AVP CAMERA SHOTS 1

TAKE NOTES ASK QUESTIONS PAY ATTENTION

THEY ARE ALL VERY STRONGLY ENCOURAGED

TAKE NOTES ASK QUESTIONS PAY ATTENTION

THEY ARE ALL VERY STRONGLY ENCOURAGED

CAMERA SHOTS

1

Film and Video Grammar

Film and video grammar is defined as follows:

1.A shot is a single continuous recording made by a camera. (It is analogous to a word in spoken or written grammar.)

2.A scene is a series of related shots. (It is analogous to a sentence.) The study of transitions between scenes is described in film punctuation.

3.A sequence is a series of scenes which together tell a major part of an entire story (such as that contained in a complete movie). (It is analogous to a paragraph.)

A picture has three areas:

• the immediate foreground the part in front

• the middle or action area

• the background area the part behind the subject

The immediate foreground - helps to supply depth to the picture …

this may be a tree limb hanging down to one side of the picture, or flowers, anything that does not take away from the action area.

The middle area is where your people will be; there they do the performing.

The background is the pretty picture - think of this as a photograph - make a really nice shot here. Make sure this picture is not tilted - have all of the vertical lines straight up and down.

Three notes about shot movement:

• You owe it to your viewers not to make them motion sick, unless, of course, that is your goal! Rapid camera movement (pans, tilts, repeated zooms) can make a person feel woozy, and may also prevent them from clearly seeing the video you collected.

• The standard rule with moving shots is this: whenever possible, start your sequence stationary on a subject, then pan/tilt/zoom/ reverse zoom, then hold stationary again. This helps enormously for editing purposes.

Stationary,

Camera move,

Stationary

For example, if you want to move your camera from one end of a mountain range to another, start while focused on one side of the mountain range and hold that shot for three seconds (stationary position), then pan to the other side (slowly enough so the video won't be a blur).

Then stay focused on the other end of the mountain range for three seconds (stationary position). If you edit or cut away in the middle of a pan/zoom/ tilt/reverse zoom, you may make your viewer disoriented.

Stationary, Camera move, Stationary

• In general, use shot movement(s) sparingly. Try to put a still shot (no pan, tilt, or zooming) in between two pans/tilts/zooms. This gives the viewer a moment to get their bearings.

Rule of thumb for shots

• Static (non-moving) shots are best

• Hold each shot for at least 5 seconds

• Don't use the zoom or use it as little and smoothly/slowly as possible!

Notes:

Indecisive cuts and shock cuts

When cutting from a shot to another shot of a different shot size (e.g, from a wide shot to a medium wide shot) while framing the same subject, the difference in image size must be decisive.

If the size of the subject does not change sufficiently, you will get the unpleasant effect of an indecisive cut and the audience will perceive it as a mistake or a distraction.

On the other hand, when cutting from a shot to another shot of a significantly different shot size (e.g, from a wide shot to a close-up shot), you will produce a shock effect which is most likely inappropriate.

The usual compromise is to have a shot of a shot size that is in between the sizes of the two shots (e.g., from a wide shot to a medium shot, and then to a close-up shot).

180 degree rule

If you are using multiple cameras and plan to edit the different shots in a scene into a seamless sequence, an important rule to keep in mind is to place all the cameras on the same side of a line of action.

A line of action is a path which your subject is traveling along or an imaginary line between two characters who are interacting. This rule is called "180 degree rule".

Look at the following camera placements…

If Camera 2 and Camera 3 are used, the audience stays on one side of the line of action. These shots are called "reverse angle shots".

If Camera 2 and Camera 4 are used, the audience crosses the line of action. It's disorienting and confusing

“Safety” or Safety shot

An additional take or shot, done after a successful one, used as a backup.

BIBLIOGRAPHY/REFRENCES/SOURCES

Millerson, Gerald (1988) Video Production Handbook, Focal Press

Mitchell, Wanda (1974) Televising Your Message, NTC Company

Schihl, Robert J. (1989) Single Camera Video, Focal Press

Scientific American (2000) How Things Work Today, Crown Publishers

Steward, Winston (2002) Digital Video Solutions, Muska & Lipman Publ

Zettl, Herbert (1976) Television Production Handbook, Wadsworth Publ

Wurtzel, Alan (1979) Television Production, McGraw Hill Book Company

Videomaker & Computer Videomaker Magazine (various issues)

www.howstuffworks,com

www.mediacollege.com

www.homepage.newschool.edu

www.accad.osu.edu