photos 9: rhythm

The rhythm in this photo is tonal, as it moves in a sort of gradient from left to right, from the shadow in the barn window to the mid-tone of the red barn to the light and bright sky. It also functions as rhythmic because the eye is moving back and forth along the gradient, and the shapes in the photo are geometric, also serving to lead the eye around the barn in particular.


The rhythm in this photo is created by the very obvious pattern of the subject. On the Icee machine are three flavors, and more specifically three colors, that are all shaped the same but create a tonal progression. Even the little reflections of lights between the flavor names and pumps create a pattern. I wish I had framed it a bit differently, so the words above the flavor names weren't visible - they're kind of distracting. 


The rhythm here is pretty obvious, as there's a clear pattern being created by all the cameras and lenses. It's pretty monochromatic so the tonal separation is created by shadows and different-colored parts of the cameras. I also like the lines that the shelves create, to guide the eye, and they blend in nicely with the brick wall on the left side of the photo.

one-shot of an event: beat list

NAME: Brenna Empey

DATE: 10/22/2016

PROJECT #3 BEAT LIST

After writing your Director's Statement of Intent, but before shooting, create a Beat List for your One Take film. Like a shot list, the Beat List will include the moments you are hoping to capture in your one take. To create the Beat List, do the following:

1. Visualize the event unfolding in your mind as you answer these questions:

a) Where is the action taking place? How will we know that?

It will be taking place in a basement apartment. We’ll know because I plan to start filming the subjects outside, so we’ll see what type of place they’re entering.

b) How will the action unfold? In other words, what are "beats" of the action? 

The beats in this scene won’t be communicated by movement, but rather by emotion on my subjects’ faces. This might make it tricky as a film but I think starting outside the house will really help. In a perfect world, my two subjects will discuss the prospect of getting their palms read before entering. The palm reader and the subjects will then introduce themselves, and we’ll sit down, and begin the palm reading. Then the beats will be emotional as the subjects receive information from the palm reader and react to it.

c) Who is involved in this event?

        A palm reader and two people getting their palms read.

d) Where is the drama in the event? Is it between competitors? Are there spectators? Is there some kind of physical risk?

The drama is with the subjects. I’ve made sure that my subjects are two people, who have never had their palm read before, so hopefully their reactions will communicate the emotions they’re going through as the palm reader gets things right about who they are, their past, etc. There will be at least one spectator and possibly more – but for sure it’ll be the other person waiting to get their palm read, or the other person who just got their palm read. There is no physical risk with filming a palm reading, thankfully!

2. Decide how you will communicate the above information to the audience in terms of beats or points of focus. In other words, what specific images/subjects does the audience need to see to:

a) understand what's happening;

I need to get an establishing shot of the apartment, I think, or at least an establishing shot of where we are inside the apartment, whether that will be a bedroom or the living room or wherever. I also need to make sure I get a shot of the palm reading book that my palm reader will be using, and definitely some coverage of the plants and incense she has in her house.

b) connect with the people involved;

A lot of my coverage will be of people’s faces, because I really want to capture my two subjects reacting to what the palm reader is telling them. I’m also going to get coverage of the palm reader reading from her book and really studying the palm, so we understand that she’s serious and not a fraud.

c) grasp, and feel, the drama.

Palm reading is all about feeling, so I need to make sure I’m getting tight shots of details. I want tight shots of faces (the palm reader and subjects), and tight shots of their hands during the reading process. Eyes are the windows to the soul, where we’ll see the most emotion in the subjects’ reactions, so I think I’ll need to spend a lot of time on their faces.

3. Decide where the camera will need to move in order to capture these images.

The camera will follow behind the subjects as they enter the apartment, and look around the apartment a bit to establish the space. When they sit down to have their palms read, that’s when I’ll get all my tight shots and really move in to capture close-ups of faces and eyes. The palm reader and the subject will be sitting across from one another, so I’ll mostly be capturing them in profile, but will be panning from one face to another a lot of the time. This includes tilting down to the palm being read, so I’ll be moving in a triangle a lot. I’ll also widen out to diversify the shots and get a two-shot of the palm reader and subject.­

4. Create a list of the above beats and images in the order you think they will occur. (Don't move past each beat too quickly--give the audience time to process the information!) For each beat/image, include this information:

a) The subject of the beat (what/who are we looking at?)

b) The why. Why is each beat important? What is the purpose of the shot in terms of story, drama, character? What impact will it have on the viewer? 

c) Include: 1) The type of shot (W, M, CU, ECU, etc.); 2) the angle and type (High, Low, OTS, POV, etc.); 3) any visual element(s) you'd like to take advantage of in the location (Flat or Deep Space, Horizontal/Vertical/Diagonal Line, Warm or Cool colors, etc.) However, remember that you are not to manipulate this event by giving direction, assigning wardrobe, production designing, etc.. 

