By Charlie Karumi
As I always say, there’s nothing like a bright Tuesday morning to take the Monday blues away. Neither is there anything quite like a new #teknikoTuesday edition to keep you entertained, educated, enlightened, enthralled and enchanted on all matters film!
Today our focus shifts to the next letter of our alphabet, E. E for eBOLA! Alas! I digress! Let’s E-ase into this.
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Editing (and editors)- The unsung heroes of the film and TV industry, are the editors! They are tasked with the responsibility of turning seemingly meaningless bits of footage into a complete film! Technically, editing is the process of selecting, assembling, arranging, collating, trimming, structuring, and splicing-joining together many separate camera takes into a complete, determined sequence- a film! So whenever you think of film-making as just glamorous shoots and cut throat casting, think again. Editors are the real MVPs!
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Establishing shot- So you’re watching a movie which you know is shot/based in Paris. Question is, how did you know? The answer to which, is establishing shots. These are wide angled long shots purposely put at the beginning of a scene to help the audience identify and orient the locale or time for the scene. So in reference to our Paris example, the editor probably placed a shot of something that famously identifies the French capital… the Eiffel Tower, or the Louvre. Below is a short clip showing an establishing shot off Maisha Magic’s Swahili Drama “Sumu La Penzi.”
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Extra- Constantin Stanislavski (world renowned Russian theatre Director) was famously quoted as saying “There are no small roles, just small actors”. To no other role in a film does this best apply, than to an extra! These are the crowds, the “umatis”, the “watus”! Those men and women who are seen on a film, but are never heard. Like Kenya’s founding father Mzee Jomo Kenyatta on the 1935 film Sanders of the River! Bet you didn’t know that, did you?
“Tribal Chief” starring the First President of the Republic of Kenya
But no small roles, remember? As unimportant as they may seem in a film, extras are vital especially in creating the atmosphere of a scene. Many film stars actually started off as extras. e.g. Sylvester Stallone, Brad Pitt, Bruce WIllis and Marilyn Monroe.
Started from the Bottom!
- Ensemble- Ever heard of an ensemble cast? Ever wondered what in the name of Desmond Tutu it means? Well, simply put, a movie is said to have an ensemble cast when almost all the character are big, famous, top-billed actors/actresses. The best example I can give, is the cast of Expendables. This poster down here is the very definition of ensemble.
Almost as many stars as a clear night sky
Well there you have it, three E’s, three little tiny nuggets of wisdom that you might ignore after reading this, but will never forget. See you in seven days!
Have a filmy week everyone!