I think one of the fundamental characteristics of cinema lies within its ability to create dramatic tension and anticipation. Taking visual measures is one way to achieve this dramatic tension. The director’s taste, knowledge, and experience dictate which technique to use and where? to convey the message to the viewer better. The director knows the relation between camera angle and camera level, frame size, light and color, movement or steadiness of the camera, etc.
We all know that composition, camera level, angle and movement, frame size variations, color scheme, lighting, staging, blocking, costume design, the décor, the edit, and other technical aspects have visual impacts that would result in viewer’s different emotional responses. Now, how to appropriately select and enforce any of these techniques to create the most emotional influence on the viewer goes back to the director’s style. It is the director’s foresight and perception plus the cameraman and other key crew to make the best possible choices for a scene. The Director’s overall understanding, knowledge, and manner of filmmaking are the most important factors in achieving the film aesthetic itself. To me, the main contributors of a film, especially the director, must be able to see the film in their minds even before pre-production and master the plasticity of the film through the storyboard well in advance. What makes this ability possible though, is the power of imagination and visualization and realization of that imagination accordingly.
However, internal and external factors have always affected productions all around the world. I, as a film director myself, have been in such situations several times in my carrier. There are times when a director sees himself/herself in an uncomfortable and undesired situation, which is against his previously imagined production plan.
I have always been interested in learning about my colleagues’ techniques, styles, and approaches. I have always wanted to know what my colleagues do in such situations. I think now is the time for me to learn something new. So, I would like to ask for your technical solution for one of those scenarios. Let us say I am directing a movie. I have now reached a scene and the following situation:
1- The protagonist, antagonist, and location’s geography have already been established.
2- My cast is professional. My protagonist and my antagonist have over 1500 acting minutes between them.
3- My location is a long dead-end alley, which opens to the main road and a huge empty lot.
4- My DOP’s movement is limited. My camera height is limited. My camera can tilt up/down, pan left/right, and trackback/forward. But it MUST remain on eye level.
5- I cannot change the location because of staging, transportation, etc. costs. Besides, I’m way behind schedule and my producer is on my tale.
6- My aim by shooting this scene is to achieve a highly-tensioned 10-second on-foot chase.
7- This is a daytime shoot. In fact, the shoot takes place during the "magic hour" Just using reflectors and flags. So, the lighting for both antagonist and protagonist remains the same throughout the entire scene.
8- My antagonist starts chasing after my protagonist to kill him. The chase starts from the end of the dead-end alley and ends on the main road, where my protagonist gets lucky. His friend sees him by chance, picks him up and they leave…
I would like to know what visual and non-visual techniques you use to achieve this highly-tensioned 10-second on-foot chase. Of course, every director’s style, taste, and implemented technique would differ from the other.
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One question that comes to mind is the lighting - is the protagonist moving from dark to light or light to dark. Color shifts from one end of the ally to the other? Who's pov does the camera follow? Just a couple of random thoughts.
Hi Doug, Good point. Thank you for bringing this to my attention. I forgot to mention in my post that this is a daytime shoot. To answer your question though, there's no color/ or light shift and as I mentioned, its a daytime shoot. Just reflectors and flags. In fact, the shoot takes place during the "magic hour". So, the lighting for both antagonist and protagonist remains the same throughout the entire scene.
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Use the Robert "Kuleshov" Rodriquez rule. Limitations make you keep what you got... Only when you need to show other things that will revile tension. This will also make a smooth transition when it's a happy ending... So cut to your buddy doing his drive around a familiar spot
Thanks, Vincent. Good suggestion.
