Director’s notes
Test Pattern complicates the easier narratives of sexual assault. #metoo, Times Up, and modern feminism have caused a world-shaking shift in power, empowering individual victims of sexual assault and bringing the cause of justice into the halls of power and behind the doors of boardrooms. But the story of sexual assault is not just that of victims rising up and villains being torn down. Every day brings another story, another fight, another layer.
Here we reflect on those two messages we tell ourselves: victims of sexual assault should report it, and we will fight for them when they do. What if, for one Black woman in Austin, neither of those is true?
Realisation
I was interested in crafting a feminist nightmare. My goal was to get audiences to feel the shock and horror I experience at times, just being alive as a Black person and as a woman. The audience shouldn’t reflect on this simply as a thrilling experience, but rather as a cold splash of water or the uncomfortable feeling of recognition after seeing some unpalatable element of themselves when they look in the mirror.
I wanted to distil the conclusions I made after reading countless news articles about the lack of access to rape kits for most people in America (if they know about them at all, and if those kits ever get tested), coupled with the deluge of #metoo accounts from women reflecting on all types of sexual assault and boundary violation. I wanted audiences to have an account of a Black woman navigating the oft-terrifying experience of being a woman alongside the equally terrifying experience of existing as a Black person inside a white-supremacist patriarchy.
A 37-page script
In October 2017, I wrote a sparse but structured script with minimal dialogue. I knew from the outset that Test Pattern would live in long takes and that I would flesh out the characters after working with the leads to further develop their roles and getting to know them. Brittany S. Hall and Will Brill were cast in March 2018. For the five and a half weeks leading up to production, I spent time with the actors separately and together, getting to know them personally while they tried on and uncovered their characters in rehearsals. After every conversation I had with them, the details of the script would further solidify and take shape. I wanted us to have a shared understanding of the characters and for Brittany and Will to have ownership of their respective roles by growing them together. The final shooting script grew by 11 pages and the long takes and spontaneous moments filled in the rest.
Tone
Influenced by Hitchcockian tonal shifts, Test Pattern can be divided into three parts: romantic comedy (before Renesha’s assault), psychological thriller (during), and realist drama (after). The idea is to express how our lived experience isn’t just one genre. There are moments in our lives that can feel super light-hearted, but in retrospect or in a different context can be painful. There are other times in our lived experience, especially for those with marginalised identities and/or people of colour, that can feel downright scary-while those around you experience the opposite. It comes to the point that you doubt that what you’re experiencing is real and that your feelings are justified-which is frightening in itself.
Social Commentary
I believe that America is going through a period of cultural and political crisis, not dissimilar to that of the period from the late 1960’s to the mid 1970’s. The levels of anxiety, distrust and angst mixed with a desire to question and expose were prevalent in cinema of that era. Inspired by John Schlesinger’s Midnight Cowboy (1969) and Sidney Lumet’s Dog Day Afternoon (1975), I wanted to keep as much of the film as I could in the wide, as a larger motif to express the idea that my characters are products of their environment and part of a larger system. I intended to thereby force my audience to potentially re-evaluate their own role within our society and question their feelings about the characters and events being presented to them.
The Score
I was certain that the score for Test Pattern should be used as a motif and would incorporate classical elements. I listened to a ton of Brahms, as I dug through trying to find Renesha’s emotions in music. Editor Katy Miller introduced me to Kelsey Lu and her brilliant use of the cello. It was then that the cello became attached to Renesha and strings became a larger component of the conception of the score. Working with the composer, Robert Ouyang Rusli we focused on creating something unconventional. We listened and learned from Bernard Herrmann and Jonny Greenwood and discussed elements of neo-classical films and their use of orchestral cues. We also had many discussions on the role of music in films, and on the way that it can embolden or subvert stereotypes on screen. As a result, we were highly intentional in our process. In the end, Rob constructed something beyond my wildest dreams. He created a string-heavy soundtrack that utilised string sounds in a tactile and physical way. Much of the percussion in the film comes from hitting the wood and strings of violins and cellos. The score is the absolute lifeblood of the movie.
Editorial
Influenced by Paul Thomas Anderson’s Phantom Thread, Michel Gondry’s Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Sam Mendes’ Revolutionary Road and Derek Cianfrance’s Blue Valentine, Test Pattern’s structure follows the linear narrative of Renesha and Evan’s relationship, but it is pulled in different directions by a guiding principle: we follow Renesha’s greater processing of her relationship with Evan and how that relates to her assault. Katy and I talked a lot about what it looks like structurally to express Renesha as a product of her environment, trapped by societal constraints and social mores. Editor Matt Tassone and I went through scene by scene, ensuring that the choices we made were led by how Renesha was feeling in each moment.
Production notes
Test Pattern
Director: Shatara Michelle Ford
Executive Producers: Brooke Jordan, Brittany S. Hall
Producers: Pin-Chun Liu, Shatara Michelle Ford, Yu-Hao Su
Written by: Shatara Michelle Ford
Director of Photography: Ludovica Isidori
Editors: Matt Tassone, Katy Miller
Production Designer: Eloise Ayala
Costume Designer: Brionna Rowe
Music: Robert Ouyang Rusli
Music Supervisor: Alison Rosenfeld
Sound Designer: Thomas Ouziel
Cast
Brittany S. Hall (Renesha)
Will Brill (Evan)
Gail Bean (Amber)
Drew Fuller (Mike)
USA 2019
82 mins
Digital
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Programme notes and credits compiled by Sight and Sound and the BFI Documentation Unit
Notes may be edited or abridged
Questions/comments? Contact the Programme Notes team by email