Photos Nine: Rhythm

Of all my photos, this one has the clearest rhythm. The lines of the bookshelf neatly divide the frame into about twelfths. Nearly everything is moving in the same direction. There is a lot of dynamic movement from color, but in the sense of line and shape, everything feels still, other than the subject. This clearly helps her stand out, but still feel solidly set in the environment she's in.

The rhythm of this photo is almost overwhelming (especially if seen on a large screen) due to the tonal contrast and pattern. It is fairly ambiguous. While it's not very hard to figure out what it is after looking at it for a few moments, there is no clear subject--no clear place to rest the eye. Instead, it just feels like one big block of tension.

This photo uses rhythm in the most complex way of the three, and it is my favorite. There is horizontal rhythm that is created by the line of her eyes and hands. There is also a unique diagonal rhythm created by the direction and placement of her arms. They neatly frame her face, but since they are in opposing directions, there is a slight bit of tension and excitement to them as well. The overall rhythm of the image is also interesting, since she is taking up most of the frame, but is not centered. It feels neatly composed but somewhat imbalanced.

Film Five: Statement of Intent, Shot List, Lined Script

FILM 5: SCRIPTED ONE TAKE
DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT OF INTENT

This statement of intent is designed to train your mind, eye and heart to shoot purposefully. Prepare it well before shooting. Briefly—but thoughtfully and specifically—answer the following questions.

1.     What film or TV show is this from?

a.     After reading the script, in 3 sentences, what is the story of the entire film?

Harry and Sally are two seemingly different people who meet a couple times before their thirties and have some chemistry, but tension. They disagree on whether or not a man and a woman can be “just friends,” and thus do not become friends at first, and do not date. However, once they are older, they become very close friends in a very intimate way, which slowly leads to them falling in love with one another.

b.     After reading the script, what is the theme of this film?

The theme of this film is that maybe it is true that men and women (who are attracted to each other) can be friends, and that those kinds of intimate friendships can lead to a very intimate romantic relationship where the two people honestly love each other for who they are rather than for superficial reasons.

2.     Do you have the actual script of the film (not a transcript)?

Yeah.

3.     In 3-5 sentences, what happened in the story immediately before this scene?

Nothing. There is a brief scene of documentary footage to set the tone of the film (and to allow the end of the film to be connected to reality and to the earlier parts of the film), but this is the second scene, and the first scripted scene. We learn all we need to in the scene and those that follow it—who Harry and Sally are, how they feel about each other, and why they’re traveling together.

4.     In three or four sentences, what is the story—the beginning, middle, and end—of this scene? In other words, what happens as the scene starts, as it progresses, and as it ends?

Harry makes out with his girlfriend, Amanda, who he is really into, when Sally pulls up, prepared to drive with Harry to New York. He doesn’t notice that she is there until she honks the horn, at which point he loads his stuff in the car, gets in, and drives away, saying bye to Amanda who he is leaving.

5.     What, specifically, must the audience understand narratively/plot-wise in order to engage in this scene? How will you communicate each piece of information?

They must understand that Harry has left with Sally, although they do not yet need to know why. They must understand that there really is not yet chemistry between the two of them, and that Harry feels more attached to Amanda at this point in time (but that that could very quickly change). They must understand that Harry might be a bit of a player in that he cares very much about the physical side of a relationship in this point in time, possibly more so than other parts.

6.     What is the narrative and thematic purpose of this scene within the larger story?

This is the beginning of the film—when Harry and Sally actually meet. They do not hit it off at all in this scene, and although there is chemistry between them shortly after, they take a long time to learn about their feelings and become friends. By learning a bit about how Harry and Sally feel about relationships and sex in this scene, we are able to thematically understand why their friendship and following sexual/romantic relationship is so important (ten years down the road).

7.     What emotion do you want the audience to experience while watching this scene? Why? How, specifically, do you intend to do this?  

I mainly want this scene to be comedic, so I want to communicate humor and happiness. I also want to communicate a bit of tension between Amanda and Sally to create a feeling of suspense. I want to do this because I think that’s what the purpose of the scene is in the script. It’s funny and awkward and familiar. This will help the audience engage with the characters and want to get to know them more by continuing to watch the film. I want to do this by landing on, and structuring camera movement around, comedic beats. For instance, I will briefly stop moving the camera when Harry and Amanda pull apart to say “I love you,” then continue to move immediately after this. I will also use high-key lighting to focus on the performances, rather than on any intellectual expectations from the audience.

