As discussed in my previous post, I worked with a fellow studio member to create our interpretation on the Barney and Rachel script. Having produced many performative variations of this text and having played the role of both Barney and Rachel, I felt confident to recreate this scene once more, but now on my own. Though having the option to produce work from a script designed for a solo production, I was far more interested in seeing how well I could produce work intended for two performers by myself. Coming into this exercise I knew what It would require to make a solo interpretation of this text visually believable. The things I needed to consider were, the 180 degree rule, costume, distinguishable performances for both characters and eye-line. I took on this exercise to challenge myself and see how well I could exhibit this piece.
Having planned out my shots, set-ups and coverage, bringing my footage into the editing suite and producing a solid and precise cut wasn’t too difficult. Watching back, my initial thoughts saw a well crafted film that made sense. However, after watching the finished product more times, I found that the finished product lacked in it’s framing. This was detrimental to the believability of the two characters being in the same space. Inconsistency in framing saw Barney’s character have a much tighter frame and Rachel having a much looser one. This made both characters look different in size. Being done solo I wasn’t able to see framing as action played out, so this mistake was likely to happen. As this was something I didn’t consider beforehand, It was a mistake that I will use as a lesson for further development in this craft.
As a further critique of my work, next time I would have more shot diversity by having closer shots opposed to having the scene shot entirely in mid-shots. I feel by having closer shots on particular sections, it would assist in highlighting tension on some of Barney’s lines. This critique comes after looking back at some of the other students and examples shown by Robin.
As a conclusive opinion of my work and this exercise, I realise that being behind the camera while a scene is being played out, I’d be able to have far more control and framing mistakes would be far less apparent. This exercise allowed me to think more critically about the way I construct shots and inspired me to think more creatively about my own shot selection.