I had never really considered blocking a scene to be an integral part of the director’s job. After reading the excerpts from Tom Reilly’s book and doing some planning in class, however, I believe I have a better understanding of the importance of this task.

It is obvious that long takes and more elaborate shots would need to be choreographed prior to filming, but the reading emphasises that  even less extravagant shots benefit from the extra time taken to be blocked. Reilly states that “how each scene is blocked has a dramatic effect on the rhythm and timing of the film”, and that the timing of the actor’s performances can have a significant dramatic or comedic effect. I have previously felt that the timing of such performances usually relies on the editing of a film, however, after being informed by the reading I can admit that blocking would have a significant effect on this aspect.

Reilly seems to believe that the task of blocking a scene should be primarily undertaken by the director, and that he/she should avoid being too heavily influenced by the opinions of the actors and the Director of Photography. Whilst this may ensure that the director is able to recreate what they envision the scene to look like, I would think that allowing other members of the cast and crew to have an input on the choreography would ensure that the scene can be shot in a manner that will produce the best performance for everyone involved. Perhaps after more experience with blocking I will be able to make a more informed decision about how it should be done, but currently I think that a middle ground could be found that suits most of those involved in the scene.

I also think that blocking would have enhanced the quality of the short scene that we shot in groups last week. When looking back on our footage in class, it was pointed out to us that we had crossed “the line” during our scene, making the positioning of the characters confusing to the viewer. If we had drawn out a floor plan of the space in which our scene took place and where each shot would be filmed from, it is less likely that we would have made this mistake. Although I had heard about the concept of “the line” before, I have rarely considered it when making decisions about filming in the past. After watching the demonstration in class about how to avoid making this mistake, I could better understand how crossing the line can be jarring and confusing to the viewer if not done well.

After this week’ s classes and the reading, I feel I will definitely attempt to employ the use of blocking to my advantage in the future.

Reflect upon your experience in class.  Did anything come as a revelation to you?  Did you learn something new technically; about the camera, or film craft in general?

I come into Media 3 as a second year Professional Communication student and although I had undertaken the VCE Media subject, and participated in the Making Media course at RMIT last year, I still felt severely behind my peers in the first week. This has, however, meant that I have learnt a lot in the short amount of time that we’ve had in class.

Having used only my iPhone to film the projects required for assessment in Making Media, the cameras we used in class were an intense step up. I initially found it daunting to watch some of my peers make their way around the camera like it was a second limb, but I suppose everybody’s got to start somewhere. The discussions we had in class about exposure especially stood out to me, as I had never really considered or fiddled with it before. After seeing the difference it made to some of our shots, however, I could apprectiate that fact that although it may not seem like something of severe importance to the layman, it did increase the quality of the shots we produced.

The discussion we had on Wednesday about the order in which a director may shoot the separate shots in a scene was also insightful. As mentioned in my previous blog post, I had considered this decision making process before, and to be able to find some answers to those questions was enlightening. Learning that the filmmaker/s usually set out a list of the different shots they aim to achieve first, and then order them in the most practical and time efficient way was a process I hadn’t really considered before. We deliberated about whether during a scene that included a shot, reverse shot, and a close up of a person’s phone, if you would shoot all of the first person’s shot and then the close up of them holding the phone, or instead move onto person 2’s dialogue, leaving the phone for later. Although it may require less camera movement and set up to get the shot of the phone whilst the camera was still facing person 1, shooting person 2’s dialogue may be more important to the overall film. It is these decisions that revolve around time management and financial concerns that had a new light shed on them for me, as previously I assumed that the main factor that dictated these decisions was artistic quality.

What do you understand this Studio to be about?  What do you hope to get from it?  What skills, perspective and/or understandings would you like to have developed by the end of this semester?

As a Professional Communications student, I am definitely very new to the Media side of things. When it came time to choose a studio to participate in over the semester, the amount of options on offer left me slightly bewildered and lost as to what I should choose. Being my first major step into the media world, I decided to choose my studio based on questions and scenarios that i’d found myself deliberating when interacting with films and other media content in the past.

I decided on The Scene in Cinema as my studio, because not only am I appreciative of the aesthetic qualities of film, but I have found myself becoming increasingly interested in the technicalities of shots. The decision processes that are undertaken which lead to the visuals we see on screen are also intriguing to me. I often find myself wondering what creative brainstorming took place that lead to a pan, a bird’s eye view or a tracking shot. Is it because of financial reasons? Artistic expression? The amount of time available to actually shoot an interaction? These type of questions are what made this studio, and it’s investigation into coverage, stand out for me. I endeavour to find some sort of answers over the next 12 weeks, gaining an insight into the reasons why a director may choose to film from a certain angle or maneuver the camera in a unique way.

I also hope to refresh myself, and learn new skills in the technical aspects of using a camera. Most of the filming I’ve done in the past has been on a Canon DSLR, or small, handheld cameras, so using the larger equipment in class has been an eye opening experience. By the end of the semester I aim to learn the skills necessary to feel like I can make interesting and unique cinematic choices, leading to the production of work that I can feel proud of. I also hope that my work will show an advancement in my abilities over the semester.