Watching the directors of The Kid with a Bike explaining the choices they make in each scene was really interesting. It felt effortless in their explanation but also reveals the amount of planning done beforehand. The scene in the diner, for example, demonstrates the ability of the art department to transform a chic restaurant into a sport’s bar. It was quite surprising to see the original location of the scene with the directors. The scene where the father speaks to the woman echoes an idea that the less an actor has to do in a scene the more difficult it is to look good. In this scene, neither of the characters have anything to do, they merely speak to each other, in that sense, there are no actions for the camera to capture. Watching this scene, I realised that I was not bored by it, the main reason is the blocking of the characters. The characters do not stand at the same spot, they move ever so slightly according to the flow of the conversation. At the same time, the camera sways slightly to adjust the shot size from one character to another, creating a reverse-shot. Although there were no actions for the actors to perform, their movement in the frame becomes the focus of the scene.

When I mapped out the shot list for the book store script, I noticed that I attempted to cover the scenes in as few shots as possible. One of the reasons was that with fewer shots, there are fewer setups needed, leading to fewer expenses and the faster the scene can be completed. The downsides to this are that my interpretation of the script will differ to that of the scriptwriters. For example, in scene 2, Ella’s interaction with the cashier could become a moment of suspense or comedy depending on the cuts and camera placement. By providing the cashier’s perspectives, we would see an additional performance from Ella that could portray her anxiety and nervousness. The limitation that comes with following the script line by line will result in a convoluted shot list; every mention of an action or object could suggest its own closeup. I think one of the most important facets that influence the decoupage of the scene is the effect the scene is trying to achieve. Apart from what the scene will do in terms of carrying on the narrative, the effect that the scene is trying to convey should be taken into account when deconstructing the script into a shot list or storyboard.