![IN[FOCUS]](http://www.infocusvideoevent.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/IFTiny.jpg)
Normally, The Invisible Man likes to use the medium which feeds his family. But, this topic leans on literature – and so, here we are…
Act II sc ii, Hamlet:
Polonius to Hamlet: What do you read my lord?
Hamlet to Polonius: Words, Words, Words -
And, like the great dane who feigns madness in that moment, The Invisible Man believes that language is critical to the growth and development of this industry.
I’ve heard people say that they want their edits to begin like the start of a novel – that’s a great beginning – but I say let that discussion be a springboard as to what kind of novel.
Are you creating a book with simple single syllable words-slash-shots that focus on the gestural realism – those which we might equate with a Hemingway novel?
Or are these fast paced cuts whose words and sentences flow with the dart speed of a Dan Brown pot boiler? Chapters that begin and end with large dramatic “hooks?”
What type of language/shots do we use and to what effect?
What kind of novels/films do each of us write/create?
We talk about shots and what they signify ie – a low shot gives power to the subject.
We talk about shooting down with a long lens on a wide bride thins her out a little bit.
These are brilliant observations, but it’s trade talk that typically is not connected to a larger set of underlying and unifying principles that define a work as unique to our artistry.
Remember 8 mm film?
My memory is that we talked about how we liked the image, but not what made the image – at that point in our culture – for many brides – so romantic and memorable.
What type of memories did that medium conjure to spread a school of filming?
And was this school more than a trade movement?
We learned how to produce these types of films.
But, I don’t remember a conversation of depth investigating why 8mm?
From my perspective, as an industry, we all went, “Oooh, look at the pretty colors…”
So, now it’s HDDSLRS – what do 8mm and DSLRS have in common?
Shouldn’t we be having these types of dialogues?
Time Lapses are hot.
What do they do?
How do they play upon us?
What is it about that time, the sense of control, the toy-like quality of people and the god-in-action-before-our-eyes evocation of the landscapes.
If we begin to dissect and have a better understanding of these questions and engage with others within and without our industry – aren’t we better served?
And doesn’t it encourage the notion that event filmmaking is in some small measure worthy of semantics?
In other words, the more nuanced and far reaching our language becomes, the richer our stories will be. Not only the ones we create, but also literally our stories – perhaps the story of what it means to be an event filmmaker will be better appreciated and understood.
If our language simply focuses on technical terms – sdes, short form, time shifting, hddslr – how should we speak to brides – how can we listen and question in service of education and sales – we limit ourselves to the status of tradesmen – maybe brilliantly skilled and gifted tradespeople – but we limit ourselves through our language as tradespeople just the same.
And, as Hamlet suggests – all then that we will have are a pell mell of words, words, words – invention and reinvention of shots, shots, shots.
I believe what we do is incredibly noble. We can all agree that when a wedding film works it serves as an emotional touchstone for one’s marriage. It may provide a level of familial catharsis and clarity over the course of one’s life.
Just as in literature, don’t we need to define terms beyond the technical and include more room for the philosophy of the art form? Shouldn’t we call out cliched themes and words/shots?
Has the slider shot peering from behind the back of the church aisle become any less stale than a heart shaped dissolve??
If we think of culture as a far ranging but ultimately commonly held set of ideas & values about art and life – let’s engage event filmmaking in this dialogue.
Dig deeper. Pull the oar.
Until we bring words and thoughts of depth to the larger culture in which we engage, we will be simply as Richard suggests in the Scottish play – nothing but, “…Sound and Fury…”
Lastly, from George Orwell, the man who focused all his writings on the precision of words in our culture – I have taken the liberty to place this in a filmmaking context:
A scrupulous filmmaker, in every shot he creates and places in an edit, will ask himself 4 questions: What am I trying to say? What shots will express it? What image or idiom will make it clearer? Is this image fresh enough to have an effect?
Nuff Said!!
Over and Out of Focus – The IM!!
