STUDIO REFLECTIONS

WEEK 1

Coming into this studio I knew very little. To be honest, going through the list of studios to choose, I was uninspired by most of them, however the combination of Robin’s name (a tutor I know to be very knowledgeable and passionate about cinema) and the promise of a course that is primarily focused on actual camera work and practical filmmaking as opposed to more contextual studies, drew me toward ‘THE SCENE IN CINEMA’. As I was balloted to be in the class, I found out more about the class, that it was about how a drama scene is ‘constructed’, it does not simply appear in front of the camera, it must be individually designed, and that there are several techniques of scene and shot construction.

Entering my degree, I had vague ideas of perhaps entering the film industry in some way as an adult. And although I haven’t ruled that out, I’ve lost most if not all of my passion to become a ‘filmmaker’ as such. So although I’m doing a class focused on scene construction, I’m confident I will not be a filmmaker or cinematographer in the future. So why am I doing this course? Well although I’m not interested in making cinema as much, I’m still deeply curious in understanding it, how it works, why certain techniques, what the methods are behind each individual decision in the construction of a scene. And I think this course will further my understanding of this.

During our first class we got into groups and had a go at blocking out a scene and making some artistic decisions about coverage. This was good to get back hands on with the equipment and actually working on a script to even out the kinks and remind myself of what I know and don’t know. Watching each group’s scenes was interesting as we got to picture what we might do with their source, then see how they decided to do it and think about what we might do differently and what we liked.

Unfortunately I missed our 2nd class, where we worked on photographic principles around focal length, depth of field and aperture. This was especially unfortunate as these are some topics I feel that I’m a little lacking in so I’ll need to make time to try and fill some of those holes in my knowledge.

WEEK 2 

This was a less hands-on week as we had only one class. In class we discussed the focus pull and how it can be used within a shot, as well as all the individual processes required to perfect the shot on set. We discussed the different roles of everyone on set, and how important they all are to getting the machine working on time and productively. This exercise related to our general studies this semester as it displayed the practical know-how and commitment required to effectively shoot and cover a scene, and highlighted every intricate decision that must be made on set in real time. Unfortunately we didn’t have time to all individually play a part in the mock-production team, so I couldn’t further my actual skills on using the focus pull mechanism or any other specifics, but spectating the action helped to greater my understanding of the scene process and the importance of the focus pull, as well as the NDfilter and the exposure.

The excerpt from ‘An unspeakable betrayal : selected writings of Luis Bunuel’, is a passionate display of Bunuel’s understanding of ‘decoupage’, the french term which directly translates as ‘to cut up’, but is far more than the physical cutting of film during the editing process.

Bunuel discusses the importance of decoupage, how it brings to life what without it is just a series of shots, which itself is just a series of images. But decoupage is an almost indescribable quality that a filmmaker brings to the medium, which when combined with the lens, the photography, and the shot, create’s ‘cinematic art’. This reading relates to our overall course focus as it reminds us, as Bunuel’s enthusiasm and excitement for the potential of cinema oozes onto the reader, that creating a great film is more than simply creating great images or even great shots. Just like how coverage is much more than simple shooting the appropriate images, there is an overall understanding that must be had of what you are creating and why.

WEEK 3

Clockwork Orange – Wide angle lens puts the setting and its inhabitants on display, helps world building as opposed to these scenes just being a small narrative element of a larger story. The wide angle and depth of field in the shot inside the cell lets the viewer navigate the setting and it’s details, while still continually drawn to the doorway to see what’s happening outside. A clever way of displaying detail in a world and a character, while also keeping the plot moving (literally, the officers continue to walk past as the shot continues). These are examples of Kubrick having a tremendous understanding of decoupage. He shoots with great purpose and a knowledge that each shot has a logical progression onto another.

When compared to the clip from O Lucky Man!, the stylistic differences are major. A more human perspective is gained from the focal length and shot types, as opposed to the slightly alien and dystopian feel that is procured through Kubrick’s stylistic choices. The audience is automatically put at ease when these tried and true methods of coverage are used, as they can softly melt into the narrative and the world of the film, instead of being subjected to a harsh and challenging world like in The Clockwork Orange. In OLM!, details are shown to the audience. The camera physically moves so that the audience is directed to a certain part of the setting or a facial expression. In TCO, the audience is simply a fly on the wall in this world.

The comparison of Gossip Girl and The Fire Within was illuminating, specifically in regards to the ‘line’ rule when shooting shot-reverse-shots. I had never heard this rule or considered it, but have most likely played within this rule in my experience shooting, as it is the natural shot selection. I am looking forward now to seeing how this rule can be bent and messed around with for effect. I agree that upon first viewing the coverage selections from The Fire Within are a little puzzling. The scene isn’t hindered by the choices, nor is it seemingly uplifted in any major way. Seeing the shots lined up on a shot list and on the floorplan was quite eye opening though. The idea of planning 18 individual shots to use in one short dialogue in one setting is mind boggling, but gives an insight into the filmmaker’s dedication.

SCENE ANALYSIS

Good Time (2017) – Final Scene (Connie’s Arrest) (1:42)
Directed by Josh & Benny Safdie

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ou768K8EA24

The scene begins with a hand held medium close-up tracking shot of Connie (Robert Pattinson) as he’s arrested and brought onto the street. The entire film up to this point was shot using a hand-held shaky cam style. The Safdie brother’s often use long lens with shallow depth of field. This is used again in this shot and this entire sequence. As Connie is walked toward the police car, he is slightly out of focus, with the officer in primary focus. This reminds the viewer that Connie has now lost control of his fate, as the police have finally taken him into custody.

We then get a close up on Connie, as for a moment the events of the film and his actions wash over him and the audience. He has an almost ‘thousand-yard stare’, which will be revisited later in this scene. This is halted as Connie looks behind him and up, toward the building he just came out of. This is used to halt that moment of reflection to see the consequences of his actions have not yet fully played out, and to direct the audience’s intrigue to the building. We see a wide shot from a low-angle up toward the building, from Connie’s perspective, with Ray hanging from the side of a window. We see a reverse medium shot of Connie and his arresting officers, as they look up toward the building as well, highlighting their intrigue (and therefore the audiences) in the events unfolding above. We then cut back to the long shot of the building, with a slow tilt down as Ray falls. Another close up on Connie as he is given only a brief moment to consider what has happened (his actions led directly to Ray’s likely death) before he is pushed back into the squad car. 

A panning medium long shot of an officer running toward the building precedes the final shot of the film. The final shot is a medium close-up slow zoom into an extreme close up. The shallow depth of field puts Connie clear and in focus behind the cage of the car. The effect of this puts Connie ‘behind bars’ literally, as a metaphor for his now inescapable incarceration. As teased earlier in the scene, Connie (and the audience) now has a rare quiet moment to consider the events of the film. As the camera zooms closer to Connie it becomes an extreme close up, his shocked and broken face taking up the entire screen. 

This shot lasts for almost 60 seconds, an eternity in a film with such tight and fast editing. And for a film shot in predominantly shaky cam, this shot is almost completely still, other than the mild shake of the car (used to counter-act the static shot, to not take the audience out of the moment), which furthers the intensity and the reflection allowed in this shot to cap off the film.