Dir. Eva Weber, 2005, 19 mins
Review and Feature by Tim Gardner
The Intimacy of Strangers, directed by Eva Weber, was made through the Project Development Lab, an advanced, one-year programme, at the National Film and Television School (UK). The film is Eva’s second documentary, building on her previous award-winning work in fiction and as a director for BBC Broadcast.
The Intimacy of Strangers was premiered at Edinburgh International Film Festival. Since then, it has been invited to numerous other festivals. It has also been included in an educational DVD, commissioned by the British Council and The Documentary Filmmakers Group UK, featuring the most innovative British documentaries of recent years.
The Review
You used to have to make an effort to overhear other people’s conversations. Now you have to make an effort not to. With such a cocept, one could be forgiven for thinking that Webber’s short documentary, based entirely on covertly recorded mobile phone conversations, was a play to the feverish national obsession with voyeuristic entertainment. However The Intimacy of Strangers, shot as part of the Project Development Lab programme at The National Film and Television School, is far from it.
Filmed in various locations around London, The Intimacy of Strangers follows the conversations of a handful of people on their mobile phones as they discuss relationships with unknown confidants. These calls are then delicately cut together and layered to produce a film which, although still fragmented, follows an emotional narrative, which rises and falls. As we step in and out of these lives we begin to build a larger picture containing glimpses of the often touching, funny and intimate moments inherent in any relationship.
All of the mobile users are members of the public and this gives the film genuine and often powerful emotion. Many of the lines could simply not have been written and delivered any more perfectly, like the woman caught referring to the utterly baffling ‘online pregnancy test’. The skilful sound design and score also further create a sense of poignancy as they carefully lead us in and out of conversations and draw these strangers together.
Although certainly a look at the place of the ubiquitous mobile within modern relationships, The Intimacy of Strangers is also an interesting take on what can be an impersonal urban environment. We are offered, if only briefly, a chance to empathise with people we may have passed on the way to work. So, from a premise that could potentially have taken a far more tawdry route, Webber has produced a gentle paced and touching short documentary that calmly sits us down for a moment to watch, listen and think.
The Production
With the commercial success of feature length documentaries such as Jeffrey Blitz’s Spellbound, it becomes increasingly evident that the public has an appetite for factual films. This success is, in part, due of the realisation that documentary can be as entertaining and compelling as any scripted film. Considerable time is spent preparing the composition of the shots, designing the score and editing the footage in order to provoke a specifically selected mood. While some argue that this is overly contrived and highly subjective, others would claim that no account could ever be entirely objective. Therefore these filmmakers are embracing this form to tell stories as strong and layered as any dramatic work.
One such filmmaker is Eva Weber, the German born director and graduate from the Project Development lab, an advanced, one year programme, at the National Film and Television School. Her graduation film was a nineteen-minute documentary, The Intimacy of Strangers, which was constructed from real, overheard mobile phone conversations of strangers. Filmed secretly, Webber explores the conflict between intimacy and isolation, as we are privy to various intimacies. The final footage is then weaved together to produce a ‘modern day love story: from first attraction to bitter end’.
Weber arrived at the original concept around the time the Iraq war broke out. Her initial plan was to wander the streets of London on the day Britain went to war with the intention of eavesdropping in order to capture the fears and worries of the British people at that time. With this as a starting point, she developed the idea and began to consider the impact of various means of communication. Eventually she arrived at the mobile phone and questions surrounding its place within our modern day sense of intimacy. In this respect she believed that a ‘modern day love story’ would explore this theme in the most interesting way. Once this was established Webber set about to produce a short film that would examine specifically how we conduct our relationships via our mobile telephone.
Given the nature of the film, a very real fear for Weber and her producer Samantha Zarzosa was that the people they had filmed would feel this was an invasion of their privacy and refuse the rights to use the footage. To their relief 80-90% agreed, the main issue being, in fact, the worry that they might be caught skiving off work. There were, of course, some who were upset at having being filmed without their permission. However once the nature of the film had been explained, most were appeased.
