N.12 | "Unbreakable" (dinner scene with gun), Ellen Kuras on finding meaning plus more

JOURNAL ENTRY

Nov 03, 2024: The nano film I worked on for a while is done. This is a very short movie (1:02 mins), but It’s my third film as director nonetheless. I put it out there in the open, even though it’s not that good.

I need to move on. It’s imperative that I keep practicing, like a musician. And like a musician, I can do nano solo projects by myself or longer projects with others.

This nano film took me longer than expected (I can only do filmmaking on weekends). And that’s what I learned this time. If you have the luxury to do so, plan for “more” time to do things. Double the time, triple the time…whatever more you can get.

Also, I'm working on another couple of projects. I’m not confident I’ll be able to do either before Christmas though. Not enough time and not enough budget. With film school starting next week, Nov 09, my budget is now very limited.

FILM STORYTELLING

Unbreakable (dinner scene with gun)

This is a handheld single take lasting over two and a half minutes. The child, Joseph, believes that his father is a superhero and won't get hurt by the bullet. It’s a very tense scene.

The camera is held at table level. The director, M. Night Shyamalan, puts the audience directly into the scene. The rising tension is palpable. The audience feel like they are a fourth person in the room, willing to stop the gun going off and kill the father.

CONVERSATION HIGHLIGHT

How to question and make “meaning”

In a conversation with Phillip Noyce, director Ellen Kuras discusses her latest film, Lee. The movie tells the story of renowned war photographer Lee Miller, who abandoned a career as a model to be a war correspondent during World War II.

A lot of interesting points in this discussion. Here’s one that I really wanna keep in mind.

Finding the meaning behind what you’re doing

Since Kuras took her first photography class decades ago, she was always interested in meaning and what makes a photograph meaningful.

When she started working as a cinematographer after a few years, she started learning how to “use the camera as a metaphor”, and how to create meaning with the camera.

Meaning is a recurring theme in the conversation with Phillip Noyce.

While working on different projects through the years, as the cinematographer, she would talk to the director to understand the meaning of the scene and what they were trying to say. And she would also be very engaged with the actors on set to build the scenario.

The interactions with the director and the actors would help Kuras understand how to shoot the scene, how to light it, how to do the blocking and more.

Source: From Lee with Ellen Kuras and Phillip Noyce (paraphrased and/or quoted).

FILM STORYTELLING

The wide shot

The wide shot positions the subject(s) far from the camera to visually represent their relationship to their environment. This is different from the establishing shot, which is about location.

The wide shot is mainly about the scale of the subject and it's used when you want to make your subject look lost, lonely and/or overwhelmed. It can also be used as a comment on the subject's relationship to the environment.

You can make statements using distance, depth or size.

TIDBIT I’M PONDERING

Watching the movie in your head before shooting

In the book Rebel Without a Crew, Robert Rodriguez makes an excellent point on the pacing, the story and the characters of the film.

You need to develop the ability to see the film in your head before you start shooting.

You do that by creating the shot list.

After you make the shot list, you go through it. Read the shots in front of you and watch them in your head. If you see in your head that some shots are missing, add them to the list. Then, watch the film again and again in your head, until you think it’s ready.

When you’re on set, all you have to do is shoot one shot at the time. As you do that, cross he shots off the list. Keep going until you’ve finished your film.

Don’t complicate things. Focus on the shot list, the pacing, the characters and the story.

Source: From Rebel Without a Crew by Robert Rodriguez (paraphrased and/or quoted).