Shooting a Conversation

Heroes in Film Noir



Bud White (Russel Crowe) in
LA Confidential - a good example
of the brutal, amoral hero



The one word that sums up the lead character in any noir film is ambiguous. Rarely, if ever, does the hero in this genre ever stick to one side of the war so to speak. They are constantly jumping from side to side of the moral fence. However, this role can often develop in two key ways: either the hero, however hard he might try to hide it, has high morals but deals with situations presented in a highly immoral way. A prime example of this is from the film LA Confidential in which one of the three main character - Bud White (Russel Crowe) - breaks into the house of a kidnapper and rapist and shoots the suspect as he tries to surrender. Another common feature concerning heroes in noir is corruption. Most commonly in the form of a woman as in the film Double Indemnity where Walter Neff (played by Fred MacMurray) is talked into murder and insurance fraud by the beautiful Ms Dietrichson.



Orson Wells as Kane in Citizen Kane



Fred MacMurray as Wlater Neff in
Double Indemnity

Hardly ever do the mail leads come out of the story well - in LA Confidential one character is killed and one grievously wounded. In Citizen Kane, Kane's memory is desecrated as he dies lonely and unfulfilled. A typical role of the hero is to be a detective or a criminal, but whatever profession they belong to - be it legal or illegal - they almost always share the same characteristics. The hero is normally well spoken, well dressed and smart. They are generally impassible and ruthless and often blur the line between right and wrong, demonstrating both great cruelty and great compassion. As an audience we are meant to understand but not sympathise with the hero. A perfect example of this is Kane in Citizen Kane. We see, through lengthy expositions, a man driven by greed and greed alone, eventually forsaking everything - love, appearance, trust and everything in between to try and fill the real void in his life which, when it is revealed in the last minutes of the film, alters our perception of the plot and the characters completely.





how to: Film People Having a Conversation

Although filming two people having a conversation is much more simple than filming someone walking, there are still a definite set of rules and techniques it is important to follow during filming.

In order to set up there scene there needs to be an establishing shot - this is usually the simplest of the shots. If, for example the two people are sitting down at a table then the establishing shot would generally be of the table side on, showing the two subjects sitting at it. For example, as the picture to the right demonstrates, this would become the master shot which the camera returned to every so often. These shots would be filmed on the first camera.

While this is going on the second camera will be capturing what are known as pick up shots. Generally speaking these are the irregular camera angles which are returned to at least twice in one scene. The nature of pick up shots can vary massively, but good examples are birds eye shots (e.g. over the table) and close ups. Both of these give new outlook on the scene and keep the conversation as interesting to watch as it is to listen to.

Often also there are separate cameras on each charachter. Though this is not a rule set in stone it definitely is very common in films. The way to do this is normally to have a camera set up at an angle to the actor/actress in an over the shoulder shot of the opposite charachter.

Film Noir Collage

Although filming two people having a conversation is much more simple than filming someone walking, there are still a definite set of rules and techniques it is important to follow during filming.

In order to set up there scene there needs to be an establishing shot - this is usually the simplest of the shots. If, for example the two people are sitting down at a table then the establishing shot would generally be of the table side on, showing the two subjects sitting at it. For example, as the picture to the right demonstrates, this would become the master shot which the camera returned to every so often. These shots would be filmed on the first camera.

While this is going on the second camera will be capturing what are known as pick up shots. Generally speaking these are the irregular camera angles which are returned to at least twice in one scene. The nature of pick up shots can vary massively, but good examples are birds eye shots (e.g. over the table) and close ups. Both of these give new outlook on the scene and keep the conversation as interesting to watch as it is to listen to.

The Rules

The 180 degree rule - This is essentially the same as the idea of not crossing the line. Simplified this rule means that the camera can shoot from any angle so long as it is in the 180 degree radious. If this rule is not followed then it can often look as though charachters have switched sides which can be confusing to look at.

Shot variation - As I have mentioned above, it is important for a variety of shots to be included in a scene. If a whole scene was being shot from one specific angle then it would be dull to watch and it is therefore important to feature many differing pick up shots and one strong master shot.

Continuity editing - Continuity is one of the major problems in filming. It is enevitable, considering how many takes a scene takes to film correctly, that problems will occur but with careful editing it can mostly be avoided or else smoothed over.

Shot/Reverse shot - In films this is a rechnique often employed. Put simply it is when there is a shot of a charachter is looking at something and then the camera angle changes to show what they are looking at and then back to show the charachter again. It is useful to display expressions without having to vocalise them.

Master Shot (see above).

ECU (pick up shots - see above).

Below is the  famous 'tipping scene' from Resevoir Dogs. In this clip of conversation are examples of the  very sophisticated camera techniques that helped establish Quentin Tarintino as one of the finest modern directors.

Camera Angles Explained

Camera Angles Explained

how to: Shoot People Walking

When you shoot people walking with a camera there are a number of main rules to remember to maintain the audiences attention and to add an effect of realism to the shots...

• The camera must keep changing angles - only very rarely can extended shots of people walking from one single camera angle keep a viewers attention and prevent him or her from losing interest. By shooting from lots of different angles it builds up an image of the character and their surroundings as well as being interesting enough to keep the watcher entertained.
• Do not cross the line. When filming someone walking it is important for there to be an imaginary line in the directors head that the cast and crew may not at any point cross, though this sounds complicated and abstract, it is in essence very simple. For example, if you are filming a person walk right from left then the camera should always be positioned to a particular side of them e.g. their left in order to make it look like the actors are waling the same direction. If you suddenly switched to the characters right then it would look as though they were walking the opposite direction. This rule ensures continuity and prevents the potential for confusion.
• Shots. The kind of shots the cameraman uses are almost as important as the actors movement in making the journey look convincing. Typically there should be long shots that show the subject(s) in full, but equally important are mid shots showing us the character in more detail and close ups normally of a character's feet - to show the rhythm of the walk or the pace adopted, not to mention for interest's the sake - or the character's face. However this latter shot would normally be more about the character as oppose to creating a fluent feeling of movement. Wide shots are normally imperative in order to put the subject of the shot in some context, be that an environment or to create a mood or undertone to the shot.
• Camera movement. It might seem obvious but the way the camera moves during filming is one of the most important aspects of shooting people walking. Though in theory any of the main camera techniques could be used to film movement the most popular and efficient are usually a selection of crab shots from side to side, tracking shots that can follow the character from behind or move just in front of them, or dolly shots that can go whichever direction they please and more closely shadow the actor/actress.

The actual film in question aside, the opening credits of Saturday Night Fever (1977) is one of the best examples of the effectiveness of combining all these rules into an ultimately very well thought out and choreographed sequence that establish the mood of the feature and the personality of the subject without any dialogue.

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