Directing: Pre-production continued, Production and Post -Production

In pre- production you need to establish your broad aesthetics.

Once you know which method you will use to make the film, you will be able to produce a shooting script. The shooting script indicates every shot required to cover each scene.

 This will be largely dependent on the overall aesthetic that you have decided is most appropriate. 


Here are some major choices of approach.

Task: Write down and then discuss the pro's and con's of each method.


 MASTER SCENE METHOD

 Master scene shooting technique (part of the continuity system) involves shooting the scene in a
wide shot -master shot, then changing the placement of the camera and shooting again to achieve
closer shots of one character then changing set-ups to shoot the reverse shot. Actors repeat moments
with to create overlapping action where the editor can make edits.





The Lives of Others (F. Von Donnersmark, 2005) Sideways (Alexander Payne, 2005) The Artist ( THE LONG TAKE METHOD This approach allows actions to play out over extended periods, sometimes in only one shot per scene. Generally , this needs a mobile camera and intricate blocking of both camera and actors to avoid a flat, stagey appearance. Nine Lives (Rodrio Garcia, 2005) Mirror (Andrei Tarkovsky, 1974) 4 months, 3 Weeks, 2 days (Christian Mungiu, 2007) THE SHORT TAKE METHOD In short -take coverage, shots are edited together to create rhythm, tension and energy. The Bourne Supremacy FIXED VERSUS MOBILE CAMERA You need to discuss the pro's and cons of each method. You should discuss, movement, focus, action, actors, lighting,sound and all other set ups. Cinematographer Maryse Alberti (The Wrestler) is one of the best at hand-held techniques. Robbie Mueller shot Breaking the Waves (Lars Von Trier, 1996) What do you think the handheld camera lends to the telling of this story? SUBJECTIVE or OBJECTIVE CAMERA According to Maichael Rabiger, camera handling alone can alter the voice of a film and make it more personal and vulnerable, or more confidently general in outlook. Maintaining either mode for too long may become dull, whereas shifting justifiably between them can be very potent. THE CAMERA AS REVEALING AND OBSERVING CONSCIOUSNESS POST PRODUCTION EDITING Eisenstein's Dialectical Cutting. Metric montage Rhythmic montage Tonal montage Overtonal Montage (All designed to elicit emotional responses) Ideological Montage (Abstract ideas creating relationships between opposing visual intellectual concepts) HITCHCOCK ON EDITING