Short Critique: The Realm of Never - Moratorium, Pg. 2
Visual Look
Because of the time constraints, everything has to be recorded in one take on three different cameras; no retakes are permitted. This also requires that the set and props be very basic, to shorten setup and take-down time. Due to the incredibly short shooting time, the camerawork is very basic, limited mostly to the pan/tilt/zoom capabilities of the studio cameras. This is completely understandable and, for the most part, works well for the genre and style of the show. However, it would have been nice to see more movement with the blocking of the characters, especially during O'Hare's longer dialogue/monologue sequences. For the most part, the characters remain within the same three-foot radius and don't move much outside of it. This tended to make the scenes look static, thus making it easier for the viewer to lose interest. Because this is such a dialogue-heavy piece and is filmed in one location, there needed to be more movement among the characters to maintain the audience's attention. I know that this would be rather difficult, given the time constraints (e.g. you can't re-shoot it if the camera can't focus on someone because they missed their mark), but just a few blocking adjustments could help break up the monotony.
Although the project was filmed in color, a 16-mm black-and-white film effect was added in post with Adobe Premiere Pro. This was a nice touch that gave it the look of an old sci-fi show or Twilight Zone episode. However, a few of the camera transitions were a bit odd, because they were long cross-dissolves that took place mid-scene. This was confusing, because those kind of transitions are usually used to show the passage of time or a move to a different location. Instead, here they occurred right in the middle of dialogue scenes. I would suggest using a sharp cut or quick cross-dissolve to another camera for such scenes, instead of a longer transition; it will seem less out-of-place.
The 16mm b/w effect made it look like
an old episode of The Twilight Zone...
...however, some of transitions were
too long and seemed out of place.
Use of Audio
As hard as it is to get good camerawork in a very limited time on a public access set, it is even harder to get good audio. Everything must be quiet on the set and --most importantly-- the equipment has to work perfectly, because there are no second takes. Originally, I was quite skeptical about the potential audio quality of the film, but I was surprised by how great it sounds. The dialogue is crisp and clear, and all the levels (for dialogue, ambience, music, etc.) are balanced. There were a few instances where the audio sounded a bit tinny, but only when a character yelled (which only happened once or twice). The sound design and background music were subtle but effective.
Interestingly enough, the score was not added in post; it was done ahead of time, then played and recorded live during the taping. While this is rather risky (especially during a one-shot filming session), Del Gaudio did his homework ahead of time; he made audio recordings of the cast's last few rehearsals, then chose the exact placement of the pre-recorded score based on that. While this would not work for every filmmaker, there is a valuable lesson to be learned here: plan, plan, plan, then rehearse, rehearse, rehearse.
