L'intervalle2

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Cinema cent ans de jeunesse2014/15

Mark Reid BFI

L’Intervalle or spaces, spacing,

gaps

+The 4 types of space

IntimatePersonalSocialPublic

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A Typology of Spacing in Cinema

Ruptures and Separations

Spaces maintained by desire

Metaphysical and metaphorical

Different cultures: east Asian spacing

‘Them and us’: spaces between viewer and story

Two-shots

+Separations

Between Us, Christensen/ Mork, UK, 2004Girl with a Suitcase, Italy, Zurlani, 1961The Kid, Chaplin, US, 1921Bridges of Madison County, Eastwood, US, 1995L’Argent de Poche, Truffaut, France, 1976 Two Cars, One Night, Waititi, NZ, 2003Kikujiro, Kitano, Japan, 1999

+Separations (Primary)

Between Us, Christensen/ Mork, UK, 2004The Kid, Chaplin, US, 1921L’Argent de Poche, Truffaut, France, 1976 Two Cars, One Night, Waititi, NZ, 2003Kikujiro, Kitano, Japan, 1999

+Attraction, Desire, Space

Shara, Kawase, Japan, 2003Girl with a Suitcase ♯1, Zurlani, Italy, 1961Greed, von Stroheim, US, 1924Short Film About Love, KieslowskiThe Awful Truth, McCarey, US, 1937Through the Olive Trees, Kiarostami, Iran, 1994Kikujiro, Kitano, Japan, 1999

+Attraction, Desire, Space (Primary)

Shara, Kawase, Japan, 2003Greed, von Stroheim, US, 1924Through the Olive Trees, Kiarostami, Iran, 1994Kikujiro, Kitano, Japan, 1999Two Cars, One Night, Waititi, NZ, 2003

+Metaphysical, Critical, and Metaphorical

Barry Lyndon , Kubrick, UK-US, 1975Three Times, Hou-Hsiao Hsien, Taiwan, 2005L’Atalante, Vigo, France, 1934Utamaro, Mizoguchi, Japan, 1946Meek’s Cuttoff, Reichardt, US, 2010

+Two-shots

Little Shop of Horrors, Oz, US, 1986Woman Next Door, Truffaut, France, 1981Miss Oyu, Mizoguchi, Japan, 1951L’Avventura, Antonioni, Italy, 1960Moonrise Kingdom, Anderson, US

+Them and Us

Gravity, Cuaron, 2014Stalker, Tarkovsky, Russia, 1980Spirit of the Beehive, Erice, Spain, 1973Summer with Monika, Bergman, Sweden, 1953

+(East) Asian Spaces

Three Times, Hou H Hsien, Taiwan, 2005Examining Mizoguchi’s Staging Kikujiro, Kitano, Japan, 1999Miss Oyu, Mizoguchi, Japan, 1951

+Exercise 1In this exercise you will take 3 photos of the same subject taken at 3 different distances. Place two actors in a room, 7 meters apart from each other, both facing the camera. Take your first photo from as close as your camera will allow, keeping the head and shoulders of the person closest to you in shot and in focus, whilst keeping the actor in the back ground in shot. Take your second photo from the middle of your zoom length, making sure to keep the head and shoulders of the person closest to you in the same place in the frame as in the last photo, in the same place in the frame as in the last photo also keeping them in focus. We must also see the second actor in the shot. Take your third photo from as far away as your camera will allow, again keeping the head and shoulders of the person closest to you in shot and in focus in the same place in the frame as in the last two photos, whilst keeping the actor in the background in shot.

This exercise allows us to explore how the modification of focal length affects our perception of the interval, or space, between characters. Be careful only to use optical zoom with this exercise, avoid digital zoom.

+ Three sample shots for Exercise 1: same distance between subjects, but focal lengths are telephoto, mid focus, and wide angle

Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Hughes, US, 1986Miss Oyu, Mizoguchi

Four sample shots for Exercise 1: same distance between subjects, but lenses are telephoto, mid range, and wide angle

Three sample shots for Exercise 1: same distance between subjects, but lenses are telephoto, mid range, and wide angle

+(Optional, or alternative) Exercise 1

Take four shots, or stills, of the four kinds of Physical Space: Intimate, Private, Public, Social. These can be found, shot as ‘Lumiere Minute’ style pieces, or created dramatically.

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+Exercise 2

In this exercise you will film a shot of a character in 2 different ways from the same camera position. ! Place a character in the frame so that we can see their whole body. Facing the camera they see something or someone coming towards them from off camera, out of the frame. They step closer and closer toward the camera in order to better see the object or person coming towards them.

Film the first shot from a wide angled perspective. Film the second shot with the camera zoomed in to your own preference.

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Exercise 3Film the following scene in three different ways: 1. A static long take 2. A moving long take 3. Using montage, cut and edit a sequence of shots together The scene is as follows: Character A passes something to character B which produces a tension between them, leading to their separation. The only thing that can change between the versions is the actors, keep the same story and location. Keep all dialogue to a minimum. The scene should last 1-2 minutes max.

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+(Optional, alternative) Exercise 3

Take the scene from Miss Oyu, featuring the man and woman arguing. Play without subtitles, and ask students to script the exchange. Have them block out a version of the scene between two of them, in a familiar space – in school. Shoot the scene using the same blocking and camera moves as Mizoguchi, but with the new dialogue.

+Film EssaiGroup Film Make a short film lasting 6 - 7 minutes which contains the following sequence: A character is drawn in to a situation that makes them envious, involving 2 or 3 characters. They then distance themselves from the scene. They then meet another character. In the film the audiences’ emotional response should be brought about by the visual and aural spacing, or intervals, between the characters and between the characters and the camera: Moving closer to each other; pulling away from each other; placing objects between the characters; placing objects between the camera and the characters. 6-7 minutes long

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