Showing time has passed in a short

7

7ofDiamonds

Hi guys,

I'm making a short film and I have a part in the beginning where I want to show that time has passed.

Here's the idea.

  • Woman jogs everyday, see's homeless man everyday but doesn't help
  • One day she jogs by him and he isn't there anymore, and she realizes it
  • A few months later she see's him again at the same spot

I was looking at this thread http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?t=19580, but I'm not sure if those ideas could be played around in this scene.

I would really appreciate any ideas on how to get this scene down.

Thanks!
 
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If this is a major segment, and you really need your viewers to get it, I would do more of a montage set to music, or the sound of her breathing when she runs or her heart-beat (if you can't afford music)

Anyway ... have her run past four, five or more times, and each time she's in a change of clothes, and hairstyle (up, down, back, ponytail, cap, etc ...) And maybe she's wearing a jacket or coat in a shot or two, if you can find some cloudy or overcast days. Then just have each shot dissolve into the next, with your homeless guy ALWAYS in the exact same spot, same clothes, same expression, same stare.

Again, if this is that critical; experiment, get creative with it. A good montage will be worth the extra time and energy. If you don't have time to shoot this on different days, just color correct some days to look cooler or bluer with more contrast to simulate a change in weather.
 
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rayw said:
Show change of seasons, change of daily weather, change in parked car positions, change in her attire - but not his!
Click to expand...

laughingcrow said:
If this is a major segment, and you really need your viewers to get it, I would do more of a montage set to music, or the sound of her breathing when she runs or her heart-beat (if you can't afford music)

Anyway ... have her run past four, five or more times, and each time she's in a change of clothes, and hairstyle (up, down, back, ponytail, cap, etc ...) And maybe she's wearing a jacket or coat in a shot or two, if you can find some cloudy or overcast days. Then just have each shot dissolve into the next, with your homeless guy ALWAYS in the exact same spot, same clothes, same expression, same stare.

Again, if this is that critical; experiment, get creative with it. A good montage will be worth the extra time and energy. If you don't have time to shoot this on different days, just color correct some days to look cooler or bluer with more contrast to simulate a change in weather.
Click to expand...

I can't really go with the change of seasons or daily weather, but definitely other stuff can be changed like the car positions and her attire. I was also thinking of some sky replacement.

I'm actually thinking of creating the music myself so I think setting it to the music is a great idea.
So for each dissolve, do I have to maintain the same camera position? Or should I be moving it around?

Thank you guys so much, I really appreciate it!
 
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Good question. What do you see here?

You'll probably be using several different angles, but the one for your homeless man could remain constant, just like him. With the exception of the end of the montage where you maybe do a "push or dolly in" on his face or something he's clinging to to ramp up the emotion. Same for the woman's face. They don't even have to change expressions - that's the power of the push in, it tells the audience this shot is of high emotional impact.
 
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I like laughingcrow's suggestion of having each shot of her running by dissolving into the next.

Also think it's a bit unrealistic to *not have the homeless guy change, too. Homeless folks often push their belongings and stuff around in a shopping cart. As your jogger / environment changes, the amount of stuff in the cart could get less and less (even if he's dressed the same, which they often do)... until she passes his spot and pulls up: the cart is there, but he isn't. She thinks of pushing the cart away, but puts it back where he had it (depending on her character). Suddenly he reappears.

My 2 centavos; watch out for clichés-

kjones
 
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kjones said:
I like laughingcrow's suggestion of having each shot of her running by dissolving into the next.

Also think it's a bit unrealistic to *not have the homeless guy change, too. Homeless folks often push their belongings and stuff around in a shopping cart. As your jogger / environment changes, the amount of stuff in the cart could get less and less (even if he's dressed the same, which they often do)... until she passes his spot and pulls up: the cart is there, but he isn't. She thinks of pushing the cart away, but puts it back where he had it (depending on her character). Suddenly he reappears.

My 2 centavos; watch out for clichés-

kjones
Click to expand...
Saying "my 2 centavos" is cliche ;)

And since when do movies or shorts have to be realistic?
 
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laughingcrow said:
Saying "my 2 centavos" is cliche ;)

And since when do movies or shorts have to be realistic?
Click to expand...

You're right, they don't. But if he or his stuff *never changed, it might call my attention away from the story, when the homeless dude could actually add to the story, pull at the jogger's heartstrings, supply subtle story hints, etc.
 
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Yeah, the best bet is season change, hair length/style change for the actress? Maybe her hair is longer as time has passed (if she is willing to cut it for earlier scenes), or maybe even melding calendar days melting into her running to show time has passed.
 
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Thanks for all the feedback guys. This scene was complete yesterday. I did a change of clothes, different car positions and different timing of the day to achieve the passage of time. Also as laughincrow suggested, I did a push in on both characters to convey that emotional feeling. I think that turned out pretty well! Once again, thanks so much guys!
 
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