A TALE OF TWO PICTURES
The family of "Birth" make a second appearance over a decade later
IT WAS 2007 AND ALEATHIA HAD JUST BEEN BORN when we first were introduced to the Dozier family in Adams, MA. We were looking for a mother with a newborn baby to be in a soundstage picture we had planned for an upcoming winter production on Beneath the Roses (2003-2008.)
Juliane had been in touch with friends, other parents, even midwives and nurses in the area, and had already met with many potential people for the picture when she finally found Shannon. She went to meet her at her home in Adams, MA, then sent me some casting snapshots. I knew immediately Shannon was perfect for the picture.
The set for this picture, unofficially titled “Birth,” was designed by Carl Sprague and built on the soundstage at MASS MoCA. We shot the picture in the winter of early 2007. Travis, Aleathia’s father, who just out of frame crouching beside the bed near his daughter through the whole process, was trying endlessly to get her to settle down and lay still.
If he picked her up, she would quiet immediately in his arms, but as soon as he would try to set her back on the bed, she’d cry. This went on for about an hour. It was tense. Production sets are filled with frenetic energy — lights, cables, noise, fog machines, dozens of people moving around. It’s not conducive to a baby falling asleep.
Additionally, in this case, snow was being carried in and dressed on the sidewalk outside the motel room, and therefore we were trying to keep the set warm and cool at the same time, in front of and behind the flat acting as the motel’s outside wall. We were all doing our best to lower the energy level and create an atmosphere where a baby could fall asleep — essentially standing still, holding our breath, watching, and waiting. Shannon and Travis were doing everything they could think of. Things were at a bit of a standstill.
Finally, Bill Markham, who had been working on the snow and other details on set, had the brilliant idea of placing a heating pad beneath the baby under the blanket on the bed, and that was the key. Bill is a tree surgeon by trade and has worked on my pictures since Hover. He has an uncanny sense about the process after being on nearly every picture I’ve ever made since the late 90s. This particular idea rose to new levels of genius on his part though. We got the heating pad in place and plugged in, and just moments later, the baby drifted off to sleep. We began shooting. The picture that resulted was beautiful and just as I had imagined it.
YEARS LATER, IN 2021, when we were in pre-production on Eveningside, Juliane crossed paths again with Shannon, by chance. She had kept in touch here and there over the years, but it had been some time at that point. We were so excited to hear that their tiny baby from the 2007 picture was now a teenager in high school.
One of the pictures we were planning involved a teenager who is about to leave home and go on a journey, perhaps to college. We hadn’t cast the picture yet, and the timing seemed too fateful not to have it be the Dozier family again, especially after all these years.
Juliane went to their home, once again, and took more snapshots of Shannon and Aleathia.
The location for the picture, which I had found months earlier, was high up on a hillside behind MASS MoCA, which was also special because it overlooks the museum, where the first picture was made. The Doziers added a special element to the picture — a journey through time.
For more about the lighting set up on The Departure, check out this previous substack post featuring a conversation with Gregory, Richard Sands, Director of Photography, Dave McCabe, Gaffer, and Brandon Taylor, Key Grip.
This post was written and assembled by Juliane Hiam, with Gregory’s guidance and direction.
"a journey through time" Knowing the back story makes this two photos take a different meaning. Thank you for sharing.
It’s all connected! Round and round, like a carousel.