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Hi @Ben You already stated lighting does not change but remains same throughout scene on both characters. So another idea is to film from POV of one or the other character, one looks into and runs toward camera, second camera catches twin shot of both from side or behind. (Normally I’d say also above but you said must be eye view.) I’m unsure how they both came to be in a dead end ally in the first place but protagonist could have been lured there by a trickster ally of antagonist. Re the ally scene itself. Protagonist trips or bumps into bins and falls flat on face then 2nd POV shot we see rat and rubbish on ground. (We inside his head.) Antagonist gains greater reach but protagonist just manages to pick themselves up to narrowly escape. They’re almost at the end of the ally, suddenly a second obstacle, a wino stands in protagonists way holding out his hands. “Spare some change?” Protagonist throws coins behind him, as wino grapples for money he’s now in antagonists way. Antagonist catches up again. Suddenly no more shadows, bright daylight of open road and screech of tyres as car door opens on face of the ally. Just one thought but I’ve a few more.
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Debbie - you've used light, the bright daylight signals escape . I don't think I'd add the wino character (he's in Tehran but I don't know the site location). He wants to shoot at the golden hour - unless the alley points West, there will be a dark side & a bright side. I'd play with that's just me.
Hello @Debbie Croysdale and @Doug Nelson. I like the dramatic element that @Debbie Croysdale added to the scene. Thank Debbie. @Doug Nelson has a very valid point in terms of light/ing (Magic hour splits the scene into the light and the dark part). Thank you Doug. I should however let you all know that this is not my film. The shoot is happening in north Finland. The director asked for my opinion/solution and I already gave it to him (I will share my personal solution with you later). I am just trying to figure out whether there were other aspects I could have thought about and I did not? I just want to learn about other directors' solutions and opinions. I really thank you for sharing your knowledge.
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Hi @Doug thanks for informing me there’s automatically a light and dark contrasting side at exact hour of shoot. I’ll remember this to get that effect myself. Yeah, that is kinda dramatic in itself, perhaps an interesting scene in black and white for Noir feel. @Ben Be interesting to see storyboarding frame by frame. As you know aspect ratios and lens types alter general feel and maybe a green tinted lens for chase. Alley could be longer and more narrow for “entrapment” even more so with VFX. Maybe more POV shots, a separate hand held camera to mimic protagonists line of vision, EG Tumble upside down, eyes land on rat or other nasty, they groan turning body to lie on their back cos can’t manage to get up yet, above narrow strip of sky suggests freedom is attainable then “cut “ to antagonist rapidly moving in. This gives a moment of dread. Sky shot can be a cut away added later if protagonist is dazed or mildly injured, clouds spin in an unreal way or imagined objects appear in the sky. I’m thinking here you don’t mean a closed in tunnel but an alley of just two walls. Or feet only of antagonist suddenly appear in vision, or protagonist looks up and sees something we don’t. A mystery question? We have to find out what, reveal later by dialogue or flashback. In Finland a block of snow or freshly melted ice can add another layer of danger upon escape. If your friend is looking for more “horror” opposed to artistic visions a snarling evil dog blocks the protagonists exit to alley.
I also agree with @Vincent. Working with technical limitations may still produce equally profound footage albeit a less is more feel. I collect vintage footage and there’s a memorable chase scene in an alley in 1960’s The Prisoner that later became an advert for series. Many more good foot chases off course but that one suddenly sprung to mind. Re actors. Amp up the relationship between antagonist and protagonist. Now they almost touch physically in a cage of bricks where both human emotions and animalistic instinct heighten. Push in on face or just eyes for close ups of hatred, frustration, fear. A great place to change status quo of protagonist, make them do something they wouldn’t normally do or vica versa with the antagonist. If allowed to add to dialogue do so for some reveal, secret or twist.
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Debbie - I like your creative thought process & would love to work with you.
Hi @Doug I’m in UK but we can discuss any project well in advance to allow for any travel after I fulfil current obligations in Europe. Would equally love to work with you. I recently asked DOP’s over here about “Twinklies” for a Noir setting later on this year, all but one didn't know what I meant. An example is in David Lynch’s film EraserHead 1977. Laters!
