How would YOU shoot this scene?

[Jonathan Spear]

Hey,

 

I'm just curious to see how people's unique tastes and points of view can sculpt a scene.

 

How would you shoot the following scene? What shots and angles would you choose?

 

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EXT. CLIFF TOP - NIGHT

 

An enchanting night. Cold.

 

Shivering, young Andrew adds some finishing touches to a set of -

 

HOMEMADE WINGS

 

A crafty mixture of metal, cardboard, tar and feathers. Sturdy and reliable.

 

Andrew fastens the wings and heads to the tip of the cliff, over looking a gut-wrenching 50 foot drop into a hungry ocean.

 

The stars look down on Andrew anticipatingly while he closes his eyes and takes a deep breath.

 

Beat.

 

He exhales -- then jumps off the cliff.

 

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*Note* - your budget is unlimited. feel free to do -anything- you want as far as camera rigs, lenses, format etc. are concrned.

 

Pretend it's for theatrical distribution and that you have 100% creative control.

 

Thanks,

 

Jon

[David Mullen ASC]

I'd probably just find a short cliff and extend it in post with digital effects because otherwise, you are probably going to have a hard time seeing the drop at night, not to mention shooting angles looking from midair opposite the cliff. For shots looking over the shoulder down the cliff into the abyss, I might use a greenscreen so I can paint in a moonlit landscape below the cliff.

[Guest Sean McVeigh]

Unlimited???

I'd definitely want to start in close to see what he's up to with the wings.. probably OTS from above, pulling way up to reveal the treacherous cliff edge just scant feet away. As the ocean comes into view, cut to...

sea-level shots of the waves attacking the rocks at the base of said cliff. Cut to close-up of andrew rising up into frame, putting on his wings.. worried look on face, etc.

Possibly move to a fairly long focal length to compress the depth of field (think of guy standing on mountain top shot from circling helicopter on very long telephoto.. feel sick as the background whips past).

As he plummets over the edge, you just HAVE to do some freeze-motion-matrix style stuff and swing around underneath him before motion resumes and he dives past camera.

 

Rent this: the big freeze

 

and of course, as he whips past the camera, the army of mecha-destructo-droids barrel over the edge of the cliff like lemmings after him!

 

:P

[Landon D. Parks]

As a Director, not a cinematographer, I'd have to agree with davids way. I'd probably build a small cliff on a greenscreen stage and then later just matte in the rest of the landscape and stuff.....

[oscar jimenez]

EXT. CLIFF TOP - NIGHT

 

An enchanting night. Cold.

dolly in. Low angle Hi hat or cam in sand bag 18mm mcu to a cu Andrew turns a looks to the horizon, his hair is moving from breeze (40 fps ).

 

Shivering, young Andrew adds some finishing touches to a set of -

Cut to:

25mm OTS from wings soft focus in front of cam to Andrews face, concentration and proud expression. On dolly we move sideways.

Cut to:

JIb down diagonal to Andrew 14mm, finishing touches on wings.

CU 25mm to fingers tightening, pulling firmly, one little feather escapes, flying with breeze. He turns to a side. Cut to

 

HOMEMADE WINGS

 

A crafty mixture of metal, cardboard, tar and feathers. Sturdy and reliable.

Cam Jib Up 10mm almost frontal to Andrew as he stands on his feet and put on Wings, securing. Jib stops low angle on his face, shows really proud of a job well done. Walks out of frame

 

Andrew fastens the wings and heads to the tip of the cliff, over looking a gut-wrenching 50 foot drop into a hungry ocean.

 

Cut to

Andrew side ways to camera. Jib up tilting down to discover where Andrew is standing an the risk of jumping to add some drama. Andrew looks somewhat serious and then he looks up to the sky.

Cut to:

Low angle MS with 14mm dolly to see Andrew + sky integration. CGI work stars and clouds deep nocturnal blue with some texture. He looks sideways.

Cut to:

OTS. On turning sideways, dolly moving diagonal to Andrew to end position of his face frontal to cam. he breathes in and turns. Little feathers move with breeze.

 

Cut to:

18mm CU of hand closing a little bit nervous, but sure hes going to jump.

Cut to

Cam 25mm he crosses and out of frame

Cut to

10mm Low angle: jumps and flies over camera

Cut to

Andrew dies!!!!

Lighting:

Soft Base light with HMI + Full CTB. TG's fresnels over his face and some of body with 1/2 CTS to make it warm. Light may look like Edgar Degas Paintings

 

The stars look down on Andrew anticipatingly while he closes his eyes and takes a deep breath.

 

Beat.

 

He exhales -- then jumps off the cliff.

 

I think I got to deep!!!

[Chris Keth]

Well, I'm not particularly skilled yet so I'd probably do it in simple shots, nothing too fancy.

 

I'd start with a tight shot of his eyes, intent on the work he is doing. He shivers and looks down and we cut to:

 

CU of his hands working on the wings. He ties the last knot, tightens the last bolt, whatever and stands up, cut to:

 

medium shot of him starting to put the wings on cut to:

 

a very wide shot as he spreads his wings for the first time and to reveal the cliff. He walks to the edge of the cliff and we cut to:

 

a shot with the camera over the edge looking up. As his head shows over the cliff the camera moves in to a tight CU. He closes his eyes, takes a deep breath and jumps as we cut to:

 

a medium shot from behind him. In this final shot the camera follows him as he falls to some unknown fate. :blink:

 

I think that's about how I'd do it, definately has my style written all over it.

