Stand-offs: How to Know A Character is Winning

It begins with a video catching my eye, the maker catching my interest, and ends with me five hours into the future having watched every other video they’ve made. Luckily, Tony Zhou’s “Every Frame a Painting” series doesn’t go much longer than eleven videos. Each tackles on aspect of filmmaking in a unique and addicting way, but the one I want to focus on specifically is his “The Silence of the Lambs - Who Wins the Scene?”

It’s safe to say that a lot of the content produced by Park students tends to toe the line of action, with a flair for the dramatics. And that isn’t bad. But when it comes down to it, it’s two opposing forces facing off in a figurative showdown, guns drawn and clock tower booming.

Unfortunately, the way this comes across is too overdone by someone who isn’t experienced or knowledgeable in the art of power-dynamics. And in this segment of Zhou’s series we look at the power-play by iconic film figure, Hannibal Lecter. To those who may not feel like sitting through the entire two minutes and fifty-eight seconds, here’s what you need to know:

• Power comes in the angle - lower is dominant, higher is weak
• Eyelines matter - two figures looking into the lens are on common ground and when the eyeline shifts then they no longer see eye-to-eye
• Blocking - a character inserting themselves into a scene (be it over-the-shoulder or otherwise) is setting up a stand-off, confronting both physically and mentally
• Positioning - When the characters remain in their same power positions on screen they are winning, if the camera forces them to the side they’ve lost

Film Riot

As we launch ourselves head-first into the next project, a few of us might be scrambling to think of a pitch: something that will captivate an audience, something that will hook viewers, and something that could stand on-par with other festival-grade features. But where to start? Where do we even look? Honestly, it really depends on what type of person you are but if you're finding yourself in a creative slump maybe it's time to look for some inspiration.

Film Riot could be exactly the resource you're looking for. Hosted by Ryan Connolly, this is a youtube channel that is dedicated to offering tips, tricks, and tutorials about all states of production. It offers the perspective of someone who has had his own film entered into the Tribeca Film Festival, and people who specialize in a specific area (such as Dustin Lee from Full Sail). In this episode, they basically go over the fundamentals of scriptwriting. And while it may be something you've heard before, it's worth reminding yourself what exactly a good script is made up of.
And while tutorials are not everyone's cup of tea, Film Riot strives to put a friendly and like-able face to its product. They feel less like a lecture and more like we're casually learning with him (Ryan) as he explains how he managed to accomplish this special effect or that specific shot.
If you continue on through his channel, you’ll discover a plethora of filmmaking tutorials that really help when it comes down to conceptualizing exactly what you want to do in a feature length film and how exactly you need to do it.