contents

introduction ......................................................................................... ix filmspace ..................................................................................................... 1

Cinematic technique .............................................................................. 2 Subjective and objective POV............................................................. 6 The building blocks of scenes ............................................................. 9 Character shots ...................................................................................... 12 The fine art of cheat ing ....................................................................... 15 The master scene method .................................................................. 17 Transitions ................................................................................................ 19 Coverage ................................................................................................... 22 Plan scene ................................................................................................ 25 Hitchcock's rule ...................................................................................... 26 Triple take or overlapping method ................................................. 27 Montage ................................................................................................... 28 Conclusion: a mixture of techniques .............................................. 28

v i sua I Ia ng uage ..............................................................................29

Design principles ...................................................................................31 The th ree dimensional fie ld ...............................................................34 Depth ......................................................................................................... 34 Forces of visua l organization ............................................................. 37 Film and video composition .............................................................. 43 Basic composition rules for people ................................................. 44

lens language ................................................................................... .45

The lens and the frame ........................................................................ 46 Lens perspective .................................................................................... 47 Deep focus ................................................................................... 48 Compression of space ............................................................ .49 Manipulating perspective ...................................................... 50 Selective focu s............................................................................51 Image control .......................................................................................... 54

camera dynamics ........................................................................ 61

Motivation and invisible technique ................................................62 Types of moves .......................................................................................64 Moving shots .......................................................................................... 66 Camera mounting ................................................................................. 68 Dolly terminology ................................................................................. 69 Cra nes ........................................................................................................ 72 Car shots ................................................................................................... 74 Aerial shots .............................................................................................. 75 Other types of camera mounts ........................................................ 76 Steadicam .................................................................................... 76 Motion control........................................................................................??

cinematic cont inuity ............................................................. 79

Types of continuity ............................................................................... 80 Continuity of content .............................................................. 80 Continuity of movement ........................................................80 Continuity of p osition .............................................................. 81

Continuity oftime ..................................................................... 81 The line ......................................................................................................83 What establishes the line? .....................................................84 Screen direction .....................................................................................84 Deliberately breaking the rules ............................................8S Reverse .......................................................................................... 87 Cheating the turnaround ....................................................... 88 Cuttability ................................................................................................. 90 Other issues in continuit y .................................................................. 90 Introductions .......................................................................................... 96 Other editorial issues in shooting ................................................... 98 Jump cuts .....................................................................................98 The six types of cuts ............................................................................. 99

exposure ................................................................................................. 103

Light as energy .................................................................................... 104 F/ stop ...................................................................................................... 104 Exposure, ISO and lighting relationships ................................... 104 Inverse square law and cosine law ................................... 1OS ISO speeds ................................................................................ 1OS Light and film ....................................................................................... 106 Densitometry ........................................................................... 109 Brightness perception .......................................................... 11 3 Contrast ..................................................................................... 11 3 Determining exposure ..................................................................... 116 The tools ................................................................................................ 117 The Zone System ................................................................................ 11 8 The grey scale .................................................................................... 121 Place and fall ............................................................................ 124 Exposure and the camera .................................................... 12S

color theory ...................................................................................... 127

The nature of light.. ............................................................................ 128 Color perception ..................................................................... 129 Th e color w heel ................................................................................... 131 Hue, chroma and value......................................................... 133 Color mixing ............................................................................. 13S Complementary ..................................................................... 13S Adva ncing and retreating color ........................................ 13S Film and video colorspace .............................................................. 13S Color harmo nies & t he interaction of color .............................. 13S Colo r models........................................................................................ 138 Add itive colors ........................................................................ 138 Subtractive colors .................................................................. 138 The CIE color syst em ............................................................. 139 Digital and electroni c color ............................................................ 140

the tools of lighting ............................................................ 141

HMI .......................................................................................................... 142 Xenons.................................................................................................... 14S Carbon arcs ........................................................................................... 146 Tungsten fresnels ............................................................................... 147 PARs ......................................................................................................... 149 HMI PARs................................................................................................ 1S1
vi

Soft lights .............................................................................................. 151 Color corrected fluorescents .......................................................... 151 Cycs, strips, nooks and broads........................................................ 152 Chinese lanterns and spacelights ................................................. 153 Self contained crane rigs ................................................................. 154 Lekos ....................................................................................................... 154 Balloon lights ....................................................................................... 154 Portable units ....................................................................................... 155 Day exteriors ........................................................................................ 156

lighting as storytelling .................................. ................. 157

Origin s of motion picture lig hting ............................................... 159 Film noir ..................................................................................... 159 Light as visual metaphor ................................................................. 161

control Iing color ....................................................................... 167

Color temperature .............................................................................. 168 Color balance of film ......................................................................... 170 Correcting light balance .................................................................. 171 Light balancing filters ....................................................................... 171 Correcting off-color lights ............................................................... 174 Styli stic choices in color control... ................................................. 176

optics ............................................................................................................ 177

Physical basi s of optics ..................................................................... 178 F/ stop ...................................................................................................... 179 Focus ....................................................................................................... 180 Circle of confu sion ............................................................................. 182 Depth-of-field ...................................................................................... 183 How not to get more depth-of-field ................................ 183 Hyperfocal distan ce ............................................................... 184 Macrophotography ........................................................................... 187 Frazier lens and Revolution ............................................................. 191 Lens tests............................................................................................... 192

video and high def. ................................................................ 193

Basics of video ..................................................................................... 194 The video signal ...................................................................... 194 Th e waveform monitor and vect orscope ...................... 197 SMPTE color bars .................................................................... 198 Th e vectorscope ..................................................................... 199 Setting up a color monitor .............................................................. 201 Th e PLUGE ................................................................................. 201 Camera w hite balance ...................................................................... 202 Analog and digital colorspace ....................................................... 203 Digital video encoding ..................................................................... 204 Is it broadcast quality? .......................................................... 205 Tim ecode and edgecode ................................................................. 205 Video frame rate ..................................................................... 205 Drop-frame and non d ro p-frame ..................................... 206 Shooting High Def video ................................................................. 208 10 things to remember when shooti ng High Def.. .... 210 Lighting for Hig h Def video ............................................................ 210 Shooting digital video ...................................................................... 211

vii

Transferring video to film ................................................................ 212 NTSC and 3:2 pulldown ....................................................... 212 Prepping for telecine ............................................................ 21 2

image control .................................................................................219

Color printing ....................................................................................... 220 Controlling color and contrast... .................................................... 221 How flashing works ............................................................... 221 Vari con ....................................................................................... 222 Bleach bypass and other processes ............................................. 225 Ski p bleach ............................................................................... 228 Exposure compen sation in bleach-bypass ................... 228 Other techniques ................................................................................ 228 Cross processing ..................................................................... 228 Printing negative as interpositive .................................... 229 Transfer from print ................................................................. 229 Filter types ............................................................................................ 231 Diffusion and effects filters ................................................. 231 Nets ............................................................................................. 232 Contrast filters ......................................................................... 233 Conversion filters................................................................................ 236 Using filters in black-and-white photography ......................... 238 Polarizers ............................................................................................... 238 Density filters ....................................................................................... 238

set operations ................................................................................ 241

The shot list .......................................................................................... 243 The Director of Photography ......................................................... 244 The team ................................................................................................ 245 Camera crew ............................................................................ 245 Electricians ................................................................................ 251 Grips ............................................................................................ 251 Set procedures .................................................................................... 254

technical issues ............................................................................ 2s1

Sun location with a compass ......................................................... 258 Flicker ...................................................................................................... 260 Filming practical monitors .............................................................. 263 Chroma key and Ultimatte .............................................................. 265 Lighting for bluescreen/ greenscreen ............................. 266 Dimmers ................................................................................................ 268 Working with strobes ........................................................................ 270 High speed photography ................................................................ 272 Lighting for extreme close-up ....................................................... 272 Underwater filming ........................................................................... 273 Effects ..................................................................................................... 275

professional formats ..............................................................283 acknowledg ments ...................................................................... 289 bi bl iog ra phy ........................................................................................ 290

fi Imogra phy ......................................................................................... 292

index ............................................................................................................... 293
viii

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1 HF OP ANL> Hf DIRIOOR Jt, a gr~.lt ~\h."tll th" ~n(m k~l~~ bas~ \"f the c-in~m'"'tt.lph~r tn..:r l.iJh '' uh th~ ~nl'" h.,l!-!l.' J,~"\4,. ,,f th~ ,tm.:..:lor The ~lfh:m.ah'J:!:raph...r nlll'l h.a'"' a ,,,Jult:muli.lnt~ "nh the: tcnw. ami ...,ln\'CJ'h ,,,. dlf\.'l'l mg. o.~nd lh~o more .a .Jtr..:..:rur k1W\\ .. ab\'11 ..:mem.m.,~!rJJ'h) th~o nwrl." h~o 'r 'h" "all h.!''""-' ht utih1c lh..:-.c too), and l.''l~~all~ h.. ~ncr ,quoppcd tu full) "'''""the~"''" ledge and tJknt ,oLo~u<>d I> I' \n) -.ut.....:c,... tul thl\.'4..'1'-'' \\lllldl \Hll th;,tl on~. of the n..al ,C'UCl' Hf thn..~t Hit" h h~m~ .1hh. 1u r ...ntgllJ;" ... nHirna'\lnluc "h~n 1.:\\:'1"\ 'h:mh.. of

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thesl' lan~ua!.!.C'S and ' lKal,ularic~ is a ne' cr-cnJi ng and tl lil St'IIMtJilg li fe- lOng ~tudy. As ,,ith an} language. you can t~~ il 10 comp<h-.:: dear and informatl\ c proo;;c or 1 0 crcalc \'ISUal po.:1ry. \\'hilL-'' idding these toob lo tUlly utilize the lnnguagt.~ of cmemt~. there are. of course. <:ontinuou ~ ~Hld unyielding l cc h n lc~ ll rcqum.: ments: it is up the DP to cnqm: thai 1hcs-.:: r-.::qu in:mcnh ar~ mtt and lhnt nollnng gels .. sere\\ cd up ... Those r-.::quir.:mcuh 31\.' .:o' creU h..:rc a -.\\ L'IL <b not on ly are the) a n integral part of the job. but ma n) se~.:111i n~ly mechanical requi rement:- can also be used as forms of ,i... ual expre~sion as \\ell. T h is is \\ hy it is imponant lOr the dirc~ wr to h~l' c at lea:-,l a passmg knowh;dgc o r thc-..c tt.:chmca I 1 'sucs Another reason is that mnnv less C'=pcnenccd d1n:cwr-. '' 1ll !.!.Ct th~.:m schcs into Irouble by ~1skir;g. for ....omctlu ng 1ha1. fiu purd) [uac:t i~:~d n.:ason:-., I' not <l g ood id~a in l CI'Jlb Of time. budget. <"qUiplllCill or
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T h1' is not l<l ~uggcst that --~ d ire<.tul' slhmltl e\ ..: r demand k ::...., lhan the hcst or . . ettlc ib 1 le~s than their 'ision the point is 1hat by t. no,, ing more about \\hat is irl\'ohed on the lechn icnl stdc. the director CHH make better choice' ~llld can \VOrk \\'1 1h (hCtr Dr) l tl th ink of solutwns that (HC bcHer ..;ui tcd to the -.iiUati(lll ;md < lllcu ar~ nen more\ isunl ly cxpre:,si,c Ihan Ihe te:ehruqu~.: origmally Cl>JKei\t'd.
I DON'T NEED NO STINKING RULES It i...: ~;~n ~..l ld ;mel \\ell-worn -...ay ing llwt yon ...,h<ltlld " klhm 1he 1ules he fnn.: \OU hr~o:<1 k thLm. I his is llC\ <1' more true th~m in fihnmaJ..mg. Ne:uly e\'CI'y ''orking fi lm profC:,siona l can tell ::.LOries of fi rstt ime d irect0r.:-. '' ho declared dun. "J know thm 's the wav n ... usuall \ done. but I' m goint; w do somcth111g diflt:rcnt." Somct;rr11.:-. ( rarL"'y~) th(; rcsu ll..; arc bnl liant. C\ ~n \ iswnar\ . r-..1<lre nfi.cn, the\ are disa . . troth. rhc prohfcm I'\ Ihat. unhJ..L' ne:,trl) e\t.:ry (llhL'I drt l(;nll. in fillll. "th)ing it o\ Lr" 1..., L':O.. trL:mely t'.\ J)t'n...,i\ c and sometime,;:-, im po::.sibk I\ I ) 0 1' the hasiC rule-. ( l f fj )mrn;}k ing CX hl fi> r t!OUd rL'<ISOib: thL'\ nrc Ihe re:-.,l lt of I(I() yt.:ar-. pracliL .;ll L''\)1l'ricu<.:e .md l':O..f>I.Timent;llion . Can \ l)U lw.:ak the rules: ab:,olutclv! Great fi lmmakers do it H ll the time. 6cKe vuu llL"~t on I\' kilO\\ 1he niles butund('r.>.wncl Hh\ the\ .Ji,l. it is possible to ll"C c.l' \ il)l<ltlOn nf th\!m a' a pm' crful tO<'I.

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THE S COPE OF TH IS BOOK \\ hat does lhe cinematographer need to know ;:thuul filmmaJ..mg m order to ck\ 1he JOb propcrl y'! ;\ lrn(hl c\cryl h111g. The k nowledge ha~e encompe1sse::. lenses. exposure. t'ompo~mon. tuntinuit}. t:'Jitorial needs. ligh ting, g.np. color. the lan!_.!uagc l>flht.: camera. C\Cil the bas1c dement:-. of~tory structure. J'hc _ ioh "shtrytcJhng \\ it h Ihe c~nnera. and th..: murl.' y<lU l..ll<l\\ abnut the c kmeut.... o f that art LhL better you'' ill be able h) a~~ i...,t the director in accom plishing tho~e gl)a)s. The DP need not command all these 1echmquc... m the k\ el of detail of the ed itor. Ihe '' ntcr or Ihe key gnp. hu1thcrc must be a llrm underslil ndmg uftlu.: hasu.:s a nd more unportantl~ tht fUbsthiliti<'." th..: tool..., and thLir potL'IHial t< l ...,Lne the ... tory telli ng
and the\ i~i on the dir~.:ctor. Tin..; i-. c~pcci(lll\' Irue a" Ih..: task of < hrt.:etm !! I' mort: .uul morL ~Jccc-..siblc tn \\ rit~r-.. actor-. <-ind othL'I' ''ho m~~\' not ha\C a:') b1oaJ ~~ txu.: kground 111 phy!-.ieal produtlilm ~111d th~. ' i;ual siU c of stOI) lCIIi n~. In thi..., :'ituation. hei n~ tl D P " ho ha:-. a thorouch command ol the entire ~cope of filmmaking but 1s able and \\'ill i~lg to \\drk ~~sa collaborator \\ ithout tryin:;. to impose thc1 r own ' 1 ston m pl at:(,' ol the director-. 1~ a ;,J rong. .Jv..,L'l. B) till same 10ke1l. to hcnt' a !Cputal ltJH

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cinematographer is still I engage in the

endles~

a~sociated

in many people\

1niud~

''ith 'il -

' cr-bnsed emulsio n. I also usc lhe term ' ideogmpher "her~ npprorriaL e or thl' mor~ gcncr~ll term " director of photogr:1 p hy.'' \lor d(l

argument o,:er \v hich f011na1 is ..beuer"

film. video. High Dcf2-W ;md digiwl ,ideo nre dillcrcnlloob for dil~ fcrent joh~. \Vhcncver 1here is more 10 the decisu)u than j u't money. the direc1or o f pholograph) should be invol,ed in the choice or IC.>rm<lt and has I he re.;ponsibility 1 0 he <t rclh1ble con~uhanl to I he di rector and the producer conccnling \\ hich one i:-. most appropriate

ror a particular project

Abo. despite its long and venerable hi ~lo ry. the term came1..111lan" is no longer appropriate . I usc director of photography. carncrJper'on or <~l tcrnalc gender r~.:fcn.:ncc' ilb lcad. The same a pp lic' 1 0 otha posilions as \\ ell. as the jobs of director, ed itor, gaf1'er.
ekc(rici:~n

<md t..:\t..:n gnp ha\'e bet:omc i ncr..:~1smgly open to women and pcopk rrom all cu ltures and backgr0unds. A NOTE ON THE ILLUSTRATIONS :Vlan) of the illustrations here are rrom the filnb of areal director' ...m;h. a' Stan ley Kubr ick, Or-.nn V/l.!llcs and ,\k ira K l1 rosawot Thi~ may :-iCCm to be an endorsement of a 10rmali ~t aud h ig h ly 'tyl11~.:-d

type of filmmaking or one in \\ hich e' ery shot need:-. to be a pre<.: lou:..

lillie gcrn

pcr fcclly Ill a nd cxqUJsllcly \\ dl comp<l,._:d

\Vhile [ do admi1c these great filmmaker~. the primar;t rea!-Oil :-.o mn nv of the illustrauons are drawn from lheir fi hn~ is more in ... truction31. not only do they ~en cas C.\ cellent e~ample~ of fra ming. composH Jon. usc of lens. blocking and color. but more imporlantl) )OU kncm th<ll lH)th inl!, in the fr~unc is an accidcnl il I ' easier IO 1 (1110\\ the choices that tf1ey made in order to sene their ~tory. Making C\er) fra me a Rembrandt can he a \cr) satis l) ing Jrll'-lic

challenge. but there arc a nearly infinite number uf pos.!)ible \'i!)ual s1ylcs; ca<.:h one 1<.. Yalid for its own r\.!a:-.on~ Ihe opportunll y 1 0 c~plore many di J Te1ent ~tyles and filmmaking aL ~thet ic~ i ~ one of the main th ings I hal makes 'his job "0 interesting

:x.ii

Film

IS

a dream- but whose?

B u e l(aw.,

film space

CINEMATIC TECHNIQUE

1.1. (previous page) The Lady From Shanghai (Colum6ia Pictures, 1948) 1.2. (top) Scene from an early silent film (Quo Vadis, 1909) - literally a filmed play on a stage set. 1.3. (above) One of the earliest pieces of film publicly exhibited - a train arrives. Shot by the Lumiere brothers.

When the motion p1 cturc cumcra ,,a-.. Ill\ entcd in the late nmetcenth centu ry. the first efTorb \\ere straight fon\ ard prc:-.cntations of ... implc C\ ent:-.: a man -..ncc;ing, "mker~ ka\ ing the I~JCIOI). a tralll pull111g into the station. ~ hen the fi lmmaker" turned to dramatiC pn:-,entatio n ~. lhC) COIH.:Ci\ cd of them lh ""fi lmcd play:-"" they po-,itJOlled the came ra as 1fll ''ere a member of the audience -..cated in the auditorium. In th h lypc of film. )'OU can nc,er get tma~ fmmthe feeling ) ~)U are look111g at the ~cenc fhHn th i'> detached. nnper-.onal point of \ le\\. It i-, an ea~) analog) to sa) that 1h1~ proscenium approach to -..lllloting i~ much li ke fi lming a pia) (Figure-, I~ and 1..1). but there are important JiiTcrcnccs: \\hen \ic,,ing a pia) you arc still ... eclllg three-di mensiona l object~, albell at a distance and more Important!), the actors (<!s ide liom mi mes) -.peak. Fairly early on, filmmaker" began to rca li7c that the ll atncss of the screen and Its other llmitatio~b demanded more. Their fir-.1 rc~pon~c "as to break the acllon up into '>hoh and sequences of shots: this i" sometime-, call ell -.cpara tion .. \~ SllOn a-. the idea Of -.hots IS introduced It is clear that a logical and e\prc~'>IVC arrangement of the shoh and -.equcnce" 1 " essent ial. "hots arc ""fragmenh ol"realit) ... II i-. the filmmaker \\ho dec ides \\ lllch fragments anu Ill \\hat oruer the auuience \\Ill sec the mcrall real it)~ It i'> the fi lmmaker" ho Jecllic-, that 1h1" p1cce and that p1ecc are" hat thc audtence sees anu 111 "hat order the::. o.,ec them. It i~ not unl 1 kc the old parable of thc three hlinu men louLhmg an e lephant to untkNand "hat it i" like '-llllcc each onc touchcs a difdca ferent part of the elephant. each onc has a complete!) dJili:rcnt 1 or\\ hat the\\ hole anllnall~ like. hlmmakin!.! i'> a little like the idea of -..nmeonc gu1d111g the threc men . first thl~ part. Ignore that part thcn touch thi-; part. and "o on. In th1" "H). all three blind men" 111 hn'e thc !'-.amc idea of\\hat the \\hole clephant i~ l1kc. But 1t \\Ill be the idea that the !.!Uide \\llllts them to ha\C. and it 1\on't nece..,:-.anh be the ""true"" picii.1rc of'' hal an ckphant 1s rca II: like. \1 me important!) he C<Jn change that point of\ ic\\ a" he\\ l"hc" gi\ en the -..a me clcphant, do;cn-; of dJITcrenl points or\ lei\ arc po-,-;iblc. f"h1-. I'- th1. C'>SCnL'C or ClllCillLI. rhc -,et \\ 1th the prop'> and actor-.. on it I'> J thrcc-dlmCihlonal real it\. It i" \\hat 11 1'>. lh clllHl" ing "hat piece" ofthi'> rcailt) the audlt:llcc "ees and arrang1i1g the m 111 a certain Llrder. the filmma~cr mtroduce'> a pomt or, IC\\ . lmaginL' 1fthc fi lmmaker ha-, a llttlc 'IC\\cr made of cardboard . It "illt illlik~. a truncated. ti.1ur ... ided p~ ranml (I 1gure 1.5 ) "hich i" rcmlnl..,ccntnf the ""per-.pecll\ .11 <~pparatu-, .. u-.ed b) arll"h as ... hm\ n 111 th1 " ..,~.en~. from Petcr(,recna\\a) .., Tlu /)raughNIIa/1\ cu/ltnut(llgurc IAI The auu1encc \\Ill .thHI)" ...ce \\hat I'> at the -.mall end (lrthc hn\.

