Cinematic Values

Thoughts from 180’s in-house director, Archie Borders.

We often hear the term, “Cinematic values” but what does that really mean?  Something that looks like a movie? Feels like a movie?  It’s simpler than that.  

It’s when you’re watching something that feels bigger than life.

When producing a film or a commercial, how do you make something look or feel cinematic? Bigger?

Let’s name the values that matter most. Story. Subject. Crew. Location. And finally, Picture.

You start with the story. If it’s a movie, then it’s a journey. If it’s a commercial, then it’s the message. You speak to the client, ask questions: How are you seeing this? What is the camera seeing and how do we allow the camera to capture, in the best, most effective way possible, the feeling of the image. That Feeling drives it all. Does our story/message make us happy, sad, jubilant, despairing, wanting to go out and buy or purchase or be a part of whatever experience you’re helping your client promote?

That’s a lot for a shot. But here’s how you get it.

A moving camera gives energy. A static camera encourages study. A combination of movement and stillness can elicit a reaction to the image you want the audience to see.

Remember the cinematic values.

Story: A boring story is a boring film. A great story, with all its permutations, sub-plots and possibilities, well executed, gives you a great film.

Now you gotta capture it.

Subject; it can be actors or an object, something alive or a place. Put the wrong subject in the shot, the wrong actor, a bad prop, an uninspired location, then your story will not work.

So, you get the right actor (or prop, et al). Don’t settle for ‘pretty good.’ Go for the one who will not only represent the story but will bring something to it that you didn’t see coming. That choice will enhance what’s already there. Directing this scene properly is a collaboration that raises a ‘gig’ for the actor, to art for the viewer.

Get a good director. Their goal? Find the emotion in a performance and guide it to inhabit the message. Get this done and you’re more than half-way there.

If you have these first two things, then you’re already making a good commercial. Maybe a very good one. Now let’s bang out the values that takes your film or commercial from good to something great.

Crew: You don’t have to find the absolute best, but you do find the best person that buys into what you’re trying to do. From camera, to wardrobe, to production design, you must be on the same page and then you must let them do what they do because they’re better at it than you. Or they should be. And that freedom makes everything look better.

Location: Seems simple, but it’s not. Too often producers take the easy way out because something is available. But then you’re missing the possibilities that one bar, or one hill with the odd tree, or one house that feels slightly off (and your actors will feel that too), brings in that intangible but subtle way, that extra something. Something that goes from very good to memorable.

Picture: This is what’s happening within that frame. And that frame size (2:40, 1:85, 1:66 whatever) is a choice, too. The frame size says something. Everything in that frame says something. Building the frame is fun, though, because you have the great story, the director with the vision, the cast, the location, the crew (just off picture) and you’re ready to fill up that frame. But how do I build the frame!?

By using the camera correctly and effectively (part of the scene, part of the character, just observing? Figure it out).

Deciding the pace within the picture: multiple cuts vs the oner vs blocking vs static. What’s the geography? What’s my frickin’ Point of View? Better be able to answer that. Whose scene is this???

Acting: Listening to actors. Recent convo with an actor: What’s the most infuriating direction you’ve ever heard? “Just have fun with it,’ or “be more depressed?’ Be specific with your notes.

Light it, or barely light it, for cinemas not TV screens, according to what’s suits the subject.

The audience can feel if they are in the hands of someone who is relating and guiding them through the material or simply trying to ‘cover; it. Be the person who says, “We got the story” instead of, “we got the coverage.”

There should be a satisfaction when watching a piece unfold. Leave the audience wanting more. They should want to see the story again and again.

Because when that happens, when what we just saw feels…like life. Only a little bigger. That’s ‘cinematic.’

Take a look at how different choices impact the final cut.