUICIDAL MOTHER. TOGETHER THEY LIVE IN A TINY SPACE IN THE SLUMS OF SEOUL. THE MOTHER’S DEPRESSION IS CAUSED BY A PAST TRAGIC INCIDENT IN WHICH HER HUSBAND HAD NOT ONLY DIED, BUT WAS ALSO FOUND GUILTY OF HAVING AN AFFAIR WITH ANOTHER WOMAN. ONE DAY HAT SAME WOMAN SEEKS OUT THE MOTHER IN ORDER TO FREE HER CHILD FROM THE VIOLENT CIRCUMSTANCES SHE IS TRAPPED IN.

COLD SUMMER IS A SHORT FILM WRITTEN AND DIRECTED BY NAMHUI PARK IN 2013. MYSELF I HELPED TO SHOOT THIS FILM AS A CINEMATOGRAPHER ON THIS FILM IN SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA. IT HAS BEEN MORE THAN 10 YEARS SINCE THE MAKING OF THIS FILM AND ACCESSIBLE DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY FOR INDEPENDENT FILMMAKERS HAS TREMENDOUSLY DEVELOPED SINCE THEN. NEEDLESS TO SAY THAT WE ALL AS FILMMAKERS KEEP MOVING ON. THIS FILM HAD NOT FUNDING AND HAS BEEN CREATED WITH BASICALLY NO BUDGET, BUT WITH THE GREAT HELP OF NAMHUI’S FRIENDS. COLD SUMMER HAS BEEN ENTIRELY SHOT ON THE 5D MK III WITH A SET OF OLD NIKON AI-S PRIME LENSES. TRACKING SHOTS HAVE BEEN SHOT WITH A SIMPLE HANDHELD STABALIZER.

IN ORDER TO HOLD FOCUS, WE MAINLY USED WIDE-ANGLE LENSES AND TRIED TO MAINTAIN THE SAME DISTANCE TO OUR SUBJECTS. AS DOP’S WE ARE OFTEN TOO JUDGMENTAL IF IT COMES TO VIEWING OUR OLD FOOTAGE AND WE QUICKLY DESPISE IT DUE TO IT’S FLAWS RELATED TO TECHNOLOGY. YES, THE HIGHLIGHTS AND BLACKS COULD HOLD UP BETTER WITH A BETTER CAMERA, YES THE TRACKING SHOTS WOULD HAVE BEEN NICER WITH A GIMBAL DEVICE AND WIRELESS FOCUS ATTACHED TO THE RIG. BUT STILL (DESPITE IT’S SIMPLICITY) THIS IS A FILM WHICH I STILL BELIEVE TO HAVE A STRONG VISUAL LANGUAGE WITH A NUMBER OF POWERFUL MOOD-DRIVEN SHOTS.