1.4. The "perspectival apparatus" from Peter Greenaway's The Draughtsman's Conrract (BFI. United Artists Classics. 1982) the fundamental idea of selecting a viewpomt and defining a frame. Cinematography

(In actual it) th~:' II:\\ tha11-. proj~:cted onto the rectangle at the !:>mall end orth~.: bo\ I'> r~.:cordcd on lilm or vid~:otape or digitalm~:dium or whale\ cr. but l~.:t._ forget about the technical ~ tu IT for nO\\. enough of that later. J For no'' let'-. just think of it a~ an eyeball that mO\ c:around '' ith the bo\. and the C) e ma) be open or clo~ed "bile the bo\ 1~ being mm cd around its our choice. We tell the eye \\hen to open and \\hen to clo~e: ''c ..edit .. ib perception ofthc !.>Cenc.
A SIMPLE SCENE \)\\ let\ take a little scene: a tree. a broad horizon '' ith a sunset. a man and a ''oman ( rigur~: I .6 ). If'' c ju~t take the 'iev\ cr and put it 0\1-:r here. "'c arc making one choice. A~ide from that we have no other inllucncc O\ cr ''hat the audi ence -.ccs (in thi~ example). -\nd that\ ht)\\ mo~l people would respond if you a~ked them . .. \\hat do ) ou sec.. lo~t '' ould sa) ... a man. a ''oman and a tree. On I:-. 11 you asked them ... What time i~ itT \\OUid they probably then sa\ . .. \mund ... un-.ct. .. I r \ llU 1110\ cd the \IC\\ cr so the hori;on \\a<; m'another place and the ~unset not 'i~iblc they probably '' ouldn 't C\ en be able to -..a) ''hat time 1t i~. But that\ unpmlalll I:\ en by mak111g that one choice of" h~:rc on the perimeter \\C put the' ic\\er. we arc already influencing \\hat the aud1cnc.:c perccl\ c-.. 1 akc 11 one step further. put the 'ic\\Cr -..o that the man i!:> lmldcn b)' the tree: -..udden l) 11\ a 'Cl) dlflCrent ...n~nc \\here before 11 m1ght ha\l: been pcrhap~ a picnic. it's 110\\ a \\Oman lllll rn the \\Oods alone\\ ith a dog. Is <>he lonely'! 1... !:>he in danger'' \\c don'tlla\e much 111ronnation )Cl and it COUld be a lot or thing-.. but CCr!Jinl) our perception of\\ hat may be happcn1ng \\ill be di llcrent than bcll.m:. \\hat \\ c hil\ C done is chani!C the framinl!. Framing 1s the fir'>l clement of composition (Figurc~l.7 and 1.10). rram1ng irnohc-..two choice~ : P1ck1ng a pos1tion from which to\ ie'' the scene. j..,{llatlng '>Omc part of II 10 look at. Let\ th1nk about that second part. We ''ant to dwo~c not just the angle rrom \\ hich the -.ccnc i~ \ ie\\ ed. but \\ hcthcr they sec all or it orjust a pan of it I Iuman '1sion. includ1ng peripheral\ ision. W\cr!:> rough!\ I XO": let .., u...c that ~"' our ddinition of "all of it. .. lim\ do \\C cha.ngc hO\\ much and\\ hat part Of the -;ccnc they\\ ill sec'! \Veil. ''c take out our malic knife and make a nC\\ \ ie\\er. We either mnke a b1g '' 1dc one or a long narro\\' one. The little end do~:sn't change -.hape or si/e. (The -..hape and -..i;c of 1.5. (top) A basic viewing device. the lillie end i... {lUr a-.pect ratro. An almo'>t squan.: one 1s Academy and a shorter but \\ldcr one "'Cincma<>copc but \\ell talk about 1 .6. (middle) Our basic scene. aspect rnt1os in another place.) The big ''ide one is a like a '' idc- 1.7 . (bottom) Selecting a place from to vrew the scene and how an!.!k lens (Fiuurc I.Xl and the lonl! IHIITO\\ one i-. li ke a lonl! which much of it we see establishes the focal length len-. (f igurc 1.9). Witho~t mm in!!. ''c affect '' hethc~ ''proscenium" in the perception of the audi~ncc sec-.. a ~lot of the -..ccne or .JUSt tl piece of it. \-. the the audience. \ ie\\ er b~.:come-.. longer and narTO\\ ~:r. it becomes more important hO\\ much \\C .run it left or riuht nO\\ we arc really i-..olating certain part-. or the '>L'Cne. ~ , ~ If\\~.: take the long' ie\\ cr and po111l1t at the sun. then the fir~tth1ng the: sec I'> just a -.unset. Right U\\ll) thi-. ~cts a certain mood and con\CY'- important information: not just \\hat time it is. but that \\e arc 111 a place'' here _you can -.cc a beautiful sunset. which almo-.t certa1nl~ 1s a good place: after all. 11 ha-. a great 'ie\\. If the ne-xt thmg \\C '>CC i-.. a -.hot of the couple ki~~1ng. nght a,,.a). ''e kno'' 11.., a beautiful da y and thi-.. couple is enjoying it and arc probabl) in lmc. But ''hat1fthc next shot i-;olates the man and \\C 110\\ ..,cc he i-. \\eannl! banda!!c-. mer hi-.. C\e~: oh. ''hat a -.ad irony: it\ a beautiful ... un~ct. but l11-.. c:cs arc dtm1aged. 1-.. he pennancntly blinded'? 1 -. the woman hio; lm cr or his nur-.c'? ot on I] do\\ c get nC\\ inli.mna11011. \\C get 11C\\ emotions. and perhap~ most importantly: we ask llC\\ que..,IIOn'> I"h1.., 1-; crucial it i-. part or'' hat make:. a narrati\ e

fi lm space 3

!i lm Ji tli:n:nt from a docunH:ntar\ : so much () r \\hat \\ ~ do \\ lth fi I111 t~chnllJU~ Ill\ oh ~s not just com~) 1ng. sekct~d information hut abo 1111po:-mg -.,ubtc\t and cmotionalcont~nton 11.
QUESTIONS AND EXPECTATIONS

1.8. (top) A wide angle v1ewing device.

1.9. bottom) A narrow v1ewer. 1.1 0. (right) The viewer Within a

frame from The Draughtsman's Contract.

( memat1c techn1que "'\er~ much ,tbout -,~111ng. up qu~-,twn-., ,tnJ ~'pectnliOih in th~ nud1cncc., m1nd . \\h) 1s he bl1nd? Is sh~ n:-.pon'>lhk for hi-, accttknt'? 'v\'<h 1t lklib~rat~'! Or I'> -,he the nur-,~ \\ lw ti:ll 1n lo' e \\ 1th him! b th1-, IO\ c -.tot'\ ~OttH! to tum out \\ ondcrt'ulh or '' 1th terrible sadnco.,s'? \II fromt\,o-:_hot~ 1fthl'~ arc donl' rt!.!ht. It 1-. manipulattng the shob and their s~qu~ncc tn a''"::> that-.ch up th~-,c quc-,ttOih ami C'\pcctatiOih that di-.ttng.ulshcs sttnpl: ---.hoot111!.! .. from cin~ma It 1s not a -,mall diiYer~nc~. 11 1-. a 'ast chasm; 11 1-.. th~ dirtcrcncc bet\\ccn \Ideo on the e\Cilln!.! ne''" and an \lt'rcd llitchcock tnO\ 1c. Scttmg up quc-,tiolh 111 th~ audiciH:c-. m1nd 1s \\hat kc~p:- them in\ oh cd in the -.to~. I h~:- ~:- true of an: llkrar\ lonn. \\ hether it be th~ nm ~I. a theatrical pia~ m a -..hort '>Wr\ It' thl' aud1cncc 1 sn't alway-, suhconsc1ou-.l~ a-.king. th~ question ... 1 \\Onder \\hat ''"I happen nc\1'.1 ''~II. :llu,~ lo-..t ~m
Altering The Viewer's Percept1on

If that qu~-,tion Isn't al\\ a:.., prc-.,cnt there an: I\\ o '' ord-. to dc-,cnbc bonng and predictable Hut the other clement 1-.. ~' cnmon: Important. B: -,ctttng up certain e'\pcctatlt>ns in the auJ1cncc ., mtnd. : ou can th~n manipulat~ tho-..c question.., and c\pcctallon-, Let\ take our scene. II itlumt mo1ing uu1 1ieH cr but only us1ng the'' 1dcr on~. the mcdtum one or the lon1! narTO\\ one. "~can arranuc -,hob tn the li.llltm 1ng ..,l'qucnc~: ~ ~ I llng -..hot: a minJ<.:ulous sunset.\\ hat a beautiful day. \\ 1dc ..,hot of I\\ o p~oplc look mg. at th~ '>Uih~t: an 1d: llic l,tJllbcapc: a dog -..k~p:- pcaccfull) ncarh: (los~ on: the man's f~tc~. lie i:- \\ canng handa~t.:s thm mdleatc a t~rnbk. pos-..1bl: bl1nding tllJUr) t() his L')~"( lose on the ''oman k~:--..c-.. htm lm ingh and Ia\-.. her head on h1-.. -,boulder. ~ So rar \\0\\, \\hal a great gal but \\ho "~he! ~he IO\C ... him tk!->ptl~ h~:- ternblc afl'lictlon '\~real h)\e stor). C\en if a \cr: -..ad llnc \ que-,11011 and an e'\pectatton lllhC on: h~r hand reaches 1nto her pockt.:t and pull-.. out a \l'r\ d~adh looking knil\: \\e folio\\ as -..he ra1sc" 11 ttmard ~ his-head. Clos~ on: her face as sht.: ... tar~s at hun. ller eve-. arc !!11111. hl'r l~tec ten-..e. Our C\peetauon ha.., b~cn compktd~ tun1ed on it-.. head. But nm\ \\ ~ ha' ~another ~'\peetation lwmicidc. \\ h~ ts -..he domg it'? -'\nother quc-.uon
ll'

cinematography

.'he u-.1.!, the ~nile to cut hi ... banda!!e!>. lie look:-, at the '>Unsl.!t and hi.! can ">CC. I k kl'>~cs her. Quite a little :-,tor): hurpines:-,. sadness. IO\C. su~pen:-,e. fear and loathing. then linall) complete jo) and aga111 IO\ e. All in se\ en ::,hots. Thro" in a ~hot or a Jog and ) ou' e got a he IILl\ a picture. Th1-. kind ol" turn1ng expectation~ on their head i::, often used in it-. mo:-.t ob\ 1ous form in horror film-.: Clo... e on: a girl loob around 111.!1"\0USI). rcarfull). Clo:-.e on: a hand grabs her shoulder. ( lo-..e on. -..he scrl.!am-.. in ti.!ITOr! \\ " ide shot: both of them. It\ her bo) fiicnd . \\'har makes thi-.. di ffercnt than ir \\ e had ju~t do ne it a one :-,tat ic ''ide -.hot? What technique or cim:rna ha' e "e used here'! uppose \\chad done it all <h just one "ide shot'? 1:\ en though ::,he i:-, looking around and 1t:-. dar~. the" hole time \\C sec this big friendly looking guy standing behind her. '>tnil ing. ure he grabs her shoulder and ... he"s -.tartled. but clear!) it\ non-dangerou-. and innocent. . o "hat ir she look-, a little ncn ou::,, "hat could she be concerned about that\ any \\or:-,c than ma)bc she thinks she sa\\ a rat? It\ a completely different ec111.:: no quest ions, no expectations and certain!) no rC\Cr:-.al of e\pCClations . .....,0\\ we're read) for the ne\t technique. The ne\l ... tcp i... crucial. a::, i:-, an analog) for the ne\t significant inno\atlon in film technique. Let\ ta~c our collection or' ie" cr.., and "a lk around an)" here" e \\ant 1nthe scene. otonl) can "e isolate piece:-, and -.ho'' them in an) order "e "ant; "e Gill no\\ ... ee each i-.olatcd piect: from a ui 1:. li:rent angle. We ca n also mo\e higher or lo" t:r (Figure 1.11 ). \\ e can -.tan "llh a clo~e 'ie" or something and mo' e to another clo-;e 'ic". \\ c can 'it art \\ ith a do!-tc 'ie" and mo\e bac~ to 'icc a witkr 'ie\\. We can tilt the' ic\\t:r so that" hat the audience sees is off-kilter or Ji..,ont:nting. The po~::.ibilitics arc limit lee.,~ . There arc t\\o more important clement to add be li.>re \\C 1110\C on. \Ve ha' c to add ~omcthing to our 'iewer analogy. It is no longer a nO\\ it's real optics. Thi:-, mean-. that a~ the bo:-. cardboard box ge t~ longer and Ita ITO\\ cr. the perception of dt:pth gch -..hallo\\ er things -;ccm compre ...::.ed. clo-;cr together (" e 11 ta l ~ about \\ h~ in the chapter on Optin). ot onl) docs the perception comprc:-.sion of-.pacc get greater. but e\en ift\\O thing::. arc fa irly close together (one behind the other) one of them" 111 locus and the other io.,n't. As \\e .. hall sec. focu-. i... an important -.torytclling tool. A-, the bo:-. gets\\ ider and ~horter. the opposite happen-.: the perception of the depth of the 'ie\\ expands. T\\ o things. one behind the other. C\ en 1r the) arc close together in reality, " ill no" seem to be ~epa rated by a great distance, but both of them " ill still be 1n l(>cus. Let\ ta~c these little cardboard' ie\\ers as our ana log) andre' ic" "hat "c can do "1th them. Change the pu~ition from ,.,hich \\C sec the sct:nc. l.:;olatc certain pa rts of the scene. 'vlo' e from one i-.olated part to another. :\lo'e the \IC\\ higher or In\\ cr. Change the perception of dept h.
L~.:t-. g1' c n a name thi-. method or :-,eparating the thr~.:c-dimen -..ional real it) into piece~ and ~hO\\ ing them to the audie nce in an arranged order. Let\ call it li lmspacc. 1-tlm:-.pace i::. a diiTcrcnt "ay of' ie" ing a real cene. In fact it i::. a whok collection of way::. or, ie\\ ing a real thrt:c-dimcnsional scene. And don ' t forget that "e can tell the Iittlc eye to clo:-,e whi IL "c change to a di Oi:rcnt 'ie\\ cr or mo' e it to a di lie rent place. Thi

'
1. 11 . The basic scene can be viewed from a nearly infinite variety of points of view and lens lengths.

FILMSPACE

filmspace

means that we can take any or tho c different vie"' s and put them in any order we want. Filrnspace. then. is a means of using 'visual manipulation to take real space and real objects and look at them. perceive them and feel about them in many different ways - ways that we can command. We have control. but control can also be a dangerous thing. ll erc\ the issue. It is possible to shoot these views in a way that only confuses. annoys and frustrates the audience. And this is where we reach the confluence and overlap of what the director docs, '"hat tl1l' cinematographer docs and what the editor does. The cinematographer has a primary responsibility. which is to get all the shots the director needs; all the pieces that arc needed to tell the story. There i another requi rement: they have to prO\ ide what the editor needs as well. (For purposes of this discussion we \\"ill assume that the director is not involved in the editorial process. which is someti mes the case in projects such as series tel evision. ) If how we make a fi lm work is a language, then the types of shots are our voca bulary- there has to be a grammar of how these pieces of the language fit together. There arc a number of rules of grammar that shots have to follow in order to be usable by the editor. It is possible to get any number or reall y great shots: good lighting. good camerawork, terrific acting, etc. that the edi tor simply has to throw away because she simply can "t usc them.
SPATIAL ORIENTATION IN PROSCENIUM SHOOTING

As we di cu. sed. in the earl y da ys of cinema, dramatic films were conceived as recorded theater: everyth ing was viewed a if it were happening on a proscenium stage. In the theater. the audience si ts in front and can clearly discern the right/left and front/back or the stage. That spatial orientation remains fixed the entire time (Figure
1.12).

The camera merely took the place of the audience and nc\ cr moved in relation to the scene before it. If the front door or the house was on the right side, it never moved; it was always on the right. Ir the train tracks were going left to head west, they never moved: there was no possibility of deviation from the set scheme or directions as long as the camera docsn "t move. The fi lmspaee was simply the three-dimensional world projected on the two-dimensional proscenium frame Uust as in theater), but this frame wa static. definitively bounded and perceptually A at. A great deal of the progress in fi lm technique has been the movement away from th is , implistic methodology. Indeed. a ycar-by-year study of the progression of camera movement. cutting and pacing wo uld constitute a major part of the story of the history of filmmaking, as wou ld an analysis of the progress from flat, bland, featureless lighting to almost "anything goes."
SUBJECTIVE AND OBJECTIVE POV Recall the three forms of I iterary voice: first person, second person and third person. In first person storytelling, a character in the story

is describing the events. He can only describe things that he himself sees. First person speaks as " I." Second person speaks as "you": th ird person speaks about "they." Third person is completely objective. and first person is completely subjective. Second person is somewhere in between. There is no clear-cut line or deli neation between subjective and objective only gradations (F igures 1. 13 and 1. 14). We have prev iously talked about giving the scene a point of view."' Each camera angle has a point of view a well. and there arc cveral variations to that meaning. The term point of view, or POV, is used in a number of din'ercnt ways in filmmak ing. Our two people arc talking: the camera stands cinematography
6

otT to on~ Silk or th~:m . 1h~ camera i!-. e:-.sentially part ol the scene 'olncc 11 "~:~.:..,the people hut it is not im oh cd in the scene in any\\ ay. It 1:-. a neutral obst.!r\cr. It IS compktel) objccti\e - third person. "I hi~ 1.., like th~ omni~cient narrator in a novel or sto1 y. An omnis~:icnt narrawr or PO\' is a 'mcc that tells the ston but is not a charact~r 111 the story and can sec C\ crything that is 'going on. The 'o1cc can tell us ''hat each and C\ cr) character is doing at an) time. \\hat 1-.. a completely "ubjecti\ e "hot'! It is \\hen the camera takes the plac~ of on~ of the characters. In the case or our two people talkIng. if' the other character i.., talking. !-.he \\ ould look directly into the lens a.., if' ... hc \\ere looking 11110 the eyes of the man. In actual practice thi.., is almost nc\crdone in narrative filmmaking. a It hough it i.., used on 'cry rare occa..,ions. Probably the most lamous C\amplc i.., the noir film Til<' Lmh /11 tlw Laf..<'. (Figures 1.15 and 1.16) In this case the -.tory i-. seen in an entirely fir..,t person. purcl) '>Ubjcctivc f'ashion th 1fthc camera IS the detective. When other characters '>peak to the detecti\ e they look directly into the lens. As a result \\e can nc\er sec the detecti\e because ,\c (the camera) arc the detective. The only time we !>ee him is when h~ look!> 111to a mi1Tor. A fascinating and \cry successful modem 'ariation of thb i:-. a film titled 84 Charlie Aiopic. a Vietnam war film. (The title refer<; to the Army designation for a combat motion picture cameraman.) The premise is that a cameraman along \\lth a joumal ist intervic\\ cr arc sent along with a long-range reconnaissance tcnmto record e\ervthing the' do. Throughout the entire film C\erythlllg ''e -..ee is only-\\hat~is pl~otographclb)' Mopic\ camera. 11-. a tcmfic conceit and i!-. executed beautifully. llerc \\C !-.ce \tlopic only one time 111 the ~ntirc film. 1\t the 'Cl) end they arc under fire and are being eHH.:uated b) helicopter. Mopic is ju-.t about to get 11110 the chopper and he i~ -,hot. lie tos.,e:- the camera into the chopper and 11 land:- on the l~oor lacing him. It records hi" death a:- the chopper take:- orr\\ lthout him. Other forms ofPOV arc thmg:- like "doggie cam.""lfthere is a do!.!. 111 the s~:cne and the camera is~placed lo,~lo the ground and 1110\ c~ along in a fnsh1on rc ...embling hO\\ a do!.!. 1110\ es. we are '>ccin!.!. the seen~ from a dog\ point o(, ievv. Thi..,~is often used in wcre~'olf film::.. f"or e'\nmplc. 1\nother C'\amp lc is ollen used in thrillers or horror films. The .. \ ictim"' IS doing some action and \\C sec him as a stalker might. The camera is handheld and moves with a human motion. nnttoo ::.lead~ and always foliO\\ ing the action a:-. if staring. t\ characterizing or this i'i that \\ hen the"\ ictim" looks over suddenly. the camer; \\Ill quickly '"hide"' behind a CUI1ain or dooma). It IS a standard operaung procedure in fil m that true POV shots arc almo. t al\\ays done handheld.

1.12. Cinema as a "filmed play, such as this frame from The Great Train Robbery (Edwin S.Porter, 1903) means that the left/ right relationships never change for the audience. Once we get away from this simplistic type of filming, methods are needed to maintam the directional continuity in the mind of the viewer

1.13. In general, the closer the camera gets to the performer's perspective, the more subjective the shot becomes.

filmspace

"

1.1 4 . Subjective and objective camera angles are analogous to the literary concepts of first person, second person and third person. These are generalities - there are no hard ana fast boundaries.

1.15 and 1.16 The Lady In The Lake (MGM, 1947) is one of the very rare exam ples of truly subJective point of view sustamed throughout the entire film.

fh~ Jifli:r~n~~ i-. that 11 1.., nt:\ cr carried all the '' U\ throu!.!h. I t>r e'\nmplc. lithe .. , 1ctim .. ''ere In ... ee the -.talker ;md \\ ;tlk 0\1.'1- hll'tln fmnl h1111. iogicali) he \\OUid iuok dinXIi} IIllO the camera. rheJe arc 1\\0 problem ... '' ith thi-.. l 1r-.t 11 \\ould break the illu-.Jtliltll the film fhe aud11~m:c \\ottld be made Jarnngl) <1\\are that the) .uc \\atchln!! the mm ie. In the theater 11 \\Ould be called "hrcakin!.! th~ fourth ,,-al l.'' Th1-. i:-. \\hen an actor 111 the pia) talk-. direct!;. to the audience. lo take 11to lh mo-.t e'\treme and ridiculou-. lo!!il:al ~nd. 11 the man \\ere to a-.k the -.talker a que ... tion and he agreelf. '' e "ould ha\e to nod the ca mera up and dm\ll. Th1-. 1-. pla!ed a-. a joke c\en ''hen '' ~ do 1t in home 1110\ 1e" rhc -.ccond problem I" that It \\Ollfd then b~ lmJ1th-.ibk ltl C cr -.ho\\ the "stalker" in the "ccne. If he 1-. lonklll!.! d1recth 1111 0 th..: le1b. then the camera i-. "him Ther..: i-. then no p~h'>lhillt~ of d1>1ng .tnoth~r shot'' h1eh include-. hnn. \..,a re-.uh. C\ en lithe -.hoi h thcnr~tiUlll) a subJCCtl\e POv. 11 I"> almostne,cr earri~d through ltlth~ lt>tlk mg-1n-thc-lcn-. condthiOil. The lllthl frcqucml; u-.cd 1) pc ul clwrm:lcr PO\ 1s "the hH1i.: ... \n e'\ampk of this 1.., ''hen '' e -.cc -.om cone look-. up and then 1he nc\1 -.hot 1.., a' IC\\ of an <llrplane. The nnportant parltlllhh l) pc ,,fPO\ 1s th~ setup: that IS'' hen \\ e sec the pcr...on lotlklllg. The nc'\1 th mg \\C -,cc ''ill b~ a-. ... umcd to be'' hat ... he 1.., look1n!! at But f't11 th1-. Ill \\ ork. the "look .. must be S~l up prop~rl;. . Ir -.h: look-. dO\\ n and tiK'Il the n~'\t :-.hot i-.. an atrplanc. it\\ ill make no -.~n-.~ th~ audlenc~ ''ill perc~i' c th1-. a-. -.omethmg compktcl) unr~I.H..:d. ''or..,~ Lh~) \\ ill b~ momcntanl) confused and d1-.1raekd. In their book f lim In- lnlmmdt1c /loll. J);l\ 1d 13ord\\cll and Kn t1n Thomson call thi ... the "Kule-.ho\ eflcct Tl11.., I'> named ln1 L~' Kuk-.hm. one of the carl;. e\penmenkr-, 111 Ru-.-.wn li.>nnali-.t tilms u"cd m,tkmg in the J92Cb. I k pcrl(mn~d an ~'p~mncnt 111 \\ hid1 1 the -;ame ~hnl or tl fitlllOll'> Rli..,:>Jan actm \\ ith a neutral look llllerLUt (at \anou'> tnnc-.} \\llh -,hoh lll natur~. -.ome '>Otip. a bah~ and a tkad ''oman. \\hen qul//ed about \\hat the acto1 \\a.., ~'pr~~-.111g. the audience said he \\a.., c1ther -.hm\ mg tranqui lll). hunger. jo;. or gre;ll '>OITO\\. Thi'> illu'> lratc-. the stor;. tell1ng pt>\\er ol -.1111pl) putting I\Hl ..,Jwh tngclhcr \\hen \\C '>IHm -.om~onc tilt h1-. h~ad up and h i-.~)~" turn IO\\ ard -.omcthllll! o1T-..,crccn. then cut ltl a clock IO\\ ~r or an .mplane. the audien~c ''ill ah\ U)'> make th~ connecLJon that nur charaet~r I'> lnok mg at that ttl\\ er nr plane. I hi-. d~mon ... trate-, not on I~ the u"cluln~"" of -.ubj~cti\ c PO\-. l\>1 -.Lor) telling and emotmnal '>llbte'\t. but abo hmh at till' 1mport.mc~ llt' the oiT-'>crcen "pace~"' pan of our narrati,c. It al-.o remmd-. u'> that\\ e arc alnu>-.tnc\ er do in!! shots'' hich ''ill be u-.ed 111 islllatioll' ultnnald~ -.hoh arc used 111 eombmatlllll \\ Jth other -.hoh.

