This is an extreme example of contrast, because everything is being contrasted at once. One character is freshly bathed, relaxed, and in luxury, barely moving except to gently sit up, while the other struggles and strains through a dirty space. You can use contrast in a more subtle way, shooting one character at rest while another paces.
Pretty Woman. Directed by Garry Marshall. Touchstone Pictures, 1990. All rights reserved.
10.4
SENSE OF LOCATION
A character’s phone conversation can be used to reveal plot and illustrate more about the location. This scene from Pretty Woman appears to be nothing more than a shot of Richard Gere talking business, but it develops into something more interesting.
He moves forward to the window, and turns his back on the camera. The director has carefully positioned him so that the audience can see his reflection in the window. It isn’t a clear reflection, but it’s enough for the shot to still feel like it is a shot of the character, rather than the back of his head.
From here, the camera rises to reveal that a party is going on below, which is a clever way of showing where he is and what’s ahead of him. When the camera rises, he turns away from the window to show a little of his face as the conversation ends.
This technique could be used without a phone by having the character cross a room and look out of the window. It works well during a phone conversation because in rushing this move you would make it too obvious. It is the slow revelation of the partygoers below that works effectively, taking him from the isolation of his phone call to a waiting crowd.
If you can find ways to connect everything visually in one shot, you should do so. You could always show a shot of him looking out of the window and then a shot of the party, but it would never be as elegant as this approach.
Pretty Woman. Directed by Garry Marshall. Touchstone Pictures, 1990. All rights reserved.
10.5
WALL TURN
This scene from Almost Famous makes clever use of space to change the perspective on a phone conversation at a moment of change for the character.
In the first shot, he is seen talking on the phone, while two other characters watch. Placing them across the corridor is justification for him turning his back partly to the wall, which brings his face toward the camera. It’s possible to shoot quite a lot of the scene from here.
The director then cuts to the person on the other end of the phone, who is, by contrast, all alone. This is emphasized by the use of a long lens to throw the background out of focus. She is also quite central in the frame.
She then says something which shocks the man on the other end of the phone, and the director cuts to a shot of him turning to face the wall. His turn toward the wall would be impossible to capture, except that the phone was placed next to another corridor. The camera shoots from down this corridor, and he steps slightly to the left as he turns, so that he can be seen face on, with the other characters visible in the background.
If you were to position a phone at a corridor junction like this, you would give yourself many different angles from which to shoot the conversation. Normally, if a phone is up against a wall, you have a maximum of 180 degrees to work with, but this gives you far more scope for movement.
The phone-call shots in this book all use non-mobile phones, largely because many directors like to use old-style phones. Despite this, you can just as easily apply all the techniques to mobile phone conversations.
Almost Famous. Directed by Cameron Crowe. DreamWorks, 2000. All rights reserved.
CHAPTER 11
CREATIVE STAGING
11.1
REVERSE BODY
As you become more accomplished at setting up your shots, you will find innovative ways to stage all your scenes. These examples show that there is a huge range of shots, from the flashy to the more sedate, which can add creative flair to your dialogue scenes.
In this scene from Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest, the actors could quite easily stand facing each other in the traditional angle/reverse angle positioning. Instead, by making a slight adjustment, the director makes this a much more interesting setup.
In the opening shot, both look out at the location and background action. This is more than an establishing shot, because it shows the ship being loaded, which is a plot point. At this point, Tom Hollander turns around, facing away from the background action.
This simple change in his body angle makes for a much more interesting setup. Rather than shooting tight, over-the-shoulder shots, the director uses these medium shots to capture both actors at once. By angling their heads, they show the audience their faces, even though their bodies are facing opposite directions.
Having their bodies face in opposite directions shows the sense of conflict between them, and having them refuse to look at each other builds the feeling that they are unwilling to communicate clearly.
This is only a tiny variation on the traditional setup, but is far more interesting, showing that it’s worth taking the time to improve your shots.
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest. Directed by Gore Verbinski. Walt Disney Pictures, 2006. All rights reserved.
11.2
MOTION EXCHANGE
This scene from Onegin shows how a simple pan, combined with actor movement, can show the impact that dialogue has on one character. This particular effect works well when the news or information is extremely important to the character, but the messenger isn’t aware of the impact. The main character is able to move away, turning her back on the messenger, to hide her feelings.
The scene opens with the camera at Liv Tyler’s level as she plays the piano, with the second character walking in behind. Tyler talks to the second character as she approaches, and as the information is exchanged, so is their movement. As the second character comes to a stop, Tyler stands and moves forward. This all happens with a sense of flow and no hesitation.
