The film starts of as a flashback with a group of friends hanging out, two of them are really close friends and have been longer than with everyone else. One of them said that the are leaving to live in another country (America/Australia/New Zealand etc.) Flashback ends and goes to the next shot with the group of friends hanging out with two of them not their and they bring up how the guy that left was supposed to be back for about a month. one of the other friends that aren’t with them bumps into them and explains why he is not with them and then later ditches them. one of the boys of the group leaves the other to follow him to find out that he is meeting the guy that left. the next shot shows a conversation between the two and then they are interrupted by the follower. an argument soon break out which ceases when the rest of the group shows up because they were told to come to the location because their was a surprise. the character that is leaving tells them that for the holidays he is going to invite them over to the country. he also explains he wanted to spend his time here with his closest friend. after some apologies, forgiveness and small banter, the character leaves to go home (maybe include a good shot of him walking on the embankment bridge with a train passing by)
Month: April 2015
Routine, Ritual & Space
Today’s session explored the use of the camera to help tell the narrative and show moments of solitude and ritual. We watched clips from Between Us, Insomnia, Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou and 500 days of Summer.
We also looked at the notion of a mcguffin (an object that triggers the plot to move forward), exploring how the engagement ring led the character in 500 Days of Summer to leave the party. We then discussed how this might relate to other films we had seen.
We then revisited a game involving movement and space, using the camera to pursue a partner. Here are some of the results:
Movement Game 1 (BFI Film Club.) from Joel North on Vimeo.
This first clip of the movement game looks at what might happen if the camera continues to move forward with the subject. There is a definite point where the camera moves much more aggressively towards Leo.
Movement Game 2 from Joel North on Vimeo.
Movement Game 3 from Joel North on Vimeo.
Movement Game 3 is particularly interesting as the Eugene and Sterling begin to experiment with remaining static and how potentially awkward this might become for the viewer. They then explore the idea of moving around the space in an unconventional way in comparison to Movement Game clips 1 and 2.
The final filmed activity looks at solitude and daily routines. The brief was as follows:
Film an arrival or exit to one of the following settings – home, playground, bus, classroom. Film the same sequence twice, using a variety of shots to allow the camera to explore the space and narrative of the character. Edit your two takes onto one sequence. Your character may express any emotion you wish.
Here is the clip from Thabit, Ian and Leo’s group:
Thabit going home (BFI Film Club.) from Joel North on Vimeo.
Here is the clip from Eugene & Sterling:
Sterling & Eugene from Joel North on Vimeo.