THE SHOOT

In this exercise I acted as Gerry in a gender bending, passive aggressive scene out of the 90’s. The main challenge for our group seemed to be finding a prop in RMIT that even slightly resembled a home phone. I got a real shock when the younger members of our group asked what a “receiver” and “dial tone” were when reading the script.

I learned that it might be good to ask the director what kind of shots we are doing as an actor. I thought since this scene was focused on the looks the two characters were giving each other that there might be a few mid shots or close ups but there weren’t any of me in them.

I felt like a bit of a prop since my only role for 99% of the shoot was to sit there and pretend to fill in a crossword. In the end I had enough time to draw up a custom crossword from scratch, which ended up not being in frame.

After we briefly talked about the special unnoticed skills of actors in a previous class, one being the art of doing “nothing” well, I have certainly developed a new appreciation for how hard it can be. I found that if I tried to really become someone bored by the situation, with only a crossword as entertainment, the waiting became a lot easier. It was very funny realizing how meta it all was. Especially since Natalie was pacing around nervously as part of her role, but was between takes nervously checking the time trying to hurry up the crew as we only had about 15 minutes left.

Our group took a while to actually get filming and I think it was because of some confusion between our roles. We had some very vocal actors who probably shouldn’t have been commenting on how to shoot the thing (me), the director occasionally operating the camera leaving our actual camera operators confused, and a sound recordist with no dialogue to record.

REVIEW

After watching both versions in class we were all really happy with how they turned out. Neither of them were rushed and they both had a lot of thought put in to them.

Here are some thoughts I had:

Acting: is it non naturalistic? Does it matter? As an audience we accept the established tone I think and that becomes the new “naturalistic” within the world of the film.

How do u have the actors get in sync and on the same level of naturalistic? For example in our version Natalie’s movements were very gestural and concise while I looked like I could have been accidentally in the shot; some unknowing random who happened to be in frame. I thought that the instructed back and forth pacing seemed like an non naturalistic activity in itself which sort of established that the rest of it would have to be slightly theatrical.

There were some interesting differences between the two groups.

group 1: excellent lighting and use of space. The scene was all about Julia but Gerry seemed to be in it with her because of their close proximity. I really like the way he looked back at her instead of our version where Gerry just looked up and it wasn’t as noticeable and important.The close up of Julia on her phone looked great against the dark lighting, the phone screen wasn’t too bright  and added the perfect amount of contrast to the scene.

group 2 (our group) 

There was a lot more tension between the characters because of the framing. Both versions started off with Gerry in a midshot which acted as an anchor for the rest of the scene. Julia seemed to be orbiting around Gerry, but he was bored and stubbornly uninterested.

THE SHOOT

Zeon and I with a combined 5 hours of sleep (for separate reasons) managed to shoot another version of assignment 3 today, and had a blast doing it.

New things that we tried:

1. the character as a dolly
2. spinning dance
3. changing the starting position for the shot.

Trial #2 take1000000

Further exploring pace, space and the camera as a character.

We have come a long way since the first take and it’s been too much fun. After spending many hours together it has become a lot easier to predict the subtle movements and timing that of my actor and we seem to be very in sync.

Happy mistakes

Gizmo the dog featured in our scene this time and it was great. Gizmo, an amazing talent, had been following Zeon around all morning and it was quite unnerving for me as the camera operator. I was so afraid I might accidentally step on the poor little pup. When filming the take that ended up being our ‘one shot wonder’ I was extremely bummed out that I had JUST missed zeon leaving the room, after getting everything else almost perfect. After reviewing the footage I noticed something that made me smile. Our new shining star Gizmo had stolen the scene and left us with an excellent dramatic effect.

Another happy mistake I made was my “sliding” camera movement which I tried to sync with the door. I ended up jumping the gun and moving to the left too quickly. After reviewing this I actually prefer this look because it brings us to the next room much smoother.

Things I would fix: The timing of the phone being called: I had to do this with one hand

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1gWx78pxFCRm80hAmu2HMpZjz131BtNTk

REVIEW

the differences between trial #1 and #2 

To pull off this one shot scene, as a camera operator I had to get used to my actor’s movements and how I would frame him.

After knowing my actor for around 7 years I predicted that he would be bored by anything non-spontaneous, so thats how I thought we should work.

In the Wisdom of the Unrehearsed Scene ; chapter 24, pp. 110-144 the metaphors of football and soccer are used to illustrate two different approaches to shooting a scene. Football being high strategic and “regimented” while soccer is more fluid and driven by instinct.

I told Zeon, ‘Just walk around the house and do whatever you like, I’m just trying to learn how to operate the camera.’ But really I was trying to learn how to OPERATE HIM.

