Data
Speaker name: Gert de Graaff
Date: March 11, Rotterdam
Duration: 1 hour
Speaker bio
Filmmaker, trainer and editor Gert de Graaff graduated cum laude from the Dutch Film Academy in 1987 with his movie ‘Twee’. His movie ‘De zee die denkt’ won the Joris Ivens Award at the IDFA and got nominated for the European Oscars. At present he is working on his new movie.
He was an video-editor at the Dutch Broadcast Company for 23 years and is an advanced certified AVID trainer.
Full of enthusiasm he gives courses in the language and grammar of moving images, decoupage and montage to reporters, editors, cameramen and broadcasters. He trains students and teachers from different Higher Education Institutes, Universities and Ministries. He gives keynotes on the topic of optical and mental illusions.
In his unique courses he takes examples from his extensive archive.
Recently he created a visual essay (english subtitled)
Storytelling & editing
Gert explains how important the role of editing is in telling stories. He gives tips & tricks and shows a lot of examples.
Below are the most interesting parts of Gert’s keynote. The keynote starts with an introduction of Gert.
4.24:
There has to be a plausible reason why you show something
(decomposing an commercial ‘working at the government’)
Always look for the meaning WHY the shots are shown in this order and HOW
(leader Six Feet under)
13.24:
Look at the moment you make the cut
(cake cutting fragment)
You can make a lot of stories out of 2 or 3 shots
14.33:
You’re always guessing why something is shown
The WHY is important and the HOW
(commercial wind-energy Epuron)
He is always walking to the right and at turning point to the left and uphill which is difficult and in a wide shot so he seems lonely
20.00:
(fragment docu about a person who can’t remember faces)
Why the camera moves as it does
21.00:
(two totally different pictures of Obama) There is no objective way for shots
Use of lens, camera height, camera angle, camera movement, handheld or tripod, depth of field, color, position in the frame…
25.00:
(picture of minister fired) The way she is portrait tells a story. A lot of headroom makes her sinking out of the frame, diminished, no power.
26.00:
(the Office) The way it’s shot:
– docu style/handheld, actor looks in the camera so it looks we are there too
– height of the camera, he is being accused by the boss
– a lot of headroom and the camera zooms in makes it more important
29.30:
(the Office, next scene same episode) He got grip on himself again
– camera on tripod, no headroom, he is on the right side of the frame, below head level
You feel it, these changes, you have to find out how this works
32.00:
(different pictures and shots) analyzing headroom
34.20:
(different examples) analyzing position in the frame
Being on the right in the frame makes objects and people more important
37.00:
Film language is international;
A white cross on the screen, try to cover this with your hand; which eye focusses more… the right eye is often dominant. This has to do with the brain.
Left side of the brain is the analytic part connected to the right eye; you look more to the right side of a frame/shot/picture. That’s why you should put the most important object/person on the right side in the frame.
(docu about Grozny ‘widow’) she sits on the sofa on the left site, this makes her look more alone. When you mirror this shot and she is on the right site she is just sitting.
47.00:
(Pixar Geri’s game)
52.00:
What did you notice about how things are shown and why this is done?
-leaves in the beginning, it’s autumn, dead is all around. He blows them away, he thinks he is still young.
-unfolding the story, let you make guesses
-the left man is more aggressive and shown from below, sun behind him, when the right man starts to win this is changed he is shot from below and the other one from above and the sun is behind the winner.
– red trees behind left man and green trees behind the right man.
-when the first chess piece is taken you hear ravens in the background
57.00:
(commercial lamp unböring IKEA)
Analyzing why you feel sorry for the lamp and how this is done.