Film Directing: Shot by Shot...Ch. 6 thoughts.

Reaction to Steven d. Katz: Film Directing Shot by Shot
Ch. 6: Composing Shots: Spatial Connections

As an undergraduate student in architecture, I had a teacher that constantly compared architecture to film. Essentially, I think he was telling us about how in architecture, and in film,(and music), there is a very important thing to consider...which is the sequence of events...the timing of things... and essentially, the experience that you give the person/viewer/listener/audience. It is essentially the experience that we are designing, there is an experience.

How do we keep the experience meaningful and understandable to the viewer? How do we not confuse them? To do this, we must look at our own work with the eyes of a beginner; though sometimes difficult, it is indispensible.

Some things to consider... Full shot, Medium shot, extreme-close up, and everything in between. "In film the eyes have it" and so it is. Eyes are extremely powerful, and as some say the windows to the soul. In methods of motion, we have been talking about the importance of the level in which you are shooting. If you have characters that are too low (and the camera too high) you give a sense of being above the characters that you are shooting, and not on the same level as them.

The close up is not only a great way to bring a sense of intimacy to the viewer, but it is also a great way to change/add to a sequence of events, to give the viewer a better feel for what is going on, what someone is feeling, etc.

I think I like all the different kinds of shots that can be done, and i would like to play around with all of them. I think if two people are talking and you want to emphasize the body language, or the happenings of an event (some particular incident in particular, that is very clear, per se), it is a great idea to use the full shot.

The Line fo Action is very important so that you can give the audience a sense of place, so they don't feel confused. Its also adds variety and change (and differentiation between characters) to show different shots from different characters. For example, girl approaches from left. boy approaches from right. both meet, full shot, both show up in the middle.

The 180 degree rule makes a lot of sense, however I will add that experimentation is great, however I am happy to learn about specific techniques that are used in shooting, etc. Perhaps if enough people were to break away from the rules we will have to comprehend things on a different level, as in we will have to train our minds to understand things: since as people we seek experiences that we can find to be meaningful.

The triangle set-up seems to work really well if you want to use multiple cameras simultaneously... Angular Singles (medium shots or close-ups), master two-shots, over the shoulder shots, point of view singles, and profile shots. Very interesting.

I remember 2 things from watching soap operas as a kid. I don't know if i learned how to understand the angles of shooting in it, but I always felt that soap opera's felt different from sitcoms. Clearly, it was how it was shot...and of course the laughter in the audience... I recall from when I was three there were two kinds of shots I remember the most:

1. The over the shoulder shots. You kept seeing the back of the other guys head. What was that all about?

2. The scene with the woman's robe falling to the floor. I really didn't know what was going on, but I figured something exciting was bound to happen!

I think I like point of view close ups, because of the intimacy of the shot.

Note to self:

TO establish a new line-of-action, do one of the following:

1. Have a new player come in to the picture. 2 people sitting, new guy comes in, 2 guys establish eye contact = new line of action. However the woman would still be shot at the old line of action (this is called a re-establishing shot).
2. Establishing a new line when a player crosses the line. Once the player crosses the line and establishes eye-contact, there is a new line of action.
3. The camera can pan, dolly and cross the line of action… Easy to do as long as the camera movement is uninterrupted.

Cutaways and Bridge Shots:
Very great way to change the line of action without interrupting the geography of a scene.

"As soon as the man establishes eye-contact (keyword here, eye-contact!!) with the woman, The new line of action is established.

“Consistent sense of space is reinforced through repetition.” This reminds me of a lesson in architectural design: consistency, repetition, repeating key elements, etc.

The line of action for moving subjects and action. According to Steven D. Katz, The line of action is most useful when used to organize the photography of multiple-player dialogue sequences. More interesting and creative types of editing can be done for other scenes (kinetic or analytical editing)

“Today’s viewers are so visually sophisticated” I would have to agree with that.

To establish a new line of action/ motion:

1. A subject can cross the line establishing a new one by the direction of his new line of motion.
2. The camera can cross the line, either following the subject or merely traveling for graphic variety to a new view point.
3. a new subject can enter the frame and become the dominant line of motion in contrast to the first.

In either case, continuity is key.