N.13 | "Goodfellas" (dolly zoom scene), David Mullen on technical knowledge for cinematographers plus more

JOURNAL ENTRY

Nov 10, 2024: I heard from my friend Giancarlo Bottalico this week. He is now working on the score and sound design for the micro film Lupo - The Cleaner, which I completed in September. When the film is ready, I’ll post the link here for those reading.

I started film school yesterday, finally. It was a 3-hour intro presented by the instructor. We covered some basic stuff, but I had a very good time. I met a lot of people and made a few good connections. I’m happy this course/school started. I’m sure I’ll learn a ton and make progress as a filmmaker.

I’m now working on a new micro film that I want to shoot and finalize before Christmas. I must meet this deadline. If I do, that would be my 4th film as director, which also means I have another 8 to go.

I say I have another 8 to go because I’m taking the Robert Rodriguez approach here. In the book Rebel Without a Crew, he says: “…everyone has at least a dozen or so bad movies in them…” before they start making the good stuff. That’s what I’m doing right now.

FILM STORYTELLING

Goodfellas (dolly zoom scene)

Not all dolly zooms are created equal. That’s also the beauty of it. You can do it fast, slow, with a Dutch angle shot and more. The dolly zoom is a tool to heighten a key moment in a film. It tells the audience that something is changing, or about to change, in the story.

A prime example is this scene from Goodfellas. Notice how director Martin Scorsese opts for a slow and subtle effect. By pulling the camera back and zooming in, the focal length gets longer and the background appears to get close and closer.

What’s the effect on the audience? The audience feels the whole world is closing in on the two characters, emphasizing the characters’ growing concern and paranoia.

CONVERSATION HIGHLIGHT(S)

Team Deakins: Episode 113 - Technical Knowledge for Cinematographers - with David Mullen

A lot of interesting points in this conversation between Team Deakins and David Mullen. Here’s a few concepts I want to keep in mind.

10% technology, 90% good filmmaking

Mullen mentions how, sometimes, people get fixated on the technical side of things too much.

On the one hand, it’s very important to have a final image that can be used in post production. This is crucial because you deal with producers and editors, distributors and more. These people must have a “product” that is easy to work with. On the other hand though, if you don’t have a good story, with good lighting and good composition, you don’t have much.

Remember, the technical side of making a movie is 10% of the job. The remaining 90% is good filmmaking.

Know enough about technology to keep control

Mullen says that you don’t need to know everything about the technology involved in making a film, but just enough to know when the technicians are not getting something right. One of his film school professors once told him:

Train your eye to light by eye, not technology

Mullen says that looking at the monitor to reinforce what you see and judge by eye is a good approach. But not the opposite.

Don’t work with the “I-can-fix-it-later” mindset

Always go on set with the mindset of shooting the shots that are close to the final. Stepping on set saying to yourself that you’ll fix it in post is NOT the right approach.

It’s often the case that you're trying to fix something in post that you’re not able to because you don’t have all the information you need to do the fixing. What you do on set is what counts — even in post.

Source: From SEASON 2 - EPISODE 113 - Technical Knowledge for Cinematographers - with David Mullen of The Team Deakins podcast (paraphrased and/or quoted).

FILM STORYTELLING

Moonrise Kingdom (full shot example)

When the subject’s full body reaches from the top to the bottom of the frame, the shot is defined as full — the full shot. It's not necessary to put the subject(s) at the center of the frame, even though that happens often.

The full shot is tight enough to tell the story with the character's face, but wide enough to further the story with the character's entire body and body language, posture and wardrobe.

TIDBIT I’M PONDERING

Two winning genres: the heist and the courtroom drama

While Christopher Nolan was making Inception, he figured that there are two genres that work particularly well with an audience.

One is the movie heist, and the other is the courtroom drama. In either case, the audience sits forward and listens intensely. In both genres you have a team, a specific jargon and an action plan. These are all elements that the audience wants to see and hear about.

According to Nolan, these two genres can work together well. In fact, the director incorporated both of them in Oppenheimer. Besides the film’s origin story, there’s the Manhattan Project as the “putting together a team” for the race against time. Plus, in the third act, there’s the courtroom drama that unfolds.

Source: From Sight and Sound magazine - Mar 2024 (paraphrased and/or quoted).