The scene in Cinema | Week 11

In this week’s class, we looked at “The Kid with a Bike”, written and directed by the Belgian brothers Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne. I think It’s interesting to watch them explain their intention, thoughts and chosen approach of solving problems when shooting the film. In the scene when the boy throws himself upon Samantha which seems like an easy shot. It’s a very economical shot which only requires one camera. However, it actually needs very accurate control of camera movement to get every actor on screen at the right spot and time. Furthermore, when making decisions, they avoid their weakness of wide shots. Everyone has something they’re not good at and I think that’s a smart choice to choose the technique that we are good at. 

This is the final week of this semester. I feel time goes by so fast. I learnt so much from this studio. Before this studio, I had no idea about the camera coverage and what the director needed to consider when making a film. Now, I understand that a director needs to consider the camera’s position and movement, the actors’ performance, the choice of lens, the continuity, the style of editing, and etc. Before the shooting, the director needs to be well prepared, the best thing to do is to get a storyboard, floor plan and shot of lists done. I learned the basic rules of filmmaking, like the 180 degree rule and I also understand the rule is free to break. The intention of a film is to express what the filmmaker wants to express, therefore it’s important to be creative all the time. Due to my camera being left in Australia, I haven’t been shot by myself for one and half years. This class raises my passion in shooting again, although my skill is not professional, I think I might want to find a job as a director in future. Even though I won’t be a director, I will continue to pay attention to the pre-production and all the technical aspects in the film. It’s a bit sad to hear you said it will be the last class, you are such a good teacher! Hope everything goes well for you! 

Thank you very much!