Let's get better together guys. I did lose my fire near the end of the second half and therefore the notes there aren't as strong. If anyone sees anything that I may have missed, I would appreciate them filling in the gaps. Thanks!
Critique: Nic Rudy's City of the Beast
- Begin a scene with the character or object that will progress the story. Example is starting the scene with Leblanc rather than with Alex and Kate.
- Do not lose the sense of geography and the location of the characters.
- Do not use columns and poles to block the scene. Rather use them to frame it.
- Instead of having character heights be the same, place them on an invisible diagonal.
- Instead of having a character bend over to be in the frame, have the camera zoom out instead.
- Have more differences between the angles of cuts so that it does not appear as a jump cut. If the angles must be similar then think of using a pan instead.
- If a cut is done repeatedly, it lessens the value of the technique and the audience becomes numb to it.
- If closeups are used too much, when there is a need for a personal scene, there is nowhere to go for that.
- Have an editor do the most aggressive cut they can do. Once the shorter version is seen, the original version will seem much too slow.
- When an editor cuts his scene, Steve only adds back in a bit of the scene. Never to the point that it's the same length as the original.
- Apology shot - a shot in which an important object is somewhat in the frame. Appears as if there is uncertainty as to whether or not the object should be included and therefore the artist is apologizing.
- If a character sits, the audience relaxes because the character most likely will not go anywhere. If a character is standing, the audience pays more attention since they may move anywhere. Ingenious. Character in a moving chair.
- The instant dialogue is added, there is now the potential to critique that dialogue. It is better to have great acting.
- To show a concluding conflict between two characters, have them be visually far apart onscreen and as the conflict is cleared, have their character appear closer to each other onscreen.
Critique: Hillary Bradfield
- Never start a a movie silent cause the sound level is then harder to set.
- Steve added in Edith's name at the beginning of the film in a drawing rather than having it shown in the middle.
- Rather than having the bear being called upon in the morning just because, Edith calls on the bear to have him (I'm only assuming it's a male because it makes wording easier in differentiating the bear from Edith) help her down.
- Steve introduced the letter blocks early so that there is a way for the bear to leave a more adorable message.
- The record player also played aided the story twofolds. In having a playful way for Edith to get dressed and also to later reveal how she incorrectly put on her clothes.
- Don't crowd the bear. Steve moved the camera down to show more ceiling and give the bear more room.
- A different establishing shot. No reason to show the town unless to depict the relation of the park and the house. "Why build a town when you will never use it?"
- Alarm was designed to go with the theme of the young leaving the nest.
- Steve added in a teddy bear so that the audience believes her to be talking to it when actually she's calling her friend.
- Dropping the camera down low accentuate the fear and danger of the height of the bed.
- After the teeth brushing, Edith and her bear is moving towards screen left out of the bathroom. In the next shot, they are still moving in the same direction but now they are outside.
Aspect Ratio:
- 1:1.33 - Out of date
- 1:1:85
- 1:2.35 Hard to compose. More drawing is required. Not necessarily more pleasing.
- Framing could be used to change the ratio of the screen. Perhaps used to make a dinosaur seem taller by getting rid of the wide spaces.
Close camera - the camera is placed almost straight on to the character. Above the listener's ears. This draws the audience into the movie more.
Hunger Games/Michael Bay
- Too many close ups.
- Therefore there is no sense of geography.
- Better to use less cuts and to have every cut serve a purpose.
The filmmaker has two weapon at their disposal that theatre and literature does not:
- Cuts
- Closeup
Steve adores computer screens and glasses.
- For a scene in which an audience needs to see what a character is looking at on a computer screen and the closeup of a character's face, people tend to use two shots to convey that.
- Steve would focus on the character's glasses to portray what's on the screen and then focus on the face so that only one shot is needed.
Storyboarding:
- Have more drawings in storyboarding so that the editor may take things out. Too few drawings and animators would have to guess and that usually changes the planned timing since they usually add in more.
- Being vague lengthens a scene since both story artist and animator will attempt to tell the WHOLE story in their individual scene.
- If that applies to everyone, a movie would have many beginnings and ends. But it should only have one beginning and one end. The inbetween shots are merely the middle.
- If shots all have an ending or concludes, the shot following would have to reestablish things and this delays the progress of the story. (IF SOMEONE COULD PLEASE CLARIFY THIS FOR ME A BIT MORE)
- If a scene is indeed ended though, there is a way to remedy that by having a bigger conflict occur. It's best to have the conflict be an external force and not something that is suddenly brought on by a character without reason.
- Every third shot should reestablish a scene.
- Do not place the horizon line (HL) in the middle.
- Low HL. Character seem small compared to the sky. A low point.
- High HL. There is much distance to be traveled.
- "If you can appreciate why the HL is at the top or bottom, you'll be a good picturemaker someday."
- Shots of three is the minimum to create a rhythm. Two is for setting up and third is for being different.
- When you do use shots of three, have the main motions go in different directions. Down, Left. Right.
- Do not cut a character cut at their joints with the frame. Knees. Waist. Bottom of chin.
- Steve would change the size of a character if it made the scene better.
- Better to have multiple setups than multiple takes.
- Coincidences are really only allowed in the beginning but less towards the end.
- The more successful a focal point is, the less time a scene needs to work.
Story with animation in mind:
- If a character does sit, give the animator something else (business/activity) to work on.
- Sexy Beast Don Logan could have been talking to himself in the mirror and do nothing else but he was given a razor for business. It made the scene much more intense since he was angry and he had a blade in his hands.
- If a character is walking far, give the scene something else as business or else the animator will get bored. There is no point to the scene otherwise.
Storyboarding exercises:
- Exchange storyboards with one another.
- It is easier to have something to work off of than to have nothing at all.
- It forces the artist to not have their boards be precious.
- Thumbnail in a vertical arrangement (Simon Wells)
- This allows for the artist to clearly see characters and which side of the frame they are dominating.
There is a difference:
- Plot - Less interesting. Things happen.
- Sexy Beast A retired criminal is visited by an old acquaintance who is recruiting him for another job.
- Story - More interesting.
- Sexy Beast Don Logan is disfunctional and still loves Jackie.
Examples of closeup within a wideshot:
- Hillary's film: Wide shot of window and letter blocks. Letter blocks is framing the park for a closeup.
- Wide shot of Edith's bed but instead of waking from the head side, she woke from the feet side closer to the camera and therefore making it her closeup.
- Mother Wide shot of bus. The seat ending above the mother's nose frames her eyes for a closeup.
Names:
- Harold Michelson
- Steven Spielberg
- James Cameron
- Simon Wells
- Hitchcock
- Ingmar Bergman
- John Ford
- Francis Coppola
- Terence Young
Movies:
- Slingblade
- Casablanca
- Rocky
- Mother (Korean)
- Warhorse
- Lawrence of Arabia
- Ikiru
- Water for Elephant
- Outside the Law
- Star Trek 2: The Wrath of Khan
- Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
- Argo
- Dardenne brothers?
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