The art of filmmaking

VISUAL LANGUAGE - Braveheart

Produced and directed by Mel Gibson, who also starred in the title role, portraying legendary Scot, William Wallace, who gained recognition when he came to the forefront of the First War of Scottish Independence by opposing Edward I of England.

The film won five Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director. This film is one of my all-time favorite films. I chose a segment from the film that we might find ourselves in. Read the script segment, think how you would shoot it, how many set ups, coverage. And then we’ll break it down.

Braveheart (1995)

by Randall Wallace.
Final draft.

INT. WESTMINSTER ABBEY - ROYAL WEDDINg - DAY

Amid the scarlet and ermine robes of officiating lords, with
gemstones sparkling everywhere, we hear...

Voice over

Twelve years later, Longshanks supervised the wedding of his
eldest son, also named Edward, who would succeed him to the
throne.

LONGSHANKS, King of England, stands in the jeweled light of the
ancient Abbey.  Known as Longshanks because of the spindly legs
that make him almost seven feet tall, he has a hawk’s nose and a
snake’s eyes, punctuating a face of distinct cruelty.  Historians
of his day considered him and the line of Plantagenets from which
he came to be devil worshipers.

Voice over

As bride for his son, Longshanks had chosen a relative of his
rival, the king of France.

GENEVIEVE, a nineteen-year-old virgin of stupendous beauty moves
down the aisle, the light in her face outshining her blindingly
white wedding gown.  As she reaches the altar her hands tremble,
but she maintains her poise and control.

She looks toward EDWARD, Prince of Wales.  Pampered young men
surround him as his retinue.  He takes her hand coldly and goes
through the ceremony under his father’s stare.

VOICE OVER

It was widely whispered that for the Princess to conceive,
Longshanks would have to do the honors himself.  That may have
been what he had in mind all along.

The ceremony concluding, attendants lift back the bride’s veil.
Her wedding day, the ultimate moment--and Prince Edward ignores
her, to turn back to his friends.  But prompted by one of the
sour lords, he leans over and pecks his new Princess on the
cheek.  For an instant, we see in her eyes that her heart is
dying.  But she keeps her poise.

END

Film is a visual medium. The voice over narration in this scene is completely unnecessary as the shots and talent tell us the entire picture without a spoken word. A wedding, a king, a young prince not wanting to be there, his lover, the king realizing the dudes relationship, the young queen to be dissapointed, sad yet full of poise and pride.

Next time you set out to shoot, look at your script in visual terms first, then worry about the dialogue !

UPDATE

I kind of threw this one together last night and STYLZ, a member over at my other home www.dvxuser.com got me thinking about a better way to explain this.

I’ve made another example, and wanted to keep in mind a certain point. Having a clear understanding the rules of visual storytelling in film is the ONLY was to break them Read some more and let us hear your thoughts.

© 2008 Cineobscure.