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SALT

UK, Sep 2022, on location

Apartment for an immigrant family

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The short film primarily tells the story from a female perspective, capturing a girl's feelings of confusion and curiosity during her first sexual experience. The main setting is inside a council house by the seaside, and we filmed on location at an Airbnb in London.

 

I modified the rooms in the Airbnb according to the plot, incorporating visual elements that align with the character's personality.

The Research of British Council Houses

The story is set in a council house, but due to production reasons, the final filming location was chosen to be a standalone Victorian house. From an art direction perspective, we conducted extensive research on council house interiors and public spaces.

 

Given the low budget, we made some adjustments to the house. For instance, we added a notice board on the wall by the entrance, placing bills and letters on it to hint at the family's financial difficulties and to enhance the lived-in feel of the space.

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The Metaphor of Tumbleweed

Another key space is the male protagonist's room, where the female protagonist experiences the complex emotions brought on by sexual intimacy for the first time.

 

To enhance the sense of unease in this space, the director and I decided to add overgrown, tangled green plants to subtly suggest intimate parts of the body and to visually add layers to the composition. In the initial concept, waves were visible through the window, with scattered vegetation around it. The combination of dark blues and spreading deep greens from the girl’s perspective evoked a moody and melancholic atmosphere.

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The Girlhood Elements of a Seaside Town

In the protagonist's room, to reflect her life in a seaside town and align with the character of the little girl, I incorporated my own imagination by decorating the walls with some ocean-themed paintings, as well as adding seashells and fishing nets as decorations.

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