Learning Journey - Directing a Scene

 For this class our assignment consisted of producing a three-minute scene from any film. Every director was given two actors to work with. I was assigned with two actresses, Lucy Kavanagh and Olivia Jennings. 

 Furthermore, my cast presented me with a scene from the show "Good Omens" (D. Mackinnon, 2019).  I agreed with adapting it as I was not familiar with the story and as a director, I was interested in developing a new approach towards the pre-existing material.

 The scene's title was renamed to "Yin Yang" and the story followed a moral debate between the angel Aziraphale and demon Crowley. 

 In the scene I adapted, the characters are confronted with the weight of their past actions. Therefore I wrote it to take place on a rooftop with the landscape of the city surrounding them. By doing this I can contrast the status of two angels who observe the world from up above, with the weight of their actions, reflected on the large city around them. The heavenly creatures on top of a building suddenly feel smaller as the weight of their actions crushes them. 

An example of this is the WS at the end of "Skyfall", where we see James Bond on a rooftop after the loss of M his mentor. In this shot, he is reflecting on his actions and his loss, the city that surrounds him represents not only what he was fighting for but also the weight of his responsibilities as an agent. 

(WS of "Skyfall") 

(Location of the film)

I also decided to shoot the film in Black and White so that the bleak visuals of the film translated the state of spirit of the characters. It is in the characters and it's emotions that I wanted the direction of the film to be focused on. For this I decided to attribute elements of slow-cinema such as long takes and slower rhythm. As most of the script is dialogue-based, I wanted each character's lines to have an impact on the one who was receiving the words. By studying the works of Ingmar Bergman I started to understand how to explore the impact of each word on a dialogue scene. In Winter Light (I.Bergman, 1963), Bergman sets the camera in an MCU two-shot of two characters speaking. 

(MCU "Winter Light")

 Throughout the conversation, it is mostly the character in the background who speaks, yet all his words are reflected on the character that's closest to the lens. I wanted to borrow this technique from Bergman and utilize it as Crowley tries to convince Aziraphale to kill the Antichrist. By keeping Aziraphale closer to the camera as Crowley talks, the audience will feel closer to the character, watching his reaction after every word that Crowley says to him.

 Finally, it was time to rehearse. We planned one week with four rehearsals. On the first two, we would be working on Studio B at our University, and in the last two days, we were going to rehearse on set in order for the actresses to know the location. This would also allow us to go over the blocking which would be essential as we have some long takes fixed on tight MCU shots, therefore it is important for the actors to learn how much of the frame they can explore.

 However, because of the current quarantine, the only way for us to rehearse was through Skype. For this, I planned a full rehearsal in which I wanted to explore some character-based exercises. The first one was an interview in which the cast had to answer each question in character. This was helpful as it allowed the actresses to think of how their characters would react to different situations. By understanding this, their performances will feel more natural since they have a better understanding of their characters.

 I have also applied the Status concept that I learned in the unit. At the beginning of my scene, it is Crowley who dominates the screen. Each of his words makes Aziraphale nervous and uptight. However, as the scene progresses, Aziraphale takes action and stands up for himself. There is a shift in status as Crowley is no longer in power, it is Aziraphale who controls the scene. So, if we analyze each character's level we can say that Crowley begins the scene as a 1 and ends it as a 3, and Aziraphale begins the scene as a 3 and finishes it as a 1. Discussing this with my actresses was important so that they understood how their characters progressed in terms of power.