Read Online B0041VYHGW EBOK by David Bordwell, Kristin Thompson - Free Book Online
Authors: David Bordwell, Kristin Thompson
storyboard, the director usually does several takes, or versions. For instance, if the finished film requires one shot of an actor saying a line, the director may do several takes of that speech, each time asking the actor to vary the delivery. Not all takes are printed, and only one of those becomes the shot included in the finished film. Extra footage can be used in coming-attractions trailers and electronic press kits.
Because scenes seldom are filmed in story order, the director and crew must have some way of labeling each take. As soon as the camera starts, one of the cinematographer’s staff holds up a
slate
before the lens. On the slate is written the production, scene, shot, and take. A hinged arm at the top, the clapboard, makes a sharp smack that allows the recordist to synchronize the sound track with the footage in the assembly phase ( 1.28 ). Thus every take is identified for future reference. There are also electronic slates that keep track of each take automatically and provide digital readouts.
1.28 A slate shown at the beginning of a shot in Jean-Luc Godard’s
La Chinoise.
In filming a scene, most directors and technicians follow an organized procedure. While crews set up the lighting and test the sound recording, the director rehearses the actors and instructs the cinematographer. The director then supervises the filming of a
master shot.
The master shot typically records the entire action and dialogue of the scene. There may be several takes of the master shot. Then portions of the scene are restaged and shot in closer views or from different angles. These shots are called
coverage,
and each one may require many takes. Today most directors shoot a great deal of coverage, often by using two or more cameras filming at the same time. The script supervisor checks to ensure that details are consistent within all these shots.
For most of film history, scenes were filmed with a single camera, which was moved to different points for different setups. More recently, under pressure to finish principal photography as quickly as possible, the director and the camera unit might use two or more cameras. Action scenes are often shot from several angles simultaneously because chases, crashes, and explosions are difficult to repeat for retakes. The battle scenes in
Gladiator
were filmed by 7 cameras, whereas 13 cameras were used for stunts in
XXX.
For dialogue scenes, a common tactic is to film with an A camera and a B camera, an arrangement that can capture two actors in alternating shots. The lower cost of digital video cameras has allowed some directors to experiment with shooting conversations from many angles at once, hoping to capture unexpected spontaneity in the performance. Some scenes in Lars von Trier’s
Dancer in the Dark
employed a hundred digital cameras.
When special effects are to be included, the shooting phase must carefully plan for them. In many cases, actors will be filmed against blue or green backgrounds so that their figures can be inserted into computer-created settings. Or the director may film performers with the understanding that other material will be composited into the frame ( 1.29 ). If a moving person or animal needs to be created by computer, a specialized unit will use
motion capture.
Here small sensors are attached all over the body of the subject, and as that subject moves against a blank background or a set, a special camera records the movement ( 1.30 , 1.31 ). Each sensor provides a point in a wire-frame figure on a computer. That image can then be animated and built up to a completely rendered person or animal to be inserted digitally into the film.
1.29 For the climax of
Jurassic Park,
the actors were shot in the set of the visitor’s center, but the velociraptors and the
Tyrannosaurus rex
were computer-generated images added later.
1.30 For
Iron Man,
Robert Downey Jr. performed in a motion-capture suit covered with sensors.
1.31
Because scenes seldom are filmed in story order, the director and crew must have some way of labeling each take. As soon as the camera starts, one of the cinematographer’s staff holds up a
slate
before the lens. On the slate is written the production, scene, shot, and take. A hinged arm at the top, the clapboard, makes a sharp smack that allows the recordist to synchronize the sound track with the footage in the assembly phase ( 1.28 ). Thus every take is identified for future reference. There are also electronic slates that keep track of each take automatically and provide digital readouts.
1.28 A slate shown at the beginning of a shot in Jean-Luc Godard’s
La Chinoise.
In filming a scene, most directors and technicians follow an organized procedure. While crews set up the lighting and test the sound recording, the director rehearses the actors and instructs the cinematographer. The director then supervises the filming of a
master shot.
The master shot typically records the entire action and dialogue of the scene. There may be several takes of the master shot. Then portions of the scene are restaged and shot in closer views or from different angles. These shots are called
coverage,
and each one may require many takes. Today most directors shoot a great deal of coverage, often by using two or more cameras filming at the same time. The script supervisor checks to ensure that details are consistent within all these shots.
For most of film history, scenes were filmed with a single camera, which was moved to different points for different setups. More recently, under pressure to finish principal photography as quickly as possible, the director and the camera unit might use two or more cameras. Action scenes are often shot from several angles simultaneously because chases, crashes, and explosions are difficult to repeat for retakes. The battle scenes in
Gladiator
were filmed by 7 cameras, whereas 13 cameras were used for stunts in
XXX.
For dialogue scenes, a common tactic is to film with an A camera and a B camera, an arrangement that can capture two actors in alternating shots. The lower cost of digital video cameras has allowed some directors to experiment with shooting conversations from many angles at once, hoping to capture unexpected spontaneity in the performance. Some scenes in Lars von Trier’s
Dancer in the Dark
employed a hundred digital cameras.
When special effects are to be included, the shooting phase must carefully plan for them. In many cases, actors will be filmed against blue or green backgrounds so that their figures can be inserted into computer-created settings. Or the director may film performers with the understanding that other material will be composited into the frame ( 1.29 ). If a moving person or animal needs to be created by computer, a specialized unit will use
motion capture.
Here small sensors are attached all over the body of the subject, and as that subject moves against a blank background or a set, a special camera records the movement ( 1.30 , 1.31 ). Each sensor provides a point in a wire-frame figure on a computer. That image can then be animated and built up to a completely rendered person or animal to be inserted digitally into the film.
1.29 For the climax of
Jurassic Park,
the actors were shot in the set of the visitor’s center, but the velociraptors and the
Tyrannosaurus rex
were computer-generated images added later.
1.30 For
Iron Man,
Robert Downey Jr. performed in a motion-capture suit covered with sensors.
1.31
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