Guest Lecturer

Among the points Kirsten Johnson sought to make during her guest lecture was the importance of one’s own positioning and relation to a subject in regard to how it is or should be shot. Whether it be in closeness or distance, towering high above or cowering deep below, Johnson emphasized that one’s positioning affects the way a subject is shot, and what effect that shot could have as a result. For example, she explained at one point how she obtained a shot of a street market by lying down on the ground, allowing a low-angle shot of the food that she felt better fit into the film for tonal and thematic reasons. In shooting the moment of the balloons, she described moving directly through the balloons, capturing a continuous movement, rather than shooting them from an exterior position - and the vivid coloring of the balloons served as an interesting contrast when juxtaposed with the beige coloring of the rest of the film. Finally, her insistence for us to look into one of our classmate’s eyes for two minutes was an exercise in making us understand the importance of being able to read another person’s facial expressions, which is crucial in filmmaking - a craft built on subtlety, and often used as a study of human nature. By being forced to stare at the person across from us, we were made to perceive what they may be thinking or feeling, which is among the top priorities of any filmmaker.