How to block a film scene for camera operators | Peter Robertson and Rodrigo Gutierrez

Rodrigo Gutierrez and Peter Robertson explain the importance of the sometimes neglected process of blocking a scene, and how it informs both their work as camera operators, and the filmmaking process as a whole.
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[@ChristopherAndersonDP]

That last point about the "performance" of the stand-ins is very insightful. That aspect always seems to get overlooked when lining up shots.

[@Fushikatz]

Always fix it in prep. Very good insight.

[@abrahamfranco536]

Excellent snippet, very helpful insights. Tremendous pressure for time and budget crunching for first time directors/producers on indie short films. That trend won’t stop either.

[@adityabhattacharaya4044]

Very profound insight on blocking and staging. You both are inspiration 🌸 Thank you :)

[@MattSpaugh]

Nice video but I find title misleading. This is a great overview of why blocking is important, but there's no how-to in this at all.

[@roschkovofficial]

This is brilliant thank you 🙏🏻❤️

[@edgenumbers]

The title of the video is "How to block a film scene for camera operators" perhaps it should be re-titled "The importance of blocking a scene" because there is no "how to" element to it at all. Lovely, experienced guys discussing their work and problems they incurr on set both from a practical and budget point of view but nothing to really learn here.

[@FilmQi]

Awesome work! thanks for sharing!

[@RayRomanMedia]

Tons of insight here! 🙏

[@totallycheckthisout]

Thank you, very good video

[@SPLESKAN]

From a DP's perspective it does not make for a smooth shooting day when the actor has more sway than the director on set. Line of command is the name of the game.

[@OldshoeFilmsProductions]

Thank you.

[@CINEMATICJ]

Legends!

[@elliot8595]

Totally agree

[@ThatAdly]

weird to see a 50fps video from Cooke - idk was it like a "creative" choice or did someone muck up?

[@actualityfilms]

Wny is the camera operator deciding the blocking and camera angles rather than the director?

[@df4196]

They don’t. But they’re the ones figuring out the logistics of how to get the shots and if you don’t do blocking first, everybody gets lost halfway through the scene where the eyelines go and if you have coverage to cut the scene.

[@gregdiffenthal2384]

I worked on a shoot where the Director entered the set with the actors, they ran their lines and then the Director turned to me, the Operator and said "So how do you want to shoot the scene ?" That was on day one. We worked out a bit of choreography for the actors and then I suggested when and where to track the camera, 2 shots, close ups etc. The DP gave me the thumbs up and away we went. The method had been set for the rest of the shoot. I had an absolute ball !

[@TheTonyCostaShow]

RODRIGO IS INCORRECT FOR BLAMING THE STANDINS. First of all, Standins don't come from the AD department-we come from the Screen Actors Guild.. And we know what we're doing.. We watch the marking rehearsals very carefully, we carefully notate our sides, we emulate the EXACT movements our actors made in the marking rehearsal.. We sit exactly the same way our actor did, we cross our legs exactly the same way, we lean exactly same way as our actor did.. We pick up the phone exactly the same way our actor did, on exactly the same line, with the same hand.. In my experience, the second team Standin rehearsals recreate the marking rehearsal-plus all the marking adjustments made for camera-with incredible accuracy a vast majority of the time. Good Standins understand eye lines.. We know what side of the 180 line we are supposed to be on.. We know if we are supposed to be looking camera right or left.. We know which of the other actor's eyes we are supposed to be looking at.. We know which of our shoulders the camera is supposed to be shooting over.. We know the key light is on the up-camera side of our face, and we know they are trying to match the key light's Kelvin temperature to the temperature of the practical lamp on the desk behind us.. We understand how to find our light and find the lens.. We are constantly listening to the operators' conversations so we can anticipate adjustments to help them, or in case they call us for an adjustment.. We often have to remind the operators to have an AC re-mark the floor after they've moved us, otherwise the marks will be wrong when first team comes back. There are a million moving parts on a set and a million different things that go wrong.. Imagine this scenario: After the director's private rehearsal and the marking rehearsal, first team (the actors) leave the set to go through wardrobe, hair, makeup, running lines, etc.. The crew takes over the set to begin lighting.. Second team (Standins) take their actors' marks and stand ready to recreate their every move.. After 45 minutes of setting up lights, working out camera moves, choreographing the background actors, practicing focus, practicing the mic boom, etc.. and after moving walls, furniture and floor marks until everything looks correct, in each camera, from different angles, all at the same time, we are finally ready to try a second team rehearsal. Action! The Standins are moving, the background actors are moving, the camera is moving, the dolly pusher is moving, the sound boom operator is moving, practicing keeping the mic close to the actors' mouths, but out of the shot.. The focus pullers are practicing keeping the shots focused as everything moves around.. The producers, the director, and ADs are watching the second team rehearsals on monitors, making sure there are no weird shadows being created, making sure all the lighting is good, all the marks are good, all the colors are good, checking the composition etc.. There's a hundred different things that all have to be working in sync in order to get a shot.. Adjustments are made, and we try another second team rehearsal.. Finally, there's a good second team rehearsal, and the AD calls first team to come to set. Now, imagine there are 50 people standing quietly on set, rehearsed, focused, and ready to shoot.. First team comes back, they walk onto the set-and the actors give DIFFERENT performances than they did an hour ago in the marking rehearsal!! They sit differently, they move on different lines, they pick things up differently, etc.. This happens 90% of the time. And all the while, the DP and operators think the Standins were doing the scene wrong. Now, I am absolutely NOT blaming the actors.. They are doing what they are supposed to be doing.. They have been together for the last hour running lines, or rehearsing independently, coming up with new discoveries, new beats, new ideas which they then bring back to the set with them.. And how they organically feel in the moment of actually doing the scene is more important than feeling structured and boxed in by blocking, which can affect their performances.. So after first team comes back in doing the scene differently, the crew makes all the necessary adjustments to marks, lights, etc, to accommodate the new changes, and after a rehearsal or two, they get ready to roll cameras and shoot the master shot of the scene. While the crew and actors are shooting the master, second team is watching on monitors, making notes of all the changes the actors have made, so that, when we move in to start shooting coverage, we will once again be doing exactly what the actors are doing.. And when the actors step back in to shoot their coverage, they will usually do it differently again. One of the things I always teach new Standins is that they have to become comfortable with the fact that, no matter how hard they work, no matter how accurate they are, everyone is going to think they're doing it wrong. That's the job.

[@NIKONGUY1960]

All about the Benjamin’s.