Entirely subjective Action/Comedy

[Lowxposure]

I'm in pre-production on a film entirely about one man, Scott, and I need some advice on keeping the film subjective. Mind you, the goal is to limit the amount POV shots throughout because I want the audience to watch Scott not necessarily share his experience.

More specifically, I need advice on cutaways or inserts. For example, tomorrow I'm filming the first "dialogue heavy" scene. Scott is home after a hard day at 'work' and he gets a knock at the door. He looks out the window to see Brit. Scott opens the door to confront Brit. They talk. He slams the door in Brits face.

So, in this scene he hears a knock at the door, he approaches, he looks out, and he opens the door. Would you show a close up of him reaching for the doorknob? When he confronts Brit do we show Scott's hand sliding behind his back to reveal a gun? When he slams the door do we show Brit outside reacting or is Brit simply gone?

Basically, what are some possible shots I can include with these big actions to supplement the information I'm sending to the audience? I know this is a simple example, but hopefully you get what I mean.

 

[directorik]

Doesn't the shot choice depend on your style?

Yes, you can shoot a close up of him reaching for the doorknob.
Yes, you can show Brit outside reacting when the door is slammed
in his face. Yes, you can shoot a shot that shows Scott's hand sliding
behind his back to reveal a gun. And then in the editing you can use
or not use the shots depending on your style and the needs of the
story and mood of the piece.

Basically, what are some possible shots I can include with these big actions to supplement the information I'm sending to the audience? I know this is a simple example, but hopefully you get what I mean.

I do get what you mean. There are hundreds of possible shots you
can include. But each director is going to shoot and then use different
shots depending (again) in the directors personal style and the needs
of the movie. You know better what you want to send to the viewer
then any of us here do.

Shoot a lot of coverage. Get close ups, get medium shots, use a dolly
move, try low angles, try high angles. The more coverage you get, the
more choices you have in editing.

Frankly, just by your questions it seems you have some excellent ideas
of what you want to shoot. Without reading the script and understanding
what's in your head I can't offer suggestions on what I would do with that
specific script. Hopefully others will be able to tell you what shots to get.

 

[Lowxposure]

I do know exactly what is supposed to occur, but admittedly I'm ignorant on the art of inserts. It always seems to me that an amateur is more likely to throw in sloughs of inserts (pointless or not) just to prove they can move the camera.

I guess I'm more or less trying to figure out when it makes sense. Yes he reaches for the door knob, but he doesn't look at the door knob, he's watching Brit. Since I want the audience to observe what Scott observes I don't want to take the camera off Brit, but there in lies the rub. I can't do anything with a 25 second stagnant OTS shot of Scott opening the door. I just don't know how to let the audience "blink" whilst continuing to strengthen this fact, "WHO IS AT MY DOOR AND WHAT DOES HE WANT?!"

 

[LastChancey]

Shoot all of it. Get enough coverage to execute all of your ideas, then try them all out in the editing phase.

 

[directorik]

I do know exactly what is supposed to occur, but admittedly I'm ignorant on the art of inserts. It always seems to me that an amateur is more likely to throw in sloughs of inserts (pointless or not) just to prove they can move the camera.

I hear ya. We all are, or were at one time. My point is the
way some people learn is by doing - shoot a bunch of inserts
and experiment. You may learn more about the art of inserts
that way. But then some people would rather be learn from
others so I hope others jump in and tell you they would do.

Since I want the audience to observe what Scott observes I don't want to take the camera off Brit, but there in lies the rub. I can't do anything with a 25 second stagnant OTS shot of Scott opening the door.

There is the rub, indeed.

I know that if you shoot several inserts you will have more
options than if you don't shoot any. I tend to get a lot of coverage;
it's something I do based on my experiences sitting in the editing
room banging on the desk in frustration.

There are so many possible shots that you can include with these
big actions to supplement the information you're sending to the
audience that I can't possibly offer any help.

Will you have the time while shooting to shoot several different
inserts? If not, then maybe storyboarding will help. Draw out the
scene in several different ways, trying several different inserts to
get the feel of your scene. That way you will have the inserts already
set so you can shoot only what you know for sure you will use.

 

[Lowxposure]

I appreciate the responses.

I guess I don't know exactly what I expected someone to say, but you answered my question nonetheless. I was actually in the process of storyboarding and ran into a snag, but I get what you mean. If I film enough, then something oughta work. Funny thing is, that's how I've done it before, just shooting various angles and movements until I found something that clicked.

Does anyone see a specific value to staying subjective from the audiences POV? I want film as if the audience is there with Scott but he has no idea they are watching, and the audience will uncover the conflict at the same time as Scott.

Do you think it will lessen the 'voyeuristic' (for lack of a better word) effect if I suddenly show Brit from outside the house when the door slams?

I think of it like the guy on the elevator talking into his cell phone, we can't see or hear the other party, but we know about 50% of what is going on. However the guy on the phone knows 100% of what is going on.

So will the audience see things the same way I do if I break away from Scott even though he's not there?

Or I could just shut up, start filming, and see what works lol.

 

[LastChancey]

Listen to Christopher Nolan's commentary on "Memento," if you can. He talks about wanting to evoke the exact same feeling -- in some places more than others. During the black and white sequences, he shot with a lot of super-wide angles and handheld to give the thing a voyeuristic feeling, and everywhere else, he stuck to the 180-degree rule when following Leonard around the world. He talks a LOT about how he wanted the camera to be a close to a first-person view as possible without getting too weird with his angles. You can watch the movie and see how the camera actually "discovers spaces" with the character; that is, the audience only sees something that Leonard sees, and never before or after he does (I think there's only one place in the film that this is untrue, and Nolan mentions it in the commentary). I would seriously advise taking a look at that film and watching the commentary -- it's laden with advice on this exact topic.