Opening montage has many shots that construct the subjectivity of a character: Look at the place at 3:40 where we see Wilton Sezker sitting in the train. Even before you see him, you hear his voice. He is speaking about his experience in first person, but not in the shot where he is in the train. The camera pans to the window outside, and you see what he sees. NEXT, there is a shot of him being interviewed, continuing on with his thoughts. NOte farther along in the documentary -- at 6:46 min, you will see a new shot of him, - an XCU.
Just like that every other form of art, everything that comprises a piece of work has to have a reason to be there. Every element. Just like being a chef, you use ingredients to create something that wasn’t there before. And you have to carefully think about what ingredients you choose, and how you mix it into your final dish. How you use it as a means of expressing an idea. He might think of it as a composer trying to write a piece of music for an orchestra, and in order to effectively do that, you’re drawing on all the instruments in the orchestra, and thinking about how they’ll function in the piece of music.
It’s the same thing for a filmmaker. Not one thing that you see or hear in the film is there randomly. Everything is designed, everything is intended, everything is there to perform a function. So when it comes to these patterns, a filmmaker simply cannot choose to have it there simply because it’s pretty.
Revenge is something that makes you happy and invigorates you only when it is in your imagination. But when it comes to actually realizing this it is never happy and never gives you pleasure. Because it is an act of total stupidity…So as long as revenge is in the imagination it is good for your mental health. But it must be infinitely put off, must be infinitely delayed.
1. Controlling light and tone
Besides lighting, you can control the way a scene looks by controlling the reflectivity of elements in the scene or the tonal range.
The range of brightness can be represented as grey tones. There are
3 ways to control tone or brightness in a shot.
Reflective control- which is accomplished through art direction - what people wear, what you see in scene. All talk shows and lighting schemes where there is even light diffused everywhere uses reflective control.
Incident control- lighting. what lights you use and where you place them.
Exposure - camera and lens adjustments
Most productions use all three forms of controlling the image.
Here is more about tone with a bunch of illustrated examples. LINK
2. Controlling color
Contrast (difference) and Affinity (similarity) are important factors in directing the eye of the viewer.
Saturation control (how deep the colors are) is another way to control the image.
The best way to limit colors in a scene is to limit the color palette itself.
Think about the clothes people wear and all the other items in a scene.
It is a good idea to create a color scheme.
Here is a site with selected movies and their color schemes: LINK
Light has color too.
Here is an illustrated chart of color temperatures.
If you want to reproduce a particular light color, you can adjust your white balance to fake out the camera.
Or you can use gels- available for checkout in the checkout room.
GELS:
NARRATIVE HOMAGE SCENE - based on INFLUENCES- homage to a
director OCTOBER 31
HOMAGE: special honor or respect shown publicly.
Select a director, a
film or some cinematographer whose work inspires you. It can also be a
cinematographer. Identify some of this person’s filmmaking strategies by doing
research about their work and them. You will boil down one or two
characteristics of their work and produce a short work that imitates or quotes this
director or artist.
STEPS:
Research:
Research the work of the director/creative. Look at several works. You don’t
have to watch whole films but read about him or her in serious journals or
blogs (there are many online).
By next week, Oct 3, you should know who the artist you will be using is and one or two strategies they use their
work. See below for ideas.
Presentation: Write a short research paper about the
artist’s work and prepare a presentation that includes 1 or 2 short clips
(under 2 minutes). Write about the director’s work and the approach you are
interested in Follow with a short description (treatment-pitch) of the work you
will create. Paper should be 1 to 2
pages and include references.
.
Plan
your production: Using what you have learned from looking at
this director's work, plan, light and shoot a scene = approximately 1 minute -
that copies something they do. This can be a short scene or it can be a
fragment - eg. a small element of what could be a larger project. Create a
storyboard and shot list before you produce. I will set meetings with you to go
over your production plans.
Collaborations can do longer pieces- but everyone must do some filming. Your project will involve scripting, lighting,
staging.
You must have excellent lighting for this one.
CHOICES: You can choose a sound designer or
cinematographer. It can be from television or cinema. Many directors overlap in
projects. Watch one or two films or clips.
Think about any of the below filmic elements
when developing your ideas.
- These are also called
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*
mis-en-scene: Character, staging, Shadow, form, light, color, style * - a lighting style, use of shadow and light - a particular use of focus or lens effects - a particular kind of movement, space,
representation of time or temporality - the use of color, scenery - a particular way of staging a shot, framing
or directing a conversation - ways of using sound, soundtrack, rhythm,
sound effects and/or silence - a style of editing, the use of simple
effects (accessible to our class) - use of transitions, cuts, repetition and
visual rhythm - storytelling, plot, character choice- how is
the character directed??
You will need to talk and write about the
elements you decide to work with.
BEGIN TODAY --
DUE: March 9 Introduce us to the director you will make an homage of in class
Read a serious article. Push yourself beyond your comfort zone in terms of research- use the library! An online publication about contemporary directors is called “Senses of Cinema” or any link from this site. Search for your director.
If you are unsure, storyboard a scene from the director’s existing work, a useful exercise READINGS to help you out.
This is an article about working up ideas from. Her description of her working process might help you. She outlines professional practices for working for a client, although her work is limited to animation and storyboarding
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DUE: March 23- PRESENTATION,
short paper and production concept
·Presentation:
Show no more than 2 minutes of footage
what elements of the artist’s work that are valuable
to you
don’t select a director whose work consists of effects
you can’t do- no fight scenes, explosions or aerial or crane work
TALK about any or all of these
elements: Framing, use of color, acting, direction of characters and
staging (where they are placed in relation to scene and camera lens),
development of character, use or dialogue or silence, location, sets,
effects, story.
·Short paper:
write about I page about your director's style and
turn this in with references (at least 2 other articles) at the end.
Add a short pitch and descriptive treatment for your
project
Productions begin March 23 after class.
DUE: March 30 all this
information should be ready and you are in production
· Production plan
shot list
·• storyboard
· crew list
·• location
·• lighting and
camera rental order
·• script if
pertinent
April 6: rough cuts
April 13: Final cuts (deadline
to be extended if necessary)
By screening
on April 13:turn in a production
book that will include pre-production material- 300 word introduction
to director, your lists, drawings, storyboards, location images/photos,
scripts, costume and lighting ideas, cast, crew, music citations, anything you
want to be paid for
TIPS
·don’t choose a complex project with complex scenery or a large
cast
·No MICHAEL BEY.
·Remember a good scene does not always need dialogue
·You are not compelled to edit, but you should if this is essential
to your idea.