crncmatography

THE BUILDING BLOCKS OF SCENES

1 h~r~ an: a numb~r ol't:p~:-.ol'-..hllt~ \\ hu.:h arc ha~11: budding blocb 11! lilm gramm.n The: arc \\ide \hlll 1(lr 1<1111! -.hot) I ull \hilt \kdnun I lead and '.IH1u ldcr-.. 13tg I lead C(l\\ hll) r1ght l\\!1 D1rt: \uH.!lc l kan '->1111,!k f \CCpt for the fir-,t t\\ 0. mo"t of' thC'>C -,hot' appJ) tO the human form. hut the tcrnlllwlng: carne-. mer to an: subJ ect. A.., the) appear in the -..~..:npt the:- ar~ l"<tlkd -.,tagc direction-.. Let"-., look at them indt' 1dualh \-., '' 1th mam film ternb. the ddin1t10n~ arc -,ome\\ hat loo-,c <tnd dlflcrcnt pcoj1lc hm c -.,Jtght 'ana tio11" 111 hm\ the: appl y them: parllt:UiarJ) a-, )Oll tnl\cJ from Cll) tO cit) Or \\llrk Ill another ~..:nuntn. the\ arc ILhl general !.!.Uidclmc-... It i-.. on I\ '' hen \OU arc l111mg it up through thc~kth th:li the C\act fram e cin be dcc-tded 011 ami < til the factor~ that go into a shot can he f"ull y as-.e:-.scd. \-, the:- appear 111 th~ -.,~npl. -,tagc dtrcctton-., arc compktcl) nonbindtn!.!.. rhe -.,cr~cm\ ntcr real I\ ha-., no -.,a\ O\ er ''hat shot... ''ill h~ u:-.cd. l;ut the: arc ih.:lp li.d in ,-i ~ua li Lt ng ihc stOI") a-; ]Oll read the the scnpt "iomc -..hoh arc '>pccific tnthe stnl). -..uch a-., "'Cio:-.e nn tickmg bomb ... but ultunatcl) 1 1 1~ up to the dtr~ctor to detcrmim: \\htch ~hots \\Ill h~ done. The-.~ -.,hot-. a r~ the ba-.ic \Ocahular\ \\C deal'' 1th. Thc-.c hast~: ckmcnh and htm thcv arc combmcd 1n cdito nal contmutl) arc the grammar of cinema WIDE SHOT

I he ''ide -.hnt 1.., an: frame '' l11e.:h cncompa-.sc-., the ~11t1 n.: sccnl. Th1.., make-. 11 all rclati\C lO th~ subJeCt If the -.,c ript read-."\\ ide -..hnl the [ 11!.!11-.,h (OLin II'\ -.1dc" \\ e an.: clear!\ talk Ill!! about Ll bi!.! panoramic -,cc~c done'' 1th-a -,Jwrt I(JCal kngth-kn-. tak-ing in al l th~ C) c can ...cc (I tgur~ I 17). On the ntiH:r hand. i r the dc-.cription '" "\\ ttk -.hot I co\ room" tim.,.., ckarl\ a much -..mallet -..hot hut n -..ull cncompa-.-.c-, all or mtbt nl the mn1;1
ESTABLISHING SHOTS

The cstablr...hmg -.,hot I'- U'>uall: a\\ ide -,hot. It ,.., th~ opcnmg -.hot ora -.ccnc ''htch tells u-, ''here ''can.: (1-igurc I. IX)./\ l!ptcal one
1.17 (below} A class1 c w1de shot used here as both an establishmg shot and a transitional shot for the next sce ne. Days Of Heaven (Parcl mount Pictures, 1978} 1.18. (left) Throughout Barry Lyndon (Warner Bros., 1975), Kubrick uses perfectly composed formal fram1ng to reflect the static social structure of the t1me, as tn this establishing shot

f.lmspace
9

might be 'Establish ing . hot - Hclcn s offi ce." This might consist of a wide shot of an offlcc bui ldinu, thus when \Ve cut to a shot or Helen at her desk, we know whct:C we arc: in her office building. weve seen that it is a big, modern build ing, very upscale and expensive and that it is located in midtown Manhattan and the bustling activity of streets indicate it's another hectic workday in C\\ York. The estab lishing shot has given liS a great deal or information.
LAYING OUT THE SCENE

A phrase that is often used is that we have to "establish the geography: In other words we have to give the aud ience some idea of where they arc, what ki nd of place it is. where objects and people arc in n..:lat ion to each other. (Thi s is different from establishing the place - both arc discussed in more technical detail in the chapter Cinematic Continuitr). Estab lishing the geography is most important wi th in the scene it is very helrful to the audience to know the .. lay of the lancr within a scene. it help them orient themselves and prevent. confusion wh ich might di vert their attention from the tory. There arc times when you want to keep the layout a mystery. of course. As we \\ill sec throughout the discussion or film grammar and editing, one of" the pri mary purposes is to not confuse the audience. There \\ill be times or course where you wi II want to confuse or trick them. but in general, if yo u don ' t give them inlo rmation and they have to spend time trying to figure someth ing out , however subconsciousl y, you have taken their minds away f"rom the cha rac ters and the story. Kurosawa is a master of this type of establi shing, as in these shots from Se l'en Samurai (Figures I .19 and 1.20). An establishing shot. such as our o ffi ce building example, migh t al o inc lude a til t up to an upper floor. This indicates to the audience that we are not ju t seeing an office building. but that we are going inside. A further vari ation is to end with a zoom in to a particular '' indow. a more obv ious cue as to where we arc headed. Shot of this type arc sometimes considered old-f"ashi oncd and prosaic, but they can still be effective. Even though they do give u~ a good deal or information, they arc still a complete stop in the dramatic ac ti on. Many filmmakers consider it more ciTcctivc ir the establ ishing shot can be combined with a piece of the story. One examp le: say we are looking dovvn that same bustling street and our character l lclcn comes into view, rushing fran tical ly and holding a big stack or documents; we pan or dolly with her as she rushes into the lobby and runs to catch a departing elevator. The same information has been conveyed. but we have told a piece or the tory as \\ell. Someth ing is up with llelcn: all those docume nts arc obvious!) something important that has put her under a great deal of stress. Or course. in the story. Helen ma y already be in her office. One of the classic solutions has been to combine a bit of foreground action >vith the e. tabli hing shot. For example. we start with a mediu m shot of a sidewalk newsstand. An anonymous man buys a paper and we can read the headline 'Financial Scandal Disclosed." and we then tilt to the building. What vvc ha ve done here is keep the audience in the story and combined it with showing the building and the context. In a sense it is a bi t of di traction uch a a . tage magician might usc. but in another sense it does convey some usefu l information. Certainly it's a lot better than just cutting to llelcn and have her do some hackneyed "on the nose" dialog such a , oh my god. what am I going to do about the big financial scanda l?" Of course. there is one more level yo u can add: the guy who buys the newspaper i~ not an anonymous man, he tu rn out to be the reporter who is going to uncover the real story. These are just examples. of course. but the cinematograph y
10

1.19 and 1.20. Ever the master of making the abstract concrete, Kuro sawa cuts directly from the map of the village to a shot of the samurar wa lking in the location indicated (Seven Samurai. Toho/Columbia Pic tures, 1954).

point h to con\ e:- the location Information in comb mat ion "llh a p1cc.: olthc ->tor~ or,omethmg that come:--.. a \I'>Ual1dca. a -..ound track inlkltlon or an)thing.thatlncn:<ht:'> our undcr-..tanuing of the place. the mood. or an) thing that i" u~crulto you"' the 'itorytdlcr.
FULL SHOT

Reier... to a "hot \\ hll"h mclutlc-. all or the . . ubjcct. \\ hethcr II be an entire build111g llr a person. rnr e\alllplc. a =rull shot .. or a car 1ndude-.. all of the car \-..hot '' hich onh rndude'> the door and the drl\ er "nuld be mon: ~~r a med1um ;,hot..
MEDIUM SHOT

I he mcdrum -.hot. like the'' ide ... hot. i... rclatl\ e to the "ubjccl. Ol)\ rou . . l;,. 11 ~'> cltber th.tn a '' rtk -..hot. T) pi cal mcdrum "hots mrg.ht be people ,II ,1 table 111 a re..,taurant. or -;umeone bu~ ing a . . oda .... IHn\ n from the '' ar-.t up. B) be1ng clo..,cr in to the action than \\\.' ''ere rn the\\ rdc. \\ c can 11\l\\ sec people.., C\prc-..-.rons. details orho\\ they arc dn....,sed etc \\c thus become more Ill\ oh cd 111 "hat the\ arc "'! mg .md do1ng. "1thnut lixu ... ing nn nne ... pcctlic character oi any parllcular tktall In other l'Ontt:'\h, '' mcdrum shot ml!.dll bel'\ en smaller. -;uch a' a man rcadml! at hr-.. de'>k. We sec him~ and can read the c\pre ... ..,llln
tllrmpace

11

on hi::. face, but \\C also sec some or h1~ conrext ,md h1" <.;UIToundlllgs. If hh secretary comes in '' ith a plwnc me..,sage \\C can -.ec her. though probably not from head to toe. If \\e are po<.,IIIOncd ~I) that we sec the office door behind him, \\C can then sec the door open and her entrance. That \\a) she doesn't just pop into frame. magically appearing out of nowhere. 1 hi~ 1s ddlnitcl~ something to be a\ oided. as it i~ Jarring and distracting. \\here\ cr po-,..,iblc. we shou ld sec the character\ entrance. althou~h thi~ can be an:ompll shed 111 a \\'ide vari ety of ''ays: it docsn't~al\\a)'> hmc to be a ::.tatic -,hot of the door v.hich then opens. uch a shot might be borin~ and, o.; ubliminall'v. the audience mi!.!ill for a moment be~,,ondering ~vhy \\e arc looki~1g at thi-, Jom Th~re are hundreds of \.\ays to make th1s a smoother jXII1 of the llm\ anu g1ve it meaning. One simple exampk: the businessman ..,pcab into l11s intercom and says oa, id. would you bring me the t\ndcNln contracts?" This idea i::. some\.\ hat an C\.tension or the estahil'>lllng the geography concept. We might consider 1t "e-.tabli-,hlng the gl.!ography of the character." We just don't want to have the audience spend 1ime t I) ing to figure out '' ho .., \\ hn and \\here did the:- wmc from and "'hy (except when that 1s the Intended efl'ect) An e-,pcciall v we ll done ca:-.e or tim. b shO\\n 111 r1!.!ure:-. 1.21. 1.22 and
1 .23~ ~

1.21 , 1.22 and 1.23 . An elegantly executed triple reveal from High Noon (Republic Pictures/United Artists, 1952). In one shot, the bad guys ride into town; as the horse rears up we see the sign that reads "Marshal" the bad guys ride on and then from behind we see the sign that reads "Justice of the Peace," and the camera pulls back to show the marshal in the process of getting "hitched." This shot also clearly tells us where we are (in town outside the marshal's office) and starts to establish the geography of the place. It also establisnes the main characters and conflicts.

There are, of course, man)- exceptions to tillS ru le. The '>lmplcst and most ob\ ious: the babysi ltcr has heard a noise in the basement and i.., going to im C'>tigatc: the hou:-.e is dark and she approacllc'> the basement door\\ ith great !Car and trepidallon . uddcnl y. out of nowhere, a hand clamps onto her ::.houlder! It usually turn:-. out to be her best friend or course. but the point i-, that b;. ha \ ing someone appear :-.uddenl )- out of nm\ here \Ve hme created a moment of shod and surprise. \Ae assume it is the serial I--dler in the basement. If it were. it "ould be a trw.: moment or shoe!-- and :-.urprisc. In this case. it tum-.. out to ben shoe!--'' ith an 11\)nle [\\ 1~1. We h<l\ e led the audience tO\\ard expecting tllsaster and it turns out to be something completely tlilkrcnt. As wi th al l shot deo.;criptlon-;, the medium "hot might not include character~ at all. it might ju ... t bl.! a ~cene or objects. but the concept is still the same.
TWO SHOT

1.24. The l::.1sic shots as defined by the body. The terms apply in the same fashion to any subJect.

The t\\ 0 shot Is any frame \\ hich IIH: ludcs t\\ () character-.. rhe iIlleractiOn bet\\ een two characters in a '-CI.!ne 1:-. one or the mo-,t fundamental pieces or storytel ling: thu<, the t\\0 -.,hot is one ~OU \\ill the frequent 1 ;.. The two character" don't ha' e to he arranged ") mmetrically in the frame. they might be racing each other. both lltc1ng li.lr\\ard. both 1:1cin~ a\\a\ from the camera. etc.. but the methods \lHI u-;e for dealing '~i th tl{i-. type of scene will be the same in an;. t.:;sL'. There arc a number or terms for different shoh nr a Sllll!lc character. full shot indicates "e -.ee the character from head I!; toe (I ll!Un? 1.2-l ). J \ ''CO\\ boy" is from the tOp or head tO llllu-thigh. presum71bl) named because it is important to sec the '>1\.-gun-, on h1~ belt In l:.urop~. the term plan americain or plano americann refer::. to a ~llllt namcd from mid-leg up. basicall) a CO\\boy shot Beyond tillS \\C arc into the realm of d o-.;e-ups.
CLOSE-UPS CHARACTER SHOTS

Choker Closeup
~ Ts

Med1U'l1 shot

Cowboy
Mcd1um l ull sho t

W ..

Full Shot

Clo:.c-up::. ill\! one or the most impo11anl -,hots Ill the \OCabulan fhere arc a number or 'variation-,: t\ medium clo... e-up \\lltild gcncra ll ~ be considered a!-- '-Olll~thing ii!--e from top or head to \\aht 01 o.,omcthing in that area ( r~ igurc-, 1.25 and 1.26).

ct nematogra phy

12

1.25. A classic medium shot from Shanghai Express (Paramount, 1932). Note also how the lighting is very specific for this shot and for her pose. If her head were not just the right position, the lighting would not achieve such an elegant and powerful effect.

\ <.:ithe-up (('L') \\OUIU generally be from the lop Of the head to -.ome\\ here lll'>l bdm' the -.hirt pockeh. If the '>hot ,., cutju.,t a bon: the -.lmt pocket Mea, it i., often called a head and -,boulders: \ .. choker.. \Hlllld be from lop of head dtmn to ju-;l bdo\\' the chin. \ tight clo-.c-up \\OUid be -,l ight ly b,-.: kbing some of the f(m:head ami perhap'> '-llll1e or the chin. framing the eyes. no-.c ami mouth \n e\.treme clo-.e-up m ICL might include the eye-. only Ju-.t a... often. an I C l i-. an (lbjcct: perhaps ju-.t a nng lying on a dc-.ktop. a \\atch. etc. .\ny ( L. mcdnun or full shot that include-. onl~ a smglc character i" called a '-.Ingle. \ -,y-.tem that i-.. -;omctimcs u->cd ,., ba-;ed tm ...,..,_.. Icrminology or close-up" incluJe-... 1\kdnun: \\<ll~t up. ~- r. . fiom the brea-,ts up ( hoh.er. rmm the throat up. \ bo kntl\\ 11 ll\ 2 [.., (teeth and throat). Big I lead C lJ m .. tight Cl ": fhm1 JU-..t under the chin and gi\ mg. a bit ol' haiiTUl. .. Thall-. culling ollJu-.t a lillie bit or the head. l CL \an e-.. but ti-..ually IU"t 111llulh and eye-.. \ clnsc-up '" al ... ll kmm 11 a.., a ..,inglc lf\\C nrc -,hooting -,omcone\ C. L and don't1nclude any p1ecc of the lither actor\, thi-, '"called a .. clean" ... inglc. Jr,,c do include a lillie bit of' the actor in rrunt of him. i1.., called a uirty .. -,inglc.

blft, H.. U

Yt. only
1 T

CUor l h

1.26 The basic character shots. filmspace

13

OTS

A\ anallon or the close-up IS the ll\ er-the-shoulder or 0 I..., (I lgur\.' I .27). look111g O\ er th\.' shoulder or one actor to a m\.'thum ~ll <.. l ~~r the other. The 0\Cr-thc-~houlder IS a \Unant ora eonnectlll!.! shot. It tics the I\\ o characters together and help-. put us 111 the p~;:,111on ~~r the person being addressed. t\s it 1., vel') engaging and Ill\ oh 111g 111 thi s way. the OTS is a major part or the 'ocabulal') olnarratl\ e fi 1mmaking. L \Cn ''hen \\ c arc 111 clnsc shot of the pcr-;on talk111g. the OTS keep-.. the other actor 111 the scene.
1.27 An over the shoulder; one of the most fundamental shots in the camera vocabulary.

CUTAWAY

A cuttl\\ay IS any shot or -..omc pcr-..on or thing Ill the '-CCil\.' other than the mam characters \\C arc cmcnng but thai 1" -.1111 related to the -.ccne. An e-..amplc \\Ould be a tutti\\ to the clock on the \\all or to the cat sleeping on the noor. Cut:m a)-; nut)' cmpha-.1/e -..omc action in the scene. prO\ ide additional information or be Stllm'thing that the character looks at or points to. An Important usc of euta\\ ay-.. IS a-.. sa fclle<, for the cditor I r the etl1tor i" "omdw\\ ha\ Ill!! trouble cuttmg the -.ccnc. a cuta\\ "' to somcthmg else can be u~ed to -.ohe the~problcm. \ cond rul~ of thumb is if there 1s an\ uneertalllt\ about the em crac.e or .1 seen\.'. ahvtl) S '>hOOt '>OillC '>Orl Of l:Utll\\<1).'> ~<lfCI) first! ~

a)'

REACTION SHOT
1\ speci fie typc or Cllltl\\ ay i-. the rea<.:! ion -.hot. Stllnethmg happens

1.28. (below) An exdmple of a practi calmsert from High Noon. 1.29 bottom) An "atmosphere" cut away 1t conveys little or no mfor mauon spec1fic to the story but 1t reinforces and adds to the mood and tone of the scene and possibly also the rhythm of the cuttmg. Th1s one is from Nine and 112 Weeks (MGM/ Warner Brothers, 1986); English direc tors in particular seem to have a real affinity for cutaways of cats and use them with great effectiveness.

or a character says someth111g and \\ c cut to another person 111 another part or the room reacting to" hat happened or'' hat\\ <h ..aid. Thi" is t.hffcrcn t from co,cragc '' 1thm the ma-.ter \ n:acllon -.hot 1'1 Ll !!OOU \\a\ to !.!eta sa le!\~ cu t:.l\\a\ for the cullor. lhc nwre a culm~ a;. l'i directly~ related to ihc "cenc-. the bclter it'' ill cut 1ntothc llm\. Snmctlllles the term jw.. t rdi:r.. to the other Side or the dwlog. Some rcm:t1on -..hoh do un oh e the mam character.., 111 the scene. ~a) \\e ha\e a medium shot Silk' le\\ ol"thc detecti\e looking nut the \\indo\\ \\ ith binocular'>. then \\ c cut to a shot nr \\hat h~ see-. through the hmocular'> thc gang bo-.-. he has undersun\.'lllance If ''e want to come around tolhe front and '-Ce hi" eve"'' 1dcn at'' hat he sce.,. then '' c sa;. '' e ''ant to grab h1-.. reaction --.hot Thi" kmd of close-up or lm racial e\prc ...SJon demands to b~ --hot from front on and '' ith him fac1n!.! the dm.:ction hc ''a' looking through the bmnculars. ,\n;.thmg ~be JU'it ''ont "or'- :.h ''ell. In thi., part1cular ca-.c. it '' ould probabl) call for chcat1ng h1111 back from the '' mdO\\ because othcm 1sc there 1" probably no place to put the eamcra unlcs-. \\C ha\C a fire escape or a crane It 1-. unl1!-el;. to be '' orth it to mm e the cntire camera ri!.! and tre\\ out \)Jlln the fire c-..cape or onto a crane for JU'>t one ..,hoi. Ir it l'i part ~'t a "en e., or shots ncetlcd from that \anlage pomt. that.., a diflcrcnt matl\.'r. l)l cour-..e f \Cept in rare ca-.e-.. JU'-t ha\ 111g the actor -.tcp ba\.'k lfom the \\IndO\\ three fi:et to fit the camera in make-.. for a wmplcteh unnoticeable cheat On the other hand. a "hot that includes the !.!Ia-..., 111 the f(m.:grounJ can be U'-Cftil IIi-.. llOtUI1ll'>Ual to fly Ill a '>Cl piece of a matching \\llldO\\ just for th1s clTcct. It '~ qu1ck. cheap and ellectl\c: it's ju"t up to the DP to create a matching lighting ambwnce tn -..ell II
INSERT

An Insert han Isolated. scll-conlalned piece ora larger SLCn~ I \,ll11ple: "he I'> read1ng a book. \\c could JU'it '>hoot the boo" m cr her shoulder. but 11 "' u-.uallv hard to read from that di-..tance. ln-.ert" tend to fit 1nto a lc\\ general catcgoncs: Practical lnscrh. rhc cine!- on the \\UII. <J<, 111 I I!.!UJ'\.' 1.2:--;. 1s a practical insert. a.., i-.. the headline-. on the ne'.,\papL'I ~~r
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the namo: olthc til..: bo:mg pulkd from the drawer. l"he-..e are nw ... tl) 1nlormat10nal. rmpha-..i ... ll1'iCrh. Tho: tii"C\ ~kid to a halt. lhe eol"fi:e cup jolh a-.. h.: pound" the tabk. The '' 1ndO\\.., rattk in the '' ind . lmpha-.p, in..,crh arc u... uall~ clo~cl) conno:ctcd to tho: ma111 .tet1on hut not ab-..olutcl: e'>sentwl to it. for C\amplc. a \CI") old p..:r... l\11 eoming tlmard U\ in a \\<llkcr. \n m-.,..:rt or the ttred old feet 111 -.Iipper~ '>hulllmg along the concrete add-., to our cmpath) for hi-., pi ight and our under..,tanding of hO\\ di ffil:ult ll I'> f01 him to mm c. \tmo ... phcre 111-.,crh. These arc liuk touche-.,. grace note-.. 11 \ ou "iII. that contnbutc to the mood or tone of a -.ccne. I he-.e ~trc particulurl) \\ell used in mood;. fllm!-.likc . fnge/1/eorror \me om//:: lli:eAs (Figure 1.2lJ): cutawa)~ to f~llh '>IO\\Iy re\ oh IIH! 111 the" in d. or u black cat looks into the len~. "I hey can be u~ed l" o r pure mood or a-.. ironic counterpomt. \tmosphcrc 1nsc1"h may hmc almo!-.t no connection w the ...cenc other than mood. tone or a sort of generalized S\ mbolism. I he\ arc general!;. re-..ened lor more st:rli;cJ filmmakii1g. They ..,Jwuid be uo.,cd '' 11 h caution: such ~hots can ca~1 1\ he un:h. hea\ v-handcd and ol1\ 1ou..,. and then the\ arc ''hat arc '>Oii1ctimc.., called :.film student" ... hot..,
CONNECTING SHOTS

\n;. ttmc the "t:cne tndudc.., pcopk or obJect... that cannot he lr.lnH:d the "''me shot ut -.;omc potnt in the scene. a t:onnet:tlllg ... hot 1.., t:.tlled for. Thi" applic., c..,pcciall) to point-of-\ IC\\ ... hoh "here the character look" at somethmg. then in a '>o:purate ~hot. \\C ..,cc ''hat ..,he i" look1ng ut. but it al-.o applies to any -.,ccnc ''here t\\ o or more people arc 111 the -.,ame general space. \\hcthcr the) arc a\\are ol each other m not In our survo:lllanco: e\ample. or course. it is no tnd at all to u-.,c -.hot.., ol' thc dctccti\c, his POV through the binocular-., and do-.,e-up~ of' the gang hos-. bcmg obscr\cd and cut them together in a \\:1) that make.., eminent!) dear the ph~"ical rclation!-.hip-.. and v.ho1s \\att:hin!! \\hom. 'I here 1s ah\ av.., a dan!.!.cr. ho\\"cver. that ll \\ill -.,ecm a b1t ch';.:ap and C<h) anti the fact thattt i::. an editing tnd "ill ...omcho\\ undcnnme the -..t:cnc Cnnnectmg -.,hoh .JU"t make a -.,ccnc li:clmorc compkte and\\ hole (figures I JO and 1.31 ). rill' fragmentation of dolll!.!. it all '' llh PO\.., and rcactwn ... hot" 1.., after all a cheat "hich t:alb~ upon nHn ic mag1e to p1cce together the \\hole ~ccnc. It "orb. but 1.., not a-., 111\0h mg nr elllllllonall) satl-.,1) tng to the audience. cspecwll) if 0\cru-..ed. \ eonnectml! -.,hot l'o a \\H\ to t1c C\er\ !hill!! tol!cther in a \\a~ that clarlfie-., anJ emphasize~ the phy~it:al. \\ l11cl1 ar~ ll'ollally '>101") rclauon-.,hlp" a-., \\ell clear!). one of the prune oh.tct:ti\C'> of gond llirct:tlllg and good shooting i-., to ha' c the ph)"lcal clcmcnb reflect. rcinf'orcc and comment on the narrati\ c element-.,. In our c\ample '' c could -.hoot from O\ er the ..,boulder ol the dcll.:ctl\ c usmg a long. kns !>O \\C sec the'' indO\\ ol' thc pcr~on under -.,ur\cillance. '"long a-, this\ ic\\ has a matching \\indtm close to the \\IndO\\ \\c ... ee 111 the PO\' "hoh of' the dctccti\c. it \\tlrks a:-. a connect in!! ~hot. Better -.,till if\\ c sec the charat:tcr under sun ell lance or at tl~c \ cr) Jca.,t. a '>Iand-in double.
111

1.30. A connecting shot from Killer's Kiss (MGM/ US, 1955), Kubrick's first film. 1.31 . A he Iicopter shot from Perfect Duo (Vidmark, 1993). Both establish the geography and, more impor tantly, the relationship between two mportant story elements.

