Most of my research so far has focussed on what it is that makes a good scene. In order to further convey what it is that makes a scene visually compelling, I need to ask the opposite, what is a bad scene?

I believe that a scene in which the storyline is the only true meaningful information depicted is not a successful scene. A scene that relies on narrative rather than visuals doesn’t have intricate layers of meaning. There is nothing for the audience to decipher for themselves, there is nothing for them to perceive from visual cues. In a scene poorly told,  everything is suggested through dialogue. A bad scene is a scene that lacks dynamic and aesthetic visuals. It lacks artistic quality. The scene is created purely for the means of directly expressing the story to the audience.

A scene without visual style and dynamics is a scene that is shot in the most basic and simple form.  No risks are made with the camera. The camera movements follow the character that is talking. It is shot and then reverse shot dialogue. There are no cut aways to symbolic objects and no motifs used.

Goal: To focus on composition and shot construction with a moving subject. 

Focus:

• Try filming with dynamic angles
• Focus on framing
  • keep the frame balanced
  • notice what is in the frame-is it there for a reason?
• Take risks with the camera
  • move it around more
  • track the character
  • try quirky angles
• Filming to edit
  • think about how the shots will work together when edited

For this test shoot I focused on handheld shots and practising with the camera. I set out to shoot some pre-visualised shots that I had in my head. I wanted to film at night time because I aimed to see the visual difference that filming at night would have on the mood of my scene. I didn’t want to question my shots whilst I was filming them, I just wanted to film and then question them later.

In this edit, I have incorporated some of the handheld shots seen in the previous video. Shooting at night had a strong visual impact as it created a sense of darkness for the subject. The scene ultimately became more eerie and expressed the depressed emotions of the character. Changing the scene from day to night was more effective in communicating the character’s emotions through the visuals. The exercise was helpful in allowing me to see what I need to do when I film next time.

After reviewing the shots, I realised that I didn’t like the shot with the flowers in the foreground of the scene. They didn’t have a purpose in visually contributing to the story and therefore shouldn’t be filmed. The pull focus also seemed very contrived. This is something that I would need to work on in future shoots.

Here is the handheld test shoot that I did- I added in a few more shots than I had originally intended because I was also practising with the camera. When doing these shots I moved the camera around and tried to create the shakiness. I only moved the camera slightly up and down, left and right so that the focus was still on the subject-not on the camera movements. I noticed that as I moved further away from the subject into a medium-long shot, the handheld camera movements began to look awkward and were quite distracting.

I tried a shot from outside looking into the room through a window. The handheld camera worked effectively here as it created a voyeuristic shot. This was a good exercise because it allowed me to see that handheld doesn’t work in certain shots. I would like to incorporate a mix between handheld and tripod shots in my future shoots.

Goal: To investigate the use of handheld camera.

Question: When should handheld camera be used and when should it not be used?

Using just one actor I will film 5 different shots on handheld camera.

1. Close up
2. Medium close up  
3. Medium-long shot
4. Long shot
5. Voyeuristic long shot

I will purposely move the camera around and make it shaky to see what effect this has.

In an interview on ‘Edutopia’ Martin Scorsese explains the importance of visual literacy and the overall power of the image. Growing up he wasn’t exposed to traditional forms of literature as his family were constantly taking him to the cinemas. Scorsese was introduced to a world of visual tradition and literacy. As a result of this, Scorsese came to realise that there was ‘another kind of intelligence trying to tell a story through where the director, writer and cinematographer were focussing your eyes’. 

Scorsese recognised that visual literacy occurred through the elements of the camera and how they were used to tell the story such as…

• extremely low angles
• the use of the lens
• the camera movements

Scorsese discovered the ways in which particular tools could be used and how they could become part of a vocabulary. He suggested that this vocabulary is just as ‘valid as that vocabulary that is used in literature and language’. He likened the traditional literature to visual literacy suggesting that in images there are also rules of vocabulary and grammar such as…

• panning left or right
• tracking in or out
• intercutting
• lighting

These elements are used in different ways to convey an ’emotional and psychological point to the audience’. Scorsese suggested that it is critical to look at images and what they mean. He demonstrates that there is a particular way that imagery can be interpreted and it is so important that young people understand how to interpret it.

What I found particularly fascinating is the power and strength that Scorsese sees in an image. He suggests that ideas and emotions are expressed through visual form to the audience. Throughout the process of making my scenes I have had to make particular decisions as to how I am going to convey my story to the audience. Scorsese explains that by taking the camera and filming I am having to ‘frame the image’. By framing the image I am deciding and interpreting exactly what I intend to say to the audience. As Scorsese suggests, I am choosing where the audience looks and I am deciding the emotional and psychological impact that has.

