After reading The Prophet and doing extensive research on its writer, I realized that Pushkin wrote the poem to express his epiphany. At the start of the poem, he describes himself as a “weary traveler” in a desert. As he is searching for grace alone, it implies that he wants to be different from the people that he left behind him. I wanted to portray this feeling of solitude in my video with the help of my actress, who would stand on a crowded street looking lonely and dissatisfied. Like the prophet in the poem, who experienced a violent physical transformation, my actress would too experience a rather unpleasant change. As she closed and then opened her eyes, she would find herself in a dream-like state. She would be in a dark forest, filled with biting bugs and uneven rocks. After struggling to find her way out, she would discover immense bliss. Pushkin’s prophet, after being mutilated by a seraphim, would lie dead until God brought him to life and gave him the duty to “burn the hearts of men”, or in other words, enliven and bring love to the nation. I want to equate Pushkin’s purpose with a newfound happiness in my video. My actress would find a clearing in the wilderness, and show much joy at having escaped the troubling forest. Once she is transported back to the crowded city street, she carries this newfound attitude with her.
In order to bring my idea to life, I recorded the first and last part of the video on 23rd street, next to Madison Square Park. It is an extremely crowded and fast-paced area, so it served as a perfect contrast to the mood that my actress sought to portray. The middle part of the video was shot in a forest in Salisbury Mills, New York. I think that the location provides a bit of an eerie feeling, yet it isn’t as frightening as I hoped for it to be. The forest was not dense enough to block all sunlight, so I wasn’t able to film in a completely shadowy and dark place as I intended. However, the clearing on the outskirt of the forest was very nice, and it was a delightful place to shoot in. I think that in this part of the video, my actress best portrayed happiness.
There are two instances in the video, one at the start and one at the end, where my actress says a few words. They are important in the overall message of the video. However, I am a bit worried that they will not be clear and loud enough to distinguish.
Overall, shooting the video was an extremely enjoyable process, though editing it was very time consuming. I hope that my video accomplishes two things. First of all, I want my audience to experience the same emotions that my actress did, that is, solitude, uncertainty, fear, and happiness. In such a way, they can hopefully understand the emotional impact of reading The Prophet without actually seeing the poem. In addition, I want my audience to stay engaged all throughout the video. I tried to reduce all redundant images, but there are a few that may appear to be similar.
Here is the video. I hope you all enjoy it!