WINDOW MATCHING AND THE FINE ART OF CHEATING

The to:d1111quc of '' 1ndm\ matchmg anJ door match111g dc-.crve-., a mention 1n th1.., contc\l. \!though the\ arc lar!.!.cl\ a tcchn1cal con-..idcratwn. the) arc cruc1al to th~-.c filin tct:hni~Jue-.. and abo arc an e\eclknt illu-..tratlon of hm\ the ""mm ic magic" t:omcs tocether. "ll \\c "Ill di..,cu ... s them here rather than 111 the chapter on { inemtlft(
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ContinuitY. They arc indicati\ c of a larger i<isuc of cheating. som~ th ing that is done all the time in film . It is important to knm\ hO\\ it is done and it is absolutely crucial that a professional cinematographer, videographer or director know when you can cheat and just how much you can get away with. Knowing how far you can go comes from understandi ng the editorial process and a lso having a feel for how things photograph as opposed to how they look in real life . The fact that this knO\\ ledge must come from two very different areas of film production illustrates how impor1an t it is that there be a eros -over in knO\\Iedgc and in communication from director to cameraman to editor and even the art department. On ly by ha ving a soli d understanding or the other parts of the process arc you able to do yo ur job proper!). no matter which of these people yo u might happen to be on any parti cular project. To a large extent. both for the cameraperson and the director. ho\1 far yo u can go in cheat ing is something you just need to Jearn by experience. The more you do it, the more adept you become. It's a subtle ar1 but one that is absol utely necessary to learn. As mentioned above, the window we sec over the shoulder of the detecti,e does not have to be the same actual windovv in which \VC sec the actor playing the character under surveillance. Indeed. for logistical or scheduling reasons, it olien is not the same wi ndow. To take an extremely simple example: our detecti ve is on the roof of a ten-story building. Perhaps he's on the roof because there is a great view of the city skyline behind him the reason doesn ' t matter. If he is on the roof, it on ly makes sense for him to be doing surveillance on someone on an upper Aoor or the building across the street: he wouldn 't be able to sec into a wi ndow that is on the second Aoor. fo r example. (These are the kinds of things you have to thin k about in scouting locations. ) Once we have all the shots o r the detective and the appropriate connecting shots showing the window it comes time for the closer shots showing what the gang boss is doi ng inside the room. The easy way, of course. would be to th row on a much longer lens and have the actor appear in that same room. There may be probl ems, hO\\cver. Perhaps that room i not ava ilable as a location or. more likely, shooting all of that scene with a very long lens just isn' t appropri ate. In any case. it is often desirable to get closer to the window. In most cases shooting just outside a wi ndow on the IOth floor is just not practical. no matter what your budget. Even if there is a fire escape. that is ac tua lly a little too close. It is difficult to get far enough back to still show a piece of the window.
"GET A PIECE OF IT"

This concept of "showing a piece of it" is something that comes up all the time in setting up shots. especially cheating shots. In a way, it is related to the idea o r connecting shots. Say we arc framing som~ one at a poker table, then we go in for a tighter shot of the poker player. Frequently the director will say, " I still wa nt to sec a piece of the table." It may be j ust so we can mai ntai n some of the crucial poker chips in the frame or j ust to preserve the ambiance or silling at the table, but either way, it is a way of showing the character in a way that is still connected to the reference of his surroundings. Given the possibility of shooting everything as separations (pieces of the overall scene) there is always a danger or going too far; these types or connecting shots or showing a "piece of somethi ng arc a way of keeping everything still tied together and in reference to one another. Often when the table has been cheated away (in order to get the camera in) the director will ask the camera operator (who has the advantage of seeing di rectly through the lens), " Will I miss it?"
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meaning \\ill the cheat be oLH. ious: will the audience perceive that the table i~ not there. It 's all abou t keeping the aud ience in the scene in a '''a) that they don't get lo-.t or confu~cd. The more they arc oriented and grounded in the filmspace of the scene. the easier it is fo r them to go" ith the narrative or emotional now of it. There arc times. of course. where yo u " ill deliberately wa nt to di sorient or confuse the audience. but these si tuati ons must be care full y chosen. Back to our "'indow example: the simple solution to all of this is to put the actor in a similar room on the first or . ccond fl oor. then the camera can go on a tripod. doll y. crane or scaffolding. Precis ion isn't erucial: as in the shots from the roof it i unlikel y that the audience \\ill ha\e learned much abou t the room it elf. They ''ill han: a clear kilO\\ ledge of the'' indo\\'. though , so it is important thatthc ''indO\\ itself be ve1y similar. fl ow similar depends on how good a 'icw of it they got and for how long. Windo\\ matching" orks from both side . Ifwc sec a medium shot of the gang bo~s a::.~ framed by a si.>-. toot high double hung casement \\"indO\\. \\C cannot cheat hi s interior scene~ and ha ve him looking out a Modernist noor to ceiling glass "indo\\ - the cheat would not \\Ork . It has to be a reasonably similar type of" indo\\ '"ith a 'ie'' that roughly matchc~. We can't ha\ c ccn him clearly from the \\i ndo" of the building directl y aero s the street and then ha\ C him look out a" indO\\ that ha::. a great view of the desert. /\II of these same principle~ appl y to door matching as well. It i~ quite common to shoot the exterior of someone going in a door and then shoot the interi ors somewhere else. In fact, if the interiors arc on a ~ound ::.tage. it is almost always the case. I kre again. it mu~t be roughl y the same kind o r door and not be a jarringl y ditTcrent color. There is one additional factor: if the door \\'C sa\\ him entcrinl.! in the C"\lcrior ~hot is a right-hand door. then the matchinl.! interio~ door shou ld abo be a right-hand door and vice-\ crsa. It IS always possible to frame the shot o that \ve don ' t sec outside or the art department can rig a IC\\ plants and a backdrop; thcsc arc not usually big problem-; as long as the door (and or course. the weather) arc a good match.
PICK-UP

A pick up can be any type of shot. master or co\ crage. \\hen yo u arc -;tarti ng it at any place other than at the top. For example. perhap~ yo u ha\ c shot a ma::.tcr of the bu::.incsswoman entering the office. si tting at the desk and ans\\ering the phone. For\\ hatcvcr reason you need another take of the dialog on the phone. If it is not necessary to get the entrance again, yo u can .. pick it up" from when she answers the phone. To do this. you hU\ e to be sure that you don't need the ' 'hole entrance. the s itting and the ans'' ering of the phone as a continuou:. take. You can pick it up onl y if your arc sure you ha ve CO\ crage to cut to along the '' ay. Us ual!) a .. PU" is added to the scene number on the slate.
THE MASTER SCENE METHOD All \\ Orking professionals know the basic techniques and rules or the mas ter scene method. but some just follow them by rote '' ithout understanding the underlyi ng theory and reasons for why we do the things \\ e do. The ma~tcr scene method is u cd in probably 95 n of narrati\C fi lms shot today. T he techniques e,ohcd during the silent era and "ere large I) in place b) the early 20s. The fundamentals of the ma tcr scene technique arc not complicatcu although then.: arc man y refi nements. techniques and cheats \\ hich can get a bit tricky. ome can be real brain teasers and, when it\ hour 16 or a rough shooting day. can ha ve the director and DP dra\\ ing little diagrams to confirm their thinking.
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1.32. A master shot from Ronin (MGM/UA, 1998). Once the master has established the basic layout of the scene and the physical relationships of the characters, the editor can easily cut to medium shots, closeups, reactions and so on without confusing the audience.

Whut '~e \.Htnt in the end arc all the different type:, of ..,hob that gi\.c the editor everything ~he need~ to cut the scene together" ithout problems and have the freedom to cut creatively. alter the pacmg. the cmpha~is and even the point of vic\.\. of the scene. On the other hand. we want to make sure there arc no mismatches of continult\. no gap::. that the editor can't li II and of course. to keep the producer happy. not shoot grossly more film than is reall y neccs~ary. Say '" c rc looking for the basic ::.hot:, "' e need for the scene: '' c \\'ant a wide shot of them entering the room. some close-ups of the characters talking. the woman adju~ting a clock and so on. We could just go alu:ad and shoot each shot a.., it comes along: shoot111g 111 order or out of order and then say "there. we\ c got the scene." Only later the editor might disco\ er that an important piece 1s mi~s1ng. or \\hen the \\oman goes to adjust the clock. the man i:- standing behind her instead of in front or her. etc. In other words. if vou take it one shot at a t11nc. no mallcr hO\\ carefu lly you,c thoL1ght it out ahead. there i ~ al\\ays room for error. E\en \\i th a shot list (\\hich is alway~ recommended) and story board there is sti ll a danger of leaving something out or shooting it in a" ay that ''iII not\\ o~k. The mastCI scene technique is a methodical \\ay of ensuring that you get all the shots needed efTicienll) and \\'ilh many safeguards against continuity errors and other edi torial problems.
INVISIBLE TECHNIQUE

The master scene method anJ CO\ erage are .. im isiblc .. technique!'>. Properly done. the audience is rarel y aware of them. They can con,ey information. tdl the story and add inflection~ of tone and mood without distracting the audicnt:c. The basic method can be summed up in a few wo1:-ds: we shoot the master and then go in for cO\erage. First. some tcrminology.
Master

A ma!'>ter is the entire st:cnc including all the key clements. usually done as one continuous take. Some -;cenes need to be broken dmm into t\\ 0 or more "mini-ma~lers ... especially if there i::. 1110\elllenl (Figure 132 ).
Coverage

Co\crage consists of' a lithe mediums. close-ups. 0\ er-the-shoulders. inserts and cutaways needed to successful ly edit the scene. The ma::.ter is basically thc whole scene in one shot (not neces~aril) a static shot). It should include all of' the key characters and all of the essential clements and certainl y it should contain all of the dialog of the scene. However. it does not have to be so v..ide that it includes the clock. l'or example. When it comes to that we will either pan '' ith her or let her exit frame. The master often resembles the old proscenium style of shoot1ng. and essentiall y it is. but that's OK. because it will eventually only be used as a small pan of the final edited product. Still. you want to set up as interesting a master as yo u can. Sometimes a scene is !->hot only as a master. This is sometimes called an "in one." Thi!-> ma) be a stylist ic choice (Jim Jarmusch's first film Strangers in Pamdise is shot entirely this way) or. as a simple matter or econom) or speed (if the sun is going down or the location permit is about to run out). Although there arc slight differences. it is related to plan scene. which is discussed below. One important thing is that the master should ha\ c a beginning and an ending. By this we mean the editor should ha\C some way of finding a logical place to fluidly cut into the -.cene and a similar \\ay to end it.
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The Cutting Point

Editors arc ahntV'> looki ng lbr a cutting point.'' This is so m~: place "her~: th~: ~:Jit i(moti,atcd. logical and fl ows smooth!). Don' t make the mi ~take of thinl-.ing that this is just "the editor's problem." Not all cutting points can be preplan ned, but you should be U\\ arc or them a-. )OU '>hoot; more on cutting points in Cinemafi(' Continuity.
Beginning The Scene

Let\ ta~e an t:\amplc of l\\ o people seated on a sofa. talking. You can JUst cut in to a :.ccne in medias res (the Greek tenn for ju~l :-.tarting in the middle of the action). In other words, yo u ca n open the ~ccne "ith them already sitting at the table and they j ust begin the dialog. In pra~:tice, it is often perfectly OK to start a scene this ""Y but it is not ah\ ays the best "ay; it gives the editor almost no freedom in ho\\ to begin or end the scene and if used all the time.\\ ou ld be' cry boring. ~
TRANSITION S

It i~ often best to transition in and out of a scene. In any case'' here the elapsed time bet\\ecn scenes is other than more or lcs~ around the ~ame time. it may be important to plan a shot \\ hich explains the tran-.ition of time. Sometimes passage of time will be Ob\ ious. Ir one o.;ccm: enJo; Juring midday and the next scene ~tarts in the dead of ntght. there "ill be no confusion : we are at a dillcrcnt point in time. Standard tune transi tional de\'ices include a sunset or o;unrt'>C. the e\terior of the building Jay or night or similar shots. Some older de\ ices arc no\\ simply considered too "quaint'' to usc: pages !lying off the calendar, a time-lapse hot of the spinning hands on the clock. etc. Pannin g O\Cr to a clock or off the clock onto the action nrc still often employed efTecti ve ly as arc larger transitions such as a dissol\'e from the trees in summer to the bare limbs of winter. A cut from shot to '> hot \\here an extended time change occurs without transitional device is called an elliptical cut. Elliptical means that something is mi ssi ng, as in the punctuation mark ellipsis: three periods( ... ) or"' hen someone speaks elliptically.
ELLIPTICAL CUTS

The oppo~itc of thi~ expansion of time is the acceleration of time. This is largely editorial but it may be reinforced "ith shooti ng techniques such a~ high-speed slo\\ motion shooting, time-lapse photography or vcr} frenetic, high energy shots.
REAL TIME CONTINUITY

The third case "oulu ~cem to be the easiest but is actually the most di ffic ult and rarest o r all : real time shooting O\Cr ex tended sequence-. or the entire film. There are onl y a ICw examples of real time continu ity being maintained for an entire film. Probably the best kno\\ n is Hitchcock's film Rope. The film is staged as one continuous take. \vi th only a few camera cuts or breah in action from beginning to end . (It is a myth that there arc no cuts at all . but there are not many.) In reality. since a standard roll o r film lasts on ly eleven minutes. there arc cuts but l litehcock cleverly disguises them . For c>.ample. in one case the ca mera tracks past a column wh ich fills the screen. It appears to be a smooth dolly past the obstruction but Hitchcock hides a camera cut. (Thi s type or im isiblc cut is discussed in the chapter Cim!nwtic Continuity as it applies to editorial continuity and logistics.) In actual fact. staging an entire film as one con tinuous action was a miracle of logistics, camera actor choreography and stagecraf't . It imolvcd wi ld walls '' hich could Ay in and out silently just orr camera.
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t\nothcr c-...amplc of ncar real 11mc <.:ontmuit~ '" the consumm.IIL' "estern //ig./1 \oo11 \I though the film pia)., out a-, a standard dr,una. ir )OU look. dthel) )OU "Ill nottec that the fihn ... nn:up1c-.. .dnw-,t real time. f"h1s is a master '> lrok.e 111 that the name or the film '" "hi!.!h noon" and the entire drama center... on a Cllllflucncc or e\Cllh 1m), mg lllC\orabl) tO\\ ard a -,ingk moment 111 ttmc. Real lillie. '" or elllll''>C. one or the \n-.IOtelian Ullllle'>. I he spare. '>1111plc L'llh:matograph) b~ rio) d (rosb) bcauttfull) n:mf(>rcc-, thts dramatic lhm. The no-fnlh nnagcr). the po\\crful black.-and-\\ h1tc photogi.Iph) and the straight forv.. ard -,taging all tic 1nto tlw. tnc-...orabk li.1m ard InO\ cmcnt.
OTHER TRANSITION SHOTS

\n C\a mp lc of a tr.msilton -.hot 1111ght be to -,tart '' llh .t do .. e-up of the telephone. thcn pull back. to rc\ cal the nl.t..,lcr. l"h1.., i-.. a common!) used tec hnique. 'What )-OU ... tart on 1s :our opcn tng fi:unc. and 11 can be all\- thin!.! mthe -.ccne that is tnll:rc'>tlll!.!. but it is best IItt i-, -.omcthing ihat itrcleHtntto the '>lOr). It Is e\cn~bcllcr 1fthc opcntng f'Iame tdl., a l11tle -,toi') 111 thclf. In 1111r c:hc. pcrhap... the) arc an\tousl) ''at ling for a ltli.: ur death phone call and our opcnmg frame or the telephone re\ cal ... that the telephone ha., been unpluggcd in a \\a) that the) \\Ouldn't '>L'C . I hen. ''hen "e pan O\cr to sec thcm an\Iousl) \\illling .111 Important .l!ld suspcn..,cful piece of the -,tor) ha ... been added ..,11111cthmg that" c knm,. but the) don't.
EMPTY FRAME

1.33, 1.34 and 1.35. A match cut from Ronin From the character's face, 1 t cuts to a black screen which. as 1t IS closed. is revealed to be the cover of a Pelican case. As th e cover is lowered further. the next scene is established. Although this type of cut can be used anywhere, 1t is of particular importance here because the cut is to the same location at a Iacer time. The opening and closing of the case serves as a time t ran sillon: we know it IS a later time because there was no open case in the previous shot. Without this tran sition a cut to the same men stand in9 elsewhere in the same shop m1ght have been jarring and dis tracting: why have they suddenly jumpea to another spot 1n the room'? (The completely black frame is omit ted here.)

Another ''a) ol' transitmning into a scene 1s to stan "ith ,111 cmpl) frame and h:l\ c them cntcr. Th1.., 111<1\ not be the nHht C\Lillll!.! "a\ 10 '>larl a -.ccnc. but II i... al\\ a\ ...... ate. I he beaut\ or thl ... IS that it gi' c-., thc cd1tor a chotec. ( 11 \ mg thc ctl!tor ortion~ should ah\ a).., he a goal. Othcl'\\ Isc the -,ccnc ''ill ah\a)-s JU"t be'' hat 11 '" there" no chance 111 cJilln!.! to makc 11 bcllcr or Lhc 11 111 a \\:1\ that hL'llcr SCI"\ Cs the '>101) or t7l alter thc J1atll1g and llO\\ of' the sc~nc. \lore nnportantl)-. it gt\ c.., the edt tor a chancc to fi\ probknb I hh ,., a kc;. pomt; be:ond that. 1-.ccp in mmd thatthc cdllor ma;. noiJlhl be lr)- ing to li\ a probkm \\ ith this scene. -,hc ma) be tr;. ing to .. oh e somcthi n!.! '' 1th the scene that cnmc .. before or alicr 11 One ol the thln!.!s tlu~t chan!,!cs mo.,t ol'tcn 111 cdttln!.! 1s thc order ol thc -.,cenc.... Let~ -.ay that 111~ the scnpt thc sccnc th:!t comc-. before this ,.., une nn oh 111g a car cha..,c In that case. 11\ no problem that \\ c start '' 1th an opening framc of thcm already -,!ltmg 111 the room. talktng. But \\hat if. for ..,lor\ rca sons. the scene that comes immediatch bcli,rc th i... onc Imohes the -.amc character-, m a dtf'li:remlocattoii and the '>ccnc ends'' !lh thcm ju-.t .,It ling thcre. I hcrc ,.., no \\tl) )Ill! can cut !'rom that -;ccnc to thi-., onc '' ithout it seeming jarring.
Entering and Exiting Frame

This IS\\ h) II 1s important. \\ hcne\ cr po..,.,iblc. to let the dwracter-, both cntcr fiamc and e-... it frame. or to pnn ide ... omc other sort or tnllhlllonal de\ icc. Rcmcmb..:r. the editor can ah\ :1\.., .. tart the ..,c..:n..: alicr thcy ha\ e sat dm\ n.... o all you arc domg i-. shtioting a l'c\\ C\tra kct of film or tape well \\orth 11 lo r thc ... ati:t) factor it gain.., lhh ,..,truc of'all ... hot~ \\her..: the character'" mo\in!.!. Ills al\\a\.., ..,afi.:st to start" ith a clean framc and cnd '' llh thc ch:1ractcr c\itiil!.! frame fhc altcrnall\ c 1s to pan on and pan off at thc end. f"hi~ ltka carrie .. thrOU!.!h llllllall\ othcr SIIUaliOils a .. \\ cll. Ir '>0111COnc ,.., com mg. in a door~ ne\ cr -,t,lrt \\ ith the door a Iread:. part1all) opcn. start rollin!! and \\ait a beat or l\Hl bcforc call1n!.! acti1111. Thc ~ame ap pii..:s to somconc runnmg mltl frame or a tralll (ro-,..,ing frame or a tekphonc ringing an) li.mn of action. The tcrm beat 1s dtflkult to dchnc. but m thh conte\t it u"thtll;.

