Let’s talking about interpreting a script, time to see how ‘visual’ I am.

Ella seems like a perfect role for Anna Kendrick, and Emily Blunt can be a great Juliette. Since this film will never be made, might just dream big. I want to begin the scene with a close up on the books, as a finger sweeping through the bookbacks from left to right, the camera tracks slowly alongside the finger. It would be hard to set a track between bookshelves behind the actor, so I would set the track in between the next two shelves and clear the books on them, zoom in to shoot over it. The tracking stops as Ella’s hand picks up the book, then cut to the next shot.

The next shot starts from the end of this shelf as a close-up on the hand taking the book off, then pans to the right as Ella looks at the book closely, that is Ella’s first appearance in the film. The camera stops on Ella for about three seconds, then Ella puts the book back onto the shelf horizontally. I don’t think the “horizontal” part of the script is really important, so I won’t use a shot on that.

Then I will go back to the first camera set-up, but lower the height and zoom back to a wider shot and pan a little bit, so we can see the pile of books put horizontally at the end of the shelf as Ella keeps searching for other books. In this same shot, Juliette enters, we don’t see her face yet, but we can see that she is taking the book away from Ella, and Ella turns to her. I will not cut, but pedestal up to show both their faces as “Ella watches Juliette apprehensively.” Then very slowly, track in.

As the audience expects an argument to happen, I cut to a wide shot of the store, which is shot from the front. In this shot the audience can see Juliette walking towards the camera with Ella’s book, and Ella decide to catch her. And Ella says her line. Then I will have a shot-reverse-shot on Juliette, a mid-shot as she says her lines and examines the book in her hand. Then we cut back to a dirty shot that is towards Ella when she says “well, yes….”, and Juliette start to walk around Ella and back towards the shelf, Ella follows her and keep talking. It is the same shot, Juliette points at the other books that are horizontally placed on the shelf and says her line. The depth of field will not be able to reach the books, so I will use a rack focus on the books and back. Cut to Ella, dirty shot still. This is the last shot of this scene, Ella says “No, really. I’d chosen it.” Then Juliette walks past her with the book, Ella looks at her as Juliette leaves. Scene.

I personally like what I wrote above (of course), but I still find it difficult to answer those questions in Part 17. This part of the process of decoupage just came out naturally for me; I don’t see too many options to cover a scene. Should Juliette appear notably or peripherally? I don’t know, I think she just appears like that when I read the script. I did put some thoughts in the conversation between the two characters; it could be covered with simple shot-reverse-shot the whole time, with variation between mid shots and close-ups. But I just don’t like it, it is simple and monotonous, so I had them both move a little in the scene so it would be more dynamic.

A floor plan and a storyboard would help a lot to illustrate the coverage, and might even be a good practice as well. Did I do one? Of course not, maybe next time when I’m not having a deadline in two days. My time management skills are very poor, and that’s why I cannot be a director assistant. This is my last weekly reflection this semester, and it links right back to the first one!