Spooning and Will Ferrel

Thinking about the techniques presented in the two workshops so far, as well as those observed in Sunset Boulevard, describe any structures, effects, or methods you believe you might be able to pull off in your short film project later this semester. Why do you think the techniques you mention are within your reach? For what purpose would you utilize them? Can you link to any other examples of these techniques that inspire you?

One technique I think we can use for our short films is talking transitions. We watched, as the couple talked in Citizen Kane, the elaborate use of this technique. Even though time was passing as consecutive shots changed, the conversation continuing into transition maintained continuity. Instead of getting lost and confused, the viewer knows exactly what is going on because of the voice transitions. I hope we can use these to maintain continuity throughout our film if it spans any amount of time.

Another technique I think we can use is lighting effects. Although I am unsure of our genre, I think we can definitely use lighting to our advantage. Using different colors of light, such a red or blue or a yellow light (like we saw in Godfather), can totally change the mood of a scene or even a whole film. These light features along with back lighting and shadows can help us draw attention to certain people or certain objects. I hope we can use this in our film to portray emotion and also highlight areas of the cameras view to enhance our viewers experience. I don't really have a link to this example but the scene in "Step Brothers" where the father is lecturing and sees Will Ferrel's mother there is a great use of lighting to make the mother stand out.

Using different camera angles can affect the comfort of the viewers. In conversational scenes the 180 and 30 degree rules are used. Disobedience can cause unrest and discomfort for the viewers. This is very effective for times in movies where things are going bad or intense conversation is coming from a villain. When an intense scene happens in our movie, I hope that we can break a few rules and cause some discomfort for our viewers. After all, just causing an audience to have a feeling I want them to have is awesome.

The last technique I would like to see used in our short film is the use of sound effects. I loved the film about sound technicians. They have the coolest job and I hope I get to do the same in our film. They do such awesome things with everyday objects. I look forward to the possibility of using a frying pan to make the sound of an explosion or a couple spoons to make wind chimes. Of course, a great example of sound effects is found in the Lord of the Rings movie as we watched.