Alex Media House

THE SCENE IN CINEMA                                                                        Alessandro Pinizzotto

Research Project                                                                                   s3695359

 

Analysing hand-held camera to identify positives and negatives of this technique.

Using the camera without any external support is something that potentially started when cameras evolved and became less heavy making them more manageable and easy to hold by hand. One of the oldest movies that use this technique was a film Robin kindly shared with me. In this clip, we can see how the camera follows the protagonist while being completely held by the cameraman who does an amazing job at framing perfectly the scene in any given moment.

Nowadays, films tend to use this way of shooting for horror movies as a way to enhance the suspension and the thrill. Some horror genre films that take advantage of this are REC and The Visit. Thought not being high cinema productions, they both do a great job in using this technique for the aforementioned results.

 

Moving to films that can actually be considered “art”, there are some that brilliantly use hand-held cameras to immerse the viewer in what is happening in the film. Birdman by Alejandro González Iñárritu,(yes it’s difficult to pronounce for me too) is shot to feel like it has been shot in a single take where the cameraman is moving the camera around the scene and following the protagonists. 

 

https://youtu.be/8cBzcNIwzsk

 

Since it is difficult to do a feature-length film in a single take due to the obvious limitations, dark areas and curtains which the camera walks through, are smartly used as a way to mask cuts between the scenes. There are many creative ways a handheld camera can enhance a film and analysing films that use this technique can give an advantage and new ideas when directing. 

 

The reason why someone would implement these technique varies. For instance, directors such as Adam Savage said in regards to the reason why he implemented this style in his film District 9, were a matter of tight budget and worried he would exceed the shot count, so they went for a news surveillance footage style which would look great using a handheld camera. This because that way the footage would look more life-like and would make the viewer connect on an emotional level with the story and characters.

This scene from a different film called Saving Private Ryan (1998) directed by Steven Spielberg shows the intensity and level of immersion a handheld shot can have:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RYxrKhyhDRc

 

Usually, in films that do not predominantly feature handheld shots, this feature is implemented when an action portrayed by the actors has to be emphasised in some way and followed without cuts. 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eCdRFMp8Xwo

 

In this brief instance where this kind of shot is used, it transmits us the feeling of emptiness and concern the character walking on the bridge is experiencing himself.

 

This is nothing much at first glance, but it wouldn’t feel the same if it was entirely static would it?

 

Researching this topic was an excellent way to improve my own directing skills. Watching examples of scenes to analysing and researching the reasons why the handheld camera technique is used by directors following the interviews, made me realise how important yet, looked over feature many films possess. Indeed, it can be a way to save money or a way to use as fewer shots as possible. But it is also a way to incorporate a subtle but more efficient communicating device, one that can feel the viewer more immerse in the world a director wants to create. 

The way the handheld camera impacts the story and the way it is perceived by the viewer is apparent when we analyse media outside conventional filmmaking, such as videogames for instance. Some videogames feature deep narrative that immerses the viewer even further in a way films can not achieve due to the interactivity the player has with the game. One videogame that goes the extra mile to make the player feel even more immersed features a simulated handheld camera technique as in this scene for instance

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YCZXQGw7-8s

 

The power of the axe hitting the tree is accentuated thanks to the digital implementation of the handheld camera.

The different ways a scene can be approached varies depending on the story and the characters involved. Sometimes implementing this technique can help to frame the events in the scene effectively while being relatively easy to perform and not time-consuming.

In my opinion, this example together with the ones brought forward earlier demonstrate the importance of this technique more than anything else. I will without any doubt implement this feature in my next projects.

Reflections:

1.  http://www.mediafactory.org.au/alessandro-pinizzotto/2020/05/29/the-scene-in-cinema-reflection-1/
2. http://www.mediafactory.org.au/alessandro-pinizzotto/2020/05/29/the-scene-in-cinema-reflection-2/
3. http://www.mediafactory.org.au/alessandro-pinizzotto/2020/05/29/the-scene-in-cinema-reflection-3/
4. http://www.mediafactory.org.au/alessandro-pinizzotto/2020/05/29/the-scene-in-cinema-reflection-4-2/
5. http://www.mediafactory.org.au/alessandro-pinizzotto/2020/05/29/the-scene-in-cinema-reflection-5-2/
6.  http://www.mediafactory.org.au/alessandro-pinizzotto/2020/05/29/the-scene-in-cinema-reflection-6-2/

Research Project:

1. http://www.mediafactory.org.au/alessandro-pinizzotto/2020/05/29/the-scene-in-cinema-research-project/

The way you interpret a script can drastically change the way the viewer will experience a scene. In the script “Bookshop” we start with Ella, one of the main characters, browsing through some books on the bookshelf. Immediately we have posed the question of how we would shoot this action. Do we follow the script word by word? Or do we do something different?