Here is the interview with Scorsese:

After having read about the image system in ‘The Filmmaker’s Eye’, I thought that I needed to watch Park Chan-Wook’s 2003 ‘Old Boy’ to further discover about how it is used within film. Throughout the film there is a lot of repetition used to create layers of meaning within the visuals. Images and symbols were shown repeatedly and the same composition of shots was were reoccurring. Reflection and mirrors were particular motifs that were used throughout the film. They help to develop a sense of emotional depth and symbolism. The image system in ‘Old Boy’ parallels with the narrative by demonstrating the narrative’s themes and motifs. The camera movements, shot construction and shot composition within this particular scene shown below were dramatic and engaging. I like them because they create a layer of meaning within the film that couldn’t be created by just having a good story. The camera movements interchange between slow and fast.  The rapid zoom close ups attract the eye to the character’s central to the narrative and amplifies their emotion.

When thinking about how I will incorporate the image system into my scene I would like to include certain symbols and recurring images to create the layers of meaning and depth. The image system could be used within my scene as a way of visually depicting my story rather than telling it through dialogue and narrative.

Mercado, G 2010, The Filmmaker’s Eye: Learning (and Breaking) the Rules of Cinematic Composition, Focal Press, Burlington.

• The work was prescribed to us-in class exercises, constantly filming and working off scripts
• Throughout this time we had a strong focus on shot coverage
• the epiphanies that came from it, the constant ideas I was having about film:
• I discovered that it is best to keep it simple-a simple approach to an exercise and a direct focus will allow for a well executed scene.
• To take risks with the camera, be experimental with shot coverage and the approach to given exercises.
• use filmmaking as a research tool, practice with the camera
• As a director, I discovered that you need to be certain of your vision before shooting. Know how you will communicate with crew and actors-leave room for experimentation and improvisation however.
• We were to find our own scenes, analyse and deconstruct them-This helped to further my understanding of shot coverage and what makes an effective scene.

• Started our methods of working: My aim this semester originally was to create a successful scene with an overall focus on composition and shot coverage.
• to create a scene of my own-have my own stye and script-I want it to be personal, auteur-my own style will be evident in how I direct and through the artistic selections that I make
• I want to explore the meaning of shots and symbolism within my work
• Filming to edit-this allows for dynamic coverage, more options in edit suite-through the stair scene exercise we didn’t film to edit-this caused for problems with continuity
• Performance: our performances from the start were flawed due to inexperience however we still had successful performances as we performed with confidence and delivered our lines.
• My visual focus-creating a scene with little dialogue-conveying information through visuals
• improvising with my own scene-The “Crossword” scene that I shot from a script given to us in class-I pre-visualised the scene, researched shots that I liked visually and wrote some notes of paper before shooting.

• My aim to further analyse scenes that have a distinct visual style
• look at film art and surrealist film
• to use the camera as a research tool -tripod, no tripod experiment-pick up the camera and practice again and again
• To have a personal creative vision-tell the story through the visuals, don’t let the story lead the way.

Symbols, metaphors and motifs can be used in films to develop emotional impact. The audience can connect their feelings to the symbols in the film and through the particular connotations that the symbols employ. Symbolism can be used to ‘connect aesthetics, cognition, feeling and thought’ (Salm 2010).

I aim to use symbols within my scene in order to help communicate meaning visually. To demonstrate and communicate an intended meaning through visuals rather than through words or dialogue. 

These are some of the symbols within my visuals and the emotional connections that they might have: 

-the character in the bath-could be seen as a symbol of drowning in emotions or cleansing them.

-the empty photograph- the character’s feelings of emptiness, loneliness and no sense of belonging.

-the kettle- a symbol of the character’s emotions hitting boiling point- the climax of his conflict.

-messy hair and dark clothes-reflects that the character is troubled, careless, depressed and chaotic.

-cluttered house-suggestive of the character’s chaotic nature, their cluttered and overwhelming emotions.

-reflections in mirrors-character’s conflict, schizophrenia, divided self, personality disorder

-character arranging photos on the ground-reflects his need for control, trying to find order and figure something out.

Salm, D 2010, April 5 2010.Visual Literacy. Available from: <http://vislit7.blogspot.com.au/2010/04/symbolism-se7en.html>. [9 May 2015].

In this week’s classes we focussed on exposure and lighting. I learnt that when filming it is important that you take note of the focal length and exposure in case you need to reshoot and replicate the shots as this is something that ultimately cannot be fixed in post production.

When shooting it is important that you try not to shoot against white walls because they tend to make the shots look flat and as though they don’t have depth. Furthermore, instead of using ambient lighting it looks more aesthetic if you use spot lighting. It is also important to think about what impact the lighting is going to have to the mood of the scene such as whether you use hard lighting or soft lighting.

This week has made me think about whether I need to focus on lighting in more detail for my test shoots. I feel as though lighting does have a visual impact on the mood of the scene and the emotional and psychological points I wish to convey in visual form.

Epiphany:

Lighting for film is able to achieve something that you can’t achieve in theatre/on the stage. It creates a sense of depth and makes a scene dynamic.