<tl''"'"

cmematography

20

mean!> rough!\ a ~ccorH.I . There can abo be emotional bcab. dialog beat!> and t;n. Ba~ically it mean~ a sel f-contained moment - on~ of a seri e)l. Sometime!>. there is a change in position during the scene or some other factor makes a full. all the \\ay through the scene ma~ter unde!:> irable. In th i!> ca~c. it ma\ be useful to ~ hoot a minimaster. '' hich gets you the parts you \,ant. O\\ we ha' c a "buy take on the master and \\'C arc ready to mo' con.

so

THINKING ABOUT THE COVERAGE

It is im portant to remember that in most cases. the scene\\ ill rarely be used only as a master. and for the mo~t part onl y the beginning and the end of the seene \\'i II be used in the wide master. One mistake oncn madc by llcdgli ng director~ i~ to do take after take of the ma~ter just because an actor flub~ a si ngle line in the middle. or because the director liked the beginning of the ta ke but not the ending: this is o l'tcn j ust a \\as te of 111m. The beauty of thi s technique i), that thc cdi tor can go usc other shots in the midd le of the scene and then eomc back to the master in an cntircl) different take. Since the master scene technique in e-.sence goof proors against continuity errors. the ability to use piece~ of dil1i.:rcnt masters is assured. Thcrc arc excepti on~ to thrs. ho\\cn:r. lor example. if there i-. a dramatic change in \\ cathcr condition::. from one mastcr to thc other. In another case. say the director has a last minute in!>pirati on and tells the actor. 'No. don't slug him so he fa lls dm' n. j ust th reaten him \\ ith ) our list. .. In this case we h<n e two very di llcrent ma-;ters. Shooting the cm erage lor each one "ould be \'ery di lferent. In one case the second actor is h ing on the ground and in the second case he is still standing. In tluit case. the director has to make an on the spot decision about which master is the buy take. It is poss ible. anti sometimes e\'en nece~san. but .. ,,e.ll shoot both \Crsions is not a phrase producers or assistant directors li ke to hea r.
BOOKENDING

One method "hich is so mctime~ used on IO\\ budget production i~ called "bookending." It ca n sa\e a tremcndou::. amount of film and considcrablc time but has certain inherent risks and limitations. In bookencling. you shoot only tht: beginning and ending of the scene in a mast cr. If. and onl y i (you know you arc going to usc tht: master just lo r the beginning and ending. you jump o' er the bulk or the scene anti get it in cO\crage. While it is quite common to usc only the first and last par1 of the ma::.ter. deciding to bookend a scene is still not a dt:cision to take lightl y. In practice. an editor rare!) goes back to the master in the heart of CO\ crage and much or the footage of\\ ide masters goes to '' aste. There are~howe,er. times'' hen an-editor will go back.~to the master as an cditorial cho ice and perhaps more frequentl y as a problem fixer to sa\'e a scene v. hich is for some reason uncuttable othcr'' ise. Certainl y. the editor \\ ill go back to a master when some action takes placc that is somchO\\ larger than the realm of the coverage. for exam ple. t\\ 0 people sitting at a restau ran t table. Once they hm c been seated and the waiter has left. most ol' the scene wi ll play out in coverage. ll owever. i r someone else enters the restaurant. the wa iter comes back or therc is a fi ght at the next table. the scene ,,ill al most certainl y go back to the master or some type of wider shot. There is an old film saying that a day of shooting is often Gone ll'ith the IVind in the morning and Cops at the end or the day. meaning that it is possible C\ en for experienced filmmakers to lavish a great deal o r time and attention on relati,cly simple shots at the beginning or the day \\ hich later robs of' them of time they desperately need fo r the last scene of the da y. This is just one or many reasons that a really good assistant director is such an essenti al part
fi lm space

21

or an\ film
LO

appn)priat~ amount oftirl1C ,.., cnicialto a\oiding thi~ and not ha\ rng

t~am. Pa~ill!.!.

the dav so that each

'>C~n~

i...

alloll~d

an

ru<.,h

th~ lat~r ~ccncs.

COVERAGE

Cm ~r<H!C is the ~cncralt~rmm~anrn~ all of the rn~dium '>hot-.. do..,eup~. O\ ~r-thc-~liould~r~ and oth~r slli.lls that ar~ cut rnto th~ rn:.ht~r to make a complete -.c~nc. \\ c can thin!.. of th~ ma ... tcr a ... a tiamL\\Ork into \\hich \\Clay th~ inflll or the CO\Cragc CUL<l\\a~.._ and in..,crh.
ANSWERING SHOTS

1.36 and 1.37.Answering shots from the same coverage. Because the lens, the focus distance, lens height and angle are the same, the head sizes remain the same and the physical relationships are constant and the scene cuts back and forth.

When shootrng a dialog scene'' ith t\\ o or more people. them er-the... houldcr~ and dose-ups'' ill al\\ays come in sets: an CHS and CL ,.., lor each person in the shot. The OTS or CU for the second pep..on filmed i... called an ansv.ering -.hot. Th~rc i-. one rule abo\e all others \\hen it comes to ailS\\ ~ring shots: they must match the "hot the\ arc arh\\ering. They must match in ever) '":t) : len ... focal length . drsLance from subject to camera. kns height and horizontal angk. Thi.., is a \Cf) impoitant rule. If the -.hot... don't match 'er') clo~~~~ th~~ \\ill look \~r) a\\K\\ard ''hen cut together. (Figure-. 1.36 and I \ 7 ) The golden rule ofcmerage: ans\\enng ..,hots should match in focal length. fo~u ... di..,tancc. len-. lici~ht and hori/Oiltal angle. ~ Th~re arc some ~'\c~ption-. to thi-. rule. hr-.,t. ifth~ L\\O actor-. ,11'1.: 11r ditTerent heights. you ... hould adju-.t <.,o that the camera rs m~r th~i r should~r. that i..,. hrl.!hcr for the taller actor and lm\ er for th~ "honer a~tor. Altcrnati\ely\'ou can cheat it b) putlrng th~ shorter actor up on an apple bo'\. But you don't \\ant to go too far'' ith a cheat like this or the audience \\ill pcrcci\e that all ora sudden th~ actor has gnm n. The s~cond ~-:ccption ,.., \\hen on~ actor i-. a 'cr') big pcr... on '' rth a large head and the second r~ a p~rson "ith a small head. This is another area \\ h~rc marn first-lim~ director'> go \\ron!.! b\ bclr~\ ing that lh~ rules arc Cal:\ cd tn ">lOne and must llC\ Cr l1c , llllated Wl1at really mallcr-. ,.., not '>0 much that the camera be th~ e'\act same distance :.may lh>m each -..ubj~ct. \\hat count.., is thatth~ 1111;\!,!C si;cs and pcrspccti\~ arc roughly the sam~. You may want to k<l\e a slight di ITcr~ncc b~cau ... ~ the) audi~nce docs knO\\ that the actor ... arc or ditTcrcnt Si/e">. It IS Important tO r~mcmbcr that the rule ... ;tr~ onl) guidelines: in the end Judgment and c:-.pcrienc~ must b~ the final arbiter-., and th~) can only be based on an und~rstandmg or'' h~ the rules arc th~ \\a) th~ arc.
SHOOTING ORDER

Ordinarii\.. th~ master i-.. shot lir-..t. \\ hich r~ n~all\ th~ h~art ol the \\hole m~thod. One~ the dtrcctor is -;atisficd that he ha" a "bu\ .. t,tkc. th~ AD announc~s that .. ,\ e rc going in for cm ~nl!!~ ... It is a h\ ,I\ s b~sl to ... tart \\ ith th...: \\ idc-..t sht)[s ;nd move in st~p-by- ... t~p. Tlii-. \\Orks bc~t tor lighting and grip but it rs also easier to match the action in close-ups as it v\lb established in the v. id~r -.,hot-... In thi-. regard. th...: master .. ..,cts" the scene: once something is done 111 the master it is part or the continuity. One~ you hm c n~buy take or th~ master. that is the template lor all later action. dialog and CO\~ntge In the case of this sc~nc ,,~11 probably \\'ant to go the t\\n-shnt ne'\l. fh~ t\\ O-shot is a fiamc \\ hich JUSt rncludc-. the t\\ 0 Lharal tcrs. In the case of thr~c ~haracter-.. it\ a three-shot. A L\\ o-... hot from the side'' rth th~ L\\O characters facrng each oth~r ,.., called ,1 50-50. ext com~s the O\ cr-th~--;houlder.... A true O\ ~r-th~-... houlder include-. som~thinl.! of the forc~round actor. somctrmcs ju-.t a lrlllc piece and somctin1c.., mo..,L of th~ head and should~r. \1tl\ rng 111 -.n
cmematog raphy

22

that none or the foreground actor is' i... ible i-.. called a clean single. It\ a close-up and still from the subjccti\e angle. ~ \lkr that comes elo~e-ups. As mentioned abO\c. sometimes you can JU'it go to a longer len~ and '>Ia)' in the same position this i~ called .. punching in."' More often. it is necessary to move in and ha' c the foreground actor mo' c aside to make room for the camera. It is ah' a'v'> d~esirable to ha' c the actor doing the dialog be able to ~ ha\ e the l~m.:ground actor !i.:cd him the lines.~

EVELINE
This presents one problem: no" the C)'Ciinl.! ''ill be" rong because the orr-screen actor can "t physical I) be in the right position. The eyelmc i~ the actor-. direction or lool-. in relation to the lens a\ is. The eyclinc in them cr-the-shoulder ''as 'cry close to the lens because the actor speaking \\as lool-. mg into the eyes or the rorcground actor and their head "a'>' cry ncar the lens (Figure 1.41 ). It\ a mattcrol'anglcs. E\cnthough the l'orc~rround actor\ head i'> '>till \crv close to the lens becausc~,,e arc clo;cr. the angular difl'crence "ill be !.!realer. 'v\ hen mO\ ing from a\\ idcr "hot to~a ti)!.ht ClJ. the actual ey;linc is rarely the con~ct cyelinc: it \\On't lool-. ,;ght on film . There is a !.!COmctrical reason ror this as c.,ho\\ n in rigurc-.. I.JX. 1.39 and 1.4!1. ~ ~ In pracllce. the correct line is often \cry close to the lens. -.;o close 111 !'act that a mark is sometimes placed inside the malic bo\. It is ah\a\-.. a good a idea to make a mark \\here the actor._ C\elinc should be\, hen It is not in the other actor's eyes. This pre\ c1its hi" eyes !'rom" andcring or not bcinl!. con-.istenl from take to take. This i; a cheat. or course. In the eml~it often up to the camera operator "ho ha~ the be" I 'ic\\ throu!!.h the 'icv. finder to gi\ c the final v. ord on" hcthcr the e)clme lool-.~ correct or not. It\ a~judgment call and demand~ C"\pcnencc to get it right. [)clme may al-,o rcl'er to the direction ofthc actor\ look in a PO\' -,hot or a reaction 'ihot. Since \\ 'C arc ol"tcn filming the actor cntircl)' o.;eparatel~ from the actual thing '>he i" looking at or reacting to. it i" crucial for the director and DP to \'vorl-. out the imaginal) gcograph)' ol'thc scene and gi' c the actor a rclcrcnce so that the eye line" ill be correct. J\s abo\ c. it i~ important to gi\ c the actor a mml or ~omc "ind for her to li:\ her ga/e on. It i-. also important that no ere\\ member or actor not ill\OI\cd in the scene -.tand too close to an actor's cycline. Ir someone doc-.. there i" a danger that the actor" iII catch the eve of the crc\\mcmbcr. and it will catl'ic them to take an incorrect cyelmc.

TURNAROUND
Ob' ioush \ ou "ould ne\cr do the 0\ er-thc-shouldcr on one actor, then mo,"c ihc camera to do the o rs on the other actor. then co baci-. to the lirst l(lr the clo-..c-up and so on. This" ould be very inCl"ficicnt and time con~uming. So natural!\ vou do all the CO\crage on one 'iidc then mm e the camera and n:sctthe lightinc. This is called the wrnaround. The turnaround i" "here" e get all the an-." ering shots. J\ ncr" indo\\ and door matching. the turnaround i~ the other major area "here cheating i-. employed. in ca~es "here -;omc physical obstacle precludes a good camera po~ition lor the turnaround. or perhap~ the sun is at a bad angle or maybe it"s a complex lighting setup and there "imply isn't time to break it do" n and re-light l'or the HilS\\ ering shot. I the backgrounds \\ere neutral or largely in darknc-.;s. tlw, tina I step "ould not have been necessary. This i-. important because oficnthc purpo-;c ol'cheating the turnaround is to avoid a nHIJor re-light. Mming C\erything mer a couple or lcet " ould ill\ ol\c '>OillC re-lighting - not much. but perhaps more than you sec Figure l .-l2. can afford. time-\\ isc

1.38, 1.39 and 1.40. As the camera moves in for tighter coverage, the lens must be closer to the eyeline axis. II it doesn't, the geometry will force the eyeline on screen to seem to be moving farther off-axis.

fi lmspace

23

PREPLANNING COVERAGE

Which brings us to another key potnt '' htch 1.., ca.,ily tn crluohd '' hcnc\ cr you arc setting up a master, take a moment to th1nk about the CO\ cra!!C that \\ill come later. Make sure that there i~ -.omL' \\a\ to position-the camera for proper ans\\ cnng shoh. It is' cry ea-.~ t~l get your-;clf' backed into a corner or up against an obstrw:tion that makes 11 dillkult or lmposo.,iblc to position the camera for a proper ans\\Crlllg shot. Remember that idea II\. an alb\\cring -.hot ... hould be the same l'tlcal length. focus distance -and angk as ~1c -,hot it i-. patrcd \\ith. In a pinch. tfyou can't get quite f~tr back enough (or dose enough) you can cheat a btl'' ith a diiTcrcnl focal length to end up'' ith the same image si/c. \\ hich is by lar the most important parameter rhc tir... t choice. hm\ C\ cr. is to always ma tch c\ cry thmg. The '>t:cond possibility is to cheat the actor-. out a bit. I 01 met-theshoulders and close-ups. tt is usually only neccssal") to ha\ c them mo\ c a IC'' feet. They ''ill be in a slightly di fTc rent posttton 111 the room. but normally this'' ill not be noticeable. Like many tssucs of continuity. it is a quc ... tion of judgment and expcncncc a-. ltl ho\\ much) ou can cheat. An c'amplc is shO\\ n in ftgurc I .42
PLAN SCENE

1.41 . {a, band c) Top: eye line too far from the lens. Middle: correct eye line Bottom: eyeline on wrong s1de of lens.

The master scene method ts not. hm\C\CL the only \\ll) to shoot a ...ccnc. t\nothcr approach i-. called pl[m scene .. \ Fn:nch film tcnn. phin -.ccnc ts played out as a choreographed single shot. Tht-. ,.., 111 cs ...cncc shoot in!! the'' hole -.ccnc a-, a ma-.tcr. but call in!! it a ma ... t.:r implies thatthc1:C ts go1ng to be CO\ ..:rage.'' hcrcas pltin ~ccnc antiCIpate ... none. Thi.., form of shooting \\as normal 111 llolly\\OOLI film-. up till the 6!).., and i~ ~till used quite a bit in tck\ ision. In both cases tt t:, not unusual to hmc the camera just pan back and forth as character... nos-, the room. 8oth ofthc-,c -,ituations arc much more accepting of the pro-;n.::nium style of, ic\\ ing the scene Tht'> ... ccne from Kubnck 's Path\ of Clmy employ-~ plan -,~.:cnc a-. a de\ icc to illuminate character ( h!!.urc 1.42). llcrc. in the !!rand chateau that sen C'> <h the general's l1cadquartcr.... the camc1~1 folio''.., as the generals 1110\ e in cun in g. de> iating paths. A~ one general -.educe:-. the other into follov. ing an till\\ isc and unethical cour"c or action. he dances"" him ar0tli1d the room. Because the camera mo\e-. do not exactlv echo their 1110\cmcnh. \\C get a much greater '>t:nsc or the de\ iou~. slippel") nature or their m~)\ cmcnls. Thl'> IS in -.trOll!~ contra~! to the mm cmcnts of Kirk Douglas (the '>tratght alTO\\ h~ro ol'thc film). WhcnC\Cr \\C see lmn. he nlo\e'> in '>trai~ht line .... purposdul and direct - clearly an honest man. ~
TOUCH OF EVIL

Another example ofpl{m scene ts the opening scene of Touch o/ E\"1/. lnthts Or-.on \\'e lks tour-de-force. \\C arc introduced to most olthc main character~. the '>lOry i'> SCI-Up, backslOI) IS introduced, most or the Important exposition or the o.,tory i'> accomplished cfl"ortk'>sly. a great deal or the lanlbcapc used in the rest of the stor::. is established. there is a mint-suspense story and tinally a dramatic car c:-.plo-.ion. \II of this done is one long graecfully choreographed and elegant!) performed tracking. craning, panning and tilting shot. The Shot The picture s most remarkable photographic !'cat i" ih opening '>Ccnc. an unbroken 3 I -+-minute rolling crane shot. The action CO\ crs "e'cral blocks of do\\ ntO\\n Venice~ California (dressed to look like a rundlm n Mcx ican border tm\ n) from an ama7ing arrav or an!!lcs. including ckhc-ups, lo\\ tracking shots. 'cry long shot~ and bird"sc::. c 'IC\\ s {Figures 1.-B thru 1.-+6 ). 'I h..: scqucnc..: begins\\ ith a close-up or a time bomb in a man-.
Cinematography

24

hand-., a-. the clod, '" bemg -.,ct. I he camera"" mg-., up a-., the culprit loob dm\n the ... treet to -.cc ifan)onc '"coming. pull., back a-. the man runs to the nght. and l(1llm'" h1s shadm' along a blllldmg \\all to a conH'rtlbk parked behind the build1ng. 1hi-. anon~ mous man puh the bomh mthe trunk of the conn:nihk and run-. <1\\ a) <h a man and a "oman cmcrue from the bad. door of a nu~htclub and climb into the' duck. Pullmu a\\a\ from camera. the car circle.., behind the buildinu as the can1era n10\ cs to a h1gh angk to -.ho'' it pullmg out on th~ far -.ide and turning right onto the -.treet. The camera then race-. past and ahead of the car. craning dm' n to e)C lc\cl and pannmg back a-, the car 1110\Cs IO\\ard the kns. Nc\\IV\\CLb Vargas (Charlton llcstonl and hi-." IIi: (Janet Le1uh l c1w.,-., th~ '>I reel 111 l~onl of the car. and the camera mo' c-. clo-.e to-folio" them <t... the) "all-. ahead of the auto. The camera a!!aln mo' es ahead. to the 1\mcrican "'de of the checkpoint. The gu<trd and the dri\cr chat "ith Varga-.. congratulating. h11n t(Jr nabhmg a local crime boss" hilc the li:mak p;ts-.engcr compi am-. that -..he hear-.. a licJ..mg "otmd \lkr the auto passe-. them. the camera lllll\ c-.. 111 clo-;e and p1cb up the com cr-.ation bet\\ een \aruas and h1-. ne\\ bndc. "Do \OU rcal1/c I hmcn 't kh-.ed \OU 111 L~\ cr an hour' 1" h the: dra\\ close. a terri fie 1.!\plo-.JOn oc~ur-.. lliT--..crecn len. Onh then i-. then: a cut. to the \'aruas '11.!\\ of the c\ploding cnm erulik \\ e can he sun.: there" ere big -.mile-. and lllh ofbad.:slappmg al'ler the) had a bu) .. tal-.e on that one. I hi-, brings u., to the qul!sllon: ''hat is the c/J/('IItoi/C purpthe of tht... elabmah: and di l'licult -,hot' 1 fhc ans\\ er i-; -.urpn-.mgl) -..11nplc: for the enure three and a half minute-... dunn!! allthl! Introduction-... the di'>Cll..,..,lllll. the bu-.IIH.:-,-, and incidental dii~O!! there'" a bomb tick111!.! 1 Not1cc that 111 the fir..,t frame (IH!llre I -=iJ l the t11ner of the btllllh 111 -.et 111 tight cJo.,!.!-up. I he entire ~equence i-. pa1d off b) the liN cut ;m a) from the -.hot a.., the car C'\plod~-., near b) ( l1gurc I ~6 ). B) not cutting <I\\ a~. b) ntH emplo) mg an) clllpucal cuh or tran-..1llnlb. not e\ en a -.,imple close-up to introduce a character the -,cenc nc\ er let... u.., go. rhere 1-.. 110 -.,ubcon-.,ciou-., c-,cape hatch for the \ le\\ cr. no ptbsibilil) Llf' trid.;er~ . lllll unlike the mag1c1an -..a~ ing "nothing up Ill) -..Jce,e ... \\e kno\\ that blllllb ,.., ucl-.m!.! and \\C clcarh "a" that the timer'' a-.. st..'t fix IU'-l a l'c\\ minute .... Thu-.. Welle" cmj)lll)'- the long take (or plan -.cent..' method)<~'> a teclmlque of building and mamtainmg dramatic telhlllll 111 the lllll-.,t d1rcct and engaging \\<I): all the \\hlk ..,cnmg all of' the \anou-.. other 'otOr) purplbe-., \\C ha\c mentioned.
HITCHCOCK'S RULE

1.42. Plan scene and camera move ment combine to help tell tilE' story by g1vmg us clues about the dev1ous, slippery nature of these French gen erals in Paths of Glory (Un1ted Artists 1959)

1.43 1.44, 1.45 and 1.46. {below) Individual frames from the opemng sequence of Touch of Evil {Urwersal Pictures, 1958).

!'he -;cerl\: abll contain-.. an C\ccllent C\amplc of'' hat ''c "ill call JJnchcock"., Ruk:..,t,calkd hecaus.:: 1t ''a" \lf'r~d llnchcocl-. \\ho lir..,t delineated 1t in h1.., dl'iCUs'>IOn-., "ith I rancoi-., frumnn 111 the hook /file ltnl( f.. /mlfaut. The rule 1-.,: The -.1/C or an object Ill the rramc -..hnuld ~qual it-.. importance in the -.ton at that moment llcre. a-.. <)uinlan takes out the gun. the cnt1re tone ol the scene change., (l1gurc IA7). Cmmd1 ha-, thought he \\<t... a co-con-..p1rator '' ith Quinlan: it ,.., .11 th1-., moment that he realiZe.., he ,.., to be the 'll'llm. The ltm '' 1dc angle'' 1th the camera placed IU"t bl'"ldc <)tllnlan empha..,l/e-. the l!,Un. but -..hm\.., the '1ct11n in the -.,a me -..hot \\clle-. had u-..ed the 'oamc method in an earlier lilm. Tlte lwh /-rom \ho1t~ha1. ''her~ he ,.., the '1ctim rather than the a!.!!!rc-..-..or (I 1gurc I ~XI. In that -.ccnc. the gun i-. abo crucwl. lie is tt;firl! the !.!llll to dr;m attention and !!Cl h1m..,elf arrl!..,tcd for a murder that d1d nolOl'CUr. JJe '-Ct..'lll'- to r!.!ali/e he i-.. the\ IClllll ol'a l'f'UCJ plot. but he lirl'" the gun an)'' a\
fil11"spa e

25

1.47 (above) An example of Hitchcock's rule in Touch of Evil. 1.48. (right) The Lady From Shanghai.