Personally, I would follow the script but not meticulously. I would start with a shot of the books with a pan that starts on the books and ends on Ella, then a shot of her point of view looking at the book she finds interesting. When she reads the back cover, I would switch to a wider shot that shows the room in almost its entirety to establish the place the character is. Everyone’s way to cover this or any scene will greatly differ. How you cover a scene is a matter of personal interpretation. For me, as I think for many, the first thing I do when reading a script, is imagining the scene in my head thinking of how it will play out. The next step I would take is to draw a storyboard of what I imagined so that I would remember it and then I would refine the storyboard with new ideas I come up with. Another thing that will affect the final result of a scene can be the setting where the scene is shot. Every space has its opportunities and problems to solve. Sometimes it is not possible to place the camera where it was planned to go, or sometimes some ideas just do not work in real life, something you cannot fully know until you are actually shooting.

So, in my opinion, there is no set way to shoot a scene. Some things that you thought were amazing on paper, can not look so well when executing those plans. A very interesting presentation that captured my attention significantly. The way a scene can be interpreted in fascinating and something this presentation made me understand is the different ways this can happen.

 

 

The way you interpret a script can drastically change the way the viewer will experience a scene. In the script “Bookshop” we start with Ella, one of the main characters, browsing through some books on the bookshelf. Immediately we have posed the question of how we would shoot this action. Do we follow the script word by word? Or do we do something different?

Personally, I would follow the script but not meticulously. I would start with a shot of the books with a pan that starts on the books and ends on Ella, then a shot of her point of view looking at the book she finds interesting. When she reads the back cover, I would switch to a wider shot that shows the room in almost its entirety to establish the place the character is. Everyone’s way to cover this or any scene will greatly differ. How you cover a scene is a matter of personal interpretation. For me, as I think for many, the first thing I do when reading a script, is imagining the scene in my head thinking of how it will play out. The next step I would take is to draw a storyboard of what I imagined so that I would remember it and then I would refine the storyboard with new ideas I come up with. Another thing that will affect the final result of a scene can be the setting where the scene is shot. Every space has its opportunities and problems to solve. Sometimes it is not possible to place the camera where it was planned to go, or sometimes some ideas just do not work in real life, something you cannot fully know until you are actually shooting.

So, in my opinion, there is no set way to shoot a scene. Some things that you thought were amazing on paper, can not look so well when executing those plans. 

 

This reflection wants to tackle The Scene In Cinema class as a whole. The class was an interesting way to explore the subject of filmmaking in depth.

Analysing a scene is an important way to learn from someone with less work or someone else mistakes. It was very interesting to pose ourselves the question of how a certain scene would have been shot or analysing the thought process the director went through to shoot a scene in the best way possible. This was a way to discover amazing films and directors I previously did not know. One example could be the Open Doors. I never saw this movie before but after analysing a scene from this film in class I was curious to see the entire film and to my surprise I really enjoyed it. The way the actors play the characters in this film is something phenomenal so much so that sometimes you forget the events are not real. This holds true especially for the main character investigating the crime that takes place at the start of the film. The protagonist does not speak much throughout the film, is mostly listening and paying attention to what the other characters tell him.  It was a very interesting watch and discovery for me. Watching the film made me realise how sometimes actors do not need many lines or actions to perform, but yet still be the centre of a scene.

I found this aspect of filmmaking fascinating and it is only one of the many things learned in class. And I am sure the things I learned will be able to help me improve my filmmaking skills and help me with planning a scene more accurately.

 

Analysing and interpreting a scene

 

Reading through the document, it gives some very important prompts on questions to ask yourself when starting to shoot a scene. What do you shoot first? Where do you start? And how much emphasis do you want to put on certain characters and objects?

All these questions made me think very deeply about what I would do in circumstances like these and also made me reflect on things I have done in the past. During these almost 2 and a half years frequenting this media course I learned and experimented with many things and shot a few short films that gave me first-hand experience on filmmaking. When shooting the scenes of those short films I was faced with the aforementioned questions on what to do and how to do it. Not always I was satisfied with the results I came up with, but all the mistakes I made helped me become better (hopefully). I tried to imagine how I would shoot those scenes using my knowledge from past experiences and the new things I learned in this class. This led me to cover the scene in a pragmatic and maybe uninteresting way. The scene offers many different approaches due to the many things present in the scene, all with more or less importance. 

The technique of storytelling through the environment sadly is not very used in filmmaking but more so in other media such as cartoons and videogames. I would love to see films that use this technique in-depth so it would be even more interesting to watch a film a second or third time.

 

 

Italian Films

Italian films used to be quality filmmaking, with movies known all around the world with their deep story and quality directing. Nowadays though, Italian films do not have the same care put into them nor a good reception compared to how they did in the past. 

