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March 26, 2008
A Mid-Afternoon Nap
I promise that this won't become a ledger of every minutiae of every cut I make to this picture of mine, but! But: I'm working on this scene that is a little film unto itself. It's a scene in which the kids essentially have to solve a problem. We shot it with two cameras, in an unbroken take; we actually started shooting before the scene began, without the kids' knowledge, and captured a rather epic battle of sibling wills that I could never have written, never have captured if we didn't have an actual brother and sister playing the parts. It turned this very pragmatic activity into a full three act drama, complete with character arcs, hubris, catharsis and little grace notes of marvelous wit. It's an amazing scene.
Unfortunately, it's over twelve minutes long (and that's all before the scene actually begins). Coming where it does in the story, it would capsize the movie. I struggle all afternoon with finding a way to shorten it. Looking for shots from one end that might cohere with shots from the other. Trying to avoid jump cuts. I eventually get so frustrated that I have to take a nap.
Forty five minutes later I get up from the couch and reduce the entire thing to three brief, functional shots and move on.
Today's entry is brought to you by some clandestine letters and numbers and the song 'You'll Find Your Footing' by Baby Dee, which isn't online, although other good ditties by her are.
Posted by David Lowery at March 26, 2008 3:50 PM