RE: Blocking tips, please help...

D

Drcoffee

Well-known member
RE: Blocking tips, please help...

Hi there I recently shot a short drama based in a kitchen, approx 4 minute argument between a man and his girlfriend. During which they were moving around the room opening cupboards, turning off boiling pans etc.


What I wanted to ask is, what would have been the best way to plan for a shoot like this? Being shot with one camera. i.e easiest, less headache making, in terms of wanting shots to match.


Cheers
Jon
 
a master shot will be your best bet for editing and continuity purposes. if the blocking is rehearsed and can be repeated get angles and shots of interest within the scene. ie. mediums, close ups, and cutaways
 
Ah, starting with a master is fine, but in most situations you'll want to occasionaly change perspectives over four minutes of shooting (unless you have very powerful actors doing a "Mise en Scene").

Typically, we'd use some loose over the shoulder perspectives, moving into tighter OTS shots as the argument heats up, maybe including some POVs, reveals, etc (perhaps even putting the camera inside the refrigerator using a J cut, etc). Perhaps you'll want to dolly, truck, use a glidecam, etc. I'd be thinking about dutch angles as things get dicey, maybe stage a reflection shot, and deliberately include some camera jerks during the peak (ala Bourne Ultimatum to draw in audience emotion).

Yes, be sure to get lots of cutaways, even if you don't end up needing them in post. But you might want to stage the scene with a couples pix, showing the irony of their luvy-duvey intimacy at another point in time to contrast with the fight scene (perhaps cutting to it early on the argument or after they make-up).

A lot of this depends on what you're trying to do with the film, the size of the kitchen, details of the scene, etc. For instance, in a tight kitchen your creativity will be limited, probably stuck with a wide angle lens and no prayer for rack focus shots, etc. Assuming this four minute scene is a major plotpoint between ACTS, then you're going to want to do due diligence and give some serious thought to carefully blocking the scene.

Good luck,

Michael
 
I think that instead of a formulaic strategy of Wide, Medium, CU, you should be asking yourself what is your film about? What motivates every scene? What is your voice as a filmmaker? If you understand these questions, then you will naturally know how to go about shooting each scene.

Jiekai
 
I agree with Jiekai, but I think the question involves moving from the theoretical into the actual/practical.
If the scene involves a characters realization of something and the filmmaker decides to use as a strategy the close up, and wants a certain realization of the character to have an effect with this, then the director would make sure to have mediums and wides before hand so this close up can be used to for the effect of realization.
Or the opposite, a big wide shot, showing the characters at a great distance from each other. Then the filmmaker would make sure to use close ups and tighter shots before so the sudden wide would have this effect.
If you think of one or two shots that express elements of character or emotion then the rest of the coverage sort of becomes academic.
 
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