\1o-..t or the picture con ... i... h or hard-lit night scene-.\\ ith jaggl!d. opaque ..,h,Jdtm-. and. 10\\ ,Jrd thl! end. a l'c'' Dutrh tilt-.. Da~ ex tenor-, \\ere done'' ithout flllli!..!llh. \ l'c\\ auto1111erwr-. \\ere lllmed 011 the proce~s 'itage. but most-\\ere done on locat1on \\ith the camera mounted on the car.
TRIPLE TAKE OR OVERLAPPING METHOD

\!though the ma-.ter -,ccne rm:thod 1-.. b\ lin the mo-..t common I) f1l' of ... Jwollll!! 111n<tn'all\e filmmakinc. IllS not the onh \\a\. I he ... implc-.t t~ pe ~)r -,hooting "'''hat i... called th~. triple take- oro~ erlapprnu method. let.., h~ pothe:-oi/e a ha..,1c -..cenc: a'' oman'' alk.., in the door. 'Its ,Jt her de ... k. alh\\ crs the plwne. then lea\ es. If) ou do 11 '' 1th them erlapp111g method. nothing i... repeatl!d ( a-..1de fiom hill\\ n takes). f ir-.t )OU \CI up and photograph her com111g in the thllll'. mak111u '>Ltre that )Oll take the ,H.twn further than )OU ,u:tuall) need for that ... hot. lor example foliO\\ 111g. her to the tksk and ... 111ing d0\\11 C\en though )OU kno'' )llU don't need the la-.t part nl the ... hot. 'lou then ... ct up and ... hoot her com111g Ill'' ard the dc ... k. 'lltlng dlm n ,111d an'>\\cnng. the phone You m erlap again. start1ng the -.hot before ''here \Oll realh need it to becin and cndliH! it alkr ''here :-ou think )<)u need It to ... top. !hi... l;\ctllpping. 1-. "C ... -.cnual. it ensure-. that the editor'' ill h1. able to make -,mooth cut-. that tlm' together natural!).\\ itl1lHII "jump cut<'\\ here there is a cap 111 thL' actwn. You cont1nuc thl'>mcrl<lpp111g until the '>ccnc '"done. It IS a ..,,mpil'. ..,tra1chtl'or\\ard method ... that !.!1\C'> you the scene \ouneed \\ 1th llllninllll~l eompltcat1on.., and ma~II1HIIll efficiency <)b, iou-..1). there 1.., lillie room 1'01 artl..,llc treatment and ... ubtlct\. It 1-.. nwst olh:n u... cd 111 indu . . tnal'>. in-house productiOn'> and donui1cntancs. lhi.., method 1' often used lnll1du ... tnallilm ... \\here )Oll are ..,Jwotmg ..,om~.thmg that can't be repeated let's take an 111du..,tnal e:o.amplc. a !.!rindin!.! machine i.., ... haplll!.! ,1 large metal part It .., the real part. it < \er: ~\f1l'lhi\e. till') 'rl.' <l~l) mak111g one and the !llL'tor: IS on a tight sehcdule. Clear!) ther~. h llll ehann: olshotlllll!.! a \\hole n1.1-..ter all the \\a\ ltl th~ end. th~?n .. tarlln!! O\CI' d!.!am to~!!~t ctncra!!e. The onh lactiH that L'an b~ t.:ontrnllcll-.. that tl1e macl;ine can b~.~ ... tnpp~d ;u'iJ -..tMted. '-.lwut111g \\ uuld then go like tl11-... ) ou -,et up lm a\\ itk ... hnt 'hll\\cmematogrdphy

26

ing the factory and illlerior, then you go for another wide shot shO\\ ing the fea tured machine. hope full y inc luding some of the pre-. ious \\ide shot to c learl y establish \\ here the machine is and that \ \ C arc '> till in the .;ame scene. Yo u hold on thi.., ''ide shot a~ the metal blank is fi tted into the machine. then you ask them to stop. They hold C\el) th ing "hilc yo u go in for a medium ~ho t sho\\ ing the machine and the men working on it. It's always good to get some "hots or smiling \\ Orker:, - thC) lon: it and SO docs the company PR department. ( It ''i ll also make the rest o f your day go easier C\ crybody loves to be a star and they will be far more like ly to cooperate\\ ith you C\ en i it means a disruption in their \\ orkday ). Th is shot continues as they fi t it in place and prepare it. Yo u again a~k for a halt and set up a tighter shot just shm' ing hands makin g the final preparati ons. If you ' rc lucky maybe you can continue this shot as yo u tilt dO\\ n to a hand switching the mac hine on. Again a halt . It is' cry possible that the workers may be getting a little annoyed by no'" another reason to be sure you 'vc already done a fc\\ shots that the ir f~m1 il y will be pro ud o r. And so on like this. You may need to stop the machine to set up certa in trick) close-ups or go back to a wider shot. but if the process takes te n or twenty minutes you can also let it run while you make smaller ca mera position. lighting or lens changes. f ina ll y you' ll ask the m to stop \\hilc you go back to a high wide shot for the fini shing and remova l o f the finished pi ece. And there yo u h:l\ e it. You ha\ c complete coverage and a lithe angles you wa nt on a process tha t can' t be rehearsed or repeated. tr yo u're shooting something like this that can't be ~toppe d it 's a free lo r all. .lust hor c you vc got a hot shot camera assistant and onthe-ba ll grip and ga iTer v. ith you who arent the kind to me lt under pressure: it gel~ pretty hectic and tense in these si tua t ion~. there~ a lot at stake and it s criti cal not to panic. The adrenaline level runs high on the-.,e ki nds of~h oo ts but " hen you nail it 's usuall y high-fives all aro und.

MONTAGE Another method is montage or cornpilatc cutting. Montage consists or a ~cries or -.,hob \\ hich hm e no connection to each other in terms of screen di rection. cont inuity. subject, character. lighting or anything clo.;c. What they usua ll) ha\ c though is e ither a common thematic clemen t (the ra ilroad mo' es fomard). mood (the c ity sleeps as torrential ra in ra lls) or poetic semi-narrati ve: nature awa kens as spring approaches. Momagc is gcm:rn lly on ly u-.e ful lor short sequences in narrati 'e ston tc llin ~r. It can be usc rul info rmationa l \\Ork such as documcnta ric~-or rndustrials but most o ften j ust for short sequences to establish a mood or give an O\ era II impression ora process or situation. m makers ' ' ere much enamoured o f montage: The earh R us~ia n fi 1 they bc l ie~cd that the sequence and length of the shots were as irnt~or tant ""the content. it fit in \\ell ' ' ith their soc ial theory that a ll aspec ts or lit\.: can be reduced to mechanica l rules. Th is 'ic\\ of -;hots as mechanical pieces in themselves "till applies in c'.pcrimcntal or " pure arr films and clear! ) the editing and paci ng ol a fi lm is one o r it's most c ritical cinematic aspects something \\ hrch adds additional layer... of meaning and effect to the content o r a scene. but in narratl\ c film. pure montage has limi ted uses outside o f .. .,ecne setting," " mood building" or " passage of time' sequences. The mcchani ... tic approach to fi lmmaking\\ hich places the highest

filmspace
27

va lue of duration and seq u ~.:nce or shots is explored in Peter Gre~.:n a,,ay' great short film I erticol Features Remake " hit:h simultaneously lampoons the genre and is at the same time one of the fl nest e:-.amples of it.
CONCLUSION: A MIXTURE OF TECHNIQUES

Of course none of these definitions or shooting techniques an: set 111 stone, there are ah' ay~ ' ariations. pemwtations and combinati on~ of all of the e technique!->. Most well-made fil m usc more than one shooting technique. depending on the requirements of the !>t:ene. the location. etc. In the end, it is up to the director and the cinematographer to work together to find the appropriate methods staging each shot and shooting each scene.

Cinematography

28

vi sua I Ia ng uage

MORE THAN JUST A PICTURE

2.1. (previous page) Caravaggio's The Calling of St. Matthew (1600). See a
disscussion of this painting also in the chapter on Lighting As Storytelling. (Reproduction courtesy of San Luigi dei Francesi, Rome.)

2.2. In its own way, this frame from the finale of The Big Combo (Allied Artist, 1955) is as much of a unified visual composition as is the Caravag gio. It is not only 9raphically strong, but the many v1sual elements all work together to reinforce and add subtext to the story content of the scene.

l ~.:t.., th111k of'th~o: fram~.: as mor~.: thanJU"I a '"pi<.:turc" it~ ini'orm,lIIOn. Ckarly some parts of the inl'orma11on arc mon.: 1mportant than other-. and \\C \\ant this inrormatwn to be p~.:rccl\l.:d b) the' 11.:\\Cr in a certain order \\C \\alllthc inrormat1on organucd 111 a partieul,1r \\ ay. Compo..,ition ,.., hm\ this 1s acwmplish~.:d. fhrough wmposttion '' <.: arc tel lim! the aud1encc "here 10 look. ''hat to look at and in \\hal order 10 look at it. The fiamc i.., rundamcntalh [\\0 dlll!Cilsional dc..,lgn. 2-D tk..,i!!n is about guiding the c\e <ind dircclln!! the attention of the \ ie\\ cr in an orga~li/ed ;llalltlel:that COil\ e\ ~ th~ mem11ng that )OU \\ 1..,h to imparl. Itis ho\\ the arti..,l imposes <ipomt Of'\ ie\\ on the matenalthalmay be different f'rom(Hl\\ other.., ..,el' ll. It' all ''e did \\as ..,1111pl) photograph ''hat i.., there 111 c:-.actl) the same \\a\ e\ervone else sees it. the job could be done ln :1 robot camera. ihen.: ,\ ould be no need !'or the cmcmatographer. 'idcographer or editor. J\n image should coll\C) meaning. mode. to1<.:. atmosphere and subte\t on its 0\\ n "1thout regard to' OICC\1\ cr. dialog. aud10 or other C\planatwn. !hi..,'' as 111 its purest c...sencc 111 ..,,knt film. but the principle still applies the 1mages mu..,l stand on thc1r O\\ n. Good compos1 t1on rem force ... the'' a) 1n '' h1eh the mind organi/l.., informa tion. In some cases it ma\ deliheratch run counter to ll\l\\ the ~.:\e brain eombina11on "ork~ in order tl) add a Ill:\\ Ia\ cr llf' me<u1ing or 1ron1c comment. ( ompos1t1on selcch and cmpl1asi/c-. clcmcnh ..,uch as ... ue. shape. order. Jommancc. hierarch). patt<.:rn. resonance and di..,cordancc 111 "a\.., '' hich !!i' e mean in!! to the th111gs bc111g photographed that goes beyond tl1e simple: "11ere the) arc." We'' ill start with the \ery basi<.: rules or' isual organi/ation thcnmo\e on to more sophisticated concepts oi'2-D and 3-D dc ... ign anJ \I SUa I language lhc prin<.:ipks or dc ... ign and \ isua( COmmUlllcation arc a 'a..,l subject: here '' c ''ill JUst tou<.:h on the bas1c.., 111 order to Ia; the foundation for d1scus..,ion.

Cinematography

30

2.3. (above) Balance plays a key role

111 v1sual tension.

2.4. (left) An unbalanced frame from The Third Man (London Film Prod., 1949). It both creates visual tension appropriate to the tone of the scene and also draws the viewer's mmd to what is off-screen.

DESIGN PRINCIPLES

( l.'rtatn ba-.,1~: pnn~:1pk-., pl.'rtain to alit) P'-'" of' i-.,ual uc-.,ign. '' hcthl.'r 111 film. photograph). paulling m dr~l\\ ing. These pnnc1pk-., \\Ork lntcnKti\ d) in 'anou" ~:ombmatiOil'> to add depth. 1110\CnH.:nt and '1sual t'nn:c In the clements of the frame
UNITY

Unit) i" the prin~.:1pk that the' 1 ... ual organl/ation be a .. " hok ... scllcontamcd and l..'llmplctc. This I'> true C\ en ir it i-., a dclibcratd) chaOIIL or unorgani/cd .. informal .. complhition. In l1gurc 2.1. ( ara\aggio \ pll\\ crful compO'>IIIOil usc" clements of Iinc. ~:o lor. p,blll\ c ncgatl\ c "pa~:c. chianhcuro and other' i-.,ual clements to tell a' i... ual "tOr) that i-., plm crful and '>llbtk at the ... amc tunc. In hgurc 2.2. th1s dunactic linal "hot lrom lJ1e Big Comho U'>CS s1mpk. graph1c framL' \\ ithin-a-framc compo:-.iunn to tell the story 'i ... uall): IHI\ing dcl\:atcd the bad !.!U\ 111 a -.hoot (lUI. the hero and heroine cmcr!.!c lrom the darknc-;~ rntn the light both arc compklcl) unifi~d dc..,ign'-'.
BALANCE

\ isual balance 1" an important part of compo'>lllon. I 'cr:- clement 111 a' i... ual compn-.itlon ha-., a\ i... ual \\eight. 1 hc'ic may be organl/cu into a balanced nr unbalanced ~:ompo-.,111011. The '1sual ''eight ol

2.5. (below) Visual rhythm.

2.6.(1eft) Rhythm with an ironic twist in this shot from Stanley Kubrick's Killer's Kiss (MGM/UA, 1955).

v1 sual a ng uage

31

l
A ud~.>JfiOll.'ur a ur :>

~-rz :unil!.-1 u! sn 111n 1! iltq.1q OJ nunqiiq '.:l.l!11b:!.J ,\,pmsl1Jillj -;,:~ \I:!Slll.:lljl SJ;'l:!fl]O .:ll!IJO liO!Plii1J n '! :!.1111\::!.l . ,"1.1111\:ll "1' ;'I \l:!:l.l;'ld tm:l ~ \\ ss,:~l ;'lljJ sr ilurqptun.., \n \\I! l;'ltpll11 :!tp '-I) ';'ISO!:l .\1:! \!1111:!.1 .:llj J<;lllU p;'lfqn lll) lntp \\llU'I :1.\\ '.).1111 - X01Jil W;'IP Jl?;'l.r:i1e ;'1\l;'l,"l.l;'ld UP:l ;'1\\jl . ..,:!lll:l ll!llllb:J.r;"ld ..;;"l\lll0Jill\;'IJ -:m1.1t:J ~~~.1'11111"~ put: "P;'Irqo lt:;'lrs \qd lll!" qro!ll'':ltw.. p .rno uo p:!"n8

3tln1X31
11;),\\ -.t: lljll!.:l \\ iili!II;)J,\Jo)s pur: p:uol]ntll:l ;)llll1.1;"lP!<iliO:l s;"ll.l.lt!;) :1s.rno:l JO put: sdr qsUOIJil!0.1 lll!J -t:d ... tplbp iiu!li!PP ur JU;"luodurn:l pmsr.\ ]lltn.rndtu! tm sr 11 iltlllljil!l .:ltp pun .:ltUt!.IJ ."~Lilli! "11,:~fqo ;-~qlJO .:l.llll\01 put: 1010:1 .:ltp '011111' 'III!P llj'i'ilj ,"ll!l.JO Ul\lj;')lll1J I! Sl )StU!llO) '0l!"Oddo "11 .\q illl!l!lt! \\OU'I ,"l \\

lSVtllNO)
!PJ"lU:!ilur ..;drqsuol)t!l;'l.l 0/1' pm uor).rodo.rd lt' ilu!'IOlli.IO
\1:.\\ ;-~uo 1"111" "' un01\J u:JPIO') :ll!J ue0 l\ u:!pln') :Hpur -;,"l;'l.IOJ pmo.;~'

ll! Jl:!S...;;'I.Itl\;'1 Sl'\\ llll!lj) j)UU ,1...;.1;'1\IUil 0lpJO .):l.IOJ ilUij!O.I)li\D .:ll{l SP\\
':tllntu;-~tpntu Jt!ljl t~;-~P! ;-~tp P"~"";'l.llh:;-~ .\qdl\o.;opqd '10;'1.11) p):tf"SI'I)

NOilt!OdOtld
pun 9 pun ~-z. -;;-~.rnilr Ill' q: \n '' 0pqns \.1;-~' 11 lll ...;;-~uliPlliO" 'PI.:l!l 11111-.;t \ :!tpur 010.1 \;-~'1 H o.;.\qd lllljl \q~] LIOIJl!/lll -t!fl.Ul JO Sll.l;:'llll!d ;'IJI?.).I;') 111';1 ")li;'IIU;'II;'I .mJIIUIS .10 :1 \!)IJ;:'llb.I.JO llltp \q~1

cz.

z.

WHlAHtl
t ;-~.rnilr 1 sn q:lno.; 'IHUI.IOJ pun p:!:lllt! -p:q"' lj:lllj \\ llll!l!SOliUIO:t Ill ll:l\;'1 ;'110.1 I! <;\Hid LIONI;"l) !llll<i!,\ (t'(. .:l.lllil! 1l .\."lll;'l."lt!!dluo."l iiuuoq pro \11 01 "'!;'1;'1'- lj:lllj '' uor)r..,odtUO;'l \un ll! )llt!l.IOdll'! Sl lj:llll \\ 'Ul)ISLI;'Ij P'llSI \ .)Jl!.)J;) LIP:! ;'lllll!.lj 0111 ll! )ll;'llll -;'l ."~l!ld .1!;'1111 p1m Slll:!lll;'ll;-~ p;-~:!utqnqun pur: p;'I;')Ul!lnq JO \n!dJ0llll "~li.L

NOISN31 lVnSI/\
'PI0Y p:rh!' p:!."lllt!p!ljllll .Ill p;'l:lllt!p!lj 11 :!11!;'1.1;'1 0) p:!Sil 0lj UP:! S.IO]:lHJ JO .l;:'ll]llllHI ' (0L6 l '5<lJnP!d 1Ul10WI?JI'd / UOil:>llpOJd <lUUI?!JI?W) JSIWJOjUOJ at/1 WOJJ 1045 JllJJaMod AJ<lW<lJ1Xa 5!41 i})ji?W 01 Ja41a601 )jJOM u6r5ap Jl?l15!11 JO 51uawa1a ~UI'W CZ

v JI;'ISJI

.r.'IJlt!lll p;-~fqns 0111 Plll' IOIO:'l s11 '01llll.IJ 0111 ur unnrsod "'! \q p:'IP;'I_lJt! ns1n sr 1114 :'1/!" "'! \q p0U!IU.J01Jp \p.1muud "! p;)rqo un

DIRFCTIONAL ITY

nw-,1 luld.un~lllal ''' '1-..u,tl pnnL'ipk-.. '" dlr~ctlllllalll). \\ 11h .1 " - " '""c..ptlllll-... ~, o.:r~ th1ng ho~-., ..,\lllh.' '"l~m~nl nl dll\.'l'tillllal11~ I hi-.. du'"ctlllll;tllt~ ,.., .1 1-..:: '"kmcnt 111" lh ',-..u.il '''-'l!,!hl. "!uch ,kt<.:IIIIIIIC-.. l111\\ 11 "ill ;IL'I 111 .1 'i-.,ual 11ckl and 1111\\ it "ill .li"li.:Lt oth'"r ._i.:llll'llh \n: tl11ng 1h.11 "11111 "~ llllllCinLall" dlrl'l"tilln.d

<In~ 1>1 th~

2.8 top' In thi~ ~hot from fhc ,,,formist. textUJe and contrast arE t'n,phasized and re1nforced by hq t
I 'l(j

2.9. (,lbove) L1ght1ng prr pect ve cho1ce of len s and c.Jmel,l pos1t1on combine to give th1s Greqg Tolmd shot tremendous dPpth
VI

2.1 0 . Overlap in a composition from the noir film classic The Big Combo.

THE THREE-DIMENSIONAL FIELD

In till) form or photography. \\C arc takmg a thrcc-dimen-,ional "orld and projecting it onto a t\\ o dimensional Iramc . .'\ \cry big part of OUr JObs in directing and -.;hootll1g IS this CSSCiltial idea uf creating a three dimen-,ion \\ orld out or t\\ o-d11ncns10nal 1111age-... It Lall-.. mto play, a \ast array or techniques and methods. not all of them purely design oriented. as we shall sec later. ] here <II"C. ol course. limes \\hen \\ c \\ish to flatten the pen:cption or space and make the frame more t\\ o-dimcnsion; 111 that case the same prim:lples apply,. the) arc just used 111 a different fashion.
DEPTH
II) ing

l '>;ccpt \\here a perception of flat space i-.. the goal, \\ c arc often to create a pcrccptlllll of depth \\ ithin \\hat i-. actually a flat t\\ o-dimcnsional space. rhcrc arc a number or\\ ay ... to create the illusion of depth in a t\\0 dimensional licld: ligurc 2.lJ -.bO\\S great depth in a\ isual field. 0\ crlap Si/e change Vertical location llori/ontal locat1on L mcar pcr-,pccti\ c rorcshortc ning Chiaroscuro .\tllllhpheric pcrspcLII\ c

OVERLAP

0\crlap clearly, establishc-. front back relationship .... -,omcthing "Ill front llr another thing I'> clearly closer to the obscncr: a" 111 tl11-. frame from the noir cla-.;'-,IC fflc 8ig ( o/1/ho ( rigurc .2.1 0).
c111ernatog ra phy

34

RELATIVE SIZE

2.11 (top) Relative s1ze IS key n

\ltiWU!!.h thL' e\~ ~<Ill he fookd. the rdat l\e SILe of an ohj~Ct j-, a n this shot from High Noon, but clearly linear perspective and overlap also 11nport~nt \ 1'-ll~il L'luL' to depth. <h 1n figure~ II. Rdatl\e ~ize I'> the play a role. k~~ \.'lllllj1llllelll 111' lll<lll) llplll..'<tl IIIU~Illlh .tnd a !.;~) COillpO~ I llllllal 2 .12 (above) Kubnck uses hnear per ckm~nt 111 lll.lllipulating the' te\\ er-.. uncolhCillll'> p~rc~ptllm ul th~ spective to convey a sense of the "uh)L'CI. It I'>. ofclHir"~ th~ 111<1111 ekm~nl nf ll1tch~nd.., ruk as liio.,- rigid military and social structure tn Paths of Glory (United Artists, 1957) cu-,o.,ed 111 thL' chapter I illll'f'U< e.
v suallanqu c,e

35

VERTICAL LOCATION

Grm ity i~ a factor i~ 'isual organ1zatwn: th~: rdall\1: \l:rtical position or obj~:ch is a Jcpth cue. This I~ parttcularl~ important in the an of'\~ia. "hich has nottradillonall) rd1cd on linear pcrsp~:cti\1: ,ts it is pracllccd 111 \\ cst~:rn an. 'Sec th~: chaplet on Lcm Language for an e\.amplc or IHl\\ \kml Kuro~a\\ a translates this concept in hi~ lhC ofkn'>e'>.
LEFT/RIGHT

Large!\ a rc~ult or cultural condtttonll1u. the eve tend~ to scan fiom lett ~to ~ighl. Tlw. has an ortknn!.! d'fect on th~ '1sual \\I:I!.!lll or ckmcnh 111~th~: fkld It i~ also cntu.:7tlto l11m the C\e ~cans a !ram~: and thu" the order or perception and mo\ emenl in the composllion.
LINEAR PERSPECTIVE

2.13 Chiaroscuro is what makes this shot from The Black Stallion mysterious and engaging. (United Artists, 1979.) 2.14. Chiaroscuro usually involves a high contrast ratio. 2.15 Foreshortening is especially noticeable with the human form.

