In January 2023, I received an inquiry from writer-director Ian Ebright, a Seattle-base filmmaker who was filming his first feature here in Portland. Ian wanted to know if I’d be interested in shooting the key art and some character portraits for the film, The Way We Speak. After our first meeting, Ian passed along the script and I knew immediately this was an opportunity I couldn’t pass up.

Starring Patrick Fabian (best known for his role as Howard Hamlin in Better Call Saul), The Way We Speak is a modern cautionary tale of up and coming writer Simon who refuses to leave the spotlight when his best friend and debate opponent suffers cardiac arrest, leading to an obsession over his new opponent and a growing rift with his ailing wife. The film is a rich character study that deep dives into themes of insecurity and jealousy without pulling any punches.

One of the things that jumped out to me when reading the script is how cerebral this film is, with much of Simon’s character development happening internally. In his attempts to be heard and feel seen, Simon ironically refuses to hear or see others, and instead alienates himself and becomes increasingly isolated as he spirals down into his own insecurities. This sense of isolation and vulnerability became a prevalent theme in the design of the film’s key art.

Teaser Posters

Working with Ian on this project was such a joy. Ian already had a vision for what the key art would look like (having prepared some rough mockups for the design), but he also really valued and allowed for me to bring my own creative ideas to the table. In our discussions, we focused on a few key design elements that we felt would represent the film—namely the use of negative space to further drive home that sense of isolation and insecurity; and the use of rich saturated color to match the tones of the cinematography.

With these design elements in mind, I started the creative process with a visit to the auditorium that served as the predominate space for the film. I was able to sneak in for a few hours on a prelight day to assess the space, get some plates, and put together an action plan since I knew I’d have a small window of time to capture what I needed on the actual shoot day. A lot of the film is actually captured in the backstage area. This was lit with cool blue and purple tones in contrast to the front of house red and orange warm tones, which served as an interesting and deliberate psychological parallel to the character’s emotions in those respective environments. I wanted to make sure I captured some elements from both environments to show this contrast and give some variety in the final deliverables.

Alternate Poster Designs

When it came time to the actual shoot day, I kept it relatively light and mobile to allow for the most flexibility. With the help of one assistant (shout out to Grey Eastland), we set up 2 three light setups backstage to capture character portraits with all 5 of the main talent, spending about 5 minutes with each actor. For the key art shots, we created 3 more additional setups – one with Patrick in the back of house, one with him sitting alone in the audience, and the final shot of him looking to the stage from behind the curtain. This final image would ultimately become the official poster, and I think it really encompasses all of the design elements we wanted to convey.

I’m so grateful to Ian for the opportunity to create some creative artwork and to the wonderful cast on this project for graciously lending me their time and their talents. And do go watch The Way We Speak, which will be available on VOD on July 23!

Character Portraits