Warm up 

I got Zeon to pick things up and just go crazy.  We went from the bathroom, with him staring intensely at the mirror with to throwing bananas onto the kitchen bench. It was really valuable preparation. Having a good feel of the space (the house) after exploring different ways of moving through it helped me improvise later for the real shoot.

“Table read” 

I drew out a storyboard and tried to do a mock “table read” since I hadn’t written any lines yet. I told him that he was relaxing at home and wasn’t expecting to be disturbed and that the phone call should set him into panic. Zeon scanned my scribbles and nodded blankly. When we went to shoot and I broke into a cold sweat as I realised that I was a football coach trying to instruct a world famous soccer player. Perhaps it was my indistinct doodles or lack of vision, but either way my actor was set on doing it his way.

I would describe Zeon’s acting style as predictably erratic. Sounds strange but I began to understand his way of thinking. We were dancing partners (foreshadow for trial #2) but I was mistaken in thinking that I would lead.

In retrospect I should have had a clearer idea of my character’s backstory, intentions and feelings. (edit: This came later in trial #2)

“tape out” 

To be frank tape didn’t work. Tape on the floor was too small to notice. It was difficult to have him look up and down on the floor. Instead using reference points of the room like “the washing machine edge” was much easier and allowed him to look a lot more natural while completing an action.

BINGO!

After trying out a few different approaches, what worked best for both of us was having key points of action that MUST be completed in order to move onto the next one. This way I was able to have a basic  understanding of where Zeon would end up in the room without tying him down to specific movements. This method also worked for Zeon because he was able to stay spontaneous and exercise his amazing ability to improvise while being somewhat predictable. 

This “dot point script” gave us flexibility but also a clear guide; we were both very entertained and kept discovering new ways to do things! I took note of some of the actions that he would often forget like “close door” and remember to cue him at the good time so he’d have enough time to get to the next action but also not break character because I startled him.

In conclusion I am very excited to get started on the actual shoot and Zeon is a fantastic energetic person to work with.

In the past, I have relied heavily on editing to dictate the drama of a scene. So with this exercise I am very interested in exploring the bare bones and often, forgotten elements of coverage. In one shot, I wish to create a scene that is just as engaging as one that has multiple cuts. To do this I will have to have a good relationship with my actor and a lot of patience.

What I want to explore with this assignment is how blocking intersects with pace and in turn, how this can have a dramatic effect. By focusing on one character and how they interact with the space around them I will try to create some interesting framing.

Movement of the camera to be motived by his movement in the same way that movement of an actor motivates cut in fluid editing. I’d like to view zeon from more angles to get a more humanist perspective.

I definitely wanted:

• A slow walk across the entire space to give establish distance (like in Barcelona)
• The camera to seem like a character in itself e.g when it moves to the microwave before it goes off and suddenly moves to the clock almost “wondering” what zeon was looking at.
• The framing to seem like it just “falls into place” while retaining an element of surprise
• Make a normal looking space seem dynamic

THE SHOOT 

Our approach to shooting this was quite like how one might rehearse for a stage play. We went through the scene a few times without shooting and I read out his actions to him as he did them. Since Zeon had a lot of actions and lines to remember, and all in one shot, the main challenge became remembering all of them. What helped was rehearsing one part of the scene for example the first half of the phone conversation over and over until we were happy, then trying to connect it to the next part.

Things to improve:

1. Clearer intentions, motivations: is he lying?
2. finessing the camera work
3. not an “effects” piece

one 

Since I had no pre written lines because Zeon seemed to be very good at talking sense without guidance, there were some minor differences in what he said with each take which heavily influenced the entire ‘plot.’ For the next shoot I will definitely decide on some clearer intentions. (edit: we have decided that Zeon forgot the DATE of the wedding that he is speaking at and the phone call reminded him)

two

Although we had done 14 takes there was still more perfecting of the timing that could be done. see google drive link.

three

More thought could be put into WHY he is doing things. When Zeon walks away from the microwave and sits on the couch in the back room it seems unnecessary and it is quite obvious that I have told him to do it simply for the LOOK.

PROGRESS

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1YBT26ceKGJnIWW3h9GfJsbD7uyDmqvps

part 1: the challenge was keeping Zeon in frame as he moved

part 2: framing Zeon on the couch in the background and slowly bring the phone into frame was tricky. Also timing the inclusion of the phone in frame with when it rang was difficult as I was calling his phone with one hand while operating the camera with the other.

part 3: Remembering to cue zeon about shutting the door. Between the previous dialogue heavy part and  having to walk into the room.

I was happy with:

• The left sliding camera movement with the door that brought us into another room that we didn’t know about. I liked view zeon through the glass door and having him open it to create a fresh look.
• moving from room to room without looking where I was stepping.
• the part where zeon looks back and the camera searches for what he is looking at almost judgementally or in panic that he will be late. 