·         Waiting to enter the apartment

a)      The subject of the beat is the two people who are going to have their palms read.

b)      The purpose of this beat is to show the anticipation of the people about to get their palm read. I hope they’ll talk about how they’ve never done this before and how they feel about it or what they’re expecting.

c)      This shot will be W and OTS on our subjects, warm colors because the sun will hopefully be setting when we film, and deep space because you can see all the way to the back of the apartment from the front door.

·         Meeting the palm reader

a)      The subject of the beat is the palm reader

b)      The purpose of this beat is show both the subjects and the audience the normalcy of this person, who they might not have expected to be so normal.

c)      This shot will be W three-shot on subjects and palm reader, warm colors because of the sunset, and flat space because I’ll back out from the doorway into a cramped stairwell that will make it flatter.

·         Entering the apartment

a)      The subject of the beat is the apartment/what’s inside it

b)      The purpose of this beat is to let the anticipation of both the subjects and the audience grow, because now we’re entering a new space, where we don’t know what is going to happen.

c)      This shot will be MED OTS, warm colors because the sunset will be coming in from the window (although this may be hard to do because the walls inside the apartment are white, and the furniture is black), and deep space because we’re moving into the apartment.

·         Palm reader and subject sit down/get ready

a)      The subject of the beat is the palm reader and first person who’s going to get their palm read

b)      The purpose of this beat is to show that it takes some prep before reading someone’s palm. I’m hoping that the palm reader will explain a couple things to the subject before she begins reading, and I hope I can get a shot of her palm reading book to bring the audience in on what’s happening.

c)      This shot will be W two-shot, warm colors, because now we’ll be able to see the warm-colored tapestry and warm-colored coffee table that the palm reader has in her apartment, and flat space because now I’ll be focusing on the small living room where the palm reading will happen.

·         Subject reacts to palm reading

a)      The subject of the beat is the person getting their palm read and their palm

b)      The purpose of this beat is to show how the subject is feeling about this thing they’ve never experienced before, and may not even believe in. In my experience palm readings are pretty accurate, so I’m hoping there will be feelings of surprise and disbelief on the subject’s face.

c)      This shot will be MED on the person getting their palm read, warm colors, flat space because the living room is so small and I want to focus on the subject’s face anyway.

·         Subject reacts to finger reading

a)      The subject of the beat is the person getting their palm read and their fingers

b)      The purpose of this beat is to continue the previous beat, but now the palm reader is reading a new part of the hand. In a perfect world, this beat would be more of the subject’s authentic reactions to what the palm reader is telling them.

c)      This shot will be MED-W so I can see both the face of the subject and their hand, warm colors, flat or deep space depending on where they’re sitting in the room because there’s more space off to one side of the couch than the other.

·         Palm reader answers the subject’s questions

a)      The subject of the beat is the palm reader

b)      The purpose of this beat is to show that the palm reader isn’t just here to mystify my subjects, but also to legitimize her practice of palm reading by being generous and willing to explain. It’s fun for a palm reader to the reactions of her subjects, too, and I want to capture some of that in her face.

c)      This shot will be MCU, moving back in on the palm reader this time, warm colors, flat space.

·         Palm reading ends and subject reflects

a)      The subject of the beat is the palm reader and the person who got their palm read

b)      The purpose of this beat is to bring conclusion to what we just saw and allow a moment for the subject to talk to the palm reader in reflection.

c)      This shot will be MCU to W as I move out to capture the whole image of them discussing the palm reading, warm colors because of the light coming in from the window, and flat-to-deep space.

one-shot of an event: director's statement

Director/DP: Brenna Empey

FILM 4 DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT OF INTENT

What is the story of this scene in two or three sentences? In other words, what happens in the scene?

Two people will have their palms read by a palm reader. It’s their first time doing something like this, so they don’t know what to expect.

What is the purpose of this scene in the larger story? (Or, if there is not a larger story, invent the purpose of this scene.)

There isn’t really a larger story beyond what is happening, but I’d like to think that my subjects are curious to learn who they are from another person, someone who can tell them things about themselves just by looking at their hands. Maybe they’ve come to a palm reader as a last hope as they try to get some answers about their lives.

What is the emotion I want to communicate?

I want to communicate unpredictability and surprise, because there will probably be a big difference between what the subjects want to hear and the truth of what the palm reader will tell them.

Why is this scene personal to me? What previous personal experiences does it remind me of? Why do I need to make this scene?

