Features

Working the click with Ricardo Makyn

STARTING ON MONDAY, September 6, 2004 in THE STAR is an intriguing tale - 'DarkChild' ­ a story about a fine young Jamaican woman, Gail Miller.

This story is written by Claude Mills the author of previous Star stories like Demon Spawn, Mermaid's Kiss, Over the Edge, Wanton Consequence (1996) and Reality Check (2003). Mills has put a true spin on a tale that will relate in some aspects to many a Jamaican experience.

Gail, a newspaper reporter, has big dreams and noble aspirations that are prompted and spun by her ambitious yet domineering and demanding mother who has strong rural roots that are embodied in a past that is not nice.

Gail likes to live on the edge and her ambition and fierce independence soon suck her into a whirlpool of love, scandal, sex and -- well, we can't just give away the story, you need to read the story in THE STAR for the rest - but let's just say, it is unbelievable the things that curious, high flying reporters sometimes get caught up with.

But in these last days before the story starts we continue to tell some more about the Making of DarkChild. Today our photographer.

GLEANER STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER Ricardo Makyn was the man behind the camera for the shooting of the story - DarkChild.

Ricardo is a photographer with an artist's eye. He is especially good at capturing the human element in his photos. Check out the 'Makyn The News' feature in THE STAR on Mondays and of course, the cracking story - DarkChild' to get a sample of this photographer's vision.

Was shooting the story different from other things that you've done as a photographer?

Yes, it was. I was venturing into cinematography which is best done with the video camera so I and my director had to make sure that each shot was precisely what was in the script in order to convey that message clearly.

Which scene(s) were the easiest/ most difficult to shoot?

The hardest scene to shoot was the scene in the old mill. The light was going fast which made it more difficult to shoot. But I think everybody was up to the challenge and we prevailed. The easiest scene was the ones in which Gail was smoking outside her work place. The lighting conditions were perfect and I used fill in flash just to had a little pop to the images.

Did this assignment present any particular challenges to you as a photographer? Not really, I merely benefited from the first time experience.

If you were to play a character in the story, who would you want it to be? Why?

Aunty Josey because of her honesty and her willingness to help out her niece.

Do you think you managed to capture the essence of the story with your pictures

Yes I think so.

In one word how would you describe the story?

Suspense.