8.     What is the first image of the scene? What is the final image of the scene? Why do you think the director chose these specific images?

The first image is a close up of Harry and Amanda making out. The final image is of Amanda’s face as the other two drive away. I think the writer chose the first image because it characterizes Harry, and it makes it funny (because of the title of the movie) that Sally meets Harry when he is kissing another girl. The final image is not necessarily something anyone other than me chose, but I chose it because it is an interesting way to help the audience really key in on Harry and Sally and the sparks that are slowly but surely going to build between them. By turning to Amanda, we’re reminded “Hey, this relationship with Amanda probably won’t last with Harry.” It’s also a bit sad and a bit funny to see her one last time, and to focus on her emotional reaction to the scene, when, after this, we’ll never see her again.

9.     Why is this scene personal to you? What specific personal experience(s) does it remind you of?

I have had several times in my life when I’ve met someone and I didn’t expect it to be a big deal, but a little down the road it turned out that we were very close friends. I think this is a very interesting feeling, and one that’s important. It seems valuable to me to look at the events and feelings that lead up to those feelings of friendship and intimacy. I am also somewhat familiar (though less so) with the feeling of sending someone I care about off with someone I don’t necessarily care for as much, worried that my friend will become closer with the other person. The tensions in this scene are familiar to me, but I think they are things that are worth recreating and examining.

10.  Which two specific visual elements—line, shape, space, tone, color, rhythm, movement—do you intend to use to purposefully communicate the emotion of the scene? (You will be graded on your execution of this plan)

Movement will be crucial as this will be a one-take. I will use movement to frame what is important in ways that help to communicate relationships and wants. For instance, while Harry and Amanda are making out at the beginning, I plan to frame Sally in a way that we can still see them, but are able to see her expression of annoyance and impatience.

I will also use space. I hope for most of the scene to have somewhat flat space to imply how things currently are. Then, finally, when Harry and Sally leave, I will have a beat of the car heading into deep space, followed by a beat of Amanda in deep space, to show that there is now potential energy and that things could change, and that they are about to.

11.  In a bulleted list, describe three potential obstacles you may face in creating a successful scene. Describe how can you be prepared to overcome these? Be specific!

One is the light. We will be shooting outside, and it will likely be sunny, which will give us enough light, but it might be too much, causing shadows or actors to squint unattractively. I hope to overcome this by preparing a lighting setup to block/diffuse some daylight as we are shooting. This may involve recruiting a couple people to help out as crew.

Another obstacle is how much kissing the two actors will have to do. Although it is acting, they could get somewhat emotionally worn out from doing it so much all in a row, for long takes where they can’t really rest in the middle. I plan to overcome this by making sure the actors know the content of the scene and the process that will go into filming a one-take before I cast them. I will discuss with them what will be involved, and make sure they are sure they are comfortable with doing it before I settle on them for my cast.

Lastly, it could be difficult to shoot in the street for so long without getting interrupted by traffic. I hope to overcome this by finding a location with low enough traffic that we will be able to film for a couple of minute with the DP standing in the street and nothing going wrong.

One Take of an Event: Steven and James Play Racquetball

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? 

            I really enjoyed making this film, and I feel like I learned a lot of things that need to be thought through before trying to create something like this. I went in to the creation of the project having carefully prepared my beat list, and knowing that beat list pretty well. Of course, under the circumstances, I also felt prepared to stray from the beat list pretty significantly as needed. However, what I was not prepared for was knowing how to work with the given setting, and knowing how best to frame the beats that I had planned. These were the two biggest challenges I perceived during filming. After filming, as I was editing/choosing which segment of my footage to use, I realized that I didn’t get as many different angles as I would have liked, and that there were frequent/repeated moments where I lost track of what I was following because I became more focused on avoiding the ball and players than on keeping something interesting in the shot.

            Despite these challenges, there are a lot of things I’m quite happy with in this film. Overall, I think I did a good job of following the action, and making it so that the audience could understand what was generally going on. There are also several beats, movements, and actions that I’m happy with (such as when Steven returns and James falls trying to get the ball, when I follow the ball as it rolls towards me on the floor, and when James prepares to serve a couple of the times). There are a couple of compositions I like, such as when James is on the floor and when I get a sort of brief over the shoulder shot of James. Additionally, I’m very happy with the people I got to participate in the film. They were fun and engaging.