I don’t really know myself and I’m kind of fascinated when other people tell me things about myself. It could be things I already know but didn’t realize, or it could be things that I had no awareness of at all. Palm reading is one of those instances where I feel like I’m learning things about myself and realizing some repressed things about who I am.

What, specifically, must the audience understand narratively and feel at the end of this scene? How do you intend to make sure this will happen?

I want the audience to feel like the subjects have learned unknown things about themselves. It’ll really help that this is the subjects’ first time getting their palm read, which means they’ll probably be pretty reactive to things the palm reader is telling them. In particular, I hope I’ll get some authentic reactions to negative things that the subjects are hearing about themselves, maybe things they would never admit to.

What two visual elements (line, shape, space, tone, color, rhythm, movement) will you use to help communicate the emotion of the scene?

I’m going to use color and rhythm in the limited space of the small apartment to communicate the atmosphere of the scene. There’s a big tapestry and an incense burner in the apartment, which are both colorful and will help set the mood. Rhythm will mostly be attributed to camera movement as I move from palm reader, to hands, to subject and back again. I’m going to keep it rhythmic so it doesn’t seem sporadic.

What are some potential obstacles in creating a successful scene? How can you be prepared to overcome these?

Honestly, I’m just afraid that the scene won’t be interesting enough. My beats are dependent on emotion (the subjects reacting to things the palm reader is telling them), and I don’t know if that’ll be enough to keep the audience engaged. Thankfully I have two subjects, so if one of them isn’t very reactive, hopefully the other one will be.

shot for shot: director's reflection

NAME: Brenna Empey

DATE: 10/18/2016

FILM: Shot-for-Shot

DP: Jase Van Meeteren

TMA 285 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? 

            As I was thinking about what to do for my shot-for-shot, Blade Runner was one of the top choices but there was just one problem – it’s science fiction and very heavy on the production design end of things. I settled on this scene even though Deckard’s apartment is the type of place that wouldn’t exist in Provo, Utah, and just as I expected, finding a location was difficult. I think this negatively affected the piece, not in the sense that it didn’t look good, but in the sense that making the space work ate up a lot of my attention and time on the actual shooting day. I wish I had gotten to spend more time talking to my actors, and maybe more time for takes, rather than spending a lot on trying to imitate the space in Blade Runner.

            I do like how Rachel and Danny’s performances ended up, even though some people in class said Danny’s performance was a little flat. The cinematography turned out really well with our limited lighting options. If I were to do this scene again, I would spend more time with colors and costumes within the set itself, as well as in coloring, because my recreation ended up being too warm, lacking the industrial feel of the original movie. I might also cast someone else to play Harrison Ford’s character Deckard, not because I didn’t like my actor’s performance, but because I think Harrison Ford’s physicality is very different from that of my actor’s. I learned that casting the right body and face shapes are important even to the point that they can affect framing and mood.  

Briefly answer the following:

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

            I just wanted to recreate the general feelings of this emotionally-heightened scene, which are gradual defeat on Rachael’s end, and a range of shifting emotions on Deckard’s end. This is a difficult discussion for both characters, and I really wanted to draw that difficulty out of my actors. It was very different than previous assignments to come into this scene having a pre-written script and basically a pre-written shot list, but that didn’t make it any less of a challenge. I think, for my actors’ capabilities, I was successful in pulling out the emotions I wanted even though they may not be as conspicuous as in Harrison Ford and Sean Young’s performances in the original film.

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

            The low, contrasty lighting of this scene really communicates a feeling of loss, hopelessness, and frustration. Deckard’s dialogue dominates this scene, and Danny (my actor) and I talked a lot about why this character acts the way he does. We concluded that he kind of just wants the conversation to be over with, like it’s an annoyance, but it ends with Deckard having a shift in mood as he tries to be more sympathetic to Rachael. For Rachael, Deckard’s words are devastating. That’s why the high-contrast lighting works so well, and we tried to recreate that as best we could in the recreation. Favoring the shadowed side of the characters’ faces let us take a peek into their psyche and see that this conversation is difficult for both of them, but in different ways.

What did you learn about storytelling:

            I really learned about how detail can affect the entire mood of a scene when I was doing this assignment. As I was trying to somewhat recreate the messiness in Deckard’s apartment, as well as the textures and colors, I realized that my recreation wouldn’t have the same poignancy because I couldn’t include all the details. There are vodka bottles all over Deckard’s apartment, which I didn’t have. The harsh textured light from the blinds on the windows adds a lot to the industrial, futuristic feel of the scene, and we had trouble recreating those with the same punch. All around, my scene ended up being much softer and homier, whereas the details in production design in the original scene make it very dystopian and industrial.

