Hey everybody. I'm currently enrolled in a summer Directing Workshop and our next project is to take a scene from an existing film and copy it shot by shot - so that it looks just like the origional scene.
If I could get some suggestions on what would be a scene that is interesting yet managable to do with no budget, limited talent, locations, props, etc.
I look forward to hearing what scenes you guys would like to se remade... ask yourselves, 'What would it be possible for me to remake?'
Thanks alot for the help guys!

PEACE

it helps if you tell us the scene otherwise its hard to help you

Welcome Peacemakr71! You may not be interested in these, as I like a lot of older movies, but hopefully, they fit the no-budget, easy set requirements! Besides, the scenes I would probably want to try to remake (if I had the proper resources), wouldn't have minimum requirements!

12 ANGRY MEN
Set in a jury room, you could take almost any scene - but possibly the scene where Lee J Cobb (who is being frustrated by Henry Fonda) wants to demonstrate how a short man can stab a taller man with a switch blade. Fonda agrees to stand in as the 'taller man'. Cobb holds the knife, contemplates his angle of 'attack' and then with great anger, rapidly thrusts the knife at Fonda. Everyone in the room panics EXCEPT Fonda and Cobb gently slips the knife in Fonda's shirt pocket.

IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT
In Sparta, MS, there is a murder that occurs in the middle of the night. The scene where Sidney Poitier (black Philly policeman Virgil Tibbs) is in the Mississippi police chief's office (Chief Bill Gillespie, played by Rod Steiger), having been picked up waiting for a train at the station. His wallet and other pocket contents are laying on the chief's desk. The chief picks up his wallet and see's his name is Virgil and makes fun of it, then sees he has a butt-load of money. Chief asks him where a black man (use of slang here) gets that kind of money and Tibbs says he earns it. The chief asks doing what and Tibbs replies as a police officer and shows him his badge. The chief, is dumbfounded that the inept deputy didn't check Tibbs' ID.

As I said before, these are old films, but both scenes have powerful messages and require good acting and timing.

I'm sure there are good scenes from some newer movies too. Good luck and let us know what you intend to use!

Mark M
Scooter Productions

We had a similar assignment for an editing class when I was in film school (Only we were allowed to edit it any way we wanted). We wound up shooting the first scene from 'The Naked Kiss'. I would highly recommend it. It has all sorts of action in a simple location with only a couple of props and could really lend itself to both good and bad actors. It's also a good leason in how to cheat.

Nota "Fuller idears" Mono

hehehe could be fun to do the "i know when a woman is faking an orgasm" scene from when harry met sally.

Since you are on a small budget, just re-do a scene from the matrix reloaded, any scene will do! but seriously, if I could remake any scene (and had macro lenses) I would do some of the drug ingestion scenes in requiem. I dont know if you have those sort of lenses, but jsut add some boom sound effects and it would be neat to do. Even better, do the "self help" video from donnie darko, ya know, the one with patrick swayze.

Grilled Cheese

How long does it have to be?

Any fight from Fight Club !

If you don't look I'll force you to _=_

remake the opening scene from Saving Private Ryan...

That will be the easiest, the least amount of time, and if yu really want it to look like the original, with all the weapons, explosions, soldiers, bullets, fire, boats, ocean, sand, germans, nazis, british, rangers, and radios... it shouldnt take more than an hour or two. This is SO easy to do.

"This is your life, and it's ending one minute at a time"

I would do a scene from "The Graduate."

Maybe Benjamin's first encounter with Mrs. Robinson at the hotel, or the scene where he drives her home from the party.

...but that's just me.

Aw man, I love that movie. Doing a scene like the one Cyos described wouldn't be hard at all, since the original one has a million mistakes. You could do all these pointless errors and say you were paying tribute to the original scene. Make sure you can see the camera's shadow in a bunch of the shots.

"Don't breathe or I'll kill you!"

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Originally posted by JASONvb:
remake the opening scene from Saving Private Ryan...

That will be the easiest, the least amount of time, and if yu really want it to look like the original, with all the weapons, explosions, soldiers, bullets, fire, boats, ocean, sand, germans, nazis, british, rangers, and radios.

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No, it's a Speilberg remake, you have to digitally replace all the guns and weapons with flashlights and radios. Doing the opening scene of Private Ryan but instead of guns, have flashlights and radios would be funny!

Haha! That would be great! People ducking behind big piles of sand so the enemy's flashlight beams wouldn't hit them.

"Don't breathe or I'll kill you!"

yeah and when ever a flashlight hits a soldier, make him get all bloody and gory. "The Light of death!"

"This is your life, and it's ending one minute at a time"

i saw this one movie where a vampire rips off this guys dick, puts it in some bread, then eats it, calls it a "penis sandwhich"

that might be fun

damn you must have some FUKED UP video stores in your area

no **** man.

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remake the opening scene from Saving Private Ryan...

That will be the easiest, the least amount of time, and if yu really want it to look like the original, with all the weapons, explosions, soldiers, bullets, fire, boats, ocean, sand, germans, nazis, british, rangers, and radios.

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Yeah, and replace all the shooting with dancing, and the German soldiers with monkeys. And the Americans should ride in on dolphins. And give Tom Hanks a really big beard and no knees. And save time by saying that Ryan was never lost. THen they dont have to go searching.

For fun (and practice) a couple friends and I did this with a scene from "Raiders of the Lost Ark," believe it or not!

Actually, it was a pretty tame scene...the one where Marcus comes to Indy's house to tell him the US Govt wants him to go after the Ark. Here's why we picked it:

- One long take, no edits.
- It was only a few minutes long.
- Had a bit of an emotional range...elation-fear-concern-hint of danger.
- One location, one room.
- Room is "normal"...a kinda messy bachelor pad.
- Everyone was familiar with the scene and dialogue.

Came out pretty good. The lighting was the toughest part...well, that and the acting!

Copying shot by shot is hardley directing! What exactly are you learning about Directing here, maybe Director of Photography or how to plagerise 101. I could see taking a known script and putting your own vision on it but copying shot by shot is just retartded, your teacher must really suck.

With that said I choose something like Ghostworld (the scene at the record sale) or Punch drunk Love. Both films have really understated but dynamic Framing and composition.

Personally I would scrap the whole thing and make a documentry about beating the crap out of your teacher.