For this week’s task we began to look further at how film has evolved and the common similarities and differences between each era. This week, we focussed primarily on the Classical Cinema era, which was common from around 1914-1926. In order to understand the key aspects that were used in films of this period, we watched and analysed some examples, such as Laurel and Hardy films, and Buster Keaton comedies. I found this task very informing as it allowed me to understand the standout differences between Early Cinema and Classical Cinema filmmaking. During the classical period, it was clear that films began to use a wider variety of shot types, were longer in duration, and had better editing technology to allow for shots to be cut together.
After analysing some examples, we were challenged to recreate and redevelop a classical film from that time period. We watched ‘Partie de Cartes’ by The Lumiere Brothers (Partie de cartes (1895) - The Lumière Brothers - YouTube) and were tasked to introduce a narrative that could work around the action happening on screen. The film showed a group of three men sitting around a table playing cards with a waiter bringing them a round of drinks mid-game.
In order to form a narrative that could be incorporated into this scenario, we began to brainstorm ideas. Whilst forming ideas, we were also aware that our short film had to be kept to a length of 45 seconds, to which many films of that era were. After formulating the idea that one of the players would be caught cheating, we felt that this plot would intrigue the viewer, and allow us to use gestures and body language to portray our narrative. Also, aware that we could only include 6 different shot types, we started to storyboard our idea to gain a clearer vision of what our film would look like. It was at this point that we decided what shot types we were going to use so that, when it came to filming, we were knew what shots we needed to capture, and what relevance they would have to our plot. For example, we chose to use a close-up shot of the cheating player to highlight to the viewer what she was doing. We also used a medium-close up shot to show the other players reactions to finding out that the player was cheating. There were some shot types, such as extreme close-ups and big close-ups that we had to make sure to avoid as these types of shots would not have commonly been seen in Classical Cinema films.
After forming our idea, we started to set up our equipment and rehearse our scene. We moved the camera around our set to get a clear vision of where each shot would be filmed and how that might look when edited together. Firstly, we shot our entire scene through once, using a wide shot of the actors sitting at the table, playing the game, and then leaving the frame after the cheating discovery. This would be used as our master shot. By having a master shot, we were able to play around with the other shots, knowing that, if there was an issue with discontinuity when editing, we could refer back to our master shot. Once doing that, we then shot our other shots; a medium aerial shot of the cards being handed out on the table, a close up of the cheating player, a medium shot of the other two players, a low angle close-up of the waiter, and a shot of the cheating players mysterious facial expressions.
When we had all our footage, we began to edit our short film together using Avid. Before adding any raw footage to the timeline, I watched all the video clips through to ensure that we had every shot we needed, and that we would be able to portray the narrative. It was at this point that I noticed that we had broken the 180 Degree Rule when filming the close-up shot of the cheater’s facial expressions. Reflecting on the filming process, it was clear that the camera had crossed the 180 Degree line and that, when editing the footage together, it would look unnatural and not in real time. When beginning to cut videos into the Avid timeline, I had to make the decision to not use this particular clip in the final edit. This would mean I had to take another clip of the same player reaching into her pocket and placing the card on the table and cut it in two. I did this by inserting the low angle shot of the waiter in between the two shots. I feel that, by doing this, I was still able to portray the premise of the narrative, even though this meant the final edit now only had five shot types instead of the desired six. However, by removing this shot, it allowed the duration of the film to compress to 45 seconds. When compiling all of the shots onto the timeline, and making sure the continuity matched between each shot, I finally added a black and white colour overlay to make the film appear a more realistic representation of classical cinema.
Overall, I was pleased with the final edit, and felt that we were able to clearly portray the narrative. We included several key features of Classical Cinema when filming our short film and we were able to keep to the time limit that we were tasked with. If I was to complete this project again, I would make sure to be more aware that the 180 Degree Rule would not be broken when filming, as the shot that broke the rule could have provided some more information and depth for the viewer. I will use the knowledge that I have learnt going forward in creating more films of this era.
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