This video is a good generic example of a sketch; while it is more complex than it appears, the elements are simple and worthy examples of the various kinds of shots and concepts involved in sketch creation. Key is that it shows typical structure. There's an opening shot, it establishes the action (two scenes, really), and it has a sort of "punchline," and natural closure as the kid exits frame. [Note: I used almost the same kind of punchline in Sketch J: Rainy Day, a couple years later.]
Halloween Sketch (Example) from m.h. rubin on Vimeo.
NOTE:
- It involves two separate scenes put together. Scene 1: the kid running in the house; scene 2: the giving of candy. Either one alone might have been a fine sketch, I suppose. I felt the playing in the house and cut-away shots of halloween stuff gave good context for the candy part.
The coverage of the kid running in the house includes shots from inside AND outside looking in. NOTICE THE MATCH ON ACTION while raising and lowering the kid (think of the trampoline video here).
- Similarly for the giving of candy, notice the exterior shots looking back - intercut with the interior shots looking out. Lots of action matching even though these are different kids in motion.
- Finally, notice the cut-away shots that add texture (tea steaming, cookies on a plate, jack-o-lantern...) all were placed to help with transitions, true, but also add visual texture to establish the moment.
- The video combines a music track and some production sound, a bit more complex than required, but in some controlled (acoustically quiet) settings, it's tolerable, and in some cases, nice.
Once you've watched the final cut, watch this short video showing a few minutes of the actual shooting of the video. I asked my friend Lisa, a documentary filmmaker, to shoot me while I was shooting the sketch. Her material is in B&W, and the raw footage for the sketch is in color:
The Making of... "Halloween Sketch" from m.h. rubin on Vimeo.
(Music: "Ice Cream" copyright by Sarah McLachlan)
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2 comments:
Love the outside perspective. I would never think to do that. Thanks for calling out that it matches- very nice. If I could just think to do things like this, my movies would be so much better. Thanks for the ideas.
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