This move enables us to focus in on Tyler’s reaction; the secondary character drops out of focus, then drops out of the frame altogether. The camera stays low and does nothing more than pan, tilt, and move slightly to the side to keep Tyler in frame. The low angle adds majesty to her move forward.
By moving the camera slightly to the side, the director gives his audience the subtle feeling that they are moving out of her way. Again, this adds a certain grace and presence to her movement.
Onegin. Directed by Martha Fiennes. Siren Entertainment, 1999. All rights reserved.
11.3
TRACKBACK
The unexpected is always useful, and never more so than during a dialogue scene. Audiences are so accustomed to mundane dialogue scenes that when you go to the trouble of staging something more impressive, the scene feels more intense and exciting, even if the dialogue is quite plain.
This shot from A Very Long Engagement appears to be a simple pullback from the main character, who is talking to people off-screen. As the camera pulls back, the other characters come into the shot as they deliver their lines.
This is a highly stylized effect that would not suit all films, but its elements have the potential to be adapted. Although this shot happens quite rapidly, you could use the same principle to shoot (at a slower pace) a meeting over a long table, where the other characters gradually come in as the discussion progresses.
All the actors in this scene are busy with their hands, and nobody looks at anybody else. These two valuable lessons have been repeated many times in this book, to the point where you will realize that, whatever else you do, you should give your actors something physical to do, and stop them from staring at each other.
A Very Long Engagement. Directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet. Warner Independent Pictures, 2004. All rights reserved.
11.4
OFFSET ANGLES
The basic premise of Master Shots 2 is that you should avoid having your characters face each other and deliver lines. You can modify the basic setup slightly and create interesting staging. This works whe
n you want a simple conversation where the focus is on the dialogue, but you want to avoid the usual angle/reverse angle setup.
Getting this right requires innovative use of your set or location, so that you can arrange your actors in unusual places, positions, and at an angle to each other.
This scene from Juno has the two characters sitting in a cabinet, which is quirky in itself, but also puts them at right angles to each other. The master shot is wide enough to show where they are in relation to each other.
When the director moves to the closer shots, the right angle between the characters means that Ellen Page has to turn her head to make eye contact. Conversely, the other character is always facing her. This puts Page’s character slightly on the defensive, with a feeling of being vulnerable or watched.
You can shoot a scene like this with a basic three-camera setup and no camera movement, and it will be more interesting than if the characters are simply facing each other. Note how the director has also given one character food to play with; this means she has something to do other than talk. Small touches like this make a character far more interesting to watch.
If you’re ever stuck for innovative ways to arrange your actors, ask them for ideas, and they will often come up with something usable. They generally enjoy the challenge, but always have a backup plan in case they are short on ideas.
Juno. Directed by Jason Reitman. Fox Searchlight, 2007. All rights reserved.
11.5
DIFFERENT ROOMS
Having your characters talk to each other while in different rooms keeps a scene interesting, but requires a careful approach. Unless you want to isolate them from each other, the scene should begin with your characters in the same room, and then have them continue the conversation while apart.
Truffaut made great use of this technique in La nuit américaine (released in the United States as Day for Night), with the two characters talking in one room, criss-crossing the room — and the frame — before one character leaves the room. When he does, the audience thinks he’s left or that the scene has ended, but the characters continue to talk.
First, the audience sees his reflection in the mirror. It’s important to note that he directs his gaze at her in the mirror, as he talks to her and she turns away from the camera. Although he is in the background, and much smaller in frame, the focus remains on him.
Rather than continuing with this mirror trick, Truffaut maintains the energy by having the character peer around the corner. This movement wouldn’t suit every character, but it is certainly more dynamic than having him stand in the doorway and chat.
This technique doesn’t necessarily create a particular effect, but enables you to show your characters having an energetic conversation in a near-naturalistic manner. Better still, the camera barely moves, so the setup is simple, and you are left to work with the actors.
La nuit américaine. Directed by François Truffaut. Warner Home Video, 2003. All rights reserved.
11.6
DISTANT SLIDE
Even when an important conversation takes place, you don’t have to be right up with the actors to sense the drama. The opposite can be true, as shown in this single shot from V for Vendetta.
In this shot, the camera dollies from one corridor into the next, slowly revealing the actors. The audience can hear them talk clearly, as though right next to them, but the actors remain in the distance. This has a strange effect, because it makes them appear somewhat lost in the world they inhabit.
The camera comes to a stop, and the dialogue continues for some time until a third man joins them. If the scene was shot from this distance without the dolly move, it would lose some of its elegance, but it would also lose some of its meaning. When we, the audience, slide out from that corridor to observe these characters, it feels like we’re creeping up on them and spying on them from a distance. At this point in the film, they are floundering a little, so seeing them look small, distant, and spied upon helps to echo this sensation.
