Episode 9: Celluloid Dreams Film School Part 5: Cinematography & Rhythms of Performance

In this episode, Matt & Mike revisit filmmaking elements addressed in prior episodes of the film school to discuss the following:Techniques used when filming the performance of actors.Editing techniques for dialogue scenes.Establishing character through action.How dialogue styles and rhythms either elevate or ground the execution of a film.Primary takeaways are as follows:Distance, framing and motion of cinematography can be used to balance between establishing geography and highlighting key emotional moments that a filmmaker seeks to accentuate.The most important aspect of editing character interaction is to capture the emotion of a scene, with other key aspects being maintaining essential elements of the plot and not disorienting the audience with a bad cut.Elevated dialogue creates a more poetic version of reality, while naturalistic dialogue grounds a film in a less stylized manner to resemble the real world.Voiceover narration can at times be straightforward to bring to light additional plot details or provide insight into a character's inner world. However, narration can also be unreliable to make the audience believe something other than what actually transpired in the story.