RAMBLINGS
Blocking is the Missing Link in Ameteur Filmmaking
The more time I spend in film school the more I realize the importance of blocking as a language between a director and DP. Sure, this scene has outstanding dialogue and performance, but a lesser filmmaker might have filmed this scene by, say, putting both actors face to face in a confined corner of the room and called it “confrontational.”
Let’s start from the top. Lipsky starts standing and Wallace starts crouched down. Lipsky has just dropped a bombshell of an accusation after spending the last few days building Wallaces trust. Almost immediately Ponsoldt has Wallace stand (the height difference is almost comical) and take a step towards his accuser who immediately takes a step back. The power dynamic is set. Lipsky hides behind his tiny tape recorded and is forced into a
seated position, further exagerating the height difference and power dynamic. As the scene crescendos Wallace flips the world by walking past Lipsky, forcing him to turn 180 degrees while still cowering behind his tape recorder. All this is captured with the respective high and low angles which, as any film enthusiast can tell you, gives us a send of power and powerlessness. Wallaces final position places him under one of the ceiling lights, giving him an extrmeely ominous appearence.
None of that was written in the script. These were decisions that the director and DP sat down and made together and, in my opinion, they make the entire scene come alive. The lighting is nothing to stop and gawk at (although I appreciate its realism) and the production design does absolutely nothing for that specific scene. after the dialogue and performance the blocking is what makes the scene so fun to watch and I think that’s what so many non-professional films lack; mine included. This becomes so important in drama when often all you’re given are the lines of dialogue to propel the scene forward. I spoke to a DP friend of mine who was complaining about a directors lack of willingess to move the actors around during a scene which covered 2 pages of dialogue. The result, unfortunately, was a stagnant scene which had no visual beats whatsoever. I’ve realized recently that this is something the DP does and should have a lot of say in as the person whose job it is to visualize the story. Between the DP focusing on lighting and composition and the director focusing on performance I’ve found blocking too often trivialized and borderline forgotten about.