Working with actors and getting performance:

            I talked about this a bit already, but how I went about this scene was simply by asking my actors how and why they think the characters were acting in this way in this moment. It was an interesting process because I showed them the original scene from Blade Runner before we began shooting my recreation, so it was more like analyzing an already-existing portrayal of emotions rather than just reading lines and letting my actors come up with their own interpretations. We talked a lot about what Deckard and Rachael were feeling and why, and how they were reacting to their situation. I think my actors also had different strengths – Danny, who played Deckard, was great at taking Deckard’s emotions and portraying them in his own way. Rachel, who played Rachael, did a great job at imitating Sean Young’s inflexion and facial expressions.

Blocking — camera and actors:

            I was actually surprised when this didn’t come up during the screening of my recreation in class. Blocking seemed generally pretty easy at first – the two characters remain in their own spaces on opposite sides of the room – but I was really struggling with eye-lines when we were shooting. I think it’s because of two things: I messed up the blocking a bit, and the room in the original Blade Runner is a lot bigger than the space I was filming, and therefore there was less space in which the characters could exist. Because of this, eyelines were less extreme than I wanted them to be, and my characters were facing the camera more than they should have been. For the most part, though, the eyelines made sense for the space I was working in, even if they weren’t exactly the same as in the original scene.

Visuals — composition, framing, visual elements:

            This is the one area in which I really thought I would shine, but when I got into the editing room I realized a couple shots of Deckard were too tight! Most shots of Rachael were spot on, and the lines on Rachael’s end of the room were very similar to the lines in the original scene, so her shots looked pretty good. We had to manipulate the structure of the room on Deckard’s end, though, and basically create a wall where there wasn’t one, so the lines didn’t work as well and we had less space to work with. In the shots of him sitting down on the couch, we should’ve backed up or gone onto a wider lens.

Design & Art Direction:  

            I talked about this a lot already but it was very difficult finding a suitable location and recreating Deckard’s apartment. It took a lot of time out of our shoot, and a lot of manpower that I wasn’t expecting. I don’t have much experience in production design, which is why (unfortunately) a lot of my assignments in this class haven’t been art-inclined. I’m really glad I found this location, though, because the cubic design of the fireplace behind Rachael is a great recreation of the walls of Deckard’s apartment. To create the same sort of geometric shapes on Deckard’s side of the room, I laid a bookshelf sideways across a desk and filled it with books, and I think that helped the geometric feel of his side of the room. I wish we could’ve found a place with such stylized walls as they have in Blade Runner.

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

            Getting ready for this shoot was, in general, pretty smooth sailing. The only hiccups were that my original actress dropped out a week before the shoot and I had to rush to find another one, and I had a bit of trouble finding a suitable location because Blade Runner is full of stylized science fiction spaces. The actual shooting of the scene was pretty easy, though. I really trust Jase as a DP which took a lot of stress out of how the lighting, framing, and camera movement would look in comparison to the original scene. Danny and Rachel both delivered satisfying performances after we discussed their characters’ feelings, motivations, and actions.

                  

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 was happily surprised that most of the audience seemed to like the location a lot, because I was worried about how inaccurate it was compared to the original scene. The audience did help me realize that my recreation came off as too homey and warm, almost the exact opposite of the cold industrial nature of the original. What I found most interesting was people’s reactions to Danny’s performance – it read as flat and uninteresting to some people, while others really liked it. I personally thought Danny did a great job as Deckard but presenting his performance to an audience made me recognize reasons why it came off as lacking in emotion that I hadn’t recognized before. I think the general response to the warmer feeling of my recreation is totally justified, and I should’ve paid more attention to my colors while shooting and in post.        

photos 8: sense of movement

This photo creates a sense of movement with eye-line. The girl closest to the camera is making eye contact with us but her body is turned away, almost as if she's getting ready to join with the other people in the photo - they're all looking at something off to the right. We caught her in the middle of a movement, and she pauses to acknowledge the viewer. The direction that the other people are looking makes the viewer wonder what could possibly be going on out-of-frame as well, keeping our eye constantly moving to the right.


This photo creates a sense of movement with lines. The road receding off into the background is one thing, but the texture of the bridge is arguably even more interesting. The separate slats are going int he same direction as the road, but there are lots of them, giving that area of the photo a more staccato rhythm than the rest. The bridge also looks like a sort of gateway, drawing the eye into the photo and to the end of the street where it eventually stops. The movement is very one-dimensional, but moves very deep into the photo.


