Directing Workshop

Before undertaking our own projects, we have had some workshops looking into the art of direction and how to interpret a scene. We had some time with Simon and Fergus looking at a scene from the film 'Atonement' which stars Keira Knightley and James Mcavoy as the lead characters. We looked at a scene where they meet together after being separated for a long time. The way it is directed strongly hints to an emotional past between them with plenty of close ups on their faces and their hands which emphasises their body language. For the task we were given a script for the scene and asked to work in groups of four to recreate it. We would direct the scene and the other three students would be the camera operator and the cast. I always find tasks like this quite challenging as it requires undertaking several roles including acting which is something I'm not very good at. I think working in teams is really useful and effective though as it helps to improve communication skills for when we are working on our own projects or crewing on someone elses. For my directorial input for the scene, I decided to have a master shot that showed one character walking into the scene from behind with the other character facing the camera. This allows the audience to see both of their facial expressions right at the beginning of the scene. I then did a few over the shoulder shots whilst they were in conversation to create a sense of intimacy and the idea of a strong relationship between the two. I found the task difficult but it allowed me to think on my feet and make some quick creative decisions which worked quite well.