…and remember to always put the inlaws (and outlaws) at the far ends of any group photo. That way you can stomp and dramatically tear the out-of-favor person off the main photo (like in the movies) with one clean, perfect…rip… letting the torn scrap of paper float to the floor in the streaming, morning sun which creates a triple-perspective optic with the jewel-toned rug. The camera slowly pans in towards the, now *stationary* (nudge, nudge) scrap of discarded paper to clearly reveal the torn-off piece.
I took a class ‘Film: The Director’s Cut’. I thought we would watch great movies all summer and then write a paper on the actual movie (all of which) sadly I had seen before. (Some repeatedly!)
Instead… in a (mostly empty) lecture hall. Speaking loudly enough for the instructor (who never left his podium, where he continually neatened his already neat pile of paper, or put his pen down) to respond and mark you a check for participation. You could see his hand movement make the checkmark.
…we discussed each and every aspect of each tired movie but only through visually discernable instances deliberately set up by the set director. We were supposed to ignore the story and audio and just concentrate on the actor’s movement and placement within the liquid background. (I probably wrote all that as the intro to my final paper.)
Split camera angles, mirroring lens perspective, reflective color auras, chromatic aberrations… it was all very interesting but the instructor was way too ‘gung ho’ on his topic. We had an actual written test on ‘Shadows and Lighting’. Not an easy test either! (As with any test, all you have to do is pay attention in class.) Got an A for the course. Go big or go home!#
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