This photo creates a sense of movement with shape. These flowers typically stand upright when there isn't any wind, but just looking at the shape of the flowers here gives the impression that they're moving. They're all being swung to the right by the wind, reaching up into the top right corner of frame. I'm not sure I like the blurry flower in the foreground, but it's the one with the most interesting shape, so that's a happy accident I suppose. The contrast of the white flowers against the greenery also helps lead the eye from one flower to the next. 

shot for shot recreation: blade runner scene

https://vimeo.com/187611499

photos 7: color

Red and green are on opposite sides of the color wheel - complementary colors. Here, the two of them work nicely to draw the eye from the top of the sign to the bottom. The gradient blue of the sky behind the sign almost looks fake but has a similar effect in leading the eye from top to bottom, from darker blue to lighter blue. It gets only more interesting with the stark white and black contrasting every other color in this photo. I also think the lines are interesting, and provide the image with a sort of frame-within-a-frame.


This photo is interesting to me because it's generally dull and de-saturated until you look at the red lines on the vaporizer. There's also affinity of color between the blue on the bottom part of the vaporizer and the jeans - altogether, the splashes of color in this photo form a sort of triangulation of interest for the eye to follow. The first thing I see in this photo is the red, then the blue of the vaporizer, then the blue jeans, then the tattoo of the bird that stands out against the subject's skin - a triangle of things for the eye to look at. It also helps simplify the photo, the fact that all the most prominent colors are primary. 


I love this photo for many of the same reasons as my second photo - it's a saturated subject in a generally de-saturated world. The most prominent colors, obviously, are the red of this girl's jacket and the red of the striped blanket next to her. The eye never really leaves those two places. I wish, either with colors or tone, that her face stood out more from the background. I do like that, by accident, the blanket ended up being on the same side of the couch that she was facing, almost as if she's turning away from the dullness of her surroundings.

shot for shot: script and overheads

VIEW LINED SCRIPT, OVERHEADS, AND LOCATION PHOTOS

VIEW ORIGINAL SCENE

photos 6: tone

The lines in this photo are really what make it interesting. On the left half of the frame especially, there are three distinct leading lines that draw the eye to the darkness in the back right third of the photo - the silhouette of the mountain in the background, the line of light from passing cars, and the shadow of the edge of the road. All of them work well here to guide the viewer around the photo, especially because one of those lines is tonally the brightest thing in the photo (the line of passing cars). The brake lights cause a sort of tonal gradient from the bottom of the photo to the top, with the trees and road gradually getting darker and darker as the eye follows those three lines into the pitch-black area in the top right.


This photo was actually an accident, but I ended up loving the way it's lit (brake lights on the left; headlights on the right, the moon as a backlight) because of how it controls the tone of each tree. It's also full of consistently vertical lines which make it interesting, especially since the verticals are all different textures and thicknesses. The structure of this photo, then, is offset by the silhouette of the sloping mountain in the background, and the circular glow of the moon. Both are on opposite ends of the tonal spectrum; very dark, and very bright. The trees all fall somewhere in between, with the strikingly white tree on the right third being the tonal medium between the mountain and the moon.


If there's anything I really love, it's frames within frames. Shape-wise, this photo is pretty cool because there's so much going on. The line between the patchwork mural and the bricks almost hits the exact vertical center of the picture, disrupted by the person standing there. Her head is framed by the mural, and the lower half of her body is framed by the brick. Tonally, the mural is full of bold, bright shapes with diagonals and sharp edges, while the brick contrasts with its rhythmic rectangles and monochrome color scheme. I'd be curious to show this picture to some people and ask what their eye is drawn to first - for me, it's the person standing in the middle, because she's dark against the white bits of the mural.

suspense scene: director's reflection

NAME: Brenna Empey

DATE: 10/3/2016

FILM: Suspense Scene

DP: Jeff Hein

TMA 285 DIRECTOR’S REFLECTION

SUSPENSE SCENE

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 entire intent of this piece was to create something that would contrast the typical “suspense” scene – a scene that evokes feelings of fear, and generally is frightening or bad. I think suspense scenes work well if they have a twist at the end, though, or something that nobody expected. With all that in mind, I decided to make a scene with comical suspense rather than fearful suspense, and a story that was ambiguous enough to sell a lighthearted twist at the end. I think in that regard, my film was successful – I added music that fulfilled the comedy aspect, and dissipated tension that could’ve very easily overwhelmed the film. The twist at the end wasn’t as much of a surprise as I wanted it to be, but I think it was a nice conclusion to the comedic tension nonetheless. I can say I’m pretty proud of the story, although I did run into some obstacles during shooting, editing, and screening the film.

