Prior to undertaking in the expertise exercise, I had a list of shots embedded in my head about what I wanted to achieve.
The expertise exercise was a good test for myself at the basic level to put some of the techniques which I had envisaged and studied into action.
There are many films however that have used some sensational uninterrupted shots and great dolly shots which have conveyed strong emotions, built suspense and allowed the story to progress.
The dolly shot I really enjoy marvelling at from Wes Anderson’s Darjeeling Limited where the three brothers chase a train dropping all their luggage and lunging onto the back of the train carriage, it is quite comical how in slow motion the brothers in single file one by one drop the array of suite cases they are carrying in order to get on the train but it was the cinematic qualities of this sequence I was looking at specifically. The dolly shot captures the three brothers in frame as in slow motion they chase the train carriage. The framing is perfect as it captures the subjects motion and actions. the way in which it follows them at the right time having them all run into frame as they eventually catch up to the train is brilliant cinematography. What I want to achieve is being able to capture all the intended action in the right frame, with a steady camera and being able to reveal the action and unveil the goal to the audience, which is done to perfection in the Darjeeling Limited.
The second uninterrupted steady shot of Danny riding his tricycle in the hotel in ‘The Shining’ (1980), Stanley Kubrick builds suspense through follow the child from the back almost as if he knows he is being followed by something which is unsettling, he also uses this back of the subject perspective to keep the audience guessing building suspense and audience expectations that anything could possibly be around the corner and that the child could fall into danger at any turn. The camera is almost at a low angle and the framing mostly keeps the child in the centre of the frame or the middle third for most of the duration of the uninterrupted shot. Something I also admired about this scene is also the music and sound layering. There is a discordant string plucking as he rides the tricycle and also there is emphasis on the heavy solid wheels of the tricycle as it traverses surfaces from carpet to firm wooden floors.
It was an extremely enjoyable exercise not only researching how these techniques have been used in the past but also how I myself can incorporate them in my own pieces of work. The dolly shot and the tracking of a subject are so versatile that they can be used to capture an action in a distinct way but also evoke a specific emotion which is a powerful cinematic skill to have.
Through watching the film Gladiator (2000) the death of character and hero Maximus, is intercut with real time and also his thoughts of going to the afterlife, what struck me the most was the beautiful way the afterlife was shot when he is reunited with his family. His hand gently breezes through the long grass a this property and I was straight away fascinated with the way wind is captured through long grass and how the mysterious long grass with light, a powerful soundtrack and the appropriate camera movement can be used to layer a story and reflect emotions.
These ideas will be mentioned in the next blog post speaking about the writing task completed in Week 3 in our studio ‘True To Form’.
Michael Serpell