Exposition Alfresco
When Dick Wolf said that New York City was an important character in L&O this, I believe, is what he meant.
In this scene Bernard & Lupo share new facts uncovered in the ongoing investigation with A.D.A. Cutter. They stand on the sidewalk amid a bustling morning rush. They talk discreetly, out of Rubirosa’s hearing, because a delicate issue may cast a shadow of doubt in her direction. It’s complicated. Discretion is called for. But she has no idea that they are talking about her while she is getting coffee in the background because the din of the city keeps her out of earshot. Maybe it’s just a movie thing, but isn’t that why spies meet in parks and train stations?
You will find that it is out of your hearing too. Sorry, but it really is a crowded plaza by City Hall, near the Brooklyn Bridge during rush hour on a summer week day. What one hears in that situation, especially through a microphone, is a cacophony, but the Sound Dept isolates the speech of the actors with microphone placement & careful mixing technique. They will record plenty of bustling ambiance to convey the feel of the location, but will also get clear voice tracks so one can hear the dialog. It’s complicated.
For this home movie I’m just holding a point-&-shoot camera and standing as close as I can without being in the way, so you won’t be able to hear the dialog properly.
The cameras are on long (telephoto) lenses, shooting close-ups of the actors befitting the intimacy of the conversation. These twin shots will gently move, one to left, the other to the right, in complimentary angles as the actors speak. It is carefully timed to glide into a wider shot, gathering Rubirosa into the frame as she joins the group, coffee in hand. To make the shots silky smooth, especially on long lens, they are on dolly track, even for such a short move.
