The ‘essence’ of a person: What it means and how to capture it
There is a word in photography and cinematography which you will have found floating around a lot.
It is incredibly vague and tends to be used as a way for creators to claim that they fully understand their subject, and have the ability to represent them on screen.
Can you guess the word?
The ‘Essence’.
The ‘Essence’ of a person, a place, an event, an idea. The word has lost most of it’s meaning over the years.
Nobody actually ever talks about what it means.
Yet, everyone claims to be able to ‘capture’ it. So I have made it the point of my blog and newsletter to slowly abolish this word, and to unravel what it actually means.
If you want to skip ahead, here are the links to the chapters of the post:
Definitions
“The most significant element, quality or aspect of something.“
“The combination of individual qualities or characteristics. Instead of relying on a single quality, this definition sees the combination of all qualities as the essence.”
“A persons individual sensual experience and interpretation of something.”
As you can see, these definitions are quite vague and subjective.
However, overall we get the picture that it is something very personal, and perhaps difficult to observe from the outside.
So, rather than mess around with definitions, let us use an example and break this process into two stages:
General guidelines
There are a number of unspoken rules I follow whenever I tell a new story of a person:
1. Throw out all assumptions
Especially in a new place, you cannot assume that your subject thinks in any way the same as you do.
Maybe they don’t care for family, or careers, but for things you wouldn’t dream of considering important.
You need to not only cleanse your mind of any expectations, but also SHOW them that you have done so. Only if they feel free of judgement will people share their story with you.
2. Take your time
I love street photography, but the fact is that it often remains on the surface level.
There simply isn’t time to delve into meaningful topics or stories.
If you want a different outcome, bring time: days, weeks, months. Many documentaries take years to make, so consider this when telling a story.
3. Confirm, confirm, confirm
You will be doing a lot of guess-work when creatively reflecting on the person infront of you.
THE ONLY WAY. to tell if you are on the right track, is to constantly confirm”
“Have I got this right?”
“Would you say this is an accurate reflection of your feelings?”
“Does this feel like something you would say/do/feel?”
Not only will this help guide you, but it will show them that you care about getting it right.
But now, into the nitty gritty.
How do you actually start?
Step 1: Learning
Before even thinking of picking up a camera, there is a lot of learning to do, and I always break this up into three stages:
1. Research
Before arriving and meeting a person, you might be able to access information about them. It might intrusive or weird, but its important to determine if this story is even worth pursuing. It also can give you an early hold on how you might want to represent them. Look at:
Social media accounts
newspaper articles
online publications
rumors or verbal stories
a phonecall
Your goal is to find out what they have been through, what their values are, what they believe in, how they behave and communicate, and how they handle their relationships with others. Anything that stands out to you as different from most people should be noted.
2. Time with them
When you first meet a person, leave the camera packed up, and take time to understand their history and how it has led to this moment. Understand their reasoning for certain actions and how it has influenced them. Get them to describe their feelings in as much detail as possible. Chances are, they have themselves never thought it about it in this much detail, and in this situation people can often come up with very profound answers.
3. Time with their closest
As mentioned above, people close to your subject will often know them better than they know themselves. Find out who is their family, friends, loved ones, even those they no longer speak to. In doing this, always make sure they agree before approaching anyone. Ask them the same questions you asked your subject directly, but dig a little deeper. Specifically, dig into any points of contention, where they might disagree with what your subject has said or claimed. This will give you a clearer picture of the nuance of this person.
Once you have completed stage 1, you should have an understanding of:
Their values and beliefs
How they do or do not act in accordance with those values and beliefs
Their history, greatest accomplishments and regrets
Who the people closest to them are and how their relationships have played out
Their unique little behaviours, mannerisms, speech patterns etc.
Step 2: Interpreting
Now, there is ONE more step before picking up a camera and filming away.
That is, figuring one the ONE element you want to focus on.
That’s right: it is nearly IMPOSSIBLE to capture an entire being in a movie, short-film or let alone photo.
Instead, pick one side of this person, and without ignoring every other aspect of them, lending your focus to this one element.
For example, you might center your story around a farmers selfless perseverence in protecting his crops in the face of a flood.
Now FINALLY you have the creative freedom to express this on screen. In doing so, consider the 5 key elements at your disposal: Perspective, Composition, Lighting, Colour, Sound/Music. I have a whole article on how to harness each of these to create authentic frames, but to use them for people-focused storytelling.
Perspective: Are you looking down on them? Up at them? Are you close or far away? Are they blurry or in focus? Consider what each of these things mean. Looking down can make someone seem small and vulnerable. Looking up can suggest confidence. Experiment with perspective and see how it feels to portray the person in different ways.
Composition: Is the image messy, or neatly organised? Is your subject in the foreground or background? What items or other people or animals are visible? Most often it works to show the person in context of the environment they are in. Consider that everything in your frame should be there for a reason, and what that reason is.
Lighting: Darkness can be as powerful as light. Especially a farmer who depends on sunlight could be portrayed always looking to the sky to see changes in weather. Darker scenes might be more emotionally subdued here, while brighter scenes are more joyful.
Sound and music: Avoid plastering emotional music over every one of your shots. Rather, look for natural sounds that fit your character, and source music locally. The best documentaries I have seen use music subtly and with great intention.
Colour: While you might not colour grade your work yourself, understanding the power of it is important. Which items or people are significant in the scene and might need to be elevated? Is it best to have a lush image, or a muted one? Answers to these questions are individual and cannot be met with a simple rule. Ask yourself what feeling different colour combination evoke in you, and start there.
As you can see, there is a lot you could do with each component to advance your theme.
And that is the point of ‘essence’. It is individual, both to the person but also to you as a filmmaker. Ask yourself the a few questions, answer them in depth, and then use the tools at your disposal to express your perspective. That way, you will always end up with something unique to you and the person infront of you. And since you are only human, chances are people will resonate with it.
