The Office is shot with an aspect ratio of 16:9 which enhances the natural feeling of the product as many cameras film in this aspect ratio as standard as this is the standard format of HDTV. In the pre-production unit, I had desired that VET-MAN would be shot in 21:9 to add a cinematic element to the largely natural looking production - however, since the orange and teal colour grade I wish to use (and also explored in the pre-production unit) is quite striking and immediately gives off a cinematic look, filming with an aspect ratio of 21:9 may cross the line from natural yet cinematic to entirely cinematic. Therefore, I will take inspiration from The Office and shoot in 16:9 (with the option of cropping the footage in the post-production stage if I decide 21:9 would still retain the natural feel of the production).
The Shooting Style
The Office is filmed handheld (apart from the 'confessionals' which are set up on a tripod with the characters looking off-screen as if taking part in a documentary) which helps to give the production a natural and observational feel - this is because it makes the audience feel as if they are observing characters in a real-life situation as they are not performing for the camera, instead the camera is following them.
The most notable filming technique used in The Office is the use of zooms to emphasise expressions and reactions or to highlight a significant moment. In this clip, Jim has just realised Roy has come to confront him about Pam - the use of the zoom highlights his reaction to seeing Roy and emphasises his confused reaction. This draws the audience in and heightens the sense of drama occurring within the clip. As found through my pre-production research; "the zoom forces our attention on a particular area of the frame" [1] - in this case, the zoom is forcing the audience's attention onto Jim's reaction in order to make this the focus of the frame. Whilst this technique is being used to emphasise the drama in this clip, Sohn also uses the same technique in The Office when emphasising comedy through people's facial expressions and reactions. I will take inspiration for this in VET-MAN by using the zoom to force the audience's attention onto a specific comedic element of the frame; whether this is to accompany a character's piece of comedic dialogue, their facial expression / reaction or to reveal a certain piece of humour (i.e. zooming to reveal the cat alive and well in scene 6) - the zoom will be used to emphasise the comedy by ensuring the audience are focusing on a specific aspect.
As well as zooming, during shot reverse shot sequences, when cutting back to the same character, if there is something of note occurring, the shot sizes get closer - this has a similar effect to using a zoom, however, the emphasis is more gradual and subtle. In the below clip, the shots get closer as Angela becomes more invested in the story Karen is telling - it begins as a wide shot, then a medium closeup and then a closeup - each time the camera returns to Angela, the shot size is slightly bigger. This, like the zoom, has the effect of drawing the audience in to focus on a certain element or to focus on what that character is saying / getting invested in. This works as a gradual zoom as the audience end up on a tight shot when the comedic element is revealed, making the audience focus on this which, therefore, emphasises the humour. I will use a similar technique in VET-MAN by slowly increasing the closeness of the shot type as the dialogue between the characters takes place, therefore, when a specific comedic line is said, the camera is on a closeup shot to draw the audience in and emphasise this humour. This will work well in scene 7 to convey Luke's confusion as to why they are at the Owl Academy with no appointment. I will use this technique in conjunction with the zooms as this is effective in The Office in creating a natural and observational feel by not sticking stringently to one filming method, instead, the appropriate methods are used at the appropriate times, making it feel more natural - by emulating this technique, I hope to also deliver a natural and observational feeling product.
This moves onto another filming technique used through the sitcom parts of the mockumentary; the shot reverse shot. When dialogue is occurring between the characters, a standard technique of shot reverse shot is used. This technique is typically seen in more structured looking sitcoms as it immediately suggests a multi-camera setup / doing multiple takes of a scene - however, as this technique is accompanied by the handheld camera style and the use of zooms, the natural and observational feel is retained which keeps the product feeling unstructured and as if the audience are observing real life. This reinforces my idea to use shot reverse shots in the dialogue sections of VET-MAN as it proves that this technique is not just for structured and polished looking sitcoms, but that it can also be used to produce a natural feeling sitcom as long as it is accompanied by the right filming style (i.e. handheld) which I will be doing in VET-MAN.