            However, of course there are several things I wish I had done better. First, I wish I had been able to avoid having any moments of downtime where I got lost in what I was following. This was very tricky with the space limitations and I never really managed to get it down. Second, I wish I had been able to get more angles (from the front of the room looking back, closer shots, and more shots that prominently featured both players. Again, this was tricky due to the space and nature of the action, and I didn’t really get it down. Third, I wish I had managed to get prettier compositions. This is something I could have spent more time planning, but really didn’t even think about until the end of filming when it was too late for me to perfect the skill. Finally, there are a couple of technical things I’m disappointed in. There were a couple specks on the lens (or possible the sensor) the entire time. I cleaned the lens immediately before filming, so I’m really not sure what happened, but I wish I had at least noticed these imperfections in the display before I finished filming so I could have tried to get some footage without them.

Briefly answer the following:

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

I wanted to communicate the tension of the game of racquetball—the suspense that comes as the two players play a point and we (the audience) don’t know who will win the point. I also wanted to characterize the people playing, at least a little bit. I think I was successful because everyone I showed it to said they at least felt some drama. They also all seemed to enjoy the “characters,” so I think that’s good. I think in some ways the drama could have been a lot higher, so I could have improved in that area, by possibly getting closer to the players to give a better reading of their facial expressions as they played.

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

The biggest one, of course, was movement. I tried to follow the players as they moved to reach the ball, and their sporadic and quick movements gave a sense of urgency and excitement. I also tried to depict the space in a way that gave a sense of what it felt like to be in that tight room with two people moving around quickly. One thing that turned out nicely that I didn’t play was color. James was wearing red and Steven was wearing blue, which provided a nice contrast between them.

What did you learn about storytelling:

I learned that it is very difficult to tell a story with characters very engagingly if you can’t get very close to them to read and depict their facial expressions. However, another thing I learned is that if the situation is fairly obvious, that can be a big supplement to helping the story along, especially if other factors are unchangeable. In this case, everyone generally understands how racquetball is played, and that each player is trying to win each point. This really helped. I also learned that if characters are moving around with purpose, there is always something to look at, and that those details can be choreographed in a way that no cuts need to be made.

Working with actors and getting performance:

Obviously, I didn’t really direct actors this time, but I did learn that Steven and James are very friendly and helpful and nice to work with.

Blocking — camera and actors:

It can be very difficult to capture big blocking movements in a visually pleasing way without having them choreographed beforehand. In this case, it led to my shots generally being overly wide and kind of ugly and boring. This is something I will be sure to avoid in my next film by using a nice and purposeful variety of wide, medium, and close-up shots.

Visuals — composition, framing, visual elements:

Having all white walls is not very friendly to using a lot of visual elements, unless they are very purposefully contrasted with something with more detail. I also relearned that wide shots can be especially difficult to frame in aesthetically pleasing ways. However, fortunately, movement is often enough to keep the audience engaged, which is something that really benefited my project.

Design & Art Direction:  

Again, all white walls with no details other than the people in the shot can be good, but it has to be framed very exactly, which was very difficult under these circumstances.

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

                  

Once we got to the courts, everything went incredibly (miraculously, even) smoothly. However, as usual, I forgot some important things until the very last minute (specifically, I forgot to find racquets until a couple hours before shooting), which created a lot of unneeded stress.

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?  

Actually, watching my film with an audience was a really nice experience. Everyone really seemed to enjoy it. More than that, they seemed engaged, and able to follow what was going on. There were certainly lulls (especially toward the beginning), but overall no one seemed to lost, bored, or annoyed. I think they responded the way they did partially because they knew the people involved, which may have been unfair. (However, I did show the film to some people who didn’t know Steven and James before class and they really seemed to enjoy it and the characters as well.) I also think they responded well because I was, for the most part, able to stay focused on the event and its details with only a few lost moments. Additionally, there was at least some variety in the shots, which kept enjoyment up as well.

Other observations:

This was a really good and fun exercise. My main fear—the safety of the camera—ended up not being a problem. Of course, it did cause me to miss some nice beats and shots, but I’m happy I was able to protect the camera and lens even if that meant a little sacrifice.

However, I definitely learned from doing this why racquet sports are shot from one wide angle without much on-court action (unless it’s shot from far away with a long lens). If I were to do this assignment again, I think I would pick something less risky. Hopefully this wouldn’t require me to sacrifice intensity, drama, or fun.