The scene from About Time in which Tim says goodbye to his father for the last time is constructed simply yet interestingly. It is created with a simple formula of mid and wide shots in order to establish the scene, where they are and therefore why they are there. The location has been established earlier in the film the focus is not on the location, it is just showing the audience where the characters are situated. From then there is a standard switch between over the shoulder shots as the two converse; as the conversation becomes more meaningful and intimate, the shots get tighter in order to focus on the emotions being portrayed by the actors.

These shots that they switch between are the same, they have shot the scene multiple times from different angels then cut the parts needed together. The timing between the shots is the same, once they character has spoken it switches straight to the other character. The pacing of the scene is slow, however the switching between the shots is fast moving and snappy.

One of the more interesting camera moves is when rather than sticking to the back and forward formula, that the scene has been previously made from, the camera follows the father in a panning shot as he walks towards his son. This causes the audience to feel the shift in the scene as things go from reasonably light hearted, to sad serious. It then returns to the back and forward over the shoulder shots, seen so often in big budget romantic comedy films.

The shots are not straight on, catching the scene from a slight angel with every shot.

The aspect that I find most interesting about the construction and shooting of this scene is that the shots are not steady. They are shaking, in a good way. This is seen throughout the film, however I noticed it more in this particular scene than in others, I think this is because this scene is slower moving and more focused on just the two characters than other scenes in the film. I do not know why the scene, and the film as a whole, was shot with this shaking technique, but it intrigues me and I find it works in a kind of weird way.

The exercise in week one caused me to realise the many different ways that one situation can be taken. One script gave our group of four heaps of different ideas and inspiration to try many things. All of these different opinions helped to build more new options of creating the scene. I found that there is not necessarily a right or wrong way to create a scene, some options may be better than others, but that does not make them the right and only way to create the scene. This notion of ‘better’ is also debatable seeing as different people can have vastly different opinions of art and literature. While reflection on this I started to watch people walk by and looked around at the conversations people were having around me (at Melbourne Airport) this caused me to consider the fact in a way I was watching scenes of other people’s lives, I was viewing and judging the situation in a certain way that the person sitting next to me could have had a completely different take on. This is reflective of the idea of different people’s ideas when it comes to creating scenes. There are millions of different scenes to be made and millions of different ways to create these scenes, you just have to find the way that you think works best with your film.

Using the skills I learnt in TV1&2 (keeping them fresh and up to date as well as building on them) we explore and focus on making that one powerful scene in a film, either the ‘wow’ moment in the film or just a scene sharing a bit of information that is not very exciting; this course will show us how to see and create a scene on it’s own merits and to see them as almost individual films; as well as the building blocks that create the film on a whole. By doing this we will be able to explore more innovative, creative and special ways to capture individual scenes and films.

his scene from The Grand Budapest Hotel stood out for me when I watched it for a number of reasons, the main reason being the humor and individuality of the scene. It is the construction of the scene and the use of camera coverage that allow these aspects to shine through.

 

The camera coverage is very broad throughout the scene, avoiding close ups at any stage in order to capture the full picture. The coverage is similar to that of a play. The camera has a maximum of two viewpoints in any of the three areas shown and never moves, there is no panning, lilting, zooming or tracking at all in this scene, and the camera remains still. This reflects the personality of the main character who is always sturdy, clam and in control. His personality is portrayed through the coverage and construction of the scene rather than through his lines or close ups revealing his emotions. The scene shows the first break in his character as he runs from the police, however the camera remains still and reliable just like the hotel itself. In many films a police chase would call for fast s moving tracking shots, however this scene takes a very different approach that allows the individual nature of the film and its characters to stand out.