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.