Scene of Suspense - Commitment

Director's Reflection:

Overall response (2-3 paragraphs):

In 2-3 paragraphs, write an overall response to your film: Were you successful at achieving what you set out to achieve? What are you proud of? What would you do differently if you could remake this piece? What did you learn? 

            The goal of this film was to tell a suspenseful story that was personal to me that leaves the audience wanting to know what happens next. I came up with the story because there are ethical conflicts facing all of the characters, so the suspense is actually relevant to their feelings and meaning as characters. This felt more suspenseful to me, and made the film into a story I actually wanted to tell, rather than just an assignment to check off. In terms of these goals, I think I was mostly successful. The overall scenario of the story seemed to be clear to everyone, there was suspense (at least in the final scene), and at least some of the audience wanted to know what happened next. In some ways, I was unsuccessful, because a lot of the moments I meant to be suspenseful had less impact than I intended, such as the cross-cutting to the husband, or the scene when Cooper leaves the apartment. Additionally, the tone and pacing of the film felt very off, largely because I didn’t do a great job of establishing geography and exposition, which made some of the emotion of the film muddled or overshadowed.

            I’m proud of the story I came up with for this film, and that it ended up being at least partly successful as a suspenseful scene. I’m proud of the final scene, which had the palpable suspense I wanted to, and which had fewer execution flaws than the rest of the film. Additionally, I’m proud of the acting. I felt like the actors did a fairly good job, even though it clearly wasn’t perfect, and that my ability to direct them improved through the process of making this film. I also received praise for the acting from my classmates.

            If I could do this differently, I would want to use fewer shots, but to also be sure to include shots that were needed to establish the geography of my locations. This would have made the pacing feel more normal, and would have helped the audience to stay involved in the suspense of the story, rather than be confused by things they weren’t supposed to be confused by. Additionally, I’d be sure to frame my shots so that they included the necessary information, such as the (missing) shot of Ella putting her phone on the ground. I learned a lot about geography, continuity, and clarity in this process. I also very importantly learned that, as long as the shot continues to evolve with dynamic information, there is no need to cut frequently—a long take can be more engaging and thrilling than a lot of quick cuts.

Briefly answer the following:

What, specifically, did you want to communicate? Were you successful? Why? Why not?

I wanted to tell the story of a wife who was kind of cheating on her husband, and who was conflicted about the situation, as well as of the husband finding out and not knowing what to do. I wanted the tension and panic that they felt to turn into suspense for the audience, so that the audience is unsure of what each character will do next. I think I was largely successful because the story was simple enough that it was easy to understand, and the acting helped carry the emotions of the characters. I was somewhat unsuccessful as the suspense was often overshadowed by confusion of geography or story due to unneeded cuts or missing information.

How, specifically, did you try to say this? What visual elements, techniques, etc. did you use?

I tried to mainly use space to carry the emotion of the scene. I tried to keep the space of the apartment very flat, while keeping everything outside of the apartment much deeper (or in the case of the stairs, more ambiguous). This was to create tension between the two areas as we realize that the characters in them are at different places of knowledge. I also wanted it to make a powerful and tense transition from deep to flat space once the husband comes home.

In addition, I tried to use slightly warm colors in the apartment and cool ones out of it to heighten the contrast created by space.

What did you learn about storytelling:

I learned that one dynamic shot is more comfortable and sensible than several quick cuts, especially in a very still scene in which all the needed information can be seen in one shot. I also learned the importance of creating and maintaining geography so that the audience isn’t distracted by elements that should be built into the story.

Working with actors and getting performance:

I learned that one of the most important elements of this is to know, as the director, what the characters want and are trying to do. It seems that some actors prefer to work by being told physical actions and some prefer to be told tactics, so it may involve finding out what each actor responds to. In either case, however, motivation is key.

Blocking — camera and actors:

The Black Magic Cinema Camera’s sensor crops so much that very wide lenses are required to make a shot feel wide at all. I also learned that we don’t need closeups for every facial expression—mediums and even medium-wides usually allow these to be read without awkwardly punching in.

Visuals — composition, framing, visual elements:

Deep space can be very hard to create without a lot of movement. Additionally, it is crucial to make sure the frame captures all vital information, even at the edges.

Design & Art Direction:  

Be prepared. Make sure the location has what you need, or bring what you need. I was expecting my location to have a coffee table, but it didn’t, so we ended up using the floor, and it wasn’t very effective. Next time I will try to be more prepared.

The Production Process — collaboration with crew, the logistics of making this piece:

I ironically found that my crew frequently goofed off, but then were annoyed at how long things were taking. I realized that it was better if I just said something to get them to pay attention and keep them from being distracted. In the moment they might have felt annoyed, but in the long run they would have thanked me.

                  

What was it like to watch your film with an audience? Did they understand it? Miss the point? Why did they respond the way they did?  

I felt awkward because there were a lot of little issues that built up to make the film viewing just feel plain weird. I felt it, so I knew that others felt it, and that made me uncomfortable. However, despite that, the audience seemed to understand the film and to feel the purpose of it.

Other observations:

Trying to make parallel editing feel natural and motivated is hard.