Home Applications Wonder Childclass=attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail f-align-center alt decoding=async data-lazy-srcset=https://www.litepanels.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/jt-150x150.jpg 150w, https://www.litepanels.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/jt-300x300.jpg 300w, https://www.litepanels.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/jt-140x140.jpg 140w, https://www.litepanels.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/jt-100x100.jpg 100w, https://www.litepanels.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/jt-350x350.jpg 350w, https://www.litepanels.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/jt.jpg 400w data-lazy-sizes=(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px data-lazy-src=https://www.litepanels.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/jt-150x150.jpg />Jessica TolliverJessica Tolliver developed a passion for storytelling at a young age and founded her production company, Mad Panda Lab to ensure she would have the freedom to create films, music videos, and promotional content without limitations. Her drive has led to opportunities working with major brands such as The Chicago Bulls, Nike, and The Chicago Cubs. Jessica is also a member of the ICG Local 600 union as a Camera Utility.
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At the peak of the 2020 lockdown, most people passed the time binge watching Netflix content. Not so Jessica Tolliver. She was creating content. Fresh from a soul care retreat where she reflected upon her inner child, Jessica set about writing and producing a screenplay, Wonder Child - a message to her younger self. With a skeleton crew and an indie budget, she wore many hats, and her versatile Litepanels Gemini 2 1 Soft and Gemini 1 1 Hard panels produced a variety of creative lighting setups in each scene.
Proof positive In this age of multiple video-on-demand streaming platforms, content is king for parting viewers from their subscription dollars. Great news for filmmakers, however, the insatiable demand for content coincides with an explosion of content creators, meaning competition to get projects made has never been higher. For studios and streaming platforms looking for the next big hit, a spec script is no longer enough to pique their interest. A proof-of-concept video is often required too.
Short films made of scenes that represent the story, tone and themes of a potential film or series, a proof-of-concepts show the skill and vision of a director and screenwriter. Proof of concept shorts that have become full motion pictures include Sin City , The Babadook , 300 , and District 9 .
Contrast and collaborate Describing Wonder Child , Jessica says, It's a kind of love letter to millennial black women like me. Through a series of events, Anne, the main character, acquires a mysterious crystal that physically transports her back to her childhood. Through interactions with her creative 10-year-old self, she has new self-discoveries. Adding, It's a story to encourage people to never lose sight of their inner child and their big imagination because it's so special.
I'm a cinematographer, so I rarely direct. But with this project being so personal to me, I wanted to direct as well as DP, says Jessica. Jon Benson was the Gaffer but sometimes he would also DP, or I would go to the monitor, and he would jump on the camera. That's one of my favorite things about indie films-it's so collaborative.
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The proof-of-concept comprises two key scenes from the story, each with dramatically contrasting lighting. The first scene strikes a dark and moody tone. Set in a present-day yoga studio, we are introduced to the mystical Taylor' and the mysterious crystal. In scene two, we are transported back to Anne's bright and light-hearted 90s childhood bedroom. I intentionally put those two jarring lighting styles together, says Jessica.
There was a huge amount of available light, so we needed a lot of high-power, high-intensity lights. The Litepanels were perfect to balance out big, bright ambient light source.
Jessica TolliverDirector & DP
Consistency is key Two Gemini 2 1 Soft panels and three Gemini 1 1 Hard panels were the primary light sources in each scene. In the yoga studio, the two Gemini 2x1s were the key, and we used an eight-by-eight diffusion, says Jessica. The Gemini 1 1 Hard lights played a lot for the ambient light. Sometimes we would have the 1 1 bouncing into the ceiling - it just brought up the entire space. With correlated color temperature control across the full spectrum from a warm 2,700K to a cool 10,000K, the Gemini lights could take over when ambient light wasn't available. Shooting in the Fall, our hours of daylight were minimal, so every hour counts, says Jessica. We had times where the sun was setting, but we still want to keep rolling. That's when we really cranked up the Geminis to bring up the ambience to match the shots that we created earlier in the day. We relied on the Geminis to maintain a consistent daylight quality throughout the day.
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Shooting on an Arri Alexa Mini LF, keeping everything looking natural, was top of Jessic
