Canadian Film Forum

Lavinia Voinescu · Junior 2 Data inscrierii: 10/Apr/2010 Mesaje: 20

http://www.nfb.ca/film/move_your_mind

Lavinia Voinescu · Junior 2 Data inscrierii: 10/Apr/2010 Mesaje: 20

Move your mind

The documentary begins with a very impressive image, a slightly lighted chair in the center of the shot, in a very dark room, where a man comes in, approaches in slow motion and sits down.All the camera focus is on his upper part of the body.

Lavinia Voinescu · Junior 2 Data inscrierii: 10/Apr/2010 Mesaje: 20

The next shot is a very beautiful close-up. He is looking in a special direction, slowly turning his head until he’s looking towards the camera, but not the straight way one would expect but he’s more like he’s thoughtfully starring lost at it, or through it.

Lavinia Voinescu · Junior 2 Data inscrierii: 10/Apr/2010 Mesaje: 20

The documentary then continues with another magnificent moment. We have again a great close up of the man’s profile looking upwards, and, on the left, we have written sheets of paper slowly falling..(slow motion again) There is no luminosity. The only subtle light we have is on the sheets of paper and his profile. The director obviously wanted us to pay attention to only these 2 things: face starring/papers falling.
The wrinkled and pensive face of the old man can suggest the passing of the time, while the written sheets of paper falling would give us the idea of his thoughts/memories (written on those pages, engraved in his heart) or the never ending tick-tacking clock

Grand_Shaman · Administrator Data inscrierii: 26/Oct/2007 Mesaje: 112

Lavinia, thanks for your posting.

I think your colleagues would appreciate if you could present the THEME of the film. At this point it does not result clearly what the film is about. Could you?

Lavinia Voinescu · Junior 2 Data inscrierii: 10/Apr/2010 Mesaje: 20

"Faith. Heart. Imagination. These are the principles to which director Robin Phillips - known especially for his theatrical productions of Shakespeare - has devoted himself.

In this impressionistic short documentary directed by Hubert Davis, Phillips discusses the importance of expanding the realm of the imagination, seeking truth through art, and recognizing the presence of artists in all walks of life."

Lavinia Voinescu · Junior 2 Data inscrierii: 10/Apr/2010 Mesaje: 20

Distance and angle

The documentary consists mostly of close-ups and some medium shots (MS), like the first one when the subject appears in the background.There are close-ups like the one where we can only see in great detail one of his eyes through the lenses of his glasses in which the sheets of paper are reflected. It's a close-up focusing on a person's feeling.

Lavinia Voinescu · Junior 2 Data inscrierii: 10/Apr/2010 Mesaje: 20

Angle of shot

The subject is shot from eye level. Selective focus is to be noticed in some sequences, like the one where he's starring upwards, first the emphasis is on the papers and then on his face and in the end we have a clear image of both.

Lavinia Voinescu · Junior 2 Data inscrierii: 10/Apr/2010 Mesaje: 20

The documentary contains no zoom at all, not even in close-ups. We can neither encounter any tilt, the camera does not move vertically up or down while the camera mounting stays fixed. No sign of crab or hand held camera neither, The shots are very clear.

Lavinia Voinescu · Junior 2 Data inscrierii: 10/Apr/2010 Mesaje: 20

The documentary contains no zoom at all, not even in close-ups. We can neither encounter any tilt, the camera does not move vertically up or down while the camera mounting stays fixed. No sign of crab or hand held camera neither, The shots are very clear.

Lavinia Voinescu · Junior 2 Data inscrierii: 10/Apr/2010 Mesaje: 20

Edditing techniques

The 5 minute documentary consists of a few cuts but it does not change the scene though, but, the eposistion of the subject, and the focus of the camera. Every cut builds up an image or idea like the case of the one where the subject is turned with his back, sits on a chait, in the center and there are lots of flowers raising and not falling as papers previously did. This could suggest the ovations an actor gets after a great performance on the scene.

Lavinia Voinescu · Junior 2 Data inscrierii: 10/Apr/2010 Mesaje: 20

Cutting rhytm is slow and intends to creat exciting and lyrical effect to the viewer.
Slow motion persists everywhere. (action takes place on a screen at a slower rate at which the action took place before the camera). It has both lyric and romantic quality and emphasises the dramatic moment.

Lavinia Voinescu · Junior 2 Data inscrierii: 10/Apr/2010 Mesaje: 20

Freeze-frame

There are also a few freeze-frames like for instance the one where he's starring upwards and the sheets are falling, and at a sudden point it feels like the time has stopped. (dramatic effect)

Lavinia Voinescu · Junior 2 Data inscrierii: 10/Apr/2010 Mesaje: 20

Sound

Sound seems to be recorded in the studio to improve its quality. (Studio sound, sound bridge -naration added)

Music

The rhytm of music dictates the rhytm of the cuts it's slow and soft and itv reinforces the mood of the scene.

Lavinia Voinescu · Junior 2 Data inscrierii: 10/Apr/2010 Mesaje: 20

Lighting

The light is soft and obviously manipulates the viewer attitude towards the setting and character. The documentary itself is a set of sequences all linked together by their emotional and narrative momentum.