In today’s class we went out and in small groups (for us, a group of four) filmed something specific to our interests. My interest for this exercise was to see the effect different shots have on how a viewer relates to a character. For example, I wanted to see if different emotions would be evoked if you were distanced further from a character, or positioned behind them rather than face on, or shown the character from a low angle, etc. without any other cues as to what you should believe that the character is feeling. I had Sam perform a small action – playing with his earphones as he stands in front of a wall – and shot this from different angles/directions. Something I didn’t consider though, which Robin pointed out to me in conversation afterwards, was how long my shots went for. Of course, if you as the viewer are shown a specific shot for a longer stretch of time, you begin to alter you perception of its significance and as a result you will begin to think a bit more about the actions taking place and what they mean, as well as what the character is feeling and what the overall mood is. In editing, other good points come from considering the effect when you do add other cues, such as sequencing shots in a certain order or adding music, and although I played with this a little it was not my aim for this exercise. Specific to seeing the effect on shot alone, I learnt that some angles tend not only to suggest various emotions, but some – such as the low angel – suggest that bigger action will follow, and make the character seem more powerful/important. I also found myself connecting some shots to those you would attribute to different actions in a scene. For example, the shot that shows Sam side-on reminds me of a shot you might see as a precursor to dialogue. Other shots such as those closer up force you to focus on the action, as insignificant as it might be, and what it might mean in terms of emotion, whereas the shots showing the action from further back make you consider composition instead. For example, the close ups showing Sam fiddling might bake you think he’s bored or nervous, since significance is put on the action, whereas the long shot makes Sam look alone and suggest that this is the purpose for the shot, and hence carry a whole different vibe.
