Blocking

Michael LaVoie · May 27, 2015

Aside from the Bourne example most of them are all scenes where a camera is on a dolly, steadicam or tripod. Perhaps really notable blocking has something to do with a stable camera? :D Not saying it's exclusive or required but it does hint at something I've long suspected which is that too often a handheld approach is the result of not blocking a scene out but rather allowing the scene to unfold and "capturing" that. Which is a valid approach but not always as cinematic.

Robert Glenn · May 27, 2015

RUSSIAN ARK

Justin Hayward · May 27, 2015

Although I said that I liked when a director gets everything done in one shoot I also enjoy seeing the other part, when the director's mind work really quickly to see how to get a scene done with quite a lot of shoots and he / she is ACTUALLY going to use them all.

Really fantastic point, Miguel. And that Bourne reference is perfect.

Justin Hayward · May 27, 2015

Sheesh, I just searched "blocking" on this website and found this fantastic quote from David Mullen,

"a number of modern filmmakers don't understand blocking, designing a shot, choreographing the camera and actors together to tell a story, build suspense, create tension, etc. A cut to a new angle should mean something. One useful lesson I learned in film school from director Alexander Mackendrick was that we had to block a scene so that we only needed one cut in it -- this was great because it forced us to think why we were cutting, and to whom and when... and to do that, we had to understand the scene. Most well-written scenes have a turning point in them, the reason why the scene exists and the moment when the narrative is pushed in a new direction, but the trick is to find that moment and then block the scene with that in mind. Often the cut happens at that moment.

Of course, since I learned this lesson, I've learned that many scripts are not well-written and there are scenes in there that do not have much of a reason to exist, or do not have a dramatic turn, they are just there to unload exposition on the audience. And the other rule I learned from Mackendrick: Exposition is Inherently Boring."