The Scene in Cinema Week 4 Reflection

The Scene in Cinema Week 5 Reflection

The Scene in Cinema Week 6 Reflection

The Scene in Cinema: Yesterday Descriptive & Analytical Writing

Jack, who overnight became the only person in the world who remembers the Beatles, took advantage of this situation and, using his own singing talents, is on his way to be the greatest music artist in the world. During his rise to fame, he loses the affection of his long-time partner. He decides to seek the advice of John Lennon, who is alive in this reality.

In the first segment where Jack visits John at his home, the drone shot which tracks the taxi guides our eyes along the road towards the house. The next shot, where the figure of Jack is obscured by the grass in the foreground cuts nicely with the shot prior. Both shots we follow a black object going from screen right to screen left. At this point in the film, the audience does not know who Jack is visiting, which is why the next shot throws the subject out of focus, eliciting intrigue as to whom this figure is. The paintbrushes and drawings on the table allude to a creative and artistic person. At the door entrance, our attention follows a focus pull to reveal that the figure is John Lennon. Interestingly, the dialogue exchange between the two did not follow the 180 degrees rule, as the closeup on Jack places him on screen left instead of screen right. The crossing of the line here was rather natural due to the wide shots from Lennon’s perspective. Although neither the camera nor the characters themselves move in this shot, we can understand from the wide shot where the characters are spatially.

The lighting during this exchange is assumed from the sunlight as it is during the day. Both Jack and John are lit by a warm tungsten light which comes from the same direction. The warm colour temperature of this lighting is made to simulate the golden hour in the afternoon, where this exchange takes place. 

In the following series of drone shots, we see the two walking along the waterfront, eventually sitting down on an upturned boat. The coverage of this dialogue scene is composed of a medium-long shot of the two characters as it slowly tracks forward. A similar shot which comes from the inside of the house frames the two of them inside the windowpane, it too tracks closer forwards as the conversation touches an intimate topic for Jack. We cut back to the characters, now at a medium closeup. This shot establishes a sort of mentor-like position for Lennon, as he leans in to speak while Jack attentively listens. The characters are back-lit at an angle from above, creating an outline around their clothing and head, and fill light in front of them allows their faces to have proper exposure. 

From Lennon’s over-the-shoulder shot, we can see that the lighting is again from the sun. This time, the sun is at a different angle. As the two stand up, we can see the light source is above the building. When the camera pans up, the shot becomes a medium shot and we lose the details in their clothing due to the sun. Instead, high contrast of the scene forms silhouettes of the two figures as well as an intense lens flare from above, producing angelic imagery. As the scene concludes, the camera is once again inside the house and tracks backwards for the first time, signifying a change in the character as the film enters its final act.

Ultimately, the John Lennon scene serves two main purposes. First, it is fanservice for the Beatles enthusiasts, seen in the slow reveal of said character. Structurally, it is used to create change in Jack to own up to his mistakes and to pursue the girl he loves.

Focal length can result in distorts on a subjects face, for a full-frame camera, 50mm is the focal length that is most similar to the human field of view.  Another characteristic of a different focal length is the compression of space that occurs.

As the focal length becomes longer, the subject appears to be closer to the background and our field of view is narrower. Apart from the characteristics that different focal length creates (such as depth of field), a longer focal length allows filmmakers to save money. With a smaller field of view, there is less area in the shot to treat and the shallower depth of field means that the background can be less detailed.

This week’s discussion on focal lengths also brought me to investigate different lens characteristics. The example here compares Arri Ultra Prime, Cooke S4I and Zeiss CP lens. The most prominent difference can be seen in the lens flare generated.

Both Arri and Cooke lenses create lens flare in the image, Cooke S4 is more visible. The Zeiss CP lens, however, does not have lens flare at all.

These characteristics allow filmmakers to achieve a different feel. Cooke lens with its warmer and lens flare gives off a unique cinematic style that can give a more natural feel to the scene especially outdoors.

The Zeiss CP lens does not result in lens flare and its cooler temperature may be more suitable for filming harsh, geometric objects like architecture. Doing further research, I learned that Zeiss have a specific line of lens called Radiance that can create lens flare.

Chromatic Aberration is the failure of a lens to focus all colours to the same point. This can be seen in the edges of the bokeh of Zeiss Supreme lens, whilst ARRI signature lens’s lack of chromatic aberration is a selling point for them

There is a green edge around soft highlights, therefore it does not blend smoothly into the background.

In summary, different manufacturers make lenses with different characteristics. These differences will ultimately result in a slightly altered image in the form of lens flare, bokeh, chromatic aberration and more. To take these factors into account requires a deep understanding of the kind of scene you want to create and what lens is most suitable for it.

We started off this week’s discussion with eyelines, particularly in a shot-reverse-shot situation where the actors do not occupy the screen at the same time. If eyelines is incorrect, the suspension of disbelief is broken. The need for matching eyelines is for the audience to perceive that the characters are looking at each other. To match eyelines I can follow the 180-degree rule, but this assumes that both actors are in the same physical space to each other. If, for example, only one of the actors is on set in a dialogue scene, how do we maintain eye lines? If it is known where the other actor’s eye would be, I could place a marker in that area with tape and instruct the actor to look there when talking. If it is not known (if this was the shot-reverse-shot with the first actor), I would note down the camera position in relation to the line and the angle at which it is placed. With the reference of the previous shot, I can deduct the angle needed for the reverse shot for matching eyelines.

When viewing films this week, I was looking for instances of eyeline mismatches and was unable to find any. For me, as soon as the scene demonstrated the spatial positioning of the characters and that they are speaking, I would not notice any eyeline mismatch.

From the notes this week, a clip from My Sex Life, or How I got into an argument piqued my interest. It was a scene where characters move inside an apartment in one take. The lighting setup for this shot was intriguing. Previously, I have experiences in lighting for a single position, actors could move around in a zone where the lighting works best. For this scene, as well as the scene in Carlos, was what Robin described as a modern style of lighting. Meaning that the exposure priority as not always on the face of the person talking. Indeed, there were moments of talking where the actors would be shrouded in darkness before they reach a predetermined lighting setup and a dialogue exchange would talk place. It depends on the purpose that the shot was attempting to achieve. I believe the shot from My Sex Life, or How I got into an argument amongst other things, sought to establish the location and the atmosphere that these characters are at. Therefore, it can use moodier, low-key lighting to emphasise that. In the future, I will consider the purpose of the scene in the context of the film to determine what sort of lighting is appropriate.