Cinematography For Directors [Ep 8 - Breaking The Fourth Wall]
Channel: RyanGielenDir
Date: 2014-10-06

Cinematography For Directors is series of short videos dissecting the shot selection and framing used in nine specific scenes in the movie Drinking Games. HUGE thanks to Cinematographer Andrew "Tank" Rivara at TankLightsYouUp.com and AC Chris Falkowski for making it all possible!

My hope is that the ideas expressed in the videos help your decision-making process on your next film. Remember, these are just ideas, a jumping off point, a way to start thinking about picking and framing shots. Hope it's helpful!


***Ep 8 - Breaking The Fourth Wall!***
I discuss how and why we break the fourth wall, and have a main character speak directly to the camera in the film Drinking Games, and some ways you can apply these specific techniques to your own projects! Full text below. 


***About me***
I'm an independent producer/director with award-winning features distributed in theaters, online and internationally. When I have a new project, I do a lot of Q&A's and with my new feature Drinking Games, I took a lot of questions about the cinematography and shot selection. I thought this type of breakdown would be helpful to other directors like you, so I put in video form. You can check out my films below, they're all available on Hulu, iTunes and Amazon. 

Drinking Games
Hulu: http://bit.ly/HuluThriller
iTunes: http://bit.ly/DrinkingGamesiTunes

Turtle Hill, Brooklyn
Hulu: http://bit.ly/THBHulu
iTunes: http://bit.ly/THBiTunes

The Graduates
Hulu: http://bit.ly/GradsHulu
iTunes: http://bit.ly/GradsOniTunes


***Full Video Text***
This is a fun one. A 70-foot dolly shot, mixed with some hand-help, plus some snow indoors. The camera move itself is similar to some of the others, but I thought this was worth talking about because it’s a digression from the narrative of the film. 

We get to see a lot of the film from Richard’s perspective, and I wanted a window into Melanie’s soul as well. The film is about people in college growing out of their pasts, and how painful or impossible that can be. 

Melanie is losing Richard, who she loves, and it’s out of her control. Losing your first love would be painful for anyone, but I want to show WHY losing Richard is so painful. 

Turns out, Melanie let someone else slip away before: As a young girl, she watched her sister drown in a frozen lake back in Germany. Losing Richard rekindles all these feelings of guilt, sadness and loss. 

So MELANIE doesn’t step into a hallway. WE step into Melanie’s mind. The shift in perspective and tone is a digression, but it’s also a step sideways, into a character’s subconscious. 

In Melanie’s mind right now, she back at the lake, in the falling snow, watching helplessly as someone she loves disappears. 

Hope this was helpful. 

Post any questions in the comments or email me at 
ryan at believeltd dot com