On the first day back we dived into shooting a scene we had revised before the mid semester break. By reshooting this scene we were trying to resolve a few problems. However, there were some aspects of the original version that I liked. The way Catherine drops into the frame and is well placed but still arrives as a surprise, suits her pushy, assertive character.

1. The break away from the conversation shot of Catherine seemed out of place and awkward in comparison to the smooth reverse shot that established the scene.
2. The upward tilt shot of Catherine was an attention grabbing use of movement but didn’t fit into the tightly framed, static shots that came before. Catherine leaving table to a random edge of the nearby wall also looked unnecessary and caused some confusion with her position in relation to the table, which then made their eyelines inconsistent.

To solve these issues,we came up with a simpler alternative which made it easier to keep track of eye lines and not have to calculate them as much. Instead of walking off the the side, Catherine simply slid back to the table behind her where she had conveniently left her bag on the way in. This bee lining method reduced chance of error and also allowed us to have less camera set ups.

Playing Catherine was really fun but came with some challenges.

1. getting flustered
2. sliding elegantly in an office chair and blocking

one Getting flustered is a specialty of mine. Without much preparation with lines and rehearsal it was easy to become stressed when there was a whole class waiting on us to “get it right.” Being in this position taught me that it might be good to give actors I may work with some warning before we start actually filming by making a point to say “yep we will shoot in 5” instead of , “OK READY YEP GO NOW” I found that what was making me nervous was that I was thinking about too many of the crew roles at once. Our director seemed to notice this and tapped me on the shoulder. “Hey don’t worry about trying to adjust your body to fit in the frame, : she said, “that’s our job.”

I didn’t know that I was doing it but I had been watching the screens in the corner of my eye trying to frame myself.

two blocking and delivery

An unnoticed skill that some actors possess is being able to smoothly and naturally plant themselves right into the perfect spot in the frame while being able to deliver their lines. What really helped me was associating a line with a movement. For example I repeated “*slide back in chair* “actually weren’t they both called Arthur”

Some more things I noticed 

• A lot of “what are we all waiting for” seemed to happen. But as we got into the groove our AD got very good at shushing us and taking control.
• Too much tape! – there was so much tape on table that I was confused about what it meant.

“Cinematography* does not function as the embellishment of a story. It isn’t a
means of breathing life into a script. It isn’t the application of coloured pencils to an
already satisfactory line drawing. It is the story. The meaning of a work is
embedded and implicit in its form.”

In class we touched on the idea of how the cinema experience holds more importance than the story itself. After watching the film Good Morning (1959) directed by Yasujiro Ozu I have a better understand of what it means to become engrossed in an experience and feeling rather than a dynamic narrative. Ozu is all about being present in the moment. He is famous, or maybe infamous for having people wonder ‘umm is something going to happen..?’ during his films. But that is the point he is trying to make; when nothing happens, plenty is happening. In Good Morning we get a close look at a suburb of Tokyo where two boys begin a silence strike to press their parents into buying them a television set, hence the lingering feeling that we are waiting for something to happen. While not much occurs dramatically, we get a snapshot at a world at the crux of change.

The lighthearted comedy explores inter-generational family tensions, post-war Western influences on Japan and observations of human behavior. Ozu is famous for stubbornly doing things his way without too much regard for what might be more ‘popular.’ His films are about capturing the essence of the Japanese lifestyle, in his own uniquely quirky and charming style. As an audience we have to work to stay focused and lull ourselves into a more accepting mindset to become fully engrossed in his slice of life films.

His framing is delightful but doesn’t have to symbolize anything imperative to the plot. A few times in the film we see people walking across the hill through the narrow gaps of the suburban sprawl. It gives us a picturesque feel of the whole town and the people just look so tiny and cute. I had a thought that it would be so fun to live there and wave at my friends from afar as I see them walking home from school. Ozu’s pleasing cinematography appeals to our ability to be content as a welcomed observer.

A polar opposite to this would be Hitchcock, who creates tension by holding the audiences attention with suspense. We constantly think, “what could happen next!?”

The form is the Story

In the film, nothing seems to be happening, but the world is changing. Women were starting to work, the popularity of TVs were threatening the big screen and the younger generation were starting to question the formalities their culture. The phrase and title of the film, “Good Morning” refers to the small talk and maddening politeness demonstrated by the older generation.

The themes of big and small, binary and balance are reflected in the way that the film is constructed. The boys are lined up to show their comical difference in size, framing is neat and organised (like their homes and culture).

Sometimes when a directors’ vision is strong, the ingredients needed to create the envisioned scene might not be there and the crew is just told to, “make it work.” It’s an awkward situation because the crew is not in any position to refuse the director while they’re in their God complex. The point of the exercise was to see how blocking affects the whole crew.