On top of these shot styles, Sohn makes use of the panning shot type throughout the episodes. This is shown below in the clip where Michael is sat in his office (as shown on camera) and then Darryl enters (which the camera pans to) and then Michael reacts to Darryl's entrance (so the camera pans back to Michael). This again helps to aid the natural feel of the production as it suggests that the camera is just observing Michael and then in order to capture any action that occurs, it has to pan to capture this (rather than being a structured feeling production which would have a shot set up for Darryl's arrival as it would be anticipating it - the shooting style of The Office suggests that the camera is not set up in anticipation of people performing certain actions, the camera has to capture the action as it unravels). I will take inspiration from this in VET-MAN by using panning shots to follow characters in what they are doing to make it feel as if the audience are just observing these characters as they go about the events.
The only shot type from The Office that I will be disregarding is the use of the 'confessionals' which help to establish this as a mockumentary rather than a straight forward sitcom. This is used as this shot type is a convention in documentaries, os in order to make this mockumentary appear in the same style as these documentaries, including 'confessionals' is essential. However, this won't be appropriate in VET-MAN as it is not a mockumentary and, therefore, using this shot type would suggest otherwise to the audience.
The Lighting and Colour
The lighting of The Office is all very natural (except for the 'confessionals' as these are interviews which have been purposefully set up so have a more structured feel) - this helps the natural and observational feel as it gives the audience the impression that they are observing normal people in their normal job roles (rather than watching a structured comedy). Within the office environment, the lighting is quite warm in tone to emulate that of overhead office lighting. This casts quite a dull look through the location which helps to accurately reflect the working office environment - which again helps to suggest that the audience are just observing a natural environment as the addition of studio lights would immediately artificially brighten everything and give an unnatural structured feel to the production. In exterior scenes the lighting retains the natural feel with shadows from the sun / clouds / environment being cast over the characters faces which again suggests that the camera is just observing the characters in this location, so all the natural elements of this location are retained to give this natural observational feel (rather than blocking out shadows / lighting the characters artificially to combat the shadows which would give a more planned and structured feel). Observing this use of lighting in The Office has reinforced my idea that I will largely rely on the natural lighting from each of the locations (supplemented by a reflector) for the production of VET-MAN as this will aid it in looking natural and observational - and when artificial lighting is necessary (i.e. the pub and the night scene), it will be used in a way that emulates the natural or practical lighting of these environments.
The below image shows the colour tones of the production. The colours shown are all very neutral and natural, which again works to suggest that this is a natural and observational piece as no specific colour look / grade has been created. The colours also reflect the lighting of the environment - most of the colours have a dull, greyscale undertone - which reflects the dull environment of the office and the lighting within it. I will aim for a similar colour look with VET-MAN with the raw footage, but enhance it slightly with a colour grade as I am aiming for a more cinematic look than The Office. I will borrow elements (such as ensuring the colours of the location reflect the location they're in) but I will be applying an orange and teal LUT which will bring a more contrasted look to the colours within the production.
What have I learnt?
- A variety of camera styles work best to achieve a natural look - i.e. using zooms alone will add a little informality to the production but a combination of the zooms, handheld camera and varying shot sizes work best to give off the natural and observational feel.
- Zooms are not the only method of increasing a shot size to emphasise comedy - between the cuts of shot reverse shots, the shot size can be increased in order to give the same effect (yet slightly more subtle as the audience are being drawn in at a slower rate).
- The colours and lighting used within the production need to be appropriate to the environment in order to be the most effective. What is natural in one environment may not be natural in another environment, therefore, the colours and lighting used in each environment need to be altered in order to accurately reflect the atmosphere - this way the natural and observational feel will be retained.
- The zooms also work to keep the audience engaged as it increases the pace of the production. There is always something occurring, whether it is the action / dialogue between the characters or the movement of the camera. Due to there always being something occurring, the audience feel as though they need to keep watching otherwise they may miss something. This is another reason that I will be using the zoom technique in VET-MAN - it will keep a fast pace for the production and keep the audience engaged.
[1] https://www.premiumbeat.com/blog/zoom-in-filmmaking/
No comments:
Post a Comment