This covert filming style also presented many technical and logistical challenges. A great deal of time was spent in pre-production researching and experimenting with different set-ups including the use of pin-hole cameras, a camera hidden in a specially designed bag, radio microphones, parabolic microphones and many other combinations. Initially they started with smaller cameras more suited to a secretive style of filming. However, in the end they settled on two larger Sony DSR130 cameras on tripods out in the open. This provided not only a better image quality but also a way of maintaining a still and carefully framed style. This decision was partially motivated by the fact that the cameras were rarely spotted by any of the subjects, reinforcing the notion that we really are in our own little world while on the phone.
The sound was also challenging as Weber and her team needed to establish good recording in order to create the sense intimacy they were hoping to achieve. After much experimentation, they decided on the use of one highly directional microphone that could be hidden under a skateboard, on the outside of a violin case or in a poster tube. This microphone was then casually positioned close to the subject. In fact, during a second viewing of the film one might catch a couple of odd microphone shaped objects sneaking into shot towards the person on the phone. Another issue with achieving a good sound recording was breaching the very British issue of personal space. In the end an actress was used to sit next to someone while the proper sound-recordist was further away monitoring the recording. In many ways this shows that the subjects really have been caught at their most natural, as acting casual is not as easy as it seems.
The editing process was also a complicated task and one that Webber describes as one of the most complicated she has been involved with. Working with the editor, Emilio Battista, she worked her way through the many hours of footage, first selecting then cutting the perfect conversations. While the content of the dialogue was crucial in order to give the film a sense of progression, the inflection of tone was also an important factor. The addition or removal of one ‘scene’ or line could drastically alter and in some cases destroy the film. Some extremely funny or engaging characters had to be removed completely because there simply wasn’t a place for them in the film. However, there are some subjects who, even during filming, were destined to end up in the final cut. One is our ‘main character’ who eloquently describes his family’s various extraordinary relationships before eventually turning to himself. Weber admits that within a few days they had decided on an ending for the film. The final shot is a previously smiling and chipper American woman hanging up the phone and immediately dropping into a sad contemplative gaze. ‘This sums up the film for me’ says Webber, noting the instant switch from tender intimacy to public isolation.
This process of filmmaking arguably raises the question of whether one could create a film depicting almost anything given the right amount footage. Essentially, reality television shows such as Big Brother depend on continuous coverage, which is then edited to fit the desired format. However, in the case of The Intimacy of Strangers, the painstaking process of filming and final edit ensure that this is not a voyeuristic thrill, rather a carefully planned and thoughtful short. More importantly it is the sincere intention of the director and vision to know that such a film is even possible which mark this as a unique piece of work. Webber is currently developing a scripted feature length version of the film. While the script will be based on real life conversations, she must surely be wondering whether such naturalistic performances and slick dialogue can ever be possible with actors. After all it is the raw unpredictable nature of these more entertaining documentaries that draws audiences to them.
The Intimacy of Strangers is not on general release but anyone wishing to see the film can via the website www.theintimacyofstrangers.com. There is also a trailer on the website.
Eva Weber is also developing a feature length version of the film
The National Film and Television School
The National Film and Television School (www.nftsfilm-tv.ac.uk) is the UK's leading centre of excellence for education in film and television programme making. Since launching in 1971, it has turned out numerous world-class film and television practitioners. Among its many distinguished Alumni are Oscar-winning animators Nick Park, CBE, creator of Wallace and Gromit, and Alison Snowden & David Fine (Bob's Birthday); BAFTA-winning directors David Yates (Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix) and Beeban Kidron (Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason), cinematographers David Tattersall (Star Wars: Episodes I-III) and the Oscar-nominated Roger Deakins (Jarhead, The Shawshank Redemption) and pioneering documentarist Nick Broomfield (Aileen: Life and Death of a Serial Killer). The School's postgraduate-post experience courses are the product of a unique partnership between Government and the film and television industry, many of whose members teach on its courses and advise on curriculum development, ensuring that the School stays relevant to the Industry's present and future needs. The National Film and Television School was designated a Skillset Screen Academy in July 2005.
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