Same Location-Different Scenes-passage of time

Jim Brennan

Jim Brennan

VHS Member Old Skool
My next film has 4 short scenes that take place in the same location (a bar). I hope to shoot all 4 scenes in one day, if possible. The first one is in the evening, the second is the following afternoon, the third one is later that evening, and the last one is about an hour later. The bar has almost no windows (we'll be shooting during the day)

My plan is to use different extras, change of wardrobe as appropriate to the scene, perhaps use slightly different angles for the master shot, and use more light for the daytime scene. Anyone have any other suggestions to make it clear that it's the same place, in a different time (none of the scenes run concurrently, and I'm sure having scenes in between will help as well) Am I worried about nothing?
 
Re: Same Location-Different Scenes-passage of time

have the bartender or some other patron thats one of those people that hangs out there all day every day..   glance at the  protagonist or whoever is in there.. like ".. you again eh?"

people should recognize the bartender or the patron, and know its the same place.. they dont have to say anything,.. just give a glance. or just show then there stil drinking or playing pool or serving drinks or hitting on another uninterested member of the opposite sex... whatever.

or you can put some specific novelty thing in the bar that people are doing or looking at , and show that people are still looking at it each time in the backgrond or something.. anyway.. you get the drift of what im suggetsing anyway. itll probably be fine either way.
 
Re: Same Location-Different Scenes-passage of time

If "almost no windows" means small windows that you can pump light through, you could use lighting through them to convey time of day - ie intense bluish 'daylight' for the daytime scenes, muted red-orange light for "dusk" or "late afternoon" and completely darkened for the night sequences.

If they're small enough for you to control, but large enough to read in your shots, make them serve a purpose.
 
Re: Same Location-Different Scenes-passage of time

You could do a shot where your protagonist sits at a table or at the bar - hold his position and then move some atmosphere and dressing a bit and adjust your lighting somewhat.  

Maybe it is bustling in one scene, then as he settles, you do a long dissolve to him seated elsewhere within the same locked-off frame - it will be a huge continuity change, justified through the transition.  He can be doing something entirely different before and after the edit: in the first scene, he can be over a bottle at the bar, and in the second he might be alone and nearly asleep at a table as a barmaid clears another setting nearby.

I think you can easily establish this in a subtle way by shooting with many extras first, then remove the vast majority for another scene - also taking the background audio and music levels down significantly.

e
 
Re: Same Location-Different Scenes-passage of time

I was watching the cemetary - prostitute scene in Easy Rider when I wrote that. I was a little distracted!
 
Re: Same Location-Different Scenes-passage of time

i would use lighting a lot.

just because there are no windows you could have lighting coming from a direction off camera where the viewer could easily be led to beleive there is a window.

where is walter graff on this one, he is really good at that sort of thing.

oh is this a bar that serves food? bartender could be talking about getting ready for the lunch crowd, you could have a black or white board with the specials in the frame and it could change or show it being changed?

matthew
 
Re: Same Location-Different Scenes-passage of time

Also the use of the soundtrack should help a lot
Is the location/bar in a city? The sound of the traffic (cars, people walking/ and ambulance...) outside should be more strong in the morning.
It will be less background noise at night.
and if there any music in the bar, it should be different what the play at night that what plays in the morning.

Of course it also changes what people drinks. There will be more cofee cups in the morning. (so the sound of the coffee machine (if there are any...) could sound in the morning scene)

Another thing: If the scene at night it´s pretty late, you could make that the bar is getting close (someone is cleaning some tables... a group of people is saying bye... Maybe the music stops suddenly... But it depends on your script...

Good luck.

I had a shooting in a bar a couple of weeks ago. It all placed at night and the bar had enormous windows. It was damn hard. All the shooting took places at night as the story takes places at real time (starst at 2:40 and finish at 3:00 o´clock at night).

Thanks i had a great crew...

I think i won´t shoot a real time story again. Too much things to bother with the raccord.
 
Re: Same Location-Different Scenes-passage of time

1.change the lighting pattern.....i.e. strong side light (afternoon)....flat lighting with a touch of red, pink coming from a beer sign (night)
2. If you have access to music, change music accordingly
3. keep the subject in the same seat, and try to keep the audiences eye pointed to the subject, then change only the background.
4. Use transition to convey afternoon to night or vise versa...ie. c.u of a beer as it hits the table, in front of the subject, cut to subject.......ie. follow a man or woman in the bar and stop at the subject
5. have people playing imaginary darts, billiards.....next transition, nobody's playing or another set of people are playing.
6. from afternoon to night......maybe turn the lights on and off to convey closing time.
 
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