Apr
2015
My Method of Working Part 7
One of the questions I have been asking myself throughout the semester is to do with the texts I have been working with. As I have mainly worked with scripts this semester compared to prose, I have written in previous reflections that I have found this to be restrictive in my ability to interpret scene coverage and have preferred to work from prose. However, I have judged this based on working on only one or two prose texts compared to the many other scripts over the semester. I don’t feel as though that is enough practical research to judge my preference of prose over script and feel like there may be many other factors that have made me feel limited or more creative whilst filming the exercises (eg; time management, production roles, pre-production VS none, etc).
I initially also thought that when it came to my own investigation that I would not use my own scripts or writing and would use other people’s work. This was due to the fact that when I write I visualise what I would like the scene to look like, which I thought may make me biased and less creative with my shot construction and scene coverage. I was convinced that I wouldn’t be able to detach myself from my original vision and see what other possibilities there are in covering the scene. Whilst this may be true, I haven’t tested this theory as of yet. It may be that my ownership of the text actually gives me free rein to create really interesting framing and coverage.
This is something that I am interested in investigating and testing. The relationship between film text and interpretation, and also how ownership may effect camera coverage and creativity of framing. Will I feel more creative and able to interpret a script or prose that has been written by someone else? Will working from prose give me a more interesting set of shots than working from a script? These are questions that I am interested in investigating and testing and if I decide to head in this direction I will ensure that I use the exact same constraints so that the difference in film text is the main factor tested.