The following three films are the students’ response to the following brief:
Film the following scene in three different ways:
1) Static Long Take
2) A Moving Long Take
3) Montage
The scene: Character A passes something to Character B which produced tension between them, leading to their separation.
Static Long Take
Moving Long Take
Montage
Even though Sterling, Eugene, and Marley didn’t follow the brief exactly – which was to film exactly the same action in three different styles – there’s plenty to note in here. What’s the most important narrative space? Marley – or Ian or Sterling – said it: ‘the space between the lead character and his phone’. I didn’t notice this space opening up at all on first viewing – the long static take (shot 1). But in the last version, it’s very apparent. in fact Chris suggested that for young people, the loss of his phone would be immediately apparent, phone separation anxiety being a feature of modern life.
From shot 1 I also noted the use of the ‘z axis’: shooting ‘deep into the frame’ lets the eye wander and choose. One French film critic, either Andre Bazin or Serge Daney, says ‘the long take enables the viewer to delve into the shot’ – we can dig or burrow into it, looking for meaning or significance, or just life and ideas in it.