SpielBerg Screen Test

To help us have a greater understanding of how our chosen director films and edits one of our tasks was to create a shot for shot remake of one of their scenes. I chose the scene from ROTLA when indy is taking the idol as I felt it was a good example of Spielberg developed tension.

I began by first creating a storyboard so I could easily visualize each shot I needed and how they tie together. Once i’d done this I knew exactly what shots I needed and began to think about how I would go about filming them.

StoryBoard

To help me with filming I constructed a shot list of what I was filming and any camera movements involved. I separated my shot list into two parts, Individual shots and sequence shots where each shot led into another via a camera movement. This meant that I could get multiple shots from one take which I would then cut up in editing. I then went back and got any individual shots I needed that I didn’t need an actor for or had to film from a different angle.

Shotlist

Location 

As the purpose of this screen test was to get the shot types, framing and length right the location didn’t matter too much. I just needed an empty room in which to film so found a free classroom.

The last thing I needed for my screen test was a couple of props for my actor to interact with, I decided that all I needed was and idol (teddy bear), a bag of sand (beanie) and a hat.

Screen Test film

Evaluation 

What went well –

Overall Im quite pleased with how it turned out and feel that I’ve learnt a lot about how Spielberg films and edits be getting much more hands on.

I think that the vast majority of shots were pretty close to how I wanted them and the framing was very similar, the only one I was really disappointed with was the bag of sand being emptied. I found it much more difficult to frame correctly because of how close I had to be, I feel it would of worked better if it was lower and more to the right. Another problem I had with it was it was filmed on the actors left in order to keep the continuity of the props being in the same hands but this meant that I had accidentally broken the 180 rule and that it didn’t math Spielberg’s shot. This has highlighted for me the importance of thinking about continuity and how much it can mess up a shot or edit.

I decided to use the same track as on the film for my screen test and this meant that I could time my shot lengths to as close to the original as possible. This made editing a lot easier and I’m very pleased I decided to use it as the music in this scene is a big part of what builds the tension. This is because the track builds all the way through and climaxes when indy swaps the bag and idol.

What also helped the filming process go as smoothly as possible was asking Kit to be my actor. I’d worked with him before and knew that he was very good at taking on roles and following directions. The facial expressions that he preformed were as close as I could of hoped for, I’m really glad I made this decision. Also the props that I used seemed to work really well and did what was intended.

What could of gone better

In a couple of the shots I got the camera work wasn’t quite as smooth as I’d of liked and resulted in some parts being a little shaky and the focus ever so slightly off. I wasn’t too worried about this as they were still pretty close and not bad for the time I did them in. Looking back I know that I need to practice my camera movements in relation to what I’m filming, this is especially important as Spielberg seems to be a big fan of gentle and deliberate camera movements which are often persuaded my movement within the scene, such as when indy bends down to take the idol.

A minor problem I had on the day of filming was I’d filmed my sequence shots and most of the individual ones but had to come back to class before I’d finished. when I went back to my location there was a class being taught in there, this meant that I had to finish filming in a different location. Despite this I still think the shot slotted into the film without too much disruption. Although this was annoying I wasn’t too concerned about it because I was more focused on the actual shots rather than the set.

There are a couple of moments in the screen test where the lighting wasn’t quite right although I wasn’t looking at lighting it still bugs me as it meant that Kits face wasn’t lit enough to show us his expressions in greater detail. This is something that will come into play more on the final film for this project.

A problem I encountered with the location I used was that the table wasn’t quite tall enough. This meant that some of the framings were off as I couldn’t get back smooth and quick enough to get everything in shot at the point I wanted it to be. An example of this is when Kit stands up to take the bag out and his head is initially cut off before coming into shot as opposed to following his head as he stands.

Lessons Learned 

What I’ve taken away from this screen test firstly is a greater understand of how Spielberg cuts his shots together, specifically in scenes to build tension. I feel a big part of this is how and when he choses to cut in, out and away from the action. I’ve also got a better feel for how he choses to frame his subjects by getting much more hands on rather than just looking at his shots. The main aspect I feel I need to work on is my camera work so that I can replicate the smooth and deliberate movements he uses. I can do this by doing more screen tests and practice in relation to my final film.