When I went to New York on a history trip with my high school (ha! the closest we got to any history on that trip was analysing the stains in the communal showers) number one on my things to buy list was "Making Movies" by Sydney Lumet. I'd been recommended it as the one book a filmmaker should read but alas, to buy in Britain cost around £100 since it's not published here. Fortunately, I persuaded the group leader to allow me half an hour in the Strand book shop and left with my bounty.
Having read it, I'd have to agree that it's the one book you should read if you're stupid enough to limit yourself to a single book: it's accessible, intelligent, firmly rooted in the practical and a very entertaining read. Anyone who hasn't looked at it ought to get it from the library, or maybe they should book a plane to New York, worked for me.
Anyway, Sydney Lumet writes very well about making films, and he makes films very well too. I'd seen a few of his, but 12 Angry Men was not one of them, though I'd heard about it (and seen the Simpsons' pastiche). It didn't disappoint.
What struck me most was how tautly it was constructed, so that spending an hour and a half in a single room with the same twelve characters felt tense and exciting - there are passages far more thrilling than some action films I've seen, certainly. I think this is down to the cleverness of the script, which releases information as coyly as a mystery, and which poses questions to us and to the characters at every turn.
The acting is also fantastic, even to those of us (ie: me) who wouldn't know that these were a collection of very big stars. What showed through was that they were very talented actors who imbued their characters with so much individuality that I didn't have any trouble following their agendas, despite the fact that none of them were referred to by name. It's the kind of thing which could very easily become hard to follow but it's handled perfectly.
Because of Andy's class specifically about it, I had an eye on the lenses too. The effect is a very subtle one, and certainly not something a layperson would notice. Or rather, they wouldn't notice its execution though they would feel the effects. The most shocking thing was the very wide close-ups, which you don't see often (what with how unflattering it is). They were used in key moments as characters struck out with their own arguments, looking very confrontational with the almost fish-eyed effect.
Monday, 6 December 2010
Filming log: Think
Now that my fingers have defrosted enough to type I'll reflect on my first real experience as a sound recordist. I'll try to go deeper than "Cold. Really cold."
It was cold. Really cold. Really, really cold.
So it seems I have to relearn the winter lessons from last year: thermal socks, big gloves, as many layers as physically possible. (Edit since I started writing this: I took myself to Marks and Spencer and bought the cuddliest, softest, warmest cashmere socks you've ever seen, I'll be ready for next time.)
Overall the shoot was very good, it was a nice small crew and Murray's mum cooked us a delicious fry up to fuel us through the cold.
But more specifically to sound, I was quite excited to try putting my theoretical knowledge to practical use. I remembered all the jazz with the cables and the what-goes-where (have you ever seen the business end of a mixer? Or should I say one of the business ends since it has four? bloody complicated) and even managed to troubleshoot when it turned out we had one wrong cable.
The sound recordist's main job is to annoy the rest of the cast and crew and I performed that task admirably. I had to pause filming at several points, despite the freezing cold and the awkward locations to allow planes to pass by overhead or for a car whose engine was ticking over to leave. I found the balance between watching the action, watching the levels and listening closely to the return tricky, certainly something which needs more practice.
I'd like to do some more sound recording, perhaps alongside someone with more experience so I can learn the tricks rather than just blundering along, it's a vital and rather interesting area (though don't take that as an excuse to pigeonhole me as sound girl, Chris).
It was cold. Really cold. Really, really cold.
So it seems I have to relearn the winter lessons from last year: thermal socks, big gloves, as many layers as physically possible. (Edit since I started writing this: I took myself to Marks and Spencer and bought the cuddliest, softest, warmest cashmere socks you've ever seen, I'll be ready for next time.)
Overall the shoot was very good, it was a nice small crew and Murray's mum cooked us a delicious fry up to fuel us through the cold.
But more specifically to sound, I was quite excited to try putting my theoretical knowledge to practical use. I remembered all the jazz with the cables and the what-goes-where (have you ever seen the business end of a mixer? Or should I say one of the business ends since it has four? bloody complicated) and even managed to troubleshoot when it turned out we had one wrong cable.
The sound recordist's main job is to annoy the rest of the cast and crew and I performed that task admirably. I had to pause filming at several points, despite the freezing cold and the awkward locations to allow planes to pass by overhead or for a car whose engine was ticking over to leave. I found the balance between watching the action, watching the levels and listening closely to the return tricky, certainly something which needs more practice.
I'd like to do some more sound recording, perhaps alongside someone with more experience so I can learn the tricks rather than just blundering along, it's a vital and rather interesting area (though don't take that as an excuse to pigeonhole me as sound girl, Chris).
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