Italian films are now usually bland, with cheap comedy and jokes, and with stories and characters as deep as a yoghurt container. It is wrong to assume all Italian films are like that though. Once in a while, mostly independent directors, come up with a brilliant idea and create a production that can sometimes have nothing to envy to Hollywood films. One of these films is They Call Me Jeeg (2015) by Gabriele Mainetti. This film takes all the conventions of a superhero movie and essentially flushes them down the drain. Our protagonist is not a conventional superhero. He is not driven by noble endeavours and will to save the world but instead is mainly focused on using his newfound powers to get out of the squalor he lives in, this is the same will that drives all the characters in the film. All the “bad guys” and all the people we see in the movie follow this same purpose.  Another film from an Italian director that caught me off guard with its quality was Tale of Tales (2015) by Matteo Garrone. This film is a different take on the fantasy genre. With spectacular visuals and shot compositions.

These two films managed to change my opinion on Italian movies for the most part, though not completely. But thanks to independent filmmakers stepping in, I am sure it is still possible to change the general perception of Italian films and have some kind of renaissance in the future.

 

Tale of Tales:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UvkgHrzodTY

 

They Call Me Jeeg:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gvt_48b2y7s

 

The Place (a quality film though they basically stole the plot from an American TV series):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RDQwNVp65HY

 

There are many aspects of filmmaking tackled in this course. But one that stuck out with me was the conversation in class we had about how to cover a scene.

In class, we were shown many examples about this topic, and it stuck with me the notion that a scene can be prepared in all of its details and have a great result, while also being improvised, and have a good result as well but having the risk that it could not turn out well in either way.

Covering a scene is a complicated matter, in my opinion, it is important to construct a scene and give it the attention to detail it needs for one simple reason: visual storytelling. I really love when a film uses its environment to tell a story through the objects and signs left behind, possibly from someone who went in that place before us.  The background could give you more information about the characters, or maybe it shows you the background story where the main event is taking place. And this is something more difficult to achieve without prior planning on how to cover a scene 

Then, it is time to decide how and what to show about the characters and setting you created. With a planned out environment, you have many options on what to shoot, too many options sometimes, giving you many shots you could include in the film. But that does not mean that even seemingly empty locations cannot achieve interesting results. One example we were shown in class was from Deserto Rosso where the areas in that scene were a bit baren but in my eyes still resulted in interesting and enjoyable to watch.

It is a balance difficult to achieve, with mixed results even depending on the story and the setting of the film. Some things may work better than others in different circumstances and it is always recommendable to adopt the most effective solution.

Reflection 4: http://www.mediafactory.org.au/alessandro-pinizzotto/2020/04/19/the-scene-in-cinema-reflection-4/

Reflection 5:http://www.mediafactory.org.au/alessandro-pinizzotto/2020/04/19/the-scene-in-cinema-reflection-5/

Reflection 6: http://www.mediafactory.org.au/alessandro-pinizzotto/2020/04/19/the-scene-in-cinema-reflection-6/

Scene Analysis:http://www.mediafactory.org.au/alessandro-pinizzotto/2020/04/19/scene-analysis2-the-scene-in-cinema/

 

For this scene analysis, my goal was to find a scene from a film incorporating as many of these theories and techniques which I reflected upon. This was not an easy task, but in the end, I think I found a scene from a film that could be close to this said goal, The opening scene of Children of Man (2006) directed by Alfonso Cuarón.

In regards of background, from the first seconds of this scene, we can already see how much care and attention was put in constructing this scene, the background is full of details, we can immediately see that the scene is set in a coffee shop thanks to the words “caffé and cappuccino on the walls while also, showing a slice of the outside world with its grey tones from the door and windows. In the aforementioned background, it is also noticeable how a second television, different from the one everyone is watching, was placed there so that the viewer would be able to see what the actors are reacting to on the first monitor.

Camera coverage is very crucial in this scene, the first shot shows an audience receiving news and in the same way, also the film viewer receives the same news from the media giving even more information about the world and what the people are feeling. When the camera starts moving, following the protagonist going outside the Cafe, we realise that the world the film is set in reflects those colour cues we could notice from the windows and intuitively understand the situation the population is in. The camera moves following the protagonist without any cuts in the streets while also highlighting the background with pans left and right following other peoples’ actions, this is something that happens periodically throughout the film using master shot and long takes that sometimes moves away from the main character showing us other things that happen to other characters, making the viewer feel immersed in this world giving many different perspectives. While our character goes down the streets, suddenly, an explosion happens in the cafe he just left, scaring and shocking him right after the camera goes around his back to show the imminent explosion, the cameraman and our point of view, rushes towards the explosion, showing the disaster it created.

In conclusion, in my opinion, this scene is quite short but iconic, the way the actors and people are represented give all the information we might need together with the characters and camera movements which successfully emphasises this world that was created. The use of the camera, acting and background create a complex world throughout the film.