            If I could do anything differently, the first thing would definitely be to keep the lighting consistent. A lot of the motivation for my lighting didn’t make sense from shot to shot, especially when we went from flat/tight space to wide/deep space for the “twist” at the end. During the screening one of the biggest things mentioned by the audience was the inconsistency of lighting, so I wish the DP and I had paid more attention to that during shooting. Another thing I wish I’d done was add more to the narrative arc; there wasn’t much for the characters to do, and there was really only one point of tension. I learned that sometimes more is better, for instance I originally had about twice the number of shots/beats, but when we got to the location we discovered we had a time limit and hand to change a couple things about the shot list. I think the film would’ve worked better if we hadn’t deleted so many shots.

Briefly answer the following:

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

I think my main focus was to create some situational irony in this piece, where what actually happens to the characters is not what the audience anticipated. I knew that I would be screening this film amongst more frightening and intense films, and I wanted to contrast that by creating a situation where there’s tension but it’s relieved in a comedic way. This was an interesting process because I originally only wanted the audience to feel an ease of tension in the very end, but in the editing room I decided to make the comedic elements come into play much earlier than that. I think it worked well and actually made the twist at the end sell a lot better because the audience already knew something quirky was going on, but didn’t know exactly what it was until the very end.

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

There were several ways I tried to communicate a gradual ease of tension – the idiosyncratic props, the music, and the framing. For each character, I gave them a prop that would sort of identify them and give them a visual to show their nervousness. One character had a lighter that he was constantly flipping on and off, another character had a watch she was constantly checking, and another character had a knife she wasn’t sure what to do with. The music was a choice that actually came in editing, but it works perfectly because it can either be perceived as creepy or happy – and we shift between those two feelings within the film. One moment, we’re feeling the tension and the music is adding another level of creepiness, and as soon as the girl with the knife joins the other two hiders behind the couch, the music becomes something comical. In the end, when the surprise birthday party is revealed, the music becomes happy. Lastly, the framing is really what created the tension in the film – I used a lot of flat space and tight shots to trap the characters, and contrastingly I widened out in the end to ease that tension.

What did you learn about storytelling:

I learned that you as the filmmaking control the audience’s emotions. You can’t always tell them exactly what to feel, but you can definitely put elements out there to try and make them feel something, like fear. That was my intention; to create feelings of fear, followed by comedic relief, and I think it worked pretty well. I also learned that depending on how you frame things, how you light things, and where you place the camera, you can make the audience either understand or misunderstand what’s going on or where the characters are. I kept the space of this film ambiguous, and thereby the situation of this film, ambiguous until the very end which added to the comedic vibe.

Working with actors and getting performance:

I found this to be pretty easy because all the actors I cast were my friends (don’t worry, they’re actual actors too) so I found them easy to talk to and easy to direct. The nice thing about this situation, too, is that my cast was interested in collaborating and talking about ideas with me before the shot. They had a lot of good suggestions, and took what I told them and made it their own. This was definitely an easier directing process for me than the evoking childhood film, firstly because this was a comedy, and secondly because I already had a comfortable working relationship with my cast.

Blocking — camera and actors:

I really tried to take advantage of what I know about visual and physical comedy in this piece. There’s this moment where a girl walks in with a knife, and you think she’s going to find and kill the people behind the couch, but in a successive shot she joins them behind the couch, creating a three-shot. They’re completely calm and it’s revealed that the audience’s fear had no merit; this murderous girl is a friend of theirs. That’s when I think it really shifts to become a clearly comedic piece, and a lot of the tension eases (hopefully for the audience too). That’s one moment of comedy caused by blocking that I’m pretty proud of.

Visuals — composition, framing, visual elements:

I wanted the entire film to have a trapped, constricted feel until the very end when it’s revealed that these people are hiding to throw a surprise birthday party. For that reason, I kept the space flat and the shots tight, which gave them a very small and scary world to exist in. I think that worked well to heighten the tension even though it was comedic tension. Then things widen out and become deeper when it’s revealed that it’s been a birthday part the whole time, which eases the trapped feeling. I do wish I’d made the spaces outside a little deeper to contrast what was going on inside – it would’ve been pretty easy, too, since we were filming a lot of streets with depth cues.

Design & Art Direction:  

I don’t have much of an art mind but I did want to have prominent props in this film, because it would help to give each character complexity even though we’re only with them for a brief amount of time. Those props ended up being a lighter, a watch, and a knife – all three were associated with a certain character, giving them a quirk that made them more interesting. I think that worked really well. If I had had more money, I likely would’ve made the birthday decorations more pronounced, just to add to the ridiculousness of the entire film. I especially wish I’d been able to afford a colorful birthday cake instead of a carrot cake, which was the cheapest cake I could find. Another thing I would go back and change if I could is the use of practicals, which likely would’ve cleared up any confusions about the lighting if I had paid more attention to what was going on in that regard.

