MasterShots Vol 2 by Christopher Kenworthy

Author:Christopher Kenworthy [Kenworthy, Christopher]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781615930555
Publisher: Michael Wiese Productions
Published: 2011-11-01T00:00:00+00:00

Nineteen Eighty-Four. Directed by Michael Radford. Atlantic Releasing, 1984. All rights reserved.

6.4

FACE TO FACE

There are times when you need to show a character revealing plot points, without him dominating the scene. In these shots from A. I. Artificial Intelligence, it’s important for the audience to see Sam Robards revealing some plot details, but this scene has to be emotionally owned by Frances O’Connor.

To achieve the correct balance, the director starts with the two facing each other. Then, as the plot details are revealed, Robards moves around to the side, so that his face is favored. This movement of his could look unnatural or unmotivated, but because the camera is moving in, it appears realistic.

Once the plot details have been revealed, Robards needs to move out of the way, so that the focus is on O’Connor’s reaction. To achieve this, Robards moves back to face her. By now the camera is close and looking up. He bends forward and looks up at her, as though trying to get a response from her, which means she can look down at him, thus facing the camera almost directly.

If this scene was shot with two characters standing next to each other, the camera cutting from one to the other, it would be dull. By adding a simple camera move, and shifting one actor, Spielberg causes the audience to notice the plot, and then to feel the scene’s emotional charge.

As with so many of Spielberg’s setups, the challenge is to make the actors comfortable with moves that are somewhat forced. If the actors are uncomfortable, a scene like this will just look like a flashy setup. You really see the skill of the director here, not in the moves he’s chosen, but in the level of comfort the actors appear to feel when acting out the scene.

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