Small Scale Research

SMALL SCALE RESEARCH:HOW DOES ROGAR DEAKINS FRAME HIS SUBJECTS AND HOW DOES

THIS DIFFER TO OTHER FORMS OF COMPOSITION?

Background info:Deakins is a 66 year old British cinematographer based in Devon and is best known for his work with the Coen Brothers.

Deakins started his journey working in painting and graphics, which allowed him to make the transition to photography where he learn the art of composure, framing and lighting. He became a documentary photography in Torquay.

Deakins then began travelling around the world for 7 years after finishing his degree in film and television studies. On his travels he worked with a number of production companies all over the world, particularly working in Africa in places such as Zimbabwe where he documented the conflicts at the time. Deakins said that the fact he started with filming documentaries gave him great knowledge for his future profession, as he said working on documentaries teaches you to capture the most important details under pressured time conditions. He also said that working with film cameras as oppose to digtial taught him to be selective about what he filmed, focusing on only the most critical elements of a story.

The Deaken’s Style

Deakens tends to place the camera in between facing characters to make the audience feel part of the scene and to capture the emotions of the characters from a close up perspective.

Shooting on ultra-wide lenses to provide facial distortion

Dolly into close up- Deakins said he loved to progress into a subjects space to make them feel powerless in a scene and for the audience to intrude on their life and feel a part of the action.

Consistent with the rule of 3rds and never breaking the line Wide lens positioned close to the face, showing the expression and emotion of each character

OppositionDeakins cinematography contrasts directly opposite to that of Oliver Wood. Oliver Wood worked alongside director Paul Greengrass, who liked his subjects framed in a very specific frame.

Half of other subject’s face taking up frame

Tight, close up shot

Tight, close up shot

Very little background revealedShows subject’s emotions in detail

Shaky shots, unsettling mood

Back of subject in frame

Telephoto lens used

Shot from a distanceSense of spying

Emotions clearly expressed

Practical TaskIn order to get a sense of what Deakins does and how he achieves it, I decided to attempt to replicate a comedy scene in the same style of cinematography as Deakins.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5CbCyGFMKms

InspirationDeakins has inspired me in a number of ways. When it comes to composing and framing my shots, his work has really opened my eyes to the opportunities of composition, and will make me think very carefully about what I want to achieve from each shot and how I plan on representing the character. I came up with a list of different ways of composing my shots, based on 2 famous cinematographers, Richard Deakins and Oliver Wood.

Roger Deakins Oliver Wood

Clear & simple shotRule of thirdsShot on ultra wide lens (27mm or 32mm)Camera positioned in-between dialogueLow angle shots used looking up on subjectShot reverse shotEach character gets separate shots, always shot on singlesLong takes, awkwardness is left for a while to make audience feel uncomfortable and funnyIsolates individuals when they have no control over the sceneDolly into people to exaggerate facial featuresWide angle lens to greaten the effect on distorting hand movements

Tighter shots, focusing on the individualShot on a telephoto lens (200mm)Shot from a long distance awaySense of people being spied on and watched from afarShot over the shoulderUsually hand-held or intentionally shaky

ConclusionI think that after studying the framing and composition of both Deakins and Wood I’ve learnt about how important framing in cinematography is, and the specific effects of the way in which the camera is placed in terms of choice of lens, distance, and steadiness.

I think that in my documentary, there are times in which I’d like to use Deakins’ style to make the audience feel engaged in the story, whilst at other times, using Wood’s style of shooting from a distance may look really nice in a documentary, particularly when I want to make it look undercover as if by spying I am revealing something about the story.