Morning Routine

Used as a midterm project for a Camera & Lighting course, Morning Routine is a stop-motion film created by SCAD student Michaela Bidon. As most of her ideas come to her via musical trance, the idea sparked when listening to the song “Glory Box” by Portishead. She wrote this film to discuss Western beauty standards and how young women are trained to think their value comes from their outer appearance. She portrays the main character, illustrating the intimate truth on how outside voices governed her every thought when getting ready for the day.

Michaela filmed using a LUMIX G6, an assortment of tripods, and a standard ARRI lighting kit. A funny memory from behind the scenes: for the flashing scene with the man, she wanted her characters lit in darkness, but had no way to prop up her portable light. She attached her portable light square onto a plunger and stuck it to the wall. It only stayed on the wall for half a minute, but it was long enough to get the shot. She called on her dorm neighbors to voice act in the film, coaching them as they went along. She threw a blanket over their heads and captured the dialogue on her iphone, as a makeshift ADR booth. Truly guerilla filmmaking at its finest.