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Characters looking into the lens


Mathew Collins

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This is capture from "The Dressmaker" movie shot by Donald McAlpine.

 

Good movie.

 

Is any of the characters are directly looking into lens?

 

What would be the purpose of directly looking into the lens other that subjective camera angle?

 

-Collins

Edited by Mathew Collins
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Sometimes an extremely tight eyeline is used because the shot is almost the POV of one character looking at another.

 

In this shot, the 1st and 3rd actors are looking at almost same direction, 2nd actor looks at another direction, 4th actor looks at a different direction.

 

The previous shot is,

post-68189-0-07350700-1540514669_thumb.jpg

Edited by Mathew Collins
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I don't know the thinking behind this particular movie, I'm just telling you why sometimes you have the actor look into the lens.

 

Besides doing it because the shot is a POV, a very tight eyeline is more intimate -- look at "Silence of the Lambs", it's very hard to not think that Jodie Foster and Anthony Hopkins aren't staring right into the lens in their close-ups, it's very intense.

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I suspect it's to show the intensity of the woman characters various reactions to what appears to be the man's anger.. Bringing the eye line close to the lens enables the the audience to quickly see this and identify with it, The woman looking away could be avoiding eye contact to some extent, hard to tell from a single frame,

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David,

 

Could you explain "very tight eyeline"? Does that mean the use of 'short focal length lens so camera is very close to actors' or long focal length lens where camera is away from actors( and hard to tell that they are looking into the lens or to the side of the lens or away from the lens)?

 

-Collins.

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I suspect what David is talking about is when you do a close up and the character is talking to another in the correct geography,, the eye line can appear as if the character is looking off a bit, rather than directly at the other character. It can occur with both long and short focal length lenses, so it's not unusual to have the actor play to a piece of camera tape on the matte box when you want a very tight eye line or with the other actor. keeping their head very tight to the camera line.

 

This is not to be confused with looking directly into the lens. the eye line is close to the lens, but not into the lens.

Edited by Brian Drysdale
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David,

 

While watching 'Silence of the Lambs', my understanding was Jodie Foster and Anthony Hopkins are looking into the lens.

 

Hi Brian,

 

OK. very tight eye line is possible if an actor play to a piece of camera tape on the matte box.

But I had a misunderstanding that if the character is directly talking to another character, the second character has to stand close to the side of the mattebox and that is maximum 'tight eyeline' is possible.

 

As you said, if actor play to a piece of camera tape(sicked inside matte box close to the lens) very tight eye line is possible, than the actor stand close to the matte box.

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David, I'd have to respond with another question: why wouldn't you want an actor to look into the lens in these scenes?

 

It's also not clear if you're asking a question about directing the scene or shooting the scene. Those have two different answers.

 

The first is a storytelling question; the latter is a technical one.

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I don't know if my comment is relevant but in comedy looking into the lens is sometimes used freely, eg. breaking the fourth wall because suddenly the actor/s acknowledges the audience as if to say, "Yes, we all know you're there!". An obvious and extreme example is the skipper in Gilligan's Island, who often did it whenever he became the most exasperated and needed to lean on the audience for moral support. And Groucho Marx, for his 'knowing' punchlines complete with upraised eyebrows and shaking the ash of his cigar. Nudge nudge wink wink ... Say No More!! And so on. etc. Anyway, thought I'd throw that in. Also, is this not an Australian film? Australians are renowned for a certain irreverance and like to push traditions a bit. Am I allowed to say that? Well anyway I just did so there.

Edited by Jon O'Brien
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It's hard to tell much from single frames, unless you've seen the film, it's difficult to comment on how the scenes are working because there's no dramatic context.

 

In the end, it either works or it doesn't within a particular film and the story that's been told.

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Whether the actors look into the lens or just off of the lens is a directorial choice. You'd think they are very different things but the truth is that sometimes it is hard to tell whether the actor is looking directly into the lens or not. Generally when the eyeline is that direct, it is for some special moment since it is such a strong visual statement.

 

As for the examples, without watching the movie, there's no context to know what is going on. Maybe a lot of these shots are some character's POV hence why everyone keeps looking into the lens. As for the "breaking the fourth wall" sort of reason, that really is only used when the character looking into the lens is basically speaking or looking at the viewer, the audience, and I'm not sure that's the case here. Usually in a comedy when that happens, it's more of a comical aside to the audience, sort of the Chuck Jones deadpan glance at the audience, or some joke being told to the audience. These shots posted seem more to me like a comic perspective of the main character but not having seen the movie, I don't know.

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This is an entirely different topic, but the dramatic use of looking into the lens can be drawn in a straight line back to Shakespeare's "aside," in which a character will address the audience directly or indirectly. In cinema, Chaplin was the earliest master of this. The Tramp was always winking at the audience via the lens. He would set up gags that way. Again, this is a theatrical device that's been adapted for the cinema. It's always surprising to me that the language of theatre is so unknown to the film community. Sure, film has developed a language of its own, but it's roots are firmly in the theatre. Much like rock 'n roll could not exist without the blues.

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I would think most us are aware of Shakespeares asides to the audience... I have a BA in English Lit myself from UCLA. But these frames posted dont appear to be that sort of aside to the audience, unless everyone in those frames turned their heads from one character to look at the audience for some reason.

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The Dress maker is comedy, Drama movie.

 

In the second set of pictures, When Judy Davis's character appear to from lower bottom of the frame(1st picture), the other ladies looks into the lens or just to the side of the lens.

 

These pictures are from another scene. Kate Winslet's character opens the door. Lady characters look onto the lens or just to the side of the lens.

 

Donald McAlpine used 'look onto the lens or off to the side of the lens' technique in other scenes as well.

post-68189-0-40162700-1540623718_thumb.jpg

post-68189-0-58621000-1540623726_thumb.jpg

post-68189-0-25786500-1540623732_thumb.jpg

Edited by Mathew Collins
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In all of these frames, there seems to a group of women reacting together towards different individuals. The group tight to lens/into lens view tends to enforce them as a group as one against that individual.

 

The context within the story would provide more. I assume you've seen the film, so should know how these character interact and if this is the case.

 

.

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I would think most us are aware of Shakespeares asides to the audience... I have a BA in English Lit myself from UCLA. But these frames posted dont appear to be that sort of aside to the audience, unless everyone in those frames turned their heads from one character to look at the audience for some reason.

Forgive me, I believe I addressed the wrong person.

 

I meant to address my comment to the OP, who does appear to be unaware of these comic traditions, at least from my perspective.

 

It's really important, OP, to ask yourself who is looking. By which I mean, who is the lens? Who are the characters looking into the lens looking at?

Edited by Timothy Fransky
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