One-Shot A Midsummer Night's Dream
Cover Letter:
This was a really fun project for me. Especially after just getting into NYU Tisch for Film, I was able to use my creativity in a school project like I never have before. For some reason, choosing “Birdman” and Wes Anderson as the inspiration for my adaptation came immediately to mind when thinking about this project. The one-shot aspect, the one I believe to be the most important, struck me as different from every other adaptation with a lot of positive effects such as making the audience feel like they are a part of the story and emphasizing that the plot takes place over the period of one night. Also, it was a lot of fun to hypothetically choose some gear that I would use as the director of photography from what I’ve learned being on movie sets and from just learning online. Although I enjoyed the whole project, the storyboard was probably the most difficult part because even though I can see shots exactly how I want them in my head, it gets difficult when I try to draw them, especially with a one-shot where the camera is constantly moving. Lastly, I’d be curious to hear any ideas the reader has about my adaptation or their own and if they think my idea works.
Presentation/Cinematographic Pitch:
As an actor and a filmmaker/cinematographer, “Birdman” is one of my favorite movies of all time. Not only is the story amazing, but the cinematography is beautiful and inspiring. The entire movie is filmed to look like one shot with no cuts. From what I’ve seen online, there are actually around 100 cuts in the movie, but they are all disguised – obviously, it would be almost impossible to film a two-hour movie in one shot for real. Another inspiration of mine is Wes Anderson (director of movies such as “Fantastic Mr. Fox”, “Isle of Dogs,” “Royal Tenenbaums,” “Moonrise Kingdom,” and “Rushmore”). One thing that is consistent about his movies is the visual style (I have a video that goes in depth on this in two slides), which is accomplished because of his consistent work with Robert Yeoman, ASC. I have decided to take ideas from all of these movies and techniques to create my adaptation of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” The one-shot aspect of the film (shot with a 24mm, 28mm, or 35mm lens - explained why on the next slide) will allow the audience to feel more a part of/involved in the story and emphasize that the plot is happening in a matter of one day. Because the film is just continuing and there are no visible cuts the story flows better and the whole film feels more smooth. There will be seamless transitions between environments and between scenes to emphasize that all of the plot in the book is happening at the same time and in a short amount of time – something which is hard to grasp onto with other film adaptations of the plot. The Wes Anderson stylization will emphasize the comedy, absurdness, and confusion of the plot. Wes Anderson stories normally involve a lot of comedy, absurdness, and confusing which is why Wes has continued to work with his cinematographer, Robert Yeoman, who has developed a style that perfectly portrays these elements (explained in more depth in a few slides).
- Top left - Arri Alexa LF (one of the most powerful and popular cameras used in feature films today such as Joker, Ad Astra, Manchester by the Sea, Snowden, The Revenant, Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation, Birdman, John Wick, and many, many more)
- Bottom left - me on set at “The Tomorrow War” with one of the Arri Alexa cameras with a Panavision anamorphic lens
- Top middle - supertechno 50, a technocrane that allows for swooping long distance and dynamic shots
- Bottom middle - Movi Pro, a professional 3-axis gimbal that allows for the camera person to walk through an environment and have a stabilized shot
- Top right - Arri Trinity (gimbal + steadicam) accomplishes similar tasks to a gimbal but can allow for even more dynamic movement
- Bottom right - Panavision anamorphic cine-lenses, allow for beautiful shots with amazing sharpness and bokeh - a 24mm, 28mm, or 35mm lens will be used because that range is closest to the field of view/angle that human eyes see (pretty wide field of view) and makes the camera feel more like a person in an actual environment which will get the viewer more connected to the film
- *fun fact/additional information: the camera can be moved between the rigs above (technocrane, gimbal, and trinity) and many others during a continuous shot to create dynamic movement that seems almost impossible but is beautiful
Examples:
Here is an clip/example scene from Birdman. Even though there are no visible cuts, can you find the cut in this clip…? (Dr. Holt: If you watch it and want to guess, the answer is down below here…)
The cut is in the whip pan from the drum set at 0:34 and is further disguised by the sound design.
The cut is in the whip pan from the drum set at 0:34 and is further disguised by the sound design.
Here is a great video which clearly describes the elements that make up Wes Anderson’s visual style. I would plan to mostly use whip pans, tilts, tracking, and world-building color palettes. Again, this would emphasize the comedy, absurdness, and confusion of the story because of the crazy camera movements in addition to the unnatural aspect of a very stylized world.
See some of the equipment previously discussed used here in this video (amazing transition from technocrane to gimbal at 00:23 and 01:43). This is BTS from the most recent one-shot movie “1917”
This is an example of a scene from Euphoria which would normally be filmed using cuts or some other visual effects. Instead, they filmed the shot on a set with creative lighting and with one take. This inspired me to want to film the adaptation on a set (or at least part of it) where we could more easily control lighting and other conditions such as the weather.
This is another example of a scene that would normally be filmed using visual effects and cuts but, instead, was filmed in one shot with creative lighting on a set.
More inspiration.
One of the most famous long-take shots in filmmaking history.
Storyboard (Act 2, Scene 1, line 151-250):