On A Mission

This week we continued to examine the expansive array of filming and editing techniques used in TV and movies.

One basic principle we have read about in The Bare Bones Camera Course For Film and Video by Tom Schroeppel to achieve a smooth shot transition is to change the image size and camera angle between each shot. I practiced this in our how-to video in combination with changes in image sizes and a few camera angle changes.

A Medley of Cuts

In this clip from the Matrix movie there are numerous examples of “Match on Action” where camera angles change in a single action to create interest and intensity, like when the gun fire switches to a female cartwheeling up the wall to avoid getting shot.

Cutting on action is another popular editing technique where there are film cuts in the middle of an action. This means action shots are filmed more than once from different perspectives and then come together in editing. If the last action of the prior shot is repeated in the subsequent shot, editing can bring the overlapping actions together smoothly.

Cutaways are another technique that draw you to a specific perspective within a scene and then back, whereas Cross-Cutting jumps to different locations, which can build tension.

Another principle we discussed and read about this week is the 180 Degree Rule, which gives guidelines for achieving continuity in the direction people face by creating an imaginary line that shouldn’t be crossed. There are situations where crossing the line is acceptable like cutting on the action, which makes it less distracting.

Editing Techniques

We reviewed other techniques like fading in/out from black and dissolves, which we used in last week’s montage to create a blended effect between the same or different scenes, with jump cuts to help to create a sense of time.

Audio cuts include an L cuts, where the audio from the current scene continues into the following scene. Then the J cut is when the audio from an upcoming scene begins before you get there.

Examples

In one example, we looked at multiple camera angles of someone playing a guitar. The first ten seconds show a ‘rule of thirds’ composed shot of the guitar, the hands as they play and by :12 we see an establishing shot of the man sitting on a rock with the ocean in the background, and jump cuts to the surrounding area, which look like a Castillo in Spain. A close up of his face, with some panning, extra close ups and back to the establishing shot.

A summary of shot types found in the restaurant scene from the 2008 movie The Dark Night are recapped below and there are likely many more. Characters: Harvey, Rachel, Bruce and Natasha:

Shot Types                              Who                           

Rule of Thirds                          Natasha puts menu over Bruce’s eyes (1:49)

Establishing Shot (WS)            Bruce & Natasha         Restaurant surrounds

High Angle Reaction Shot       Rachel’s surprised face upon seeing Bruce

Medium Shot                          Bruce & Natasha, four of them

Close Shot                               Harvey grabsRachels hand

Cowboy Shot                           Between a medium-long shot

Angles (Depth)                        Four of them               :43 restaurant behind.

Framing a Scene                      Rachel                         :019

Shallow Depth of Field            Rachel                         0:19  framed her, blurry background

Panning                                   Harvey, Natasha & jump to Bruce

Long Shot                                Captures person head to toe

There are other examples where movies combine the cuts to help tell the story, which can be previewed here. 

Continue to think about why different camera angles are even important… A – gives an audience perspective. (like an Arial shot, gives a big picture of a cars surroundings

In the following clip from the Matrix movie there are numerous examples of “Match on Action” where camera angles change in a single action to create interest and intensity, like when the gun fire switches to a female cartwheeling up the wall to avoid getting shot.

Create

I decided to turn the annual tradition of decorating a Christmas Tree into this week’s How-To- Video and found a spot in my living room for the tree.

I went for soft diffuse lighting so I used a few lamps including the tall one you see that shines a light up on the ceiling. What I didn’t see when filming was the shadow the lamp creates above the fireplace. You also see a glimpse of the outside and get the sense that the day is coming to a close, which creates a ‘cozy’ effect.

In reviewing, I could have used a some of the techniques we’ve discussed like cutaways to a nearby Poinsettia and more variety in the angles.

Here it is: