cinematography Expanding and Exploring

B

Boz Uriel

I'm trying to open up, expand, experiment with cinematography. Something new, something good and I have an idea but I'm not sure it will it work without actually spending the time and money 'doing' it. So, being one of those cheap Dutch people, I'm asking to see if anybody has done something simular or what you think about the following concept.

The script is about a three friends who are so tightly knit they do everything together. They went to college together, they work together, they live together, and they fight outside influences together (one guy gets interviewed by a headhunter).

I'm starting to write the shooting script and came up with this idea. I want to show that these three guys are almost one person so I want to keep them all in the shot. You might be old enough to remember Popeye the Sailor Man, in one of his cartoons there's a three headed lanky creature in it. So it would be something like that. Toward the end of the script the three start to fall apart and that's where the camera would start to film them seperately. But that doesn't happen until the last quarter of the film.

If you can imagine what it would look like having, all three main characters, in the same shot, all the time, for the first seventy minutes, is it too much? Or does this sound like one of those 'cinematography tricks that would drive you crazy'?

Thanks for any help. :)
 
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I don't think it's just an issue of seeing your three characters together in all 'their' pertinent shots but more an issue of what you intercut with them, the duration of each of those shots, and of course, the composition of those shots. Will the three characters always be in full shots, close-ups, etc? Are there physical features which set each apart from the other, ie like a scar, a tatoo, purple hair. These features could be used in abstract ways to suggest the 'three' are in a shot together. You can always use the formal (along with the narrative of course) properties of the moving artform to suggest the three are 'together' in a shot, like split screen or superimposition, even FX could have a nice little satirical spin (like an animated Cerberus or Hydragon :D). Sound is also a powerful form of conveyance...three voices in a voice over.

I think your idea can be done without falling into that trap of cliche. Best strategy is storyboarding.
 
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You might come up with ideas if you ask yourself "How can I show that these 3 guys are inseparable without showing them all in the same shot?". This way you are thinking outside the box instead of relying on the obvious.
 
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...since unconventional ideas sometimes come out of conventional ones, here's an over used conventional idea...

I am assuming that you are trying to show how they are like one person, by shooting them in one scene?
And its golf, right? So...

shoot first person in profile, left or right, hiding the fact that the other two are in profile behind him:
If they are at a driving range or golf course...

profile X
profile facing left

X person 3
X person 2
X person 1

...The shot is over head so you can see what I mean better, besides how do I show that in a post?

have them swing, person 1, person 2, person 3, truck camera in arc to show that there are 3 people there.

...yes, it has been done before, yes, it is conventional, yeah, so maybe its a cinematic trick that bugs you :lol: , but it might do the trick to get you started. Besides, its your movie! :D You figure it out! 70 minutes is a long time. What are they going to be doing all that time?

--spinner :cool:
 
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Hi ya spinner, no this isn't the golf script this is new. Best way I know to show it in a post is to upload or link a graphic file. When I shoot them they'll be in different places and doing different things. I was going more for the three men acting as one person almost. I'll storyboard it and see how it goes. Thanks for the input! :)

I thought I was thinking outside the box :( I take it this is not a new idea then. LOL Back to the drawing board.
 
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I thought I was thinking outside the box :( I take it this is not a new idea then. LOL Back to the drawing board.
Click to expand...

...Oh, well, I was thinking it was the golf story you were asking about, I guess I got them mixed up :yes:
I think I'm the one not thinking outside the box.

...the idea of connecting the three characters is interesting, maybe some well placed flashbacks? I don't know...It is nice to have so many creative people here, though. If nothing else, being on the board is a good chance to brainstorm...

--spinner :cool:
 
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The script is about a three friends who are so tightly knit they do everything together. They went to college together, they work together, they live together, and they fight outside influences together.

I'm starting to write the shooting script and came up with this idea. I want to show that these three guys are almost one person so I want to keep them all in the shot.

Toward the end of the script the three start to fall apart and that's where the camera would start to film them seperately. But that doesn't happen until the last quarter of the film.
Click to expand...

...the flashbacks might serve to remind the viewer of how close the 3 of them were, so when they begin to fall apart, the contrast is apparent and striking. Maybe they could have the same mannerisms, they might tend to 'mirror' each others movements...


If you can imagine what it would look like having, all three main characters, in the same shot, all the time, for the first seventy minutes, is it too much?
Click to expand...

...there ought to be a reason why they are in the same shot for so long. Are they stuck in a supply room or elevator? This almost sounds like a stage play where there is only so much room. Your actors had better be good... :D

--spinner :cool:
 
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I loved the idea of all three speaking in a flashback. But what if all three were speaking the same words at the same time? Like a chant. It would have quite a supernatural effect, which you probably arent looking for. Oh well.
 
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spinner said:
.
...the idea of connecting the three characters is interesting, maybe some well placed flashbacks?
--spinner :cool:
Click to expand...

Flashbacks might work well for this concept.

What if you start the movie in the middle of the story, as the members are already starting to drift apart -- or shortly before they start to drift apart. You could shorten the time of them being "all together" to maybe 15 minutes, then through flashbacks that run throughout the remainder of the movie, you could intersperse scenes of them from the past (again, all together) to reinforce the idea that they were inseparable. It could almost be like a mystery, at the beginning of the movie, to wonder why such good friends are drifting apart -- and the answer gets slowly revealed through the flashbacks.

John
 
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