7th of July 2006 – Raleigh announced to the Queen today that he wanted to return to the colony. The Queen displayed a great deal of vulnerability during this scene but I won’t give it away entirely! I would just like to note the way Shekhar chose to shoot this scene as I thought it was rather insightful.

In the beginning of the scene the Queen was stable and in control. As a result the shots of the film were formal and still. As the queen started to reveal her vulnerability however, Shekhar chose to use steadicam to emphasise the destabilized state of the Queen — just like Raleigh, we too were being affected by the Queen’s changing state.
Indeed great directing seems to a fine interplay between guiding actors’ performances and the conception of shots which emphasise the emotional moments of the story. Today’s shots were very impressive and should make this scene a powerful one in the final film. In fact, it’s my favourite scene so far.