Hi @Debbie Croysdale, the director briefed me on the story quickly and did not want to send any part of the storyboard, which I understand. He just showed me a few frames over the phone, which didn't. really help. I totally agree with you though about lenses and their impact on the overall feel of the scene. In fact, the lens size, focal lengths, and field of view were some of the elements of the solution I gave him aside from prop change. Also, yes. This dead-end alley has a long wall on one side and small houses attached to each other on the other side. The protagonist exits one of the houses situated on the near end of the alley, escorted by his host up to the front gate, and the antagonist sees him by coincidence and the rest which you know. All the ideas you've been kind enough to share sound great. At least to me. As I said, you are very good at adding drama into drama, which creates tension when used properly (like the way you pictured it). The only thing is that I will not add any mystery or horror inserts as I personally believe they will interrupt the already established tension in the scene and accordingly the audience's point. I consider these mystery or horror inserts you mentioned as innovative approaches that will certainly work in other scenes or stories. but not for this tension-oriented scene.
I also agree with @Vincent Turner. But not every director does. You know it yourselves how hard-headed we film directors can get on the shoot, on certain films for personal or certain reasons.
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I would like to thank @Doug Nelson, @Vincent Turner, and @Debbie Croysdale for sharing their knowledge. Doug, thank you, sir. Vincent, thank you and Debbie, Thanks for your contributions. As I mentioned, I am now going to share with you the solutions I proposed to the director. Below you can see what I exactly wrote him. After this, we still had phone conversations. But they were around the same topics almost:
Logical timing was a concern for me after he explained his situation. The first thing I wanted to know was how long was a person going to take running from one end to the other end of the alley. So, I asked him to have someone run the distance and time it. He called back a few minutes later and said it took 00:08:44 seconds for one of his crew whose age was closest to the antagonist and protagonist to run the distance. I knew then, he obviously needed to show the alley longer (Debbie's point) as I intended to have him take as many shots as possible in that short amount of time for his editor in chief and the editing team to be able to have many shot choices to select from and build the feel (tension in this case) accordingly.
Dear ...............,
From what I understand, the antagonist is instructed to kill the protagonist. But on this particular day, he simply sees the protagonist in a dead-end alley by coincidence. That means the previous scenes do not indicate that the antagonist is there just to kill the protagonist. This fact itself gives you the opportunity to make certain staging modifications. I propose:
1. Adding three extras in the alley, one of which is transferring something from the walled side of the alley to a house and the other one is simply crossing by while holding his cute little puppy (poodle). The extra’s least role can be their POVs, which you need. However, one of them plays a more emotional role.
2. Changing the “Prop” (the antagonist’s weapon in this scenario. I think you should think of a logical achievement barrier for the antagonist. Therefore, instead of using a handgun trying to kill the protagonist, he should use a hunting crossbow. As you know, loading the crossbow itself can be considered a time and effort consuming process and this fact can give the protagonist a head start or at least delay the antagonist from reaching and then shooting at him. Crossbows are not as accurate as handguns. Chances of missing the target using crossbows are much higher than using a handgun.
Here’s how the scene I think can go after taking a few quick establishing shots of other cast (e.g the extras, the man on the street, the woman with a puppy):
The antagonist drives his vehicle into the dead-end alley looking for an address ONLY. A woman holding his poodle puppy in a separate shot glancing at the antagonist’s vehicle entering the alley. She’s approaching the alley herself. The antagonist is in his vehicle, his eyes switching between a piece of paper he’s holding and house numbers when his car breaks down for some reason. He pulls over. He steps out of the vehicle when a door opens and the protagonist (escorted by the house owner appear on the door). The antagonist and the protagonist get eye to eye. The protagonist pushes the house owner back inside the house and closes the door to protect her. He thinks he knows why the guy is acting weird.
Now you should ask your DOP to Lens up as your unusual OTS shots are about to begin. You need a variety of lenses (I don’t know, I’m not there. But I’m guessing 35mm for shallow focus/single – 28mm for the 3 shot – probably 85mm for your POV), etc. Use telephoto in close-ups to keep attention on the cast. I will completely have their backgrounds out of focus and un-sharp. But that’s me. But please remember to add these two words to your OTS shot checklist though: “spacing & focal length”.
