Final scene problems

Ben called me today because he remembered his problem with the final scene. When David and I are walking by, he said it looks like we're walking single file which looks unnatural. I told him this was an optical illusion. I was actually about 10" further away from the camera than David, but it probably looks like we're walking single file because the size of my head compensated for the depth. (The surest sign you have is a big head is when your mom assures you, "No, you don't have a big head. In fact it's kind of small.")

So Ben and I started talking about all the problems with the final scene. It's really not that bad but there are a lot of small annoying things. So I said I'd try to arrange to reshoot. Here are the problems from biggest to least:

1. I shouldn't have put so much text on the flyer because it makes the audience want to read it. So in version 77 I blurred out most of the text but of course it looks artificial.

2. The shot is kind of dead because there aren't enough people walking in the wide shot. I have some accidental footage of David walking through the shot that really gives it life. This would also help cut better when we go from medium to wide.

3. The tilt starts stationary with the flyers centered. I realized when editing that I should have started the tilt pointed down and then moved up so I could cut into the shot right before the flyers were centered.

4. It would have been nice if we put a lot more flyers, maybe twice as many to make the scene more dramatic.

5. I didn't look at the flyers carefully enough. One says "2007" in huge letters. Another has color print outs.

6. Ben thinks the flyer arrangement was too unnaturally haphazard.