In this scene note the choreography of the actors, camera, frame and focus. As covered in the lecture describe the things Antonioni would have have to consider when directing the actors and the camera.

In Week 9, the lecture covered the choreography of actors, as well as working in conjunction with the camera. The elements discussed can be seen in  Michelangelo Antonioni’s ‘Blow Up’ (1966).

In the longer scene inside the upstairs studio, it’s apparent that Antonioni would have had to blocked out paths for actors David Hemming and Vanessa Redgrave in such a way that the action would complement the camera. It would have been a conscious decision to keep the pair about six feet from each other during their conversation, in order to depict their spatial relationship with each other and the studio setting. Additionally, the movement would have needed to be planned so that neither of the actors came between the other and the camera at any moment. This movement would also be choreographed to work in conjunction with the framing of the characters in the scene. Furthermore, the camera’s movements would also need to be planned out in order to capture the scene as the filmmakers intended. An example of this would be when Hemming dives to answer the phone and the camera pans to follow him. The flow of both the actors and the camera’s movements would have needed to be established beforehand in order for the take to turn out satisfactorily.