Tension oriented OTS shots go back and forth for a few seconds and the antagonist reaches for his crossbow inside his vehicle slowly while still staring at the protagonist. He’s pulling out his crossbow when the protagonist realizes what is going on. He starts running. The protagonist pulls out his crossbow hurriedly and the chase starts. They’re both running. But the ground is icy and slippery. The antagonist pauses for a second to load his crossbow. But there’s something wrong or he has difficulty, which pisses him off even more. This gives the protagonist a good head start. The crossbow gets loaded, the antagonist aims and increases his speed to recover for the lost time. The protagonist trembles on ice but regains control. The antagonist takes his shot and misses. The arrow that has now crossed the protagonist is headed towards the puppy. It misses the puppy by inches. The protagonist is almost near the main road when he notices a familiar vehicle is making a U-turn. But the driver sees him before he shouts the driver’s name to ask for help. (of course the INT/EXT shot of the vehicle, the drive, etc etc etc in advance or during). The driver opens the car door, the protagonist jumps in and they both speed away. Then a medium shot of the antagonist aiming the crossbow. But a police vehicle is approaching and he’s forced to conceal his weapon. The police vehicle passes by, the antagonist looks at the vehicle with the antagonist in it getting away, he looks at the sky and yells angrily.
The following techniques should be used during the chase:
First take two master shots of the entire scene using a “parfocal lens”. Trust me. Parfocal lens’s focal length will stay in relative focus.
A match pan, from left to right. The camera is situated on the middle of the dead-end alley. Exactly the moment the antagonist and the protagonist are running and crossing the camera from right to left, the camera pans from left to right.
A trackback against the direction of the antagonist and the protagonist. Camera is situated on the middle of the dead-end alley. The camera is tracking back quickly while facing the same direction the cast is running towards. The antagonist and the protagonist suddenly appear on the right side of the frame (they’re very close to the camera)
Here what you need is a disorienting and unusual camera techniques. I think “Vertigo Effect” is what you should use here. Again, remember you need different lenses to enhances the tension of the scene. From the gear you told me you have and what I saw, you can pull it off easily. All you need is a smooth track and steady zoom, which you have both. You need two of these shots. One is the antagonist’s POV and the other is the protagonist’s POV. Then ask your editor to use a screen shake effect and play around with keyframes to give a running-like feel to the footage. (You might not use one of the POVs in the edit later on, but make sure you have shot both).
The antagonist’s POV: Track forward and zoom back at the same time.
The protagonist’s POV : Trackback and zoom in at the same time.
Pull focus from antagonist to the protagonist and vice versa.
Take a few CUs (the protagonist’s terrified looks and the antagonist’s evil expressions)
Go for a few prop inserts (The crossbow, the arrow, etc. ) but keep on changing the angle.
Again, to cause a sense of unease and to increases the tension for the audience, use a few moving Dutch angle shots:
A master-Dutch angle shot of the antagonist and the protagonist running towards the camera (safety shot)
A master-Dutch angle shot of the antagonist and the protagonist running away from the camera (safety shot)
A full-Dutch angle shot of the antagonist running (a few frames to be used in edit)
A full-Dutch angle shot of the protagonist running (a few frames to be used in edit)
And MAYBE:
A medium-Dutch angle shot of the antagonist running (a few frames to be used in edit)
A medium-Dutch angle shot of the protagonist running (a few frames to be used in edit)
(As you know the camera can pivot, pan or track along the established diagonal axis for the shot)
REMEMBER:
1- Instruct your composer to use strings and Synths in his piece for this particular scene.
2- Instruct your editor/color grade/color corrector to not use much of filters. You need this scene to be identified, seen and felt different from the rest of the movie, yet in harmony in terms of color theme.
3- If you’ve been using warm colors throughout the entire shooting, then have the edit team to exaggerate the warmest cold color for this particular scene.
4- If you’ve been using cold colors throughout the entire shooting, then have the edit team to exaggerate the blue and/or purple colors for this particular scene.
Please call me if you think I can help with anything else.
GOOD LUCK
Note: Sorry for the spelling or grammar mistakes. I dictated everything for speech-texter and it typed for me. You said you were in a hurry and I had to finish this like yesterday.