Monday 25 February 2013

Inspired by film. Is it a close up? Or a wide shot?

By Candy Gourlay

A quick thought for Monday.

Many authors I know swear by screen writing books like Story by Robert McKee. There is so much to learn about narrative structure in cinema.



Recently I read a piece about how Joe Wright, director of Atonement and Anna Karenina, is soon to debut as a theatre director. He was amazed to discover that his actors were totally comfortable in the language of film:
"When we started rehearsals, I was trying to talk in theatre terms, and the actors just thought I was weird. One day I happened to say, 'Oh, that's a wide shot,' and they knew exactly what I meant. So now I've dropped trying to talk a language I don't really speak, and use film terms: this is a closeup so everybody focus; we're in a wide shot so everyone come alive." Read the article in the Guardian
Well isn't that a powerful nugget for anyone struggling over a scene?

Decide: Is it a close up? Are you homing in on a moment, an emotion, something really specific in your story?

Or is it a wide shot? Are you showing your character against the broad landscape of the setting, the mood, the event?

Frame that shot. Frame that scene.



The images above are screenshots from my baby brother Armand's film Reel Life starring his son, Matthew. Can't see the film? View it here

10 comments :

  1. What a great piece of advice - and a fab little film :)

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    1. Thank you! I wish I'd heard this a long time ago.

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  2. I've also heard Beverley Birch recommend this sort of zooming technique and found her very inspiring, as always. I have got into trouble, though, when trying to use it and keep close to my PoV character, especially in First Person.

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    1. I have the opposite problem of finding it hard to do close ups in third person so I always end up writing in first person

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  3. I've found screenwriting books most helpful. Save the Cat is another.
    Lovely film. What a talented family you are!

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    1. Oh thanks for that Maureen! Off to check it out.

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    2. Okay ... this has been an expensive post. I just bought the Truby book and both Save the Cat books on Kindle!

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  4. John Truby's Anatomy of Story is my screenwriting bible. His methods gel so well with my own, and have really helped me pull some thoughtful structure into my writing.

    I have to say, I'm struggling with this close-up, wide shot perspective. I get the idea. But does it apply to first person? I can't think of any of my scenes in my current wip that are really wide shots. I guess sometimes the camera pans out so you can see what a large number of people are doing, but it always comes back quite quickly.

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    1. I see this problem often in critique situations. A chapter is written without a strong focus. It feels as if the spotlight is moving all over the stage and you don't know what you're supposed to feel and think because of the clutter. I see a wide shot as a scene setting, a broad brush. And I would interpret a close up an emotional sharpening.

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    2. Okay, that helps, but still puzzling it over. I guess, for me, when I'm writing first person pov, my focus is always my character. But maybe that's more of a personal thing. I can certainly imagine this in, say, Dickens.

      Anyway, really hope you enjoy Truby!

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