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

As I said before, this was a pretty easy directing process because I was already friends with my cast. It made it easier to collaborate and have discussions about upcoming shots and emotions with them. Rather than me just telling them what to do, we had conversations about what to do, which made the acting look more natural and the directing process less intimidating for me. We were also very lucky to get access to a location that worked perfectly for our needs, with a couch facing the door and no wall behind it (this location was Taylor Davis’s house). Overall the production process was really easy, especially when we started cutting shots and made the shoot go even faster. One hiccup we did run into, at least for me, was set dressing – birthday cakes aren’t cheap, but thankfully the decorations are. I ended up buying a few decorations and, rather than spending $12+ on a colorful birthday cake, I settled for a carrot cake. It looked find but I wish it had been more colorful to read more blatantly as a birthday cake.

                  

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 think the response to my film was pretty great! I feel like people laughed at all the right times and felt fear/tension at the right times. The story is pretty straightforward so I don’t think there was any confusion on the narrative end of things, although some people did complain about not being able to see certain things – that’s the fault of the projector, which darkens images and makes low-exposure scenes pretty difficult to see. That’s something I need to keep in mind for the future and maybe brighten my films a bit more than usual. I think I met my two goals with the audience though: most people reacted positively, weren’t confused, and thought it was funny without taking away from the suspense theme.

Other observations:

I tried to make the lighting contrasty but not overwhelmingly so, but when we got to the screening it was way too contrasty. This is something I need to pay attention to in the future and make sure I don’t make the blacks too black, because a lot of information about the image was lost on the audience. I also need to make sure that my lighting makes sense in the future.

shot-for-shot part 1: analysis

VIEW SHOT FORMS

NAME: Brenna Empey

DATE: 10/4/2016

DP: Jase Van Meeteren

FILM 3: SHOT-FOR-SHOT DUPLICATION
DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT OF INTENT

1.    What film or TV show is this from?

Blade Runner (1982, Ridley Scott)

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

Deckard is an ex-police officer tasked with tracking and killing four replicants, which are bioengineered humans that are illegal on Earth. His investigation leads him to the Tyrell Corporation, a company that manufactures the type of replicant he’s tracking down. It is there that he administers a “Voight-Kampff” test on Tyrell’s assistant Rachael – the test is meant to test if a being is human or replicant, and he discovers that she is a replicant who believes she is human. After a bit more investigation and some run-ins with rogue replicants, Rachael comes to Deckard’s apartment to try and prove that she really is human.

2.    What is the theme of this film?

I would say the theme of Blade Runner is how consciousness, morality and empathy constitute humanness. A lot of the events in this movie are there to prove that replicants can both be good and evil, just like humans. Replicants can have empathy, and some have such strong consciousness that they believe they are human, like Rachael and Deckard.

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

Rachael questions whether or not Deckard believes she’s a replicant, and then tries to prove to him that she isn’t by showing him an old family photo. To her disappointment and shock, he begins reiterating detailed memories from her past, saying that they’re implanted and belong to someone else – specifically, Tyrell’s niece. She becomes distressed and emotional as she realizes he may be right, and she discards the photo before briskly leaving his apartment.

4.    What, specifically, must the audience understand narratively in order to engage in this scene? How does the director communicate each piece of information?

I think the most important thing to understand about these characters and this scene is that Deckard isn’t heartless – his task in the narrative is to hunt and kill replicants, but he isn’t a monster. He knows he’s hurting Rachael by saying her memories are fabricated and that she’s a replicant, and once she shows signs of emotional distress, he tries to backtrack and get her a drink to make up for it. Deckard isn’t antagonistic even though he may appear that way in this scene. I think it’s also important to understand that the director chose to give Rachael very human emotions, making even the audience doubt that she’s a replicant.

5.    What is the narrative, emotional and thematic purpose of this scene in the larger story?

This scene is a huge plot point for Deckard and Rachael’s relationship. Rachael isn’t scared of Deckard at the end of this, even though she knows he knows that she’s a replicant. He isn’t going to hunt and kill her even though her presence on Earth is technically illegal. It’s less about that and more about the fact that they share an emotional connection – Deckard doesn’t want to hurt her, but feels she has the right to know that her memories are implanted. Even though Rachael is upset at the end of this scene, overall this difficult interaction proves to strengthen their relationship and their trust in each other, especially when Deckard realizes he’s a replicant.

6.    What emotion do you think the director wanted the audience to experience in this scene? Why? How did the director achieve this? How do you intend to do this?  