[Matthew McDermott]

This all assumes that Andrew knows he isn't going to actually fly on these wings and this is in reality a melodramatic suicide attempt. I might shoot it differently if he really thinks he's going to fly.

 

EXT. CLIFF TOP - NIGHT

An enchanting night. Cold.

 

WS. Andrew is small in the frame. We see him from behind, in the far right side of the frame. From this angle we cannot exactly see what he is doing, only the movement of his arms. We can however hear him much more clearly than we actually would. His breathing laboured and everything he touches seems slightly amplified. He is backlit; all we're seeing is his outline, the outline of the cliff and some grass along the top. Hold slightly longer than is comfortable. the audience should be thinking, "shouldn't they have cut by now." He looks up, turning his head toward the camera, and goes back to work.

 

Shivering, young Andrew adds some finishing touches to a set of -HOMEMADE WINGS

A crafty mixture of metal, cardboard, tar and feathers. Sturdy and reliable.

 

Reverse angle. A series of locked off close-ups of his hands, the feathers, the tar, the metal, the brush going into the bucket of tar. His motions are quick but deliberate. Finished, he gets up.

 

Andrew fastens the wings and heads to the tip of the cliff, over looking a gut-wrenching 50 foot drop into a hungry ocean.

 

Start low and jib up as Andrew rises, putting on the wings. We pull back as he throws them over his shoulders, revealing for the first time the wings in their entirety. Andrew stands, adjusting the wings.

 

MCU. Slightly high angle. Andrew dead center in the frame, the wings extend to either side

 

Back to previous angle, the camera leads Andrew as he walks forward toward the cliff (out of shot). As he gets to the edge we whip to the right, behind him and up, revealing the drop into the ocean.

 

The stars look down on Andrew anticipatingly while he closes his eyes and takes a deep breath.

 

Beat.

 

CU. Andrew closes his eyes, takes a deep breath, looks down.

 

MS. The ocean surf and beach at the bottom of the cliff. Very low key, all we can make out is the whitewater and a slight glistening on the sand where the waves have drawn back. The sound of the water is deafening.

 

CU. Andrew's face is short-framed, partially out of shot. Most of the frame is filled with one of the wings as he raises them and jumps.

 

He exhales -- then jumps off the cliff.

 

WS. From the ocean. A small figure plummets from the top of a 50' cliff to the sand below.

 

MS. From the cliff top. Andrew lies in the surf, his broken wings splayed out on either side of him. The waves run over his body.

[Ram Shani]

hi

 

i would do it in one shot with a cran not showing the cliff until he jump let the audince be with him

when he jump i will show him in CU and the cam be with him show his face when he fall and then cut to helicopter shot pull back as he goes down.

ram

[Sam Wells]

When I read this script page I saw in my mind's eye something very sculptural as he assembles the wings, lit for edges or backlit, *not* 'documentary detail'....

 

I think I would not want to reveal to the viewer exactly what he was doing until the last possible moment before he jumps...

 

I would want, if possible to convey the idea of great space from the begining of the scene;

perhaps we could crane up very slowly..

 

Maybe this is like Matthew's aproach but would try to avoid the cuts..

 

-Sam

[Jonathan Spear]

D-mn. You guys are good. :o There's a lot of talent in this forum.

[Gordon Highland]

Unlimited budget, huh? Find the highest cliff you can, and push the actor over it with camera, light, and wireless mic strapped to him. File insurance claims.

[Tim Tyler]

Unlimited budget, huh?  Find the highest cliff you can, and push the actor over it with camera, light, and wireless mic strapped to him.  File insurance claims.

 

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[DanStewart]

It's a script point but I'd skip him messing about with the wings and start on him at the edge - just get the art dept to make the wings LOOK homemade and you've told the story.

 

There are many ways to treat the cliff edge stuff but you've given no info on mood - David sounds like he's going for a magic realism thing with the moonlit matte - does the kid magically fly or smash into the ground?

 

Have a look at the intro to Goldeneye for a nice dramatic reveal of the drop.

[Matthew McDermott]

It's a script point but I'd skip him messing about with the wings and start on him at the edge - just get the art dept to make the wings LOOK homemade and you've told the story.

 

There are many ways to treat the cliff edge stuff but you've given no info on mood - David sounds like he's going for a magic realism thing with the moonlit matte - does the kid magically fly or smash into the ground?

 

Have a look at the intro to Goldeneye for a nice dramatic reveal of the drop.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Obviously the wings will always _look_ homemade. I don't think it's intended that the actor is actually making the wings.

 

Also, by just starting on the top of the cliff I think you've actually cut out the entire story, at least based on what we've been given. It's much more interesting me to see someone going through the actions of getting ready to hurl themselves into the darkness than actually doing so. The character's perspective at the top of the cliff is certainly important, but without showing what brought him there it would not be nearly as effective as an emotional moment.

 

Though you're right that it's difficult to know what's the "right" way to interpret the scene without knowing what comes before and after, and whether the character is actually going to fly or just plummet.

[DanStewart]

Also, by just starting on the top of the cliff I think you've actually cut out the entire story, at least based on what we've been given.

 

Well it's neither one thing or the other - if he labours over the wings expressing some reason for their creation, fine, but if (as scripted) you are just showing the 'finishing touches' to establish that he made the wings himself without including any emotional relevance to that action then I would immediately think about cutting it if pos - and it is very pos.

Matter of taste of course.