In the scene two girls with a camera watching and waiting for a thief to strike.

The plan was to begin with a wide shot from behind the girls and have the light coming from the window they were facing to form their silhouettes. Then move to a mid shot for further dialogue, and finally another wide shot revealing a full front view of their camera set up.

The scene we were trying to shoot looked like this:

2.  3.

There were concerns that jumping in front in shot 3 might be too disruptive, but our director Robin said that you just know until you try it.

I was put in the camera crew for the task. Since the scene contained a prop camera which was the same model that we were using to film the scene, there was some confusion over what camera was for what purpose. Our team also made the mistake of not formatting the card and it made everyone have to wait. On a real set this might be enough to make someone storm out.

An unexpected problem we faced was not being able to line up the camera with our two main characters in a way that seemed balanced but still showed us clear outlines of each figure. With everything in the dark, we had to muster every bit of detail we could from the shapes of the two girls and the prop camera. Just before shooting I noticed that the camera was directly in line with our actor from our camera’s perspective, meaning that our actor had completely blocked out the silhouette of the prop camera.

Sometimes nice surprises can occur on set. Like the view through the window we were filming happened to have a group of students making colorful paper decorations which added a nice pop of colour to the shot. This is something you can’t plan with a low budget. Different people were also walking in and out of the area a lot, which suited our script well as our main characters were keeping their eyes peeled for a pickpocket-er.

http://www.mediafactory.org.au/vanessa-wong/2018/08/09/tsic-exercise-5/

Pacing: why rush?

wk 3: Focus Pulling and the Directors Role

When working out how to cover a scene, we are often much too concerned with the types of shots and coverage we are after. As visual people, it is easy to forget what makes us hold our breath as an audience, and keeps us engaged; pacing. To me, pacing dictates the rhythm of a scene, which in turn communicates the entire feel of it.

Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008) directed by Woody Allen has a dinner scene that does this very well. In this scene (I’ll be referring to 0 to 2:22), two girlfriends, Vicky and Cristina notice a man sitting at a back table who they recognize to be a painter from a gallery they just visited. He approaches them and introduces himself.

The tracking shot glides left into a mid-shot of the two women talking at the table and eases us into the dinner setting. As we hear her speak, she enters the left of the frame Her well timed appearance into the shot gives us the sense that they have been talking for a short while already.  As Vicky responds, the camera hovers subtlety instead of just coming to a complete halt, still lulling us into the low-key ambiance of the restaurant.

“Who are you looking at?”

“Isn’t that the painter we just saw at the gallery?”

These two lines of dialogue come together in a slow pan from one woman to the other. The slow movement onto Cristina mimics the slyness she has in peering over at Doug.

The real kicker with this scene is the way that Doug takes his sweet time strolling over to their table. The red of her wine, which she sips after saying this, visually links to the burgundy of Doug’s shirt. This makes him pop out from among the others at the distant table. This long-shot of Doug also sets up the next shot by establishing the distance between his table and theirs.

Another notable thing that is done so beautifully, is the attention to eye lines, which is particularly important to this scene as it involves sneaky glances.

When Doug gets up to talk to Vicky and Cristina he strolls over, taking his sweet time. The shot captures his entire journey over, each of his steps seem more dramatic than the last. The sounds of his steps are like a metronome for the scene, drowning out the background and slowing the pace down even more. Each step is literally longer than the last. When he finally reaches the table its as if the whole restaurant is silent and waiting to hear what he is about to say.

In this scene our group had the task of interpreting a script with unlimited shots and only one line of dialogue. This made me realize that sometimes having no limitations can be even more creatively limiting than having constraints.

The aim of this CU shot was to isolate and establish these two characters as important. This alignment of their faces also emphasizes their closeness in proximity, which highlights their difference in facial expression and general awkwardness of the situation.

Pulling focus for this shot was difficult because I didn’t know how long the shot was meant to be and how I was supposed to sync up focus with camera movement, I realized this about a second after “ACTION.” As a result I ended up repeatedly pulling in and out between the two faces to give our editor some options within the take. This ended up being fine because the final cut had very fast cuts.

For next time: 1. Make sure everyone on camera has a clear idea of the purpose of the shot as well as length.

Improvising for the Space 

After reading the script and noting the part where onlookers gave judgmental looks to our main characters, we tried to create a busy, closed space to draw attention to the lack of privacy in the scene. To do this we placed Tyler and Jesslyn in as dancing extras. Working with a limited amount of people meant we had to be particularly strategic about blocking in to make the most of the two people we had. At the last minute I thought it would be good to include the tile column in order to fake a smaller space.

Our focus on trying to create full busy shots while switching roles under a strict time limit made us forget about continuity. We forget to keep our two dancers in the same spot, this caused a strange jumping around effect when everything was put together.