This morning I’m shooting an international commercial spot for Capgemini, but rather than directing, I’m actually in the spot. Over the past dozen years my life took me away from production long enough to learn about the Fortune 100 world and how to manage big business. I’m currently responsible for a $200MM spend at Kraft Foods Global with the focus on Sales Services.

The position was a natural fit since I entered the Fortune 100 world in sales. In the tech industry, I quickly learned how to develop relationships and build the partnerships needed to sell and close over $2B in large network and technical manufacturing deals. Not only did I learn about sales, but my travels took me to 25 countries where I had the opportunity to live among the locals and learn about their culture first hand.

While these experiences might sound like incredible business opportunities, I found it more useful in my maturing process – Realizing how insignificant I was compared to everything else going on in the world. It gave me a unique perspective about life and balance that I may not have gained from typical self-help sources.

So, today I’m being filmed as the expert in International Sales Services. While my experience fits that bill, I find myself more focused on the shooting process. Im curious about what techniques and style the international director will use to capture the moment. I’m wondering if I can keep focused on my topic and leave the filmmaking to others. I’m wondering if I will come across as the expert, or if my creativity will well up due to the shooting process that I dearly love and appreciate.

They say the worst patients are doctors and I can’t help but wonder if I’ll be like a “doctor” of the film world. Hopefully I’ll keep my business hat on and leave the shooting to the experts. Although, having won several international awards for directing, I can’t help but wonder what caliber of director will be producing the spot. Hmm, there I go again. I better focus on sales and leave the creativity to others.

Once again worldwide ticket sales determined what was successful in theaters and what was not. Tentpole Sequels like Harry Potter, Transformers, Pirates of the Caribbean, Fast Five and the Rise of the Planet of the Apes drew $3.4B. While you may be tired of seeing sequels, as long as the box office till rings, they’ll continue to make them.

Children and family fare was next in line with the Toons category bringing in $1.49B. The next category in line is a little surprising to some: R-Rated Comedies drove $1.31B in sales. The growing popularity of the commercial R-Rated film started with The Passion of the Christ, the first R-Rated film to break the $100M barrier. Prior to its release, no one in Hollywood would dare put large budgets into an R-Rated film.

Superhero films were next in line with $1.3B, followed by Family Live Action at $329M. Adult Dramas were at $217M and Romancers $128.1M. Adding in miscellaneous categories put the total summer at $4.03B, up 5% from 2010, with a 3% increase in attendance.

The studios are already gambling on the summer hits for 2012, which includes:

The Avengers (May 4)
Dark Shadows (May 11)
Battleship (May 18)
Men in Black III (May 25)
Rock of Ages (June 1)
Prometheus (June 8 )
Brave (June 22)
G.I. Joe: Retaliation (June 22)
The Amazing Spider-Man (July 4)
Ice Age: Continental Drift (July 13)
The Dark Knight Rises (July 20)
Neighborhood Watch (July 27)
The Bourne Legacy (August 3)
Total Recall (August 3)
The Expendables 2 (August 17)

Audiences have complained for years about some camera shaking to be a distraction rather than artistic. They can tell when the device pulls them out of the story, making them very cognizant of sitting in a theater our staring at the HD screen that accentuates the movement. The artistic value has been questioned for years due to the equal number of successes and failures the technique achieved.

I believe that the key to its success is directly related to the emotions of the storyline. It typically won’t be effective if a first time filmmaker wants to use the technique because it’s cool, rather than knowing if it fits the story. Even the experts struggle with when to use the device, but those who have mastered it are the ones that understand how to build emotions within an image.

My dad shot film before I was ever born and by my Jr. high years he suggested how I could improve my filmmaking. He told me the simplest thing: Motion pictures is all about motion. He further explained that if the actors aren’t moving, the camera should be.

If we take this simple lesson to it’s obvious conclusion, we must determine what will be happening in the shot and to what degree or level the added movement must be at. In stage shows the actor moving toward the audience is comparable to a close up, just as the actor moving up stage is similar to a long shot. Each relative position sets a different parameter of emotional values.

When an actor gently whispers in a close up, the audience feels pulled into intimacy. And, obviously stated, the actor shouting across the room demands a wider shot to capture the space needed for the appropriate volume.

Camera movement is similar. If the handheld is shooting an intimate scene, having the camera bouncing more vigorously makes no sense. Likewise, if the scene is fast paced with lots of movement, keeping the camera moving at the same tempo increases the emotional pull on the audience.

Picture a man and a woman sharing an intimate conversation. The camera is in close and the words are just above a whisper. Having the camera off of the tripod but barely moving gives the audience a sense of freedom and love.

Suddenly the man wakes up from his dream. He jolts to look around the room with the camera following the same intense pattern. Then he sees him – the antagonist with exposed bombs strapped to his chest. The whacko raises the detonator button and laughs. The camera jerks around from the laughter, to the bombs, to the detonator, to our hero who scrambles down the hallway to get away from the lunatic.

The key is to fit the handheld movement to the emotional level, in conjunction with the pacing of the scene. What makes it difficult is the fine line of error that pulls the audience out of the story if it isn’t executed properly. For instance, what if the camera suggests intimacy, but the actor fails to draw the audience into the intimate moment. Or, in a chase scene the actor isn’t running at full speed and the audience can tell, but the camera is frantically moving to preserve some form of tension – It will look silly.

The test to the handheld’s movement success is directly correlated to the audience being pulled deeper into story or noticing the camera movement and losing track of the story in any specific moment.

I’ve seen shows where the camera movement is so well articulated around the emotions of the scene that I found myself physically leaning, subconsciously trying to shift the camera’s perspective without being pulled out of the story. I was shifting with the camera, as if I could somehow help the hero make his way through the perplexing situation unharmed. I’ve also seen films where the camera movements made me feel sick and I willingly turned from the film.

It takes great communication between the director, cinematographer and actor to pull off the shaky camera effect and when done properly it saves time, budget and builds great emotions into a scene.

Copyright © 2011 By CJ Powers
Photo – © Peter Atkins – Fotolia.com