#65 Wk47 Cinematography

At the beginning of the week we looked at several movies to better understand how to use the camera to break up dialog and deliver another level of story information.

Despite it's static nature, dialog doesn't have to be a lead weight that kills the momentum of your story. If you shoot it properly, you can actually propel the viewer through multiple layers of information about the characters and the plot without any additional effort required on the part of the audience.

This isn't merely an academic pursuit. In the Killers, our next film project, most of the "action" takes place in a diner where the characters spend most of their time sitting or lying down. Also, we have to show the evolution of the character of Nick, a seemingly minor character, with few lines in the first half of the story, but who becomes the central character by the end.

We review some films, focusing on how to shoot dialog in a static location and keep it interesting. These included clips from Se7en, Jurassic Park, Gladiator, Cape Fear, The Incredibles and American Beauty. All these films involved clever use of camera motion to keep the story moving ahead during a lengthy exposition.

During the last class each person gave a brief explanation of how they would use lights and camera to best present the story in their final project film. In the process I got some valuable feedback about how to set up for different types of interviews, a question I've been looking to answer for a long time.

#43 Wk30 - Film Project II

This week our team hunkers down and puts in long days of shooting the scene for the second film project. The team consists of Jonathan, Dennis, Mike, John and myself. Despite difficulties, all the effort pays off. I hope I'm not spoiling the suspense for you.

In process of learning my lines and and other performance skills, during an impromptu acting bootcamp, I have a story writing epiphany that releases me from the curse of writer's block.

There are a few technical details I include, such as a production breakdown list, a shot list or storyboard, a master shot, blocking and what is a C47.

I also try to describe the the wonderful feeling that you get after you stop banging your head against a wall, also known as success.

Finally there's a fair bit of talk about the satisfaction that comes from working as a team. I admit that my description is a little over the top, particularly where I invoke a few lines from Shakespeare's St Crispen's day speech as delivered by Henry V. But I do mean it. I love that speech by the way. There's a particularly poignant performance in the Danny Devito film Renaissance Man, it's worth checking out.

All told, it was a week of hard effort, valuable insight and worthwhile achievement.

Drop me a line at videostudentguy@gmail.com or leave a comment. In any event, thanks for stopping by.