Production

 From the start, the most important aspect to creating Wild Rose for the filmmaking team was to tell Rose-Lynn’s story in as raw and honest a way as possible.

“It’s rare to be given a heroine that’s as complex as she was, and show the world what life is like from that perspective,” Harper begins. “I needed to do her story justice.”

To do this, Harper made the decision to shoot on location throughout, from the council estates of Glasgow, Scotland through to the concert venues of Nashville. Music on the film, including Jessie Buckley singing at various shows, was always recorded live.

“For me, being on location was important,” he reveals. “Shooting on stage with blue screen gives you endless creative possibilities in post, but there’s nothing that compares to having the feel, light and texture of the real location in your dailies. At one point, we were discussing not going to Nashville as it was tricky for visas, but I felt strongly that mocking up America just wouldn’t do.”

Shot in RAW 4K anamorphic and framed for a 2.39:1 2K extraction, Wild Rose was predominantly shot handheld. The team used T2.2-3.5 Hawk V-Lite anamorphic glass, all on a RED Weapon.

“From a technical standpoint, we needed to constantly be light on our feet to incorporate improvised performances,” adds Steel. “If Jessie decided to, for example, get out of the car and walk up the street, she could and we’d follow her with the camera, boom, and lights. She never felt restricted. We were there to service Tom’s vision and Jessie’s talent.”

Planning the cinematographic style in this way also brought several challenges to the production team. Accuracy in framing, for instance, was a constant requirement, as was relighting shots on-the-fly in restrictive spaces like the council estate in Glasgow.

“There’s a scene where Jessie and Julie’s characters have an argument in their apartment. We were initially in the living room, and ended up following them through the flat until Julie opens the front door and leaves while Jessie is standing in the doorway,” Steel continues. “It seems like nothing, but the light can change quite a lot as the door opens and closes, which in turn changes the color in the foreground. We had to ensure there was subtlety in the way we manipulated the exposure throughout the scene, so that the audience could see just enough. It turned out to be one of my favorite moments.”