Comments on: Examining the Scene: S01E01 ‘Pilot’

By: Mikeel - watch avatar episodes!

Mikeel - watch avatar episodes! — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 10:10:22 +0000

Mikeel – watch avatar episodes!…

I wonder if it’s coming a Avatar Book 4, because I’ve seen in many websites it says “Avatar Book 4: Air Temple” but I’m not sure because some people say it won’t come.. do u know something?…

By: Benmanben

Benmanben — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 19:31:33 +0000

Same here as to Adam118

By: Benmanben

Benmanben — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 19:30:52 +0000

Same here.

By: izikavazo

izikavazo — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 18:36:42 +0000

This is exactly what I’m doing. I didn’t want to rereview all the old episodes again so I’m just concentrating on the exciting scenes. I’mc alling it Vital Scnes, but it’s essentially the same. Check out what I have so far here: http://ncjl.wordpress.com/category/vital-scenes/
- izi

By: rosered2318

rosered2318 — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 16:55:18 +0000

Awesome! Thanks so much – I could read your stuff for days.

By: spacebender

spacebender — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 03:36:43 +0000

Excellent, as always! Thanks for the enriching post.

By: Kermet

Kermet — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 01:08:27 +0000

Nato – On the tracking shot you point out we’re moving left to right. Notice that in the West this is a natural style of reading. It makes us comfortable. Therefore, we’re more inclined to like Jack. Then Kate enters right of screen. She goes against our natural flow, plus she’s behind him. “Watch your back, Jack.” Can we trust her? Then the rack focus. We may not be able to see her clearly just yet, but Jack does. So we can trust Kate for now, because Jack does.

By: Kermet

Kermet — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 01:00:06 +0000

It’s a matter of juxtaposition and context. You do an excellent job of getting at the intent of each shot because you take the time to analyze what came before it (i.e. the first twenty minutes of the pilot vs. the initial action of the flashback). In reality, you’re both right…depending on the context the artist places the shot in.

By: Kermet

Kermet — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 00:54:39 +0000

“Cinematic Storytelling” Jennifer Van Sull – as recommended above.

By: Kermet

Kermet — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 00:52:02 +0000

Let me recommend “Cinematic Storytelling” by Jennifer Van Sull for understanding the “meaning” behind certain camera shots.

However, for writing a screenplay, if you are not directing/producing it yourself, then you want to avoid calling for camera shots.

By: SLS

SLS — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 15:33:10 +0000

Awesome post!

By: nato64

nato64 — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 03:44:36 +0000

Surprisingly, The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Independent Filmmaking (Chapter 19) does a great gloss-over of everything I talk about.

To be honest, finding the meaning is relatively easy once you learn to listen to how a certain cut or shot makes you feel. There is no rulebook but there are rules, if that makes sense. Films like Breathless intentionally break traditional filmmaking rules for a creative point. I had an argument the other day with my roommate (who’s a director) on what low angle shots mean versus high-angle shots. I learned that low-angle shots show power. It shows the character big, strong, larger than life. While high-angle shots show characters weak, small, and insignificant. His argument was that high-angle shots show the character grounded, in control, and thus powerful while low-angle shots showed sky around the character, showed them not in control of the world. We both cited examples in different films and came to the conclusion that no one is right. There are different schools of thought. Such is art

By: jojo

jojo — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 01:20:59 +0000

Oh, what a tease. Keep going….pleeeeese.

By: Uncle Beaver

Uncle Beaver — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 00:01:26 +0000

I don’t know anything, really, about how movies/TV are made and how the directors and DP’s figure out how and why to compose their shots, but your articles shed lots of light on the meaning behind it all. Do you have any suggestions for books, etc. that might help the average idiot understand the art of Film Direction?

Thanks for an informative and enjoyable article.

By: nato64

nato64 — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 23:11:26 +0000

Haha that show might not break down as well. Improv means less planning in terms of shooting and cutting. It’s all very on the fly.

I will be doing more features in the fall on TVOvermind for shows like Fringe, V, etc. Narrative shows that play out more like mini-films.