Film 6: Master with Coverage, "It's Kind of a Funny Story"

Scene:

Director's Reflection:

        Boy how I love directing. Russell and Danny were my actors and they were excellent to work with. I had always wanted to cast them together in a scene because I think they look like each other and I thought they would have great chemistry. I wanted to them to get to know each other before we started shooting so they talked with each other while we were setting up. I believe their chemistry was nice. Having your actors be totally memorized is important so that when they show up on set you can discuss the scene, characters, and blocking. Lauren was great to work with again. What I loved is that she started to pre lit the next shot over by the wall when we were still doing our master. That was awesome to have as a director. Steven did well on sound. His experience with sound really helped as we set up the lavs. I learned with this scene how important Script Supervisors are on set. Continuity was hard with this scene, especially because of the basketball. I found myself saying crap because in the master the basketball would be bouncing off and in the close up it would appear somewhere else. Also, even in the actor's motions, continuity was tough. I learned how much fun one can have with your actors if the trust is there. Russell and Danny were having fun and engaging well which helped me engage more.

Film 6: director's intent and script

Director’s Intent

Script: Its Kind of a Funny Story (2010)

NAME: Cameron Babcock___________

DATE: _____4/1/16_________________

PROJECT: ____Film 6: Master__________

DP: ______Lauren VanDerwerken___

DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT OF INTENT

This statement of intent is designed to train your mind, eye and heart to shoot purposefully. You should prepare it well before shooting. Briefly—but thoughtfully and specifically—answer the following questions. Be sure to make your answers specific to the assignment as listed on Learning Suite.

1.     What is the story--the beginning, middle, and end--of this scene in three or four sentences? In other words, what happens in this scene as it starts, as it progresses, and as it ends?

Bobby visits Craig at the hospital. He helps Craig get the courage to ask Noelle out. Craig feels like he is ready now to move forward and ask her out.

2.     What, specifically, must the audience understand narratively? How do you intend to communicate that information?

The audience needs to understand that Bobby wants Craig to get the courage to ask out Noelle. We need to learn that Craig’s biggest fear is rejection. We see them role play. We need to understand that Craig feels better about asking her out. I am going to play out the scene in the wide so we can see them shooting the basketball. I am going to use lavs so that we get better sound because the camera is so wide for the majority of the scene.

3.     If this scene is from a longer piece, what is the narrative, emotional and thematic purpose of the scene in the larger story?

The purpose of this scene to build the trust between Craig and Bobby in the story. Craig suffers from anxiety and so Bobby does as well. We get to see them helping each other as they are in the mental hospital. Right after this scene, Bobby opens up more to Craig about his suicidal thoughts and anxiety.

4.     What emotion do you want to communicate in this scene? How do you intend to do this?  

I want to communicate hope. I love the friendship between the two. I love how even though they are in a mental hospital, they try to keep moving forward and lean on each other. I want to communicate this through the blocking like Craig will look down most of the time in the beginning and at the basketball but at the end of the scene he will look up more. I am going to use the symbolism through the basketball shots to show Craig’s feelings. He misses shots at the beginning but after the role play, he makes it. The ball is in his court.

5.     What is the first image of the scene? What is the final image of the scene?

The first image will be an open basketball court before they enter. The final scene will be Craig and Bobby together as Craig makes the basketball shot. I think this will show Craig’s success and it will show their unity as characters.

6.     Why is this scene personal to me? What previous personal experience(s) does it remind me of? Why do I need to make this scene?

This scene is personal to me because my brother was in a mental hospital as well. I love how the dialogue is light during this. I love how the two character support each other in the hospital. I tried to support my brother as much as I could. I would role play with him and I know he would role play with me if it would help the other one ask out a girl. Also, playing sports with friends helps bonding. I have felt that and I think Bobby and Craig are feeling that. They are able to do something together. I want to show that even when we are in difficult situations we still have people around us that support us.

7.     What two visual elements (line, shape, space, tone, color, rhythm, movement) will you use to help communicate the emotion of the scene? (Be sure these elements apply to the assignment as listed on Learning Suite; only choose elements that you have read about or that we have covered in class.)

I will use blue and green to symbolize sadness and happiness. I want the two characters to seem unified. I am going to use the movement of the shooting to show the slower pace of the conversation. Through the blocking when they sit down for the role play, I will speed up the pace a little more to show some frustration and to have contrast. I will use leading lines in the location to help our eyes go to the actors.

8.     What are two or three potential obstacles to creating a successful scene? How can you be prepared to overcome these? Be specific!

Some obstacles that I will have are the basketball, sound, and lighting. Dealing with basketball shots in a scene will be hard for sound and for continuity. I have to make sure the dribbling doesn’t cover the dialogue. I also have to make sure when they shoot I pay attention to that so we can edit correctly. The sound is going to be hard because I am going to play the scene on the wide for the majority of the scene. So, I will need lavs so we can get clearer sound. I hope the lighting overheads will be enough.  I am not sure if the overheads will cut it however the basketball court is so large that lighting it up more will be difficult. I hope the actors will do the same action so that in the coverage continuity is correct.

Part Two:

Master with Coverage: Select a 2.5-3 minute scene from the script of a movie or television show that you haven't seen. Be sure to read the entire script. 

What are the characters actions and intentions? What are the most important images in the scene?

