Motorized Love

A middle-aged man fights his daily routine, but suddenly he falls in love with a public bus!

About the Project

Role: Production Designer

Project Type: Student Film

Principle Photography: October 2024

Status: Post Production

Mission

Motorized Love is an absurdist film. It focuses on human obsessions and how far one is willing to go to satisfy their obsession. Mads' midlife crisis is a massive focus in the film. When I discussed what Mads' world looked like with director Leonardo Perez, we wanted the world to be constantly moving around Mads, but he feels stuck. He is trapped in a world he doesn't want to be in or a part of, until he meets Juliette. Juliette unexpectedly comes into Mads' life. She gives him a desire to move forward in life. The bus was a critical piece of the production design. How do you romanticize a public bus? It all has to do with the feelings the bus gave Mads. We didn't want to sexualize the bus; we wanted it to feel outwardly normal, but when Mads came on the bus, it felt welcoming and loving towards him. The bus ads are subtle hints to Mads about things he should do in his life, the main one being a divorce lawyer ad. Lighting also played a considerable part in the buses' love affair, as evidenced in the moments where Mads talks to the bus; the lighting has a pinkish hue. We are creating this feeling of a budding romance between Mads and Juliette.

Pre Production

Throughout the pre-production process for Motorized Love, we aimed for color and warmth to play a significant role in the progression of the scenes. At the beginning, we see Mads' life full of color, then it goes away as he recalls his "most happiest" memories. Throughout the rest of the film, after the memory montage, the movie starts out with minimal colors, and as Mads spends more time with the bus, more colors are introduced to the film.