Questions Regarding Blocking

J

John M

Active member
Hey folks,

So I have a question for you all and that question is, how do make the blocking in a film look professionally done?

I know this is sort of a vague question, but allow me to provide an example that might help illuminate things:

So in a lot of my films there is this very staged look to the blocking. Hopefully you know what I mean. What I'm saying is, it's hard enough to get a couple of characters to realistically walk up to each other and have a conversation, and it's even harder to mimic the realism found in every day life where a couple of people not only walk up to each other and have a conversation, but also move about a little bit to and end up in different positions.

I'm in a strange position, where I can watch a movie, see the blocking, understand the blocking but I can't really re-create that type of blocking on my own work, because I just don't have a mind for movement.

So, I suppose the question I might actually be asking here, is what methods do you folks use to come up with staging/blocking for your films? Where do you begin?

Of course I understand that there is no easy answer, and that it takes loads of practice to be able to put together something that looks realistic, but right now I'm more interested in any sort of tricks or tips you folks might have.

Thanks so much.
 
Sounds like you need to go do some people watching. Take a day and pick out a few locations with high traffic. Maybe even bring yourself a frame and hold that up infront of you. Figure out what is making that look natural. Just a suggestion.
 
I start with the script. Each scene should have a goal in moving the story forward. In doing a blocking breakdown of a scene and coordinating with the director there are about five things which serve as motivations for character movement and roughly the same which motivate cessation of that movement. Once noted I look for key positions, (marks), where that movement will begin or cease. I look for connections between those key positions and plan the coverage. Everything winds up on the blocking diagram including any lead-ins and/or extensions and during the setups I look for deep staging and coordinate foreground and background.

When time is short, which is more often than not, transforming a camera instead of moving to a new setup is a lot simpler and keeps the blocking tight.
 
Cool folks. Thanks for the suggestions. People watching sounds like a plan.

Also, could someone tell me what, "transforming" the camera means? It sound sweet, but I have no idea what it means.

Thanks again, guys.
 
John M said:
... Also, could someone tell me what, "transforming" the camera means? It sound sweet, but I have no idea what it means.
...
Click to expand...

Instead of breaking down your setup and moving the camera for an OTS coverage of the actor, they move or turn to an exact mark and the camera is magically "transformed" into the exact kind of OTS shot you needed, saving you with a few steps and carefully blocked turn at least twenty minutes.
 
Ah I see. It turns out I am familiar with that technique, but I never called it that before. I appreciate the responses guys.
 
Give your actors something to do in the scene if it makes sense, like making a sandwich, eating something, cleaning up, writing a paper, trying to walk somewhere...physical business. If you can also make that physical business relate to the conflict at hand then even better. Then the blocking should sort itself out in a natural way. Left to their own devices actors will just stand in the middle of the room and deliver their lines. Also, most scenes are one character trying to get something from another, so block with that in mind. For example, one common acting exercise is for the teacher to tell one actor he has to do whatever he can to keep the other actor from leaving the room saying only certain lines. The physical business becomes all about that, one actor trying to get out the door, the other trying to stop them.
 
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Cool Man. My one worry with business is that it may get distracting to the audience. I guess that's why you said "if it makes sense" though. Cool.
 
I begin by getting into the space before anyone else and imagining how the scene could play out. I then bring the actors in for a rehearsal and let them play a few times with no input from me. In my experience, actors will find the most natural line to the movement in the scene. Now that may not work for the camera so it needs to be tweaked with that in mind. It also may not work at moments for the kind of emotional energy I think the scene needs. The actors may be too close when I think they should have more distance or they may make some physical contact that dissapates the tension in my opinion. So I tweak that. Or I think it would work better if they did someting completely different than they're doing and ask them to try that and see if it's better. In short, I let the actors give me as much as they can before I start to mess with them.
 
Yeah, I suppose if you got a few good actors that know what they're doing, letting them mess around a little could not hurt at all.
 
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