Working with Masks on Film

For years, I wanted to play with masks on film. I have always loved tiny little film sketches and comedy bits (basically what TikTok is, with a bit of YouTube mixed in there). So when the opportunity came to start exploring, I jumped on it. I was able to use a college independent study course to play with the idea, which folded into a thesis project I was working on with Patrick. Knowing how Commedia worked, I knew it would thrive on film, just with new boundaries and rules, and it did!

Through experimentation, along with some fun screen tests, we made great discoveries. Here are some of my observations I wrote at the time (I’ve bolded some of my fave points because it’s kind of long):

Before we began story work, we had to do screen tests with different characters to see how they looked on camera. It was a new physical space for us, totally different from a theatre, and we were interested in seeing what we could do. We were suddenly in a very distinct rectangle, with walls that we could not see as a character, but the audience would be able to see. This was completely new for us, and we were excited to explore. 

Some discoveries were unexpected, and we are looking forward to going more in depth with those experiments. There were a few main elements we focused on at first, trying to find which techniques work and which don’t. We were testing how to utilize looking at the camera. We were playing with how much of the body is in frame. And we were wondering if the use of space works the same way as in a theatre space. 

On the Focus:

One of the first things we played with was how to utilize the camera as the “audience”. In Commedia dell’Arte, the audience is very important, and they are interacted with often. Not knowing exactly how the use of the camera would translate, we experimented with a few variations. We tried looking at points as if there was an audience around the camera, and included the camera. We tried looking at points within the camera lens at different angles, as if looking through it at different subjects on the other side. We also tried then just looking straight into the camera each time when the character would normally be looking to the audience. In watching the videos later, we found that looking at points in the room as if there was an audience gave the feeling that the video was a recording of a theatre performance. It made us feel less connected to the character, because we felt there was more going on in the room than we as an audience could see and be a part of. In looking at different angles through the camera, because of the mask, it actually gave the same appearance as the first one, that the character was looking at different points around the camera. It did not read as though they were looking to different viewers watching the video. As we thought may happen, it was the most effective to only look directly to the camera. No matter where a viewer is sitting, it feels as though the character is looking directly at them, and creates a sort of real-time connection between performer and viewer, and as a viewer, we forgot that this was pre-recorded. I suspected that we may come to this conclusion, but seeing how the mask appears to be looking only where it is pointing, such as in the second exercise, is really important. This is the case in theatrical performance as well to a degree, but it seems to be even more so on film. It may have something to do with not seeing the eyes as well in wider shots. With close-ups, there was a little more freedom in which direction the mask was facing because the eyes were more visible. However, if the characters eyes pointed another direction when it was close up, it almost always made us as viewers feel that the character was looking somewhere else in a pre-recorded space, and broke the real-time illusion. 

Framing:

Playing with framing provided some insights, and tied pretty closely to use of space. We found that wider shots made the character feel too small unless there was a lot of movement happening. I played with a character that did not move quickly or always in large movements, and it gave the impression as a viewer that I was watching a recording of a theatre performance. It was too much. But, when the character was travelling, or exiting the frame, we found it really engaging. Another character, a more acrobatic and hyperactive one, was very engaging to watch in a wider frame. This is because the character moved to several places within the frame, even different depths, and their body had constantly changing shapes. It was like watching a ping-pong ball bounce around on an adventure. The empty, open space only made us wonder what would happen there next. With a mid-wide shot that showed only the torso, one of the most interesting things was that it immediately felt like interviews. It was still engaging to watch the physicality, and it did not bother us that we could not see the lower half of the body, which was great to notice. But this observation made us start to wonder what other camera shots are iconic or stereotypical, so that simply using that shot makes someone understand what is going on. We were excited by this, and looking forward to finding where we could use them. 

Use of Space:

In the use of space, we noticed several things. Wider shots are great for travel moments, including when a character is exiting the frame. In fact, we really enjoyed a diagonal exit from the back of the room to passing behind the camera. It made the feel viewer that the character was really leaving, as the space “behind” the camera or screen is almost another world. This was more powerful than simply exiting to the side. In another text, the character half exited the frame, but seemed pulled back by the “audience”, looking into the camera. This created a physical tension with half the body showing and half of it not. It was really powerful, and we would like to play with it more, as it felt like a tease, or a tug-of-war between audience and performer. In performing, we want to see how we can “feel” the audience more through the camera in moments such as this. It seemed very important in regard to creating the feeling of interaction between the film and audience. 

Another element we wanted to play with was depth. In performing Commedia in a theatre, we tend to avoid being too far back unless it is necessary, as the audience will feel more disconnected. In the film tests, however, the use of depth was really fun to watch. It made it feel less like a theatre performance being filmed, and more cinematic, like we were looking into another world and watching the character within it. Just as with the framing, there needed to be a lot going on, and the character could not stay far back for too long, but it was definitely engaging, even with the character facing backwards, which we almost never do when performing on stage in a mask. 

Entrances:

One problem we found through these tests, however, was the use of entrances. Because it is less expected to enter from the side in film as you would in theatre, it would pull me out of the experience as a viewer. When playing with the entrances, such as peeking in where the frame begins, it sort of worked better, but we knew that wouldn’t work every time. That is when we began discussing how we will be using editing, and cuts. We filmed a few clips using a cut as an entrance, and it worked extremely well. It ties into the idea of the use of focus, and where you are directing the audience’s eye. With film, you have the freedom to literally change what they are viewing right in front of their face. The result is very strong and clear, and even startling at times, in an exciting way, of course. 

Overall, we were very surprised with how much we really found engaging about watching these masks play in the world of film. We had worried that the action or physicality would not read clearly, but we were wrong. In fact, it seemed more powerful and large. Maybe this is because it is taking a life-size action and putting it onto a smaller screen. You could feel the movement of the characters throughout the space, as it was limited to a box. Any time the characters interacted with anything outside of this box, it was less fun and engaging. We wanted them to be there, in that box, playing with us as the viewers. We were excited by this new box we had discovered to play in.

- ALi

NOTE: Tut’Zanni recently released it’s first masked performance as a film short on YouTube, and has a series of “Bits” on YouTube & TikTok. All of that came after these experiments this piece spoke about.