L111car p~:r-.p~:cll\e a~ \\C 1-.nm\ 11 toda) \\as an iment1on llf the R~:m11s~anc~:. fhe architect and aru-.t Leon Ballista \lh~:rt1 (l-l06-l.f72) fir ... t formulated the rule~ ofconstruct111g per... pe~:ti\c dnl\\ inus. daborat111!.! on earlier obscn at tons b\ Brundksch1 I k also fot;nulat~:d the ll1~:on that beaut\ is harmon~. for us in film and \ideo photograph~. it is i10t nccc ...sa~) Ill kmm -the lonna I ruk ... or pcr... pccti\ ~: (e\.c~:pt in some case ... 111 '1sual effects "ork and shootmg lor front or rear projection) hut 11 I'> Important to recogni.1~: ih importune~: 111 'i-.ual organl/atiOn "ubrick usc ... 11 to re111ltlrcc the ngid. forma l nature of French '-OCII:t\ and mii1t.tn 111 f'i!.!ur~: ~ . 1 ~-a frame from Path' ol (,/on. ~
FORESHORTENING

F-oreshortening IS a ph~:nomcnon or the optiCS or the 1:~ 1: (I igure 2.15). Since things that arc closer to the C) e appear larger than thll'>l: f~lrthcr a\\ <l) . \\hen part of an OhJCCt IS lllUCh closer than th~: TC'>t of it. the' i~ual dtstorllon gi\cs us dues <IS to depth anJ '>i/1:.
CHIAROSCURO

Italian for huht (ch!llra) and -..hado\\ ('>couro. same l at111 root ,h obscure). ch i~troscuro. or gradat ions or light and dark (I Igur~: 2. 1-+ ). establishes depth perception and creates 'i'iual focus. l)uKe dealmg \\ ith lighting Is one of our major ta'ib. thi" j.., an nnpon.111t Cllll ... idcrcmematography

36

alton 111 tllll \\ nrk. I tgun: 2.1 ~ ,.., a ... hot Irom Ill< Blc/( f.. .Stu/lion. \~:~: alsn figur~: 2.1 c. ,tra\ aggio. '"or cour-.~:. 0111: ofth~: great mast~:r-. ll( chi,IIW,CUI'Il.
ATMOSPHERIC PERSPECTIVE

\ tmosph~:nc pt.:r'>pt.:ct i' ~: (-.omt.:ltmes C<ll kd <ten a I p~:r-.p~:cu' e) '" somethmg or a -;pt.:clal case a' II I'- an l:lltirdy r~:al \\Orld" phenomeiHlll . < >hJCl'h that arc a gr~:a1 di ... tancc a\\ ,1~ \\ill htl\ ~: ks-. detail. ~c..,, ..,,llurated Clllors and ucncrt~lh be ks., d~:fin~:d than thlht.: that arc clt~'>t.:l . :\lo-,t lll tim '"; result -ol the image bemg lilt~:rcd through more atmo..,ph~:re ,md hate. I late litters out some or the ltlll!! (\\Miller) \\a\cknuth .... ka\ Ill!! mort: or the ..,hnrter. bluer \\H\clengths. It-- nw ... t 11111nc:liat~: appl1:auon 111 111m and \ td~:o i.., often 2.17 below) The bram organizes these stmple lines into somethtng -,een ''hen -,lwotmg '' 1th had.drop.., nr tran ... ltghts (' t.:r) large tran-,- meaningful. p<trencies u... ed a-. background-.). Often the~ ''ill ha\e too much 2.18. (bottom) The smuous S: a ~pe lktail. '' hil'h l!l\ c' a\\ a\ the l:tcl that the\ art: dn-,e to u.., and not cialized type of line that has il long real. The -,olution i-, Ill ih a lan.!t.: net bt.:l~\ e~:n tht.: bad, or th~: -,et history in visual art. .md the tr,tn'>ltglll. I ht-. dccrea ...:-. detail anJ create' the p~:rceptton ol' ha/L' ~e .. ltgure 2 l(l
FORCES OF VISUAL ORGANIZATION

2.16 Atmospheric perspective is an important element of this shot from City of Last Children {Studio Canal +, 1995) not only for the sense of sad ness and isolation but also because it is a set built in a studio. Without the sense of atmosphenc perspective added by the smoke and back light, it is doubtful the illusion would hold up so well.

\II ol th~,, .. ba,, .. dement-. c.m then be deplo) ed in \ anou' cnmbt1\dlltllh 111 ~.-r~.ate a ht~:rarch~ ol pcrceptttln. the: c.1n u~.at~: an mganitatton ol the 'i ... ual lidd '' llllh make-, the compo-.ttton coherent .md gtmk ... th~. ~..:~.. ,llld the hram as 11 put-. the ml(lrmatton tog:cthe1 I he-.~: 1ndude

THE LINE I h.. ltnc. ctlhe1 e:--pltL'II or impla:d. '' .t ullhtanl in' 1-.u,d dc-.tgn. II '' (1ll\\ crful 1n efll:ct ,ll\d muluht~.etcd 111 ih u-,~:. Ju..,t a k\\ -.tmpk IIIIL'' c.tn llr~ :lltl/e .1 t\\O-dtmt.:thltll1al -,pace 111 a \\<I~ that I-. umlprchL'Ihthk h~ the I.') e bra II\ ( 1-igure 2 17 1 The t~ p~:-. or line ,II"L' 111<111). hut th~.r~. .tr~. ,1 that de-.;en 1.' -,peci.tlm~:nllllll for their tmport,tnce 111 \ ,,u,il Ill ~.mit;ttion .

t;:,,

vts uallarqudqe

37

2.19 (top) Lme as form and move ment 111 this frt~me from Seven Samu
fQI

THE SINUOUS LINE

2.20. !above) The classic sinuous Sin tht shot from The Black Stallion.

I h..: '>tnlllllt-.. 1111..:. \\ lm:h "''>lllll..:tim..:" rd..:rr..:d to :t-- the rL'\ LT"L' -.,: a eonstant l) r..:cunmg theme 111 \ isual art {ltgur..: ~.1 )';)and h"" been -,111c..: it ''a .. u..,..:d c\tcn-,i\ ..:I;. a-.. a complbtttlliWI pnn..:ipk h;, the (las-.. teal C,red. artt>;h ll ha-, a lh-..tinctl\..: harmon;. and balance all th ll\\ n. ,,.., -..c..:n 111 the.,..: C\ampk-. from lfle !Uoc f.. .\tollum .md \en 11 \c/1111/IW (I iglii"L'" ~.19 and 2 21 l
j..,

COMPOSITIONAL TRIANGLES

\-.. \\ tth the '>lllltllll'> cur\ L". tnangk-.. an.: a plm crlul conlpll"tttllttnl tool. One..: ;.mt o.,t,trt llHll-.ing li.H them. :-ou '''ll .,ee L"l'lllPll"ttton:JI triangle., C\ cr;. ''here the~ arc a l"undamenta I toul of' htt.tl lit g.tninHion I tgurc 2.22 j., a frame fmm /be Hic.:. \It I' an nttht:mdiiH!
ctnemiltography

38

2.2 1 (left) The s1nuous 5 and tts use in Kurosawa's Seven Samurai. As we will discuss in Lens Language, the use of a long lens is also an element In bringing out this pure line element of the composition. 2.22 (left below Compositional tn angles in the film noir classic The Btg Sleep. (Warner Bros., 1946.)

fhtllll'

~:-.ampk th~ noir g~nr~. Th~ ~ompo~ttional triangle-. k~t:p th~ a~tt\ ~ l'\ t:n through a f~tirl:- long ~\(Xhllional -;c~n~

or

HORIZONTALS, VERTICALS AND DIAGONALS

rh~ ba-.ll: Itil~ .. ar~ ah\a:-" a I~H:tor Ill almost an:- I) pt: or 1:0111(10\1 ttoth '...~arh mlintlt: 111 'ari~t\. th~' ah\ a\~ ~:om~: back to th~ ba-.i~.:-. lwn/ontal. ~~rtu.:.tl and dtagt{nal l itK'" Ill<!) b~ t:\pltctt. a-. 111 th~.:-..~ shoh liom \( n 11 \wnurui ( ltgur~ 2.19 and 2.2 I) or impli~d in th~ arrang~m~nt ol obj~t:h and spact:~.

THE HORIZON LINE AND VANISHING POINT

( )ur

in nail.: Ulllkr-;tandmg or pcr-.pt:cll\ ~ lends a -.pee tal as:-.octation

to lith:''' htlh .tr~ pt:rct:i\ cd as hon/oll line-.. Itnt:-. of pcr,pt:t:ll\ ~

and 'alll-.hmg pumt. I tgur~ 2.16 -,hm\-. lnm tngramcd the hon7on lint: 1-.. in our pt:rc~plton. thrt:t: 'tmpk ltnc~ on ''hit~: -..pa~:c ar~ l'llllllgh to -..ugg~-.t it
THE POWER OF THE EDGE. THE FRAME

\-.. \\ l' \ J<;Uafh Hkntil) an Ob.J~I:l 01 gwup of' obj~l:h Ill ,I framt:, \\ ~ af-..o -..uht:<llhi:IOU-..1\ ,1\\ar~ of th~ fram~ lh~ff fh~ rour t:dgc-. of lr.unt: ha\ c a' t-.ual fort:~ allth~ir ll\\ 11. Obj~ch that .tr~ do-.~: to tht: tram~ ar~ 't,u,tll:-. .t':-.ociat~d '' ith 11 .md 'JC\\Cd 111 rdattllll to 11
,tr~ th~
VISUa

Ia gu

CjC

39

2.23. (above) Vert1cal and diagonal I nes in Seven Samuwi. 2.24. (right) Verticals and horizontals rn this snot from JFK (Warner Bros., 1991) are especially strong given the wide screen aspect ratio. Not1ce also how the unbalanced frame and neg alive SJ?aCe on the right side are especa1lly important to the compo sit1on. Imagine if they had framed only the"important elements" on the left. It would not be nearly as strong a composition and would not work nearly so well for w1de screen. 2.2S.(right, below) Diagonal lines are cruoal to this shot from The ConformISt

than if th~~ ar~ r:.ll"th~r .1\\ '~. Th~ frame .... lidJ ur ltli"Ce-, excrh \H~ight on the objects'' I thin thL' frame .llld an) grouping ,,j ~km~nh 111 the thun~ ar\. .tlkL ed b~ it,\.'\ \.'n more..,,,"' the obJects or group-, or object~ ar..- 'er~ clu~e to ore\ en O\ erlappmg the l..'dgc. l he frame :d"o pia~ ... an important role 111 making u-.. a\\ arc ut tla1-..c -,pace-.. urt-lramc !crt nght. up thm nand c\ ~n the ... paL'L' bd11nd the camera al l part uf th\. lilm~pacc 1lf' the entire compo-..ition ,md crucial w m.tkmg the' i-..ual ~'P~rt~nn: more thrce-dllncn-..ton,tl 'i"u:d
Cll"'e....,cJtoqrap"y

111\ll'~

40

OPEN AND CLOSED FRAME

lrLIL' til th~ ~a ..~ \ll an <lp~n nr cl\h~d thmlL'. \n op~n I rallll.' 1.., on~ 111 "h1ch Pile Pr more (lr th~ clement.. ~II her pu .. hc .. the cd~l.' or .tctuall::- enh"C' the edge (I igurc 2.2(1 ). \ cl\hCd il.tllll.' l"ll'll.' Ill\\ h1ch the l.'icllll.'llh arc cumrortabl\ l'llllldlllt:d \\ lthlll the frame (llglii'L' 2 .27). \!though \\C hHlk at the iram~-.. here a~ still plhltogr.tplb. mo-..t frame., llt' .1 lllllllllll p11.:ture .trl.' d;. 11am1c I h1-. I'>

p.it11L'Uiarl~

2.26. (top) An open frJm t1on from Seve11 Samura

'Tlpo 1

2.27 (above Closed f m O'll pos1t1on: Or Scrongelove (o umb a Trist,1r 1961 .

41

FRAME WITHIN A FRAME

Somet11ne!> the composition demantb a frame that'" dif'li.:rent from the aspect ratio of the film. In th1s case. filmmakers ol'tcn resort to a .. frame'' ithin a frame" as in thi" e\amplc from Killer\ f..i." (f 1gure 2.30). Frame '' ithm a frame ,., an espccwll:- Important tool "hen \\Orking in a '''de format such 2 }~lor lligh Dcr 1.77:1.
BALANCED AND UNBALANCED FRAME

\\'e touched on balance before. nO\\ let's look at it in the conte\t or the frame. All) compO'>IIIOn nHI) be balam:cd or unbalanced This can be further broken dO\\ n 111 to balanced l(mnal. balanced informal. unbalanced formal and unbalanced 111formal. Thh -,hot liom D1: Strwigelon' (Figure 2 27) 1s both a clo-.cd frame and alsl) a formal balanced compos111on. L ... ing formal gcomctr~ to wmment on socwl '>tructun: is a constant 111 1\.ubnck \ "o1'k: sec abo C\lllllplcs from Barn Lmdon. Killer'"'"' ,md Path1 of (,/on 1n th1.., ami other chapter-,. Sec abo l-1gun:-. 2 29 and 2.30.
2.28 (right) Negative space and unbalanced composition m The Black Stallion. 2.29 (top) Formal composition from Days of Heaven (Paramount Pictures,
1978)

POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE SPACE

2.30. above) Frame within a frame: Killers Kiss.

The 'i-.ual ''e1ght or ohjcch 01 lines of force can create po ... I\1\C space. but the11 absence can create ncgati,e space. a-. 1n this frame from !he Bloc/.. )tal/ion ( 1-igure 2.2X l The eleml.!nh that an: .. IHH there.. and thu-, unseen ha\ e a '1sual weight as "ell In the frame from Tilt Thircl \fun (Fl!.!UrC 2.4) the on ~crecn looJ..: ... U!!!!C ... h that Ull'>l.!Cn and unkno" n l.!lc~nenh .~re at pia) Ill thl.! ... tor) ~~" h1ch i-,. of COllr..,c . .tbout ,\ lll)''>tCriOU-. amJunkntl\\ able Cit)
MOVEMENT IN THE VISUAL FIELD

2.31 The rule of thirds.

Allofthese force!> \\Ork Ill comblllatlon, orcour-.c Ill \\ll\ ... that interact to create a ~en!-.e of ll10\ell1Cnt in thl' \ i~ual field .' There arc also cultural lllctor!-. \\ h1ch inllucnce our understanding ol' -,pal'c. One ormam 1s that in \\e-,tern culture \\C read fromlcli tn ri t!ht and rwmtop 10 bouom. Thi-. inlluenccs h(l\\ the C~l' mmc ... in th~ lr.une. All nfthese factor-, comb me tn create ,IIllO\ emcnt frnm lhll1ttn h.ll'k in a clock\\ ,..,c fa-.hinn and tnp to bollom. al-.o lNially ~.'lock\\ bl' (Figure 2 \2 l Till-. mm ement in the Ira me '" 1mpnrtant nnt on I) fur the compo-.lllOil but also pia) s an Important role 111 \\hat order the 'icwcr pen:ei\ es and a!>slmilatc-.thc -.ub.rects 1nthc frame . I h1" mlluencc-. their perception or content.

c nematography 42.

~.

-o

I"

2.32 and 2 .3 3 top and above) A number of forces combine to create movement in the visual field. 2 .34. (left) Strong movement m the frame reinforces character relation ships and subtext in this shot from Seven Samura1

FilM AND VIDEO COMPOSITION

rh~ II lm .llld \ ltko fram~ ha\ ~ -.om~ of th~ir 0\\11 bmad ruk-. tll" ~ompo-.llllllllhat ha'~ h~~om~ g~n~rall:-- <lt:t:cpt~d ruk-. ol"thumb num~rou-. .1-. '"' \\ 1th <~II -.uch gtnd~lm~-.. the ~\c~pllOJh ar~ n~arl~ thl' app!J~.atilln . In g~n~ral. all of thl' \ J-.ual fore~-,\\~ ha\ ~ dJ-.L'll""~d -.o l~u .lppl~ to L'(l111ptl-.ition Ill li lm and \ id~o. Th~r~ ar~ abo a r~\\ -.p~o.'Cial ca-.~-. -.p~cilic 111 Ull11[1tbll1011 of thl' 1110\ mg Imag~ \\ hit:h dl'-.~.n c llll..'lltion.

.1-.

<>tkn ''~\\uri-. Jn-.tincti,l'h on th~ sl'l and fiddllll\!. around till1t loob good 1111 tlh.' mon1tor" l;a., bc~omc a dang~rou.., had habit It i-. p~rkctl) pll'-.-..Jbk tu \\Oil th1.., \\a~. but b~ing abk to think tllit and prl'plan a eompll..,illllll in ath anc~ i-. tim~ -..a\ ing and can bl' mdi-,p~n ... abl~ il th~ ~.am~.ra had to bl' prl'-riggl'd 111 a pllSition b~l(lr~ tlh.' acuun .
THE RULE OF THIRDS

Tl11. ruk ulthml-. -.tart-. b\ di' idin!..! tl11. frame mtu third.., ( l i!!ure 2.' I 1. \galll. a ralltl of" oi1e tlmd ~~ I\\ o thmb appro\lmate..,- the <iulden \k,111 I h~ ruk of third ... propo ...~s that a u...~.l'til appro\1matc -.t.trtlllg poult !\1r .111) compthllional grouping 1-. to plac~. major polllh ufint~r~-.t illth~. --~~neon an~ of the fi.1ur int~r-.l'ction-. ofthl'
llll~fllll" 1111~'>.
v .s... ~ l

nq

q 43

MISCELLANEOUS RULES OF COM POSITION

If ever there were rule!> made to be broken. they are the rules of compo ition, but it is important to under tand them before de' iating or using them in a contrary style. Don't cut ofT their feet - generally. a frame should end somewhere around the knees or include the feeL Cutting them otT at the ankles will look awkward: likewi c. don "t cut off their hands at the '' rist - this i especially disturbing. aturally, a character\ hand v. ill often dart in and out of the frame as the actor mo' es and gestures, but for a long static shot. they should be clearly in or out. ~ Watch out for TV Safe - a video is currently broadcast, there i. considerable variation in the size of the picture on the home screen. For this reason, most ground glass markings include both the entire video frame (TV broadcast) and a marking that is I0 o less, called TV Safe. All important composi tional clements should be kept insi de TV Safe. Heads of people tanding in the background - \\ hen frammg for our importan t foreground ubjcct , whether or not to include the head of background people is a judgment call. Ifthey are prominent enough, it is best to include them compositionally. If there is enough emphasis on the foreground ubjects and the background people arc strictly incidental or perhap!. largely out of focus, it is OK to cut them ofT wherever is nccc sary. If the situation doe call for not bowing their heads, you \\ill probably want to avoid cutting through their heads at nose lc\ el. For example. in a scene" here two people arc dining. if the waiter approaches and ash them a question . you clearly ha\e to <>hO\\ all of the waiter. If the waiter i not a speaking role and he is merel) pouring some water, it would be acceptable just to how him from the shoulders down , as the action with his arm and hands is" hat is relevant to the scene.
BASIC COMPOSITION RULES FOR PEOPLE HEADROOM

Cenain principles apply particularly to photographing people. parthe ticularl y in a medium shot or close-up. First is headroom amount of space above the head. Too much headroom makes the figure seem to be lo!>t in the fra me. Headroom is also wasted compositionally as it is of1cn just sky or empty wall- it adds no information to the shot and ma:r dnl\\ the eye away from the central subJeCt. The convention is to lea'c the least amount of headroom that docsn "t make the head seem to be crammed againstthc top of the frame . A., the close-up gets bigger. it becomes permissible to lea\c e\ en less headroom. Once the shot becomes a choker. you can C\ en gi' c the character a "haircut.'" and bring the top or the frame do\\ n to the forehead. The idea is simply that the forehead and hair con\ey lc-;s information than the lower part of the face and neck. A head shot cut off above the eyebrows seems perfectly normal. A shot that show., the top of the head but cuts off the chin and mouth would seem \el") odd - unless it 's a shampoo commercial.
NOSEROOM

ext is no croom. also called '"looking room: If a character is turned to the side, it's as if the gaze has~I certain \ isua( weight. ,\., are ult, \\e nc' cr position the head in the exact middle of the frame . Generally. the more the head is turned to the side. the more nthcroom is allowed. Think of it thi ~ wav: the "look .. ha~ 'isual '' er!.!ht. '' hich must be balanced. ~

<rnematography
44

lens Ia ng uage

THE LENS AND THE FRAME 1\.s ~c usc the term in thi-. book. cinematic technique means the metho<..ls an<..! practice~ \\e use to add additional Ia) cr-. of meaning. nuance and emotional context to shots and scenes in addition to their objccti\ c content. The len~ is one of the prime tools in achic' ing these mean~. Together'' ith -;electing the frame, it is also the area or cinematography in'' hich the director is most hem ily i1n oh ed 1\.s we diSCUSSed in Fi/111.\fJUCC!. setting the frame is a SCIICS or choices '' hich decide what the viewer will sec an<..! not sec The first of these decision is\\ here to place the camera in rclat1on to the scene. 1\.llcr that. there arc choice!> concerning the fi.cld or' ision an<..! movement, all of '' hich work together to inHuencc hO\\ the audience \viii perceive the shot: both in outright content an<..! 111 emotional undercurrent anJ subtcxt to the action and the dialog. STATIC FRAME A static frame is a prosccn1um. The act1on or the scene 1s prc ... cntcd as a stage show: we are a third person obscn cr. There i'> a proscenium \\all between us and the action. This i-; especially true ilc,cr;thing else about the frame is also normal. i.e .. lc\ cl. normal len-... no mo' emcnt, etc. Thi~ doe~ not mean. howe\ cr. that a ~tatic liamc 1s not\\ ithout \alue. It can be a useful tool\\ h1ch carrres 1ts O\\ n baggage and implications or POV and \\Orld \ iC\\. In Stanley Kubrick's film BunT l.111do11. the fi-..cd. \\ell compose<..!. balanced frames ref1cct the StatiC. hierarchical SOCICtv of the time (Figure 3.2). heryonc ha.., his place. C\CI) soeialmtc1:actron i-.. go\crned b) \\ell defined and uni\er-,ally kno,,n rules. The actor~ 1110\C \\ ithin this rrai11C \\ ithout being able to alter it. It is a rcllcctlon or the \\Orld they live 111 an<..! ''hilc it strongly implies a sense of order and tranqui Iity. it also carries an t)\ erpm\ cring lack or 111obi Iity: both ->t'cial and phy-.ical. Th1s is similar to Jim Jar111usch's usc ofthc fi\ed frame in Srru11ger Thall Parmlise. The world 1s stat1c: the character-, tr\ to find their place in it. l:ach -,ccne is played out completely \\ iihin thi.., h\cd frame: '' ithout 1110\ c111ent. cut... or changes in perspccti\ e. I h1s usc or the frame conveys a wealth of information independent or the script or the actions of the characters. It adds layer-. or mean mg. In both the e\amplcs. the di-..taneing nature of the frame i-, u'icd for its 0\\ n purpose, in the Brecht ian sense. The filmmakers arc dclibcratcl) putting the audience in the position of the impersona I obscr\ cr. rhis can either lend an obscnationai.Judgmcntal tone or much like objects in the f()reground or the frame. make the audience \\ ork

3.1 (previous page) Choice of lens, lens height and placement in relation to the subJect are all critical to the visual power and the introduction of a character in this shot from Touch of Evil. 3.2. (right) The well composed, balanced frame; the completely static camera position and the centered "head on" viewpoint all add up to reinforce the story content of a rigid social structure and a highly formalized social milieu in which the story of Barry Lyndon takes place. cinematography

46

harder to putthernseh e~ into the scene, or a combination of both. As \\ ith almost al l cinematic techniques they can be used 'in rc\erse" to achie\e a completely diiTerent efTect than norma l.
FOREGROUND/ MIDGROUND/ BACKGROUND

As \ve di ~c ussed in Filmspoce, one ofthe key clements of fil m is that we arc projecting 3-dimensional space onto a 2-dimensional plane. bccpt in rare cases where we want this flatness. it is the job of the fi lmmakers to rc-iment the dep th that existed in the original scene or mani pulate it in a way that '\Cr\'cs the purpose of the scene. In the book 1/itchcock Tmffaut. l litchcock makes the point that a basiC rule of camera positi on and staging is that the importance of an object in the story should equal its size in fram e. We sec that principal employed in this shot from The Leu(\' Fmm Shwl[!.lwi (Figure 3.4). The gun is what is important in the scene. so Welles uses a lov., camera angle. a wide lens and positioning to feature the gun prominently in the frame.
lENS PERSPECTIVE

WIDE LENSES AND EXPANSION OF SPACE

A" ''e di~cu~sed in the rre\ ious chapter, the fundamental aspect of the frame i~ that it constitutes a selection of" hat the audience is going to see. Some things arc included and some arc excluded. The f-irst decision is always where the camera goes in relation to the subject. But this is onl y ha If of the job. Once the camera position is set there is still a deci sion to be made as to ho\\ much of that ' ie\\ i~ to be included. This is the job of lens selection. ormal human 'ision. including peripheral. e\tcnds to around IXO . Fm cal 'ision. "hich is more able to pcrcei' c detail, is around -lO . In 35mm fi lm. the 50mm is generally considered the nom1al lens. equi,alent to a 25mm in 16mm film. In fact. something around a 40mm is closer to typical \ ision. In video. the norma l lens varie:dcpencling on the si/e of the ' ideo receptor. The ftKal length of a len~ i'> signifi cant in anothcr \\tty in addition to its field of vic\\ . Again. remember that all optics (incl uding the hu man eye) \\Ork by projecting the three-dimensional \\Orld onto a t\\O-dimensional plane. Lenses in the normal range (35mm to 50mm lor 35rnm film) portray the depth relationships or objects in n \\tty fairl y close to human 'ision. Technically. a nom1al lens is con~idered to be one \\ here the focal length equal.., the diagonal of the aperture. Wi th a \\'ider than nom1al lens. depth perception is exaggerated : object appear to be farther apart (front to back) than they are in reality. This exaggerated sense of depth has psychologica l implicati o n ~. The perception of 1110\ ement towards or a\\ ay from the lens i" heightened; space is expanded and distan t objects become much smaller. All this can gi\'e the 'ie\\ era greater sense of presence. A greater feeling of being in the scene - " hich is often a goal of the filmmaker. As the lens gets even wider. there is di stortion of objects. particularly those ncar the lens. This is the fu ndamental reason why a lens longer than IOOmm is considered necessary for a portrait or head ~hot. It 's a s imple matter of perspecti ve. If you are shooting a close-up and you want to fi ll the frame, the longer the lens, the closer the camera'' ill ha' c to be. As the camera gets closer, the percentage difference in distance from the nose to the eyes increases dramatically (Table 3. 1). For example: if the tip of the nose is JOcm from the lens, then the eyes may be at 33cm. a I0u di Fferencc. With a "ide lens. this is enough to cause a mismatch in size: the nose is exaggerated in si1e compared to the t~tce at the plane of the eyes. With a longer than

Ta ble 3.1 . Field of view of some typi cal lenses. This is based on a 35mm Academy format.

