How are powerful characters captured in a scene in cinema?
Decoupage was perhaps the most influential consideration for my research on presenting characters with power in film. Choosing the appropriate shots, the right angle and the focal length had a definite impact on how dominant a character appeared in a scene, or how their power is shifted around other characters.
After shooting one particular Gossip Girl scene on the steps, as well as other various experiments using the same characters, I created myself a platform for comparison in the techniques of filming and editing my work. My scene developed predominantly from my first shoot to my last, having used various experiments and outside research on other powerful scenes to contribute to my investigation and understanding of cinematography is presenting power. The greatest lesson I probably learnt through the course of my experiment was focal length and how shortening it gave the camera a more intimate relationship with the scene and particularly the characters, having blocked out the steps background and focusing very closely on the mid shots and close ups of their faces.
Crossing the line was another hurdle I had to overcome, and working alongside Emma a lot of the time was beneficial as her research corresponded with mine. In analysing the initial scene I discovered that the camera does cross the line to demonstrate the power shift from Blair to Serena, but achieves this seamlessly by being very close to the characters and using the detailed hands shots of Jenny receiving the invitation and proceeding to look upwards at approaching Serena. Therefore the idea of using a less dominant character as a pivot, a character who initially appears as somewhat a threat given her standing height, was a real learning curve in my investigation process. Though the competitiveness of the scene appears to be between Blair and Serena, Jenny is essential and nearly the most important component, as their battle for power seems to bounce off her with all the close glances and shaking of hands.
As a director I learnt a lot about the way I prefer to work and plan for a shoot. In the development of my investigation I gained a lot from writing, blogging and reflecting on my progresses, my mistakes, what I could do better, how other directors have achieved it differently, and what direction I wanted to take my work. I find writing things down and drawing plans out to give me a better sense of clarity in my goals and my direction. Hence I found drawing storyboards to be the best form of planning for me as they signify a visual representation of what I’m aiming for and ensure I gain sufficient coverage of each shot, should I want to alter more in editing. I also found that on set I really consider everything in the editing, how it looks at the time and how I will use it effectively in the edit suites. I think this came from so much analysis of the Gossip Girl scene, which has a mood and tensions that is really created by the editor. Though I remained open minded whilst on set, integrated more ideas as I went and with the surrounding, I definitely think I work better from an editors point of view in terms of planning as I can visualise the ‘mise en scene’ and final result of the edited scene.
Continuity was a role I had previously never considered on set, however I found it to be of high relevance to my Gossip Girl investigation. As a drama scene it involves a lot of quick shots and a lot of facial and hand movement of the characters. Therefore acting as a producer, director and often camera operator, it was challenging to also consider the continuity whilst filming. However watching exactly where Serena’s hand was placed or which shoulder Jenny had her hair flipped on, or if Blair was sitting with her left or right knee on top was quite essential because of the pace of the scene. Flipping so much between characters in a short space of a 30 second scene does not allow room for much movement when characters aren’t on camera, therefore keeping in charge of continuity was very important to the flow of the scene when it came to editing especially.
Overall The Scene In Cinema has been technically challenging for me as a Prof Com student, however I think being able to tweak my investigation to my areas of interest was a very valuable flexibility the class offered. Choosing quite a theme-based topic was beneficial for me as I found I could incorporate many of our technical learning’s from earlier in semester and take them into practice. And as a director, an editor, a continuity person or a sound operator, I learnt the most important aspect of filming and producing anything is coverage.
2 minute clip summary: https://youtu.be/SKTPIOuFQ4I