Reflection 4: https://www.mediafactory.org.au/alessandro-pinizzotto/2020/04/19/the-scene-in-cinema-reflection-4/
Reflection 5:https://www.mediafactory.org.au/alessandro-pinizzotto/2020/04/19/the-scene-in-cinema-reflection-5/
Reflection 6: https://www.mediafactory.org.au/alessandro-pinizzotto/2020/04/19/the-scene-in-cinema-reflection-6/
Scene Analysis:https://www.mediafactory.org.au/alessandro-pinizzotto/2020/04/19/scene-analysis2-the-scene-in-cinema/
For this scene analysis, my goal was to find a scene from a film incorporating as many of these theories and techniques which I reflected upon. This was not an easy task, but in the end, I think I found a scene from a film that could be close to this said goal, The opening scene of Children of Man (2006) directed by Alfonso Cuarón.
In regards of background, from the first seconds of this scene, we can already see how much care and attention was put in constructing this scene, the background is full of details, we can immediately see that the scene is set in a coffee shop thanks to the words “caffé and cappuccino on the walls while also, showing a slice of the outside world with its grey tones from the door and windows. In the aforementioned background, it is also noticeable how a second television, different from the one everyone is watching, was placed there so that the viewer would be able to see what the actors are reacting to on the first monitor.
Camera coverage is very crucial in this scene, the first shot shows an audience receiving news and in the same way, also the film viewer receives the same news from the media giving even more information about the world and what the people are feeling. When the camera starts moving, following the protagonist going outside the Cafe, we realise that the world the film is set in reflects those colour cues we could notice from the windows and intuitively understand the situation the population is in. The camera moves following the protagonist without any cuts in the streets while also highlighting the background with pans left and right following other peoples’ actions, this is something that happens periodically throughout the film using master shot and long takes that sometimes moves away from the main character showing us other things that happen to other characters, making the viewer feel immersed in this world giving many different perspectives. While our character goes down the streets, suddenly, an explosion happens in the cafe he just left, scaring and shocking him right after the camera goes around his back to show the imminent explosion, the cameraman and our point of view, rushes towards the explosion, showing the disaster it created.
In conclusion, in my opinion, this scene is quite short but iconic, the way the actors and people are represented give all the information we might need together with the characters and camera movements which successfully emphasises this world that was created. The use of the camera, acting and background create a complex world throughout the film.
This last reading covers the advantages and the various aspects of using a single master shot, this kind of shot is a long singular take where the actors can move freely and have dialogues in real time where they can react to the lines as soon as they are delivered or even before they are.
These techniques have many advantages and have a real impact on the shooting process of the film as well as impacting the film itself, when we were able to have physical classes, we had the opportunity to try something similar with a class exercise we did when we were tasked to shoot a scene in one take.
Reflecting on that exercise, I can understand how a scene of this kind would work, be of many uses, but can also see how sometimes it could be difficult to pool off. Theoretically, a film and its scenes should do the best to capture the viewer’s attention with every shot so that it does not feel boring or heavy, but this is a difficult thing to achieve all the time. Nonetheless, it does not mean that a master shot cannot create interest, the movements of the actors, their performance, and their position shifting in the shot, all these factors can contribute to forming a dynamic scene so that the viewer does not even notice the lack of different shots.
This is when, in my opinion, all the aforementioned readings in the previous reflections come to play a very important role. To generate attention in a scene with a single master shot, the background has to be coherent and also engaging and complex, so that the viewer does not get bored of the area with time and as for the actors, they should have the liberty to move around in a not boring and rehearsed way, but in a manner that makes unpredictable what will happen and where they will go.
Another provided reading I would like to reflect upon, is The Wisdom of the Unrehearsed Scene, these pages ask the question of why some directors spend a long time rehearsing a scene, getting more and more specific as the production goes along between meetings with the actors and more rehearsals.
In the reading, we also see how different directors have diverse methods of “ rehearsing” or preparing the actors for the scene making me realise that there is no one set way to organise and prepare a scene but there are other ways that might be more efficient depending on the resources and actors cast.
In the reading, it is stated that preparing the actors too strictly before shooting can be counterproductive. For instance, giving more freedom to the actors allows them to act more freely and use their skills as they see fit giving them the power to modify the script to suit them better.
Personally, I agree with these statements. An actor should be free to feel the character they are going to play and how they may react to events happening in the script. In my personal experience when shooting a short film last year, it resulted in giving liberty to the actors without forcing them in a single direction. The characters of the short film were facing some emotional distress and the actors beautifully recreated those emotions with the freedom they had. Of course, in some instances though, the actors were guided so that they could reflect the vision we had for the film so to allow there to be consistency between the characters in different scenes.
During these weeks of online classes, we were given some prompts and readings to reflect upon. These readings covered a variety of subjects useful to develop my knowledge of filmmaking. In the reading, The Background Action is it emphasised how essential building a scene is. The Director and the DP are tasked to find the best shot composition and to put a lot of care in the background and what story that element narrates.
The Background can be a powerful tool in filmmaking, it can be simple or complex depending on the scene. Backgrounds have to follow certain rules to be believable, they should feel authentic, should be a feature that enhances the scene but not take all the focus of the viewer away from the characters. The role of staging and directing the background is given to the assistant director that should take account of the actions the actors will make in the scene as well as the camera movement that follows them.
To make backgrounds even more accurate, the directors can decide to bring on set an expert who could help make the scene more realistic. This individual gives suggestions to the assistant director and the crew sharing knowledge you may not possess.
Another essential aspect of backgrounds and character movements is continuity matching. This aspect is important for the coherence of the scene and for the viewer to make sense of what happens in the narrative. Matching the direction in which actors look relative to the camera and the eye lines of the actors are also things to take notice of. The viewer who notices a discrepancy between these factors experiences a break in their suspension of disbelief and will notice the discrepancy through the rest of the movie.