Craig wants to ask out Noelle. He is currently admitted in the hospital. Bobby visits him at the hospital gym. Bobby wants Craig to step out of his comfort zone, have courage, and ask out the girl he likes. Craig is afraid of rejection. They role-play which will be a beat change. When Craig says the line “rejection” that is a beat. When Bobby says, “you’re ready” and shoots the basketball that is the falling action, which will be a beat. The most important images are the two in the court, the basketball holding, and the two role-playing.

Create a first draft of a shot list. Where do you see wide shots? Two shots? Close-ups? Don't worry about storyboards yet--just think about capturing the key moments of the scene. 

I am going to do a wide for my master. The camera will be behind them. I want to reveal their faces after the missed shot. Then, we will punch in and do many shot reverse shots. I am going to stage the role-play next to the court on the bench. I have to make sure I capture the role-play lines.

-Block the action of the entire scene--ideally by working with your actors. What happens in the scene? Who goes where? Don't get too artsy or deep just yet! Simply block out what goes on, what people do, in the scene. 

The action will happen all in the basketball court. I will use the basketball rim to divide them for surface division. I will use the shot of the basketball to represent Craig’s feelings. They will stand there staring at the rim but then move to the nearby bench when they role-play the asking out. Then, they will go back to the rim and Craig shoots and scores. We will end on Craig looking down at the ball after Bobby passes the ball to him after he scores.

Scripted One Take: "Bridge of Spies"

Scene:

Director’s Reflection

            Nothing like being on set after you have stayed awake for 25 hours straight. Luckily, my adrenaline kicked in and I felt pretty good directing this thing. I thought Cooper, the main actor, was excellent to work with. He came memorized and he took direction very well. Brett was very helpful and we had much collaboration on our lighting and blocking of the camera. I wanted to shoot in black and white and I think it turned out nicely. I wanted the camera to be even closer in the beginning to the actor’s face but the table was huge and it would have been more difficult. Britany did fantastic with our sound. We had two back ups which was nice, one file from the h4n and one from the lavs. I only found one actor in time for our shoot so I had to do act for the other character. It was a way different learning experience though. It was interesting that based on my acting and delivery my other actor would react differently so in giving direction, I could put that in my performance and that would influence him to where I wanted him to be. It was interesting to connect with Cooper as a director to actor and actor to actor. I wanted him to feel comfortable in that and we spoke before shooting that I would be the other guy. I think since we were so skeleton crew that it was easier for me to do this because I know with a bigger crew it would have been more difficult. What was tough is that I didn’t watch monitor during the scene. I had to focus on performance and I only looked after. I missed some things as far as specific deliveries on some lines that I wish I could have changed. I learned a lot on this shoot.

Photos 10

 Photo 1:
   I love Deer Creek Reservoir. I love the water with mountains. We had some blue skies above. I tried giving more space for the water and for our eyes to follow the waves towards the mountains.

 Photo 2:
    The powerful, intimidating organ. I love the amount of keys it has. I wanted to capture the power of playing the organ. There are so many options for keys.

 Photo 3:
    I was going for frame within a frame. The chair got in the way a bit, but I wanted to emphasize the flag. I was shooting through black bars. I don't like the stairs that are lit up top. That draws the eye away.

 Photo 4:
   I got lens flare on my Iphone. Here are the seats in the Marriott Center. The lens flare helps the curve feeling of the seats. The lights helps us with movement.

Photo5:
    The inside of the Marriott Center. The microphone blends right in. The black blends in the background and I wanted to hide it. I think our eyes go straight to the Y, then if you look at it longer then the microphone will be noticed.

Photos 9

 Photo 1:
    I loved the rhythm of the movies and the books. I think it's cool how organized one can feel seeing this. I love how the colors spread throughout the frame.

 Photo 2:
    I love the ryhtym of the bars that surround this lock. I also love the different colors on the lock. I like to see how rusted things can get yet it still serves its purpose.

 Photo 3:
    I like the way the inserts are presented. There are two chords plugged in but the first two are empty. Also, the first two are silver so that contrast helps them pop out.

Photo 4:
    I was going for the yellow in the frame. I liked how the eye can follow the yellow within the frame. I wish the yellow contrasted even more. The many chords for the organ.

Photo 5:
    I like the blown out windows and door. We get to focus on the lines and borders within the room. I love the hotspot on the floor. This was my location for my shot for shot.

Shot for Shot: Part III

My Shot for Shot:

Director's Reflection:

     This project was enlightening because you had to put yourself into the filmmaker's shoes and mind. I learned how purposeful each shot has to be in your story because time is sacred and whatever is in your frame needs to help the story move along. Working with Sariah went very well. There is much camera movement in this scene. She had the camera on the rig the whole time and she performed well. I thought the actors did pretty well in being in character and trying to recreate this scene. As a director, I learned how important blocking and movement with the camera is because the camera needs to exactly know where the actors are going and doing. The lighting was tough to recreate because our Arri kit was so powerful in such a small room it blasted the whole room up. We used practicals and china balls to help us with our lighting. One of our lightbulbs went  out so that stunk. Also, I failed in trying to get more of a contrast like in the original as far as shadows go. I messed up on Tommy's blocking at the end. I learned how just one turn and can screw up an edit if you didn't capture it on set. In the future, I want to pick another scene and do this exercise because I learned how important lighting and camera set ups are to your story.

Shot for Shot Part II

Click this link to view my part II for The Warrior Shot for Shot

Shot list
Lined Script
Lighting Overheads

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0B80aLZbp6f8baVJKNHJUaGNxbUE