Each media form has its own set of rules. We can follow these rules to improve our sequences. Creativity comes with the fundamental principles of space, size and scale.
Focus
Focus in a shot can be used to direct the audience’s eyes to wherever the filmmakers want. A change in focus from one subject to another in a single shot is called a ‘rack focus’.
Shot size, angle and movement
- High angle / Low angle / bulls-eye / birds eye / canted angle
- Tracking / Panning / Craning / Tilting / Hand held / Steadicam
- Establishing Shot / Long Shot / Medium Shot / Close-up / Big Close-Up / Extreme Close Up (students often struggle with the first and the last again issues with SCALE, SIZE & SPACE, so practice is really important)
- Insert Shot – focusing on an object in the scene that the audience should draw attention to.
I am intending to use extreme long shots and close-ups in my sequence, as well as some more medium-scaled shots too.
Edit
The process of editing is fundamentally ‘stitching’ together pieces of film.
The key question is WHEN TO EDIT, ie when is it best to move from one shot to another? The answer is usually found in the following list:
- EDIT ON ACTION
- EDIT ON A MATCHING SHAPE, COLOUR, THEME
- EDIT ON A LOOK, A GLANCE, EYELINE
- EDIT ON A SOUND BRIDGE
- EDIT ON A CHANGE OF SHOT SIZE
- EDIT ON A CHANGE OF SHOT CAMERA POSITION (+30′)
Parallel editing is the use of sequential editing (editing one clip to another) allows for a number of key concepts to be produced:
- parallel editing: two events editing together – so that they may be happening at the same time, or not?
- flashback / flash-forward – allowing time to shift
I will attempt to use this method throughout my sequence.
Montage
Condensing a longer story into a few minutes or sometimes seconds of film. Numerous linked shots that clearly display a progressing story.
Shot Progression
Conventional shot progression – to create VERISIMILITUDE (ie realism, believability) usually involves the following shots (although not always in the same order).
- establishing shot / ES, moving to
- wide shot / WS,
- to medium shot / MS,
- to close up / CU,
- to big close up / BCU;
- and then back out again
Shot / Reverse Shot
The Shot / Reverse Shot a really good starting point for students to both think about and produce moving image products. The basic sequence runs from a wide angle master shot that is at a 90′ angle to (usually) two characters. This sets up the visual space and allows the film-maker to to then shoot separate close-ups, that if connected through an eye-line match are able to give the impression that they are opposite each other talking. The shots are usually over the shoulder.