Week 46: Socials Roundup
Posts from 13th to 19th November, 2023
Hey friends,
A few of you follow us on our social media platforms: Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter/X. But not everyone does. So we’re trying to get in the habit of sharing the shorter (actually pithy) posts on Substack in a weekly roundup.
In usual Draft/Shot Zero style, it will be a bit erratic until we settle (ha!) into a rhythm.
Week 46 saw us continue posting about noir (mostly), with entries on 99 River Street, The Red House, and Zodiac — with a little detour into Dead Lesbians and The Far Side of the World.
Dead Lesbians (2023)
"Dead Lesbians" premieres this week @melbqueerfilmfest.
Director: @evajusttorks // Producer: @gpoyproductions used with permission, edited to depict the relevant mirror clips
Today's a scene from "Dead Lesbians" a Melbourne short film I (Mel) worked on, because I want to talk about mirror shot trickery!
The most fun (read: mind-melting, ridiculous) part of this shot was figuring out eyelines.
When the camera is looking at the mirror, the three panels had to be veeeeery carefully arranged so DP @babou_lancelot is hidden. To avoid 'crossing the line' is one thing, but making sure it looks as though Dorothy (gray suit; played by Jennifer Vuletic) and Isabelle (green shirt; played by Yassica Switakowski) are making eye contact as they walk to and fro and sit and stand was another, because that 3-way arrangement bounced eyelines around in all sorts of ways.
Check the medium shot starting at 0:15 - in order to make it LOOK like Isabelle is looking at Dorothy, she actually needs to be looking at herself.
When she checks her clothes out in the mirror 0:35 . . . you guessed it, she actually has to be looking at Dorothy. And Dorothy is similarly staring at not-Isabelle the whole time.
Imagine keeping it 'straight' (ahem) to remember to look at the exact opposite place of where you should be looking, while delivering your lines, hitting your marks, avoiding the giant camera rig, and, y'know, acting! Yassica and Jennifer are utter legends.
99 River Street (1953)
Another Noirvember Sexy Saturday, another unconventional cigarette lighting!
Because of the Hays code, you couldn't show a lot of explicit sex . . . but you could sensually insinuate it, as this scene from 99 River Street (1953) does.
Note the power dynamic shifting with the blocking, or more specifically how Linda wants Rawlins to think it's shifting, as she sits on his lap.
beat it, indeed.
The Red House (1947)
The Red House (1947) is full of woods and fairytale imagery. This shot of Pete starts inside the closet and keeps him silhouetted, signalling his full turn into villainy.
As he leaves, shadows of trees dance on the door, which he opens to real trees, which crossfade into 'prey' walking through the woods.
Zodiac (2007)
In the #neonoir (ish) #Zodiac, the crew laid 450 feet of dolly track, mounted a camera inside the Chevrolet Corvair, and pushed the Corvair down that track in order to create a camera move with the detachment and indifference that #DavidFincher was after.
See how this ☝️ video is a Youtube embed? Well, we’re now got a YouTube channel. More posts are coming we’ll promise but subscribe!
Bonus! Here is the late, great, Harris Savides, ACS (via American Cinematographer, April 2007) on the lighting of this scene (alt text included)
Master & Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003)
How did Master and Commander so effectively blend main unit, 2nd unit, miniatures, and visual effects for its climatic battle?
To celebrate the 20th anniversary of M&C, we took an interview with Peter Weir from the Directors Guild of America Quarterly and aligned it with the video to explain it to you!
The original article “At Sea With Peter Weir” is available here: https://www.dga.org/craft/dgaq/all-articles/0503-fall-2005/shot-to-remember-master-and-commander.aspx
Any thoughts? Questions? Feelings? LEAVE A COMMENT :)