A shot such as this could be carried out in any space, but a confined space, such as a corridor, helps to create a strong visual. The lines of the corridor walls are all effectively pointing to the middle of the frame, where the actors are located.
V for Vendetta. Directed by James McTeigue. Warner Bros., 2005. All rights reserved.
11.7
FLAT REVERSE
A reverse angle can work well when it comes unexpectedly. In this famous shot from E.T., the viewers’ expectations are built around seeing what the characters are seeing. Instead, the director cuts to an angle that shows Drew Barrymore delivering a line. It’s a light moment, but keeps the suspense going a little longer.
The opening shot has the two boys leaning in. This makes them easier to frame, and is justified by the fact that they would lean in to see what was in the closet. Barrymore walks forward. The audience absolutely expects that something is going to happen, or that it is going to see what she sees.
Instead, she turns around, and the viewpoint of her is almost from above. The viewers catch a glimpse of things that are in the closet, but not the thing they want to see. In this way, the tension of the scene is drawn out, even as she holds the audience with a charming delivery of her line.
This setup is so famous that you’d struggle to use the same idea exactly, but the principle is invaluable. You build an expectation, and then have one character turn, so that you can shoot her without revealing what’s in the other direction.
Note that when the actors are looking toward the camera, they aren’t actually looking into the lens. If they did, this shot would be from E.T.’s point of view, which would have an entirely different effect. Rather than just telling your actors to avoid looking into the lens, give them all the same mark to stare at. If you don’t, inevitably you’ll get three different eye lines.
E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial. Directed by Steven Spielberg. Universal Pictures, 1982. All rights reserved.
11.8
MOVE THROUGH SCENE
Although Breakfast at Tiffany’s has many flaws, it also has some examples of camera movement and staging that were ahead of their time. Most of these are so elegant as to go unnoticed by the audience, which is as it should be. This shot of Audrey Hepburn appears to be nothing more than an actor walking across a room, but it has many different effects on the audience’s perception of the scene.
The shot begins with Hepburn framed almost centrally, busying herself with the refrigerator and the cat. There is no cut to the other actor, even though we can hear his voice. This tells the audience they are watching her scene, in her movie, and at this particular moment the focus is entirely on her. (This reflects the plot at this point, of course.)
As she moves forward, she passes the other actor slowly enough for the viewer to see him and his position in the room, but without him being truly featured in the shot. This glimpse of him, as she walks through the scene, is more dismissive of him than if he wasn’t shown at all.
Finally, she kneels with her back to him, her head turned just enough for the audience to see her, but not him, completing the feeling that even though there are two people in the room, she is alone.
The camera height at the end is important, because although she crouches, the camera stays at the same level as the secondary character. This breaks the viewers’ identification with her, ever so slightly.
This sort of carefully crafted move only works if every shot in your film is crafted with the same attention to meaning. Position your actors in places that reflect who they are and where they are in relation to each other, and, whatever they may be saying, you can tell the whole story visually.
Breakfast at Tiffany’s. Directed by Blake Edwards. Paramount Pictures, 1961. All rights reserved.
11.9
CHARACTER REVEAL
You can add great depth to your scene, without moving the camera at all, by revealing more background as characters leave the frame. This works best when you want to focus strongly on one main characte
r.
In A Very Long Engagement, the director sets up the camera close to Audrey Tautou and slightly below her eye line. The camera looks up slightly, so the audience isn’t distracted by her moving hands. The tilt also lets the viewer look up at the face of the first background character.
As they talk, the background character often turns to the foreground, but Tautou does not turn her head. This places the focus on her expression, and the scene plays from her point of view.
The camera moves forward slightly, as the background character moves away, revealing a second background character who continues the conversation. He too looks directly at Tautou, but she doesn’t turn, maintaining the focus on her. The slight push in helps to reframe the shot on the second background character, but could also be achieved with a slight tilt down. Whichever movement you choose, it should coincide with the first background character moving out of the frame.
You could easily extend this idea to have characters moving in and out of frame, but all the while keeping the main character as the brightest, largest part of the image.
A Very Long Engagement. Directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet. Warner Independent Pictures, 2004. All rights reserved.
11.10
PUSH BETWEEN
There are times when the location is as important as the characters, because it tells part of the story. During this kind of scene you can afford to shoot your actors from behind. We still get to hear their dialogue. As the scene progresses, you can push the camera between them to capture the main character’s reaction.
MasterShots Vol 2 Page 10