Chess Film: Final Day of Filming

Closing shot 

The final day of filming was easy since we only had one more shot to complete. Since we had the whole period to film only one shot, we used this time wisely. There was a total of nine takes for our closing shot, which was the most takes out of any shot in our film. The original plan for this closing shot was a medium shot, but after our group discussed we decided to end our film with a tracking shot instead. Our closing shot is where we reveal that our main character was playing chess against no one the whole time. Using a tracking shot here makes the reveal more dramatic. 

My group also discussed other ways to create dramatic effects for this closing shot. One option we discussed was using a Dutch angle. A Dutch angle or canted angle is a type of camera shot that has a noticeable tilt on the camera's x-axis. (What is a Dutch Angle)  The combination of movement and tilt can enhance the feel of anxiety within a scene. Out of the nine shots we captured for our closing, three featured a Dutch angle, giving us the flexibility to choose the version that worked best during filming. 

The Dutch angle we filmed 

To wrap up day three of our chess film, our editor downloaded all the videos onto her computer. She and I reviewed all the footage we had shot over the three days, and I shared some of my thoughts on which takes would work best. As the director, I wanted to make sure I communicated that we filmed out of order to avoid future confusion. For example, some shots taken on the second day actually belong in the very beginning of our film. Since we had to add shots, I wanted to make sure she was using the right script as her reference to make the editing process easier for the entire team. 

Our editor starting the editing process