Still here, guys. Working a Tuesday thru Saturday schedule on a twenty day shoot with a bunch of kids. On a farm. It's also over an hour drive to work every day, so I'm a little pressed for time. Once all this has died down in a few weeks, I'll be back as usual. Until then I may have a couple of guest posters. Stay tuned and be safe.
D
Sunday, August 23, 2015
Saturday, August 01, 2015
Rhythm
(I had to look up this word like, three times to spell it correctly, and I'm a spelling freak.)
Rhythm is a very important concept when talking of camera movement. Now you may think I'm speaking of the beats of a move or any such high-minded ideas ( what an awful sentence. I really have dranken too much,). I'm talking about the rhythms of the set. In other words, the flow of work from one take to the next. When you do a difficult shot, with many variables- focus, framing, actors, dolly-, you get into a rhythm. You rehearse, and get 50% of it if you're good. If you're really good, you get 90% of it on the first take. By the second or third take you nail it. Unless the rhythm is off. Twenty minute delays between takes are a killer. I know the director needs to talk to actors and lighting needs to be tweaked blah blah blah. But you have to establish a rhythm to the shot and once it is interrupted, it's hard to get it back.
I'm doing B camera on a show now. It's basically a fill-in job until my next one. But the concept of rhythm has really been re-emphasized on this one. It's what allows us as dolly grips to pull off a multi-point dance floor move. It grounds us and keeps seemingly impossible shots from becoming overwhelming. I've always said that the way to master dance floor moves is to think of them in separate chunks of movement. If you try to visualize the whole move at once, it will freak you out. Establishing a rhythm is just as important. Once it's broken, by a wardrobe malfunction, or a lighting adjustment, it's hard to keep it. That's where the true pro shines. Remembering the speed twenty minutes later. Work on that.
D
The Captain has spoken.
Rhythm is a very important concept when talking of camera movement. Now you may think I'm speaking of the beats of a move or any such high-minded ideas ( what an awful sentence. I really have dranken too much,). I'm talking about the rhythms of the set. In other words, the flow of work from one take to the next. When you do a difficult shot, with many variables- focus, framing, actors, dolly-, you get into a rhythm. You rehearse, and get 50% of it if you're good. If you're really good, you get 90% of it on the first take. By the second or third take you nail it. Unless the rhythm is off. Twenty minute delays between takes are a killer. I know the director needs to talk to actors and lighting needs to be tweaked blah blah blah. But you have to establish a rhythm to the shot and once it is interrupted, it's hard to get it back.
I'm doing B camera on a show now. It's basically a fill-in job until my next one. But the concept of rhythm has really been re-emphasized on this one. It's what allows us as dolly grips to pull off a multi-point dance floor move. It grounds us and keeps seemingly impossible shots from becoming overwhelming. I've always said that the way to master dance floor moves is to think of them in separate chunks of movement. If you try to visualize the whole move at once, it will freak you out. Establishing a rhythm is just as important. Once it's broken, by a wardrobe malfunction, or a lighting adjustment, it's hard to keep it. That's where the true pro shines. Remembering the speed twenty minutes later. Work on that.
D
The Captain has spoken.
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