Lucky Frog Films

Jigsaw Venus

Production Notes

Jigsaw Venus began with an image Dean had of a large nude woman working on a jigsaw puzzle. He says, "The character I envisioned seemed so peaceful and at ease when she was by herself--completely the opposite of how she would be in the outside world--shy, awkward, ridiculed. The character soon took on the name of Madeline and from that moment on, she never left my mind over the one-year course of making the film."

Dean then sketched her and Julian, her equally shy and utterly clumsy neighbor, and out of those images grew the scenario of two lonely hearts fated to meet. The film was intentionally scripted without dialogue to complicate the paralyzing shyness the two characters feel around each other. The final shooting script was reached on the 7th draft.

The actors were rehearsed for two weeks to make certain the physical gestures and blocking would clearly tell the story without dialogue. Each shot was storyboarded and reviewed with the cinematographer and art director to create the film's intimate, slightly surreal atmosphere.

The 3,000-piece jigsaw puzzle featured prominently in the film took nearly three months to complete. Friends were enlisted to help complete it. Max, Dean's cat, assisted by knocking the puzzle to the floor, which pushed production back a week.

Filming began in late June in the Bay Ridge area of Brooklyn, New York, and lasted for four eighteen-hour days. The combination of lights and summer weather pushed the temperature on the set to 110° F.

The score was composed and recorded in London by a talented young composer who was introduced to Dean by the editor. Editing was done the old-fashioned way-cut on film. The final print was struck in June 2000.

Communication and transformation are the central themes of Jigsaw Venus. The lack of dialogue intentionally emphasizes the awkward shyness experienced by the characters, but also shows that love can transcend barriers that verbal communication cannot. The jigsaw puzzle represents transformation and also serves as a metaphor for filmmaking-the process of bringing together so many varied elements, from script to storyboards to editing.

Privacy | Terms of Use