I found the reading on Antonioni very interesting as it shed light on his method of working as a filmmaker and his approach to directing. The reading explains the controversy surrounding his directing methods, especially when it comes to communicating with actors, however also highlighting how his eye for frame and composition made him one of the legends of filmmaking.

The controversy over his methods of communicating with actors has been well documented; he has withheld information from established actors to get an authentic performance from them, refused to explain the motivation behind a movement he has requested of an actor and he has famously stated that ‘the actor is an element in a particular shot’. While his methods have divided actors who have worked with him, his approach to directing actors was based on the careful coordination of all of the elements that are in front of the camera and in frame. “It was as if each time an actor stood, moved or made a sound in front of a camera a new and different meaning began to be produced.” This careful consideration of directing actors and what each movement or angle to the camera could mean and how it changes the frame is quite extraordinary and something worth investigating in other directors, and also implementing in our own work.

The author of the reading describes Antonioni as quite an experimental filmmaker who was constantly changing the constraints of filmmaking and putting them together to create something that broke the mould. Critics wrote their praises of Antonioni’s disruption of conventional narrative structure, his treatment of time, and his use of architecture, space and inanimate objects.

His working method was to spend half an hour alone on location to get a sense of it and get an idea of what shots he would like to cover the scene. He would then call the actors onto the location and rehearse the scene with them. He rarely has his shots already thought out before going to the location. “It can happen that a particular scene thought out at a desk doesn’t work when you drop it into that particular environment and it is necessary to transform it, modify it.” This quote rings true to me, as I have previously written in other reflections that I find if I plan my shots before going to a location, they always change once I am on the location.

As part of my research, I will watch some films by Antonioni to get a better understanding of how his particular eye for directing actors as part of the mise en scene of frame is so unique and meticulous.