I think the director wants the audience to feel empathy toward Rachael – having an identity crisis is a human thing, albeit hers is a little different than the typical identity crisis. Point is, the emotions she’s going through as Deckard reiterates her memories are visible on her face and in her acting, and it’s hard to watch. She’s losing any sense of anything she thought was true, and that’s a hopeless place to be. It’s a place no one ever wants to find themselves. The cinematography aids this, because as Rachael is becoming more and more distressed, the camera closes in and the shots get tighter. Then, when Deckard is finished with the conversation, the shots widen out – both Rachael and Deckard look very alone in the frame. I’ll replicate the cinematography to create these emotions, and I hope I can get the same sort of subtle but powerful emotions that Sean Young portrays as Rachael.

7.    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 Rachael, surrounded by darkness, only her face illuminated. She questions whether or not Deckard really believes she’s a replicant. The last image is Deckard surrounded by the same sort of darkness, only half of his face illuminated. He’s just watched Rachael leave in distress and now feels very alone. Filming these two characters in the same way at the opening and closing of this scene feels very intentional – they’re both in dark places during this scene, and experience difficult emotions of identity loss, confusion, guilt and empathy. I think it’s also important to note that the opening shot of Rachael puts her on the right third, while in Deckard’s closing frame, he’s on the left third. Even though they aren’t in the same room anymore, it’s like they’re still talking.

8.    Why is this scene personal to you? What previous personal experience(s) does it remind you of? Ask yourself, “Why do I need to make this scene?”

I think we all go through a sort of identity crisis phase at some point in our lives, and I definitely experienced that as a teenager when I was trying to figure a lot of things out about myself. Obviously the gravity of Rachael’s identity crisis is more intense than mine – she’s finding out she isn’t even human – but I find her distress and emotion relatable here.

9.    Which specific visual elements (line, shape, space, tone, color, rhythm, movement) do you notice the director is using to purposefully communicate the emotion of the scene? What other elements is the director using to evoke emotion? (Be specific! Don’t just say “art direction,” although that’s a start, say, “scattered clothing on the bed, open closet doors…” etc.)

One thing this scene does really well is associate certain shapes and lines with certain characters. Rachael’s clothing is inherently round and has soft edges, like her billowing collar, and so does the style of her hair. All around, she looks much “softer” than Deckard. This entire scene takes place in Deckard’s apartment, which is full of harsh lines and shapes. The walls are covered in a square design, and most of the furniture, shelves, and lighting have sharp edges and 90-degree corners. For this reason, Rachael really stands out from her surroundings. The gravity of the scene is also communicated in the lighting, which is deliberately sourcey and high contrast. The characters’ eyes really stand out from the background more than anything else, which is ironic because their eyes make them the most human – and later in the film we discover that Deckard is a replicant just as well as Rachael.

10.  What focal lengths does the director appear to be using? Why?

He actually appears to be using wider lenses for most of the shots, and I think this works well to orient the audience in Deckard’s apartment. As the emotions heighten, especially with Rachael, the lenses get longer and the shots get tighter – the audience feels just as trapped as she does. When she’s finally defeated and realizes she’s probably a replicant, the lenses get very wide, even to 14mm, communicating her loneliness and hopelessness.

11.  In a bulleted list, describe two or three potential obstacles the filmmakers faced in creating a successful scene. How do you think they overcame these?

·         One thing that always gets me about Blade Runner is the costuming. It’s just really incredible. This scene in particular used Rachael’s costume to communicate something about her character – as I’ve mentioned before, she really stands out against the harsh lines and shapes of Deckard’s apartment because her clothing and hair have so many round edges. The filmmakers had to be very conscious about exactly how she looked in this scene, and exactly how Deckard looked as well, because they needed to contrast each other.

·         I didn’t expect this, but I think there were some obstacles with the writing of this scene – particularly the dialogue. As I was searching for the Blade Runner shooting script, I kept running across versions of the script where this scene was missing or very different. It took me a while to find the right script. This makes me think that this was a difficult interaction to approach, because it covers so many emotions and it’s a huge moment of character development for both Rachael and Deckard. It just goes to show that to get something right, sometimes you have to try a lot of different things and different approaches, which is what I think happened with this scene.

12.  In a bulleted list, describe two or three potential obstacles you may face in creating a successful scene. How can you be prepared to overcome these? Be specific! 

·         The hardest thing for me, I think, will be finding a location. It’s one thing to find a location with a big window – a pretty hard thing to come across when most of your resources are college apartments – but it’s another thing to find a location with such a uniquely-shaped kitchen. There is a lot of texture going on in the location as well, which will be almost impossible to find and difficult to replicate.

·         I’m not much of a director so I think it’ll be difficult to pull such natural emotions out of the actress I choose for Rachael. It’s one thing to show the actress the scene from the actual movie before we shoot it – it’s another thing to recreate those emotions and make them look natural. I think one way to overcome this is to make sure I’m friends with the actress I cast, and I already have a few ideas in mind.