18mm 25mm 32mm SOmm 85mm 135mm 300mm 600mm

76 51 39 ' 25 14 9 4 20

lens language

47

3.3 (above) Extreme wide-an9le optics are frequently thought or as "comedy" lenses due to the distortion and the breaking of the "fourth wall" which they often imply. (City of
Lost Children.)

3.4. (right) The very wide lens cre ates a palpable space between the characters in this climactic scene 1n The Lady From Shan9hai; he is head ing out toward the l1ght and she is in complete silhouette; all of which precisely underpin the exact story point at this moment 1n the film.

normal kns, the camera ''ill he much f~trther hack to acl11e\ c the ~a me image -.Ize. In ti11S case. the tip of' the nose might he at 300cm. '' ith the eyes at .30 km. Tlw. is a percentage di !Terence of on I) I" o the nose'' ould appear normal in relation to the rc~t of the fltcc. The same fundamental principle applies to the perception of all object-, \\ ith \ cr:- \\Ide knses (figure 1.\ ). Another aspect ot' ''ide lenses i.., that at a gi\ en distance ,111d f stop. the) ha\ c greater depth-of-field l\ot to get too tcclmical here (enough of that In the chapter on Optu '). but suflicc it to sa) thdt the dcpth-of-ficld Of a lens IS 111\ crscl) propOrtiOnal IO the square of Its li.1cal kngth. Tim Is discussed in detail 111 the chapter on OJJtit ' hut lls perceptual ramifications arc 'cry much a pan of' the ps) cholog) of' the kns. This greater depth-of-lldd allo\\s more of the -..ccnc to be In fi.1cus. I' his \\ ~'- used to great effect b\ master cincmatouraphcrs of the 30s and 40s ~uch :1s Gregg Tol~111d. \\ ho used it 1~1 ue\clop an entire look called deep focus, such as in the shot !'rom 7/n I ong lomge /lome (Figure 2.9 Ill Lem l.anguage). In 1111-.. film and 1n llutlnnn~ /Ieight' (\\:II !Jam \\)!cr. 19~9). Toland perfected deep focus as a \I sua I system.
DEEP FOCUS

The high point or deep focus as a "lOt') telling tool IS Clfl=en I\ <ill(! !Orson \\cites. 1941 ). \ccortling to O;n id Cook in llfi,tnrr of \arratin Film. "Wclks plann~:d to construct the 111m as a series or long

3.5. A deep focus shot from Citizen Kane. (RKO Radio Pictures, 1941. Now

owned by Turner Classic Movies). Three levels of the story are shown in the same frame.
cmeiT'atograp~y

48

takes. or sequcm:e ::.hot!:>. scrupulously composed in depth to eliminate the necessity for narrative cutting within major dramatic scenes. To accomplish this. Toland developed for Welles a method of deep focus photography capable of achicv ing an unprecedented dcpth-offleld"' (Figure 3.5 ). This deep focus also facilitates composition in depth to an unprecedented degree. Throughout the film "'e sec action in the background \Yhich compliments and amplifies what we are seeing in the background. For example. early in the fi lm we sec Mrs. Kane in the foreground. signi ng the agreement for Mr. Thatcher to be the young Charles Foster Kane's guardian. Throughout the scene. we see the you ng man through a window. playing outside with his sled even as his future is being decided (Figure 3.5). Welles also uses the distonion of wide angle lenses for psychological effect. Frequently in the film we see Kane looming like a giant in the foreground . dwaliing other characters in the scene a ~1ctaphor for his powerful. ove~bcaring personality. Later, Welles uses the c'aggeratcd distances of wide lenses to separate Kane from other characters in the scene. thus emphasizing his alienation and self-absorption.
COMPRESSION OF SPACE

Al the other end of the spectrum arc very long lenses. They have eiTccb that arc opposite of \\'ide lenses: they compress space. have less dcpth-of-field and de-emphasize movement away from and tov,ards the camera (Figures 3.6, 3.7 and 3.8). This compression of space can be used for many perceptual purposes: claustrophobic tightness or space. making distance objcct5 seem closer and heightening the intensity of action and movement. Their ability to decrease apparent distance has many uses both in compo~ition but also in creating the psychological space. The effect of having objects seem closer together than they really arc 1~ often used for the cry practical purpose of making stunts and fight scenes appear more dramatic and dangerous than they really arc. With careful camera placement and a long lens. a speeding bu:, can 5ecm to mi::-.s a child on a bicycle by inches. when in fact. then.~ is a comfortably sa fe distance bct'vvccn them. The limited depth-ol'-ficld can be used to isolate a character in space. E\ en though foreground and background objects may seem closer. ir the) arc drastically out or focus, the sen~e of separation is the same. This can rc::-.ult in a very detached. third person point of viC\\ for the shot. This detachment is reinforced by the fi.tct that the comprcs:,ion or space makes more tangible the feeling that the real "' orlu 1s being projected onto a Aat :.pace. We perceive it more as a t'' o-dimensional representation. Mm cmcnt toward us" ith a long lens is not as dynamic and thcrcl.ore is abstracted. It is more or a presentation of the ideo of movement than pen.:cived as actual movement of the ~ubject. This is c~pc cially eiTccti' e with shots or the actors running directly towards the

3.6. (below, left) Perspective and space as affected by a very long focal length lens. 3.7. (below, middle) A normal per spective. 3.8. (below, right) Perspective and space as rendered by a very wide angle lens.

\ \\

..
, I / __
J
lens language

49

3.9.Very long lens perspective makes this shot and the action of the characters more abstracted - it is reduced to the simple idea of leaving. (Rain Man. United Artists, 1988).

camera: as they run to'~ urd us, there 1.., \cry little change in their ima~e ..,i1e. \\e ''mild normal!\ think of tillS as dccrcasttH! the scthc or 11;0\ emenl. but Ill a \\a). it- ha ... the opposite efkcl Illc -.a me l'o true or -.lo\\ -motmn. Althou!..dl shoot in!.! at a hi!.!h liamc rate actuall) ..,Jtm ... thc mmcment uO\~n. lHtr perceptual cZmditioning tell:- th that the people or ob_1cct~ arc actual I) mm ing 'er) fast ..,o llht thm onl) high speed ... hootmg can capture them on film. I hus ~hool mg ..,omcthing in -.lo\\ motton and "ith a long len-., has the ulttmate c!Tect of making the mo\ ing seem 1:1ster ami more c\aggerated than ll really is the brain intcrprch it 111 a ''a) thai comradich the 'i-.ual C\ tdcncc ( l'tgurc 3.11 ). Thts h an C\ccllcn t e\ample or cultural condttiOilll1g ., .I l~tclnr in li lm pcrceplllln. f f ) OU ..,Jlll\\ ed a long len'-. -.,1\m 111\llll)ll ..,Jllll of '-Omeonc runntng tO a person\\ ho had ne\er -.cen film or\ tde11 before. the) mtghl not undcr-.,tand ,11 all that the person ts running fa-.1. 1\1\)re likcl) the) \\liU id pcn.:el\e the per.,on a-, almo..,l "Jnl/Cn in time ... th rough -..omc sort or magic.
MANIPULATING PERSPECTIVE

3.10 .below) Lmear perspective and convergmg lines as affected by focal

length.
3.11 (bottom) A very long lens shot 1solates act1on from a crowd shot. (Nim. and 1/ 2 Weeks).

I here arc man) trtcks that can be used to alter the audtencc ., perception or '-P<II.:e. In The Loch f /'()J/1 'Siwnglwr. \\elks ll'oCS a subtle and 'cr\ de\ cr trtck to add suhtc\t to tho: -.ccnc In the lilm. \\cllc-. pht).., :u1 ordtnar) seaman" hots seduced tnto an afli.tir and a murder plot b) Sw,an I ht) '' ard. There arc double and triple cros-..e.., and the \\die-.. character is tn \\av mer ht-.. head. Thts scene is a mcctin!.! bet\\ ccn htm and the bcautt ful ''oman \\'ho ts at the boll om or all th~ scheme.., and machinations. She a:..ks him 10 mcd her in an out-of:thc-\\a) publtc place the aquanum. On the l~1cc of it thts seem.., like a perfect place ltlr them to meet "tlhoul bemg '>cen b) her hushand or olhcm t..,c attractmg atlcntion In l11ct ..,he ha., a darker purp1bC (Figure., J 12 and 3 13} The -..taging also -.ccm ... perfect!) ... traightfomard. The) meet and then talk" hil c the) ..,troll in front ol'thc gl a-.~ \\llldow-. of' the aquarIUm. \\-elk:.. usc-.. sc\ cral subth: trt cb to make tht~ happy. innocent place my-..tcrious and forebod ing. rir-..t. the moti\ a ted light !'rom the aquanum backlighh them. dramaticall) 111 a t.:la:..:..tc lilm notr l~tsh ton. A~ the \\ cllcs character bcgnh to realize the danger ol'thc situation he 1.., tn. the) 1110\ c 10 a ..,pot "here the) arc complctcl) o,llhouclle. \\hen he !.!Oc-. in for Cll\ cra!.!c. \\ cllc-. doc-.,n't chtd:~.n !lUI. \lo..,t director., \\o~IIJ a-.,k the DP to : tod a ltnlc lil!ht on thctr lltcc., for the close-ups, but \\cllcs actually g.oc-. darker :111d the clo-.c-ups arc totally o,i lhoucttc. fhc moti\atcd lighting i-; abo a \\atcrci'J'ccto,o the ripples play naturally at:rl)S~ thctr l~tce~. The third tnck i.., C\ en more c lc' cr. In the "ide shnh. "c sec the fish in the aquanum: ordinar) C\hibitlllll fish and turtle-., of' one or

Cinematography

50

3.12. (left, top) This wide master from The Lady From Shanghai shows a

normal perspective.
3 .13. In the close ups, Welles uses projections of the fish at ten t1mes the1r normal size to introduce menace and a feeling of strangeness to the otherwise pleasant setting of the aquarium. The huge fish and the rippling motivated lighting from the water all work together to suggest that the character IS "in over his nead."

feet in kngth. In the clo~c-up-.. hO\\C\er. Wclks had film of the fish back-projected at a greatly enlarged -.izc. ,\~ a result. the H-.h arc 110\\ g1gantic. \I though JUSt bare!~ seen behind their heads. the effect 1s J1ll\\ crl'ul. 111~ -.tcnou-.. and a little l'nghtcnmg. In col11binauon \\ ith the -;iJhoucttc and the npplmg \Htter cfl'ects the subte"t i-. clear: the character i" 111 O\ cr his depth. his head is under \\atcr and he ma~ not 'ollr\ i\c. It i.., a masterful stroke that is completely unnoticed b) the \ast majority of' the audience. Like all the best tcchllllJUC. 1t docs ih job sc,lmlc ... sl) and im i-.ibl). 1--.urostl\\ a u-.,cs \ cr~ long lcn-.c" in a\\ a::. that is styli!-~ticall::. distincti\c. Sec Figure!'! .)_1-L 3.19 and 3.20 for C\.amplcs ofho\\ he u-.,c-; lcnsc-., to acl11c\ c certain compositional perspectives and character relationships. \nothcr C\.amplc of' lens usc is the punch-in. shO\\ n in Figures l J7 and l I X).
L\\O

3.14.Kurosawa consistently uses very long lenses to form compositions and character relationships that would not be apparent with normal or wide lenses. He also employs a small f/stop for deep focus - very unusual with lenses this long. To achieve this, h1s cameramen had to use enormous quantities of light, even on day ex tenors such as this shot from Seven
Samurai.

SELECTIVE FOCUS

f'hc charactcri-.tiC or rclati\C Jack or dcpth-of-ficld can be U'oed for fixu" -.;hob. A!-1 discu-.scd abo\ c. -.,haiiO\\ depth-or-field can t-.olate the subJect. The e-.;sential po1nt is the locus as a storytelling tool. Th1!'1 i!-1 a drtmback.., of l6m111 film and lli gh Def- they ha\ c 1:u nHm' dcpth-of:-lield than }5mm film. thu-. making it more
!-~ckctl\ e

lens language

51

3.15 This w1de shot comes at the end of a chase scene 111 Nine and 1. '2 Weeks ; out on the town, the charac ters have been chased by a gang of violent thugs. 3.16. At the moment they realize they have lost their attacker, a severe lens change punches into the scene. It is a high energy cut which gets us closer so that we are experiencing the scene along w1th the characters rather than as an abstract, at -a-distance chase scene.We are drawn into the1r excitement and identify with their exhuberance. The sudden loss of depth of-fteld isolates them 111 the landscape and gives our attenttion nowhere else to go. The punch-in changes the v1sual texture to match the mood and provides a perfect "button" to end the scene.

difficult to usc focu~ a~ in this \\ay. Dig1tal \ideo makes It alllhht lmpos ... ibk. as nearly <.:\ <.:r) thing 1s in focus. no maucr "hat ~eb: ti\<.: focus to concentrate aucntlon on the character' " -;hm' n 111 I Jgure-; 3.15 and 3.16. '-;orne people "d I -;ay "pull back and u..,c a longer lens .. {11 -,hmll "1de open." L nfonunatcl) thc-,c two arc not alway-, optHJn-;. e'>p<.:cially on a cramped location. focus can al-,o be '>hit'tcd dunng tlk' ... hot. thu ... leading the eye and the attention or the \ iC\\ cr. I he term l'i1r the clas..,ic u..,c ofthi-, I'> "rack focu..,: in\\ h1ch the l~ll:ll.., '"on ,111 \lh_tcct 111 thL' foreground. for C\.ampk. and then. llll cue. the calllL'l".l LIS'>I'>tHill radically change._, the focU.., SO that the ft1Ctl._, -,]llfh dram,Jlicall\ to another '>Ub1cct either in front or or bch1nd the oril.!innl -,uh_tect: Occasionall) adircctor \\111 a'>k for a dramatic rack l'll~lls \\hen the -,ituatlon doc-, not knd itself to the tcl'imiquc: cspec1all~ '' hL'll there 1s not enough ol a fncth change to make the crti:ct notiL'C,Ihl-.'. In this case 11 may just look like ... loppy focus pulling. \ l... o \\ 1th ll<H.:king shoh that arc \cry tight and dose (as 111 t,thk top -,llllllllllg). \\<.:can \\atc h a.., ob1ects come 111to \ 1-.'\\. then -,lo\\ I) come into li.>cu-, then go sort again. Sckctl\ e li.Kus and out-of:-Jpcu-, can abo be h1ghl) -,uhJcl'LI\C 'Nlal mctaplwh li.1r the inllucnc.: ot'
3.17. (near right) A medium shot from Tile Tlurd Man. 3.18. (far right) A classic punch in; very l1ttle changes except that we get closer and more intimate with fhe character. The term punch-in usually refers to switching to a longer lens, but some directors will use fhe term to mean moving the camera straight forward on the fens ax1s.

c 1'10T'atoqrdD'' Y

52

Jrug ... ~~r mathll:..,.... a-..'' dl. The bollom line i!-. that focus i-. an important -..tor~ telling IOtll An1llher i-.. ... ue in -.ekciJ\e focu.., i.., ''hen L\\O or more players arc in the ... ame -.hot but ,JI tllllcrcnt di-.tann:-... Ir ~ ou Jon 't ha\ c mw.:h 1 -.ltlp, 11 ma~ be ncce... -..al) for the focu-.-pullcr to chose one or the other to be Ill rocu-.. lhi-. is up to the DP or director Ill tkcide and the~ ... hould l'Oihult before the -..hot and don't forget to kt the focu-.. puller kno\\. \ fc\\ ba... ll' rules or thumb: I ncth goe-.. to the per-..on ... peakmg. It i-.. pernw.... Jblc to rack back ,md l()rth il the~ both do dialog. I ocu.., goe'> to the person I~JCIIlg the camera or mo~t promment 111 the frame I ocu.., ~lh> to the pcr-..on c\pcriencing the mo... t Jramauc or emotwnal moment. I h1-.. ma) countermand the pnncipal nf focu-.Jn~ on the pcr-.on -.peaking. If there i-.. doubt or if the actor-.. don't hll thc1r mark-.. m11-..t camera a ... ..,J..,tant-. put the fncu-. on the actor'' ho ha.., the lo\\ cr number \lll the call ... hcct Th1s ma\ ..,ound fn\ tllllU.., but 11-.. not (all -..hceh h-.t the actor-.. 111 numbered order or their character.... The lead i-. actor F I. etc. f r you arc pia) ing it on the 11). the ...arc bet i.., to go" ith the actor \\ith the lm\ er number on the call sheet. If the~ arc clo..,e enough the \( ma~ split the focus bel\\ ecn them or 'er) ... ubtl~ rack back and 1\.mh. Major focu.., rack-.. need to be Jhcu ......cd 111 ath ance and rehearsed. Th1s 1-.. true or all camera mm c~ that arc moll\ a ted b~ d1alog or action. If the !\( and the operator IHI\Cil.t -;cen \\hat the actors are going to do. it is difficult to anticipate the mon: JU"t enough to tunc it COITcctl). Rehearsal is a time sa\ cr. a.., 11 w.uall~ reduce-. the number ofblo\\ n take~. It i-. interc'>tlng to note that older boob on cinematography barely mention focu-.. at all. I here 1.., a reason for thi'>. L'ntll the '6(b. it ''a" the C'>tubli ... hed orthodo\~ that prctt) much c\ erything 1111portant 111 the Inunc ... hould be Ill rocth. I he idea of deliberately h:n ing key clcmenh 1111hc frame that arc d~llbcratcl~ out of focu!> reall) tlidn 't full~ take hold until It \\a.., populari/CU b) t'ash1011 photographer~ Ill the ~(b

3.19. (above) Japanese and Chinese traditional art do not employ linear perspective. instead they rely on above/below relationships to convey depth. (Private collection of the author.) 3.20. (left) Kurosawa almost exclu sively employs very long lenses and slightly elevated points of view to render a similar type of compressed spaced. In this shot from Seven Sam urai, we clearly see the influence of compostion and perspective from Japanese prints

3.21 (below) A normal lens keeps the background m focus; 11 can be distracting. 3.22. (bottom) A very long lens throws the background out of focus and the viewer's entire attention IS drawn to the character.

lens lang ... aqe

53

IMAGE CONTROL

FILTRATION

\!lodcm lenses arc remarkably sharp. For the most part thi-. is "hat \\ e want. In some cases. howe\ cr. \\C arc look.ing for a softer tma!.!C. The most frequent reason is beauty. !\ softer it;1age. espcciall) ~)r a \\Oman's race. \\ill generally be prettter. A son image llla) abo he more romantic. dreamlike or. in a subjccti\t: shot. ma) translate to a state of mind less in touch'' ith real it\. A sorter image can he m:hie\cd in a number of \\<1\s. Some of tl~csc arc discus~cd in the chapter on Image Comrol; here'' e deal'' ith altering the image qualit) '' ith the lens and shutter on I).
SOFT LENSES

Some -.hooters usc older lenses ror an imaue that ts subth soft tn a \\a\ thatts dilflcult to acllte\t: \\ ith filters~ Soft lenses C<lll l!t\e a slightly greater apparent depth-of-ficld. Tim is because the 1~11-oiT from critical sharpness is some\\ hat masked b; the softness. Besides not being made '' ith the latest. computer atdcd opt teal design and manufacturing. older lenses also ha\e less sophisticated optical coatings. The coating on lenses is there primaril; to pre\l~nt tnternal narcs and reflections.'' hich slightly degrade and solien the image. This can be seen clear!\ if the sun or other stron!..( ltght source dtrcctlv hils the lens the i~llcrnal narcs and rcllcction~ arc \CI"\ apparc~ll in an old lens a'> compared to a modern one. In a fc\\ case~. filmmakers hme either used old lcnse-. or C\Cn had the special coattngs chemically stnppcd oiT of lenses to create this cllect
FLARE/GLARE

\ dtrect. specular beam or light that hih the lens\\ ill create a flare that creates' ci Iing glare.'' hich appears a~ a sort of milky. '' hitcness n\ er the\\ hole image. This is\\ h) so much attcnlton ts patd to the matte bo"\ or lens shade and \\h) the grips arc olicn asked to set lcn-.crs flags that keep direct light SOUrCe'> tiotn hitting the lens. rherc an.: t:"\ecptions. such a'> in Figure J.2J.
FRAME RATE

The speed at\\ hich the lilm runs through the camera also has a great effect on our perception of the shot. Smce lilm ts almost ah\ a) s projected or tran-,fcrred to \ideo at 24 fps. runntng the camera at a higher speed ''ill skm the act ton dm\ n and running at a lm\ cr than normal frame rate\\ til speed the action up.

3.23. The way in which deliberate glare in the lens affects image qualtty is often used to put the audience in the position of someone caught in the headlights or to give the psychological feeling of someone who's viston is partially obscured impressionistic, even surreal (The Big
Combo).

ctnematography

54

lligh ... p~.:ed lilm111g gcnLrall) produc~.:.., an 11nagc \\ ith a dreamlike. othcn,orldl) ~.:fl"cct. l.O\\ ... p~.:~.d lilm111g. \\hlch ~peed~ the actmn up. is most nlkn us~.:d li.1r a c 'Oill!.:lh eiTecl. The -.lo\\ 111~ effect ol otTspeed tilming can r~.:sult in a '~r) suhtle ~.:mpha ... ls ~11" a particular llllll11!.:nt "hen the t'lame r.lle i" Irom 26 to 2X fps. ll1gher -.pceds can e\ en further under-,core and dramati/e a parllculnr moment. Scor-,1.:-.L' u-.ed thi-. \ L'r\ erti:ctl\ el\ Ill ... ome or the fil!ht -..ccnc... Ill Rw!,ing /Ju/1: at t1mcs tl;c camera ,;as runnmg at a... mt~ch as 120fp::., dclinitcl;. high -,peed photograph). It ha-, al\\ a;..., been possible to chanl.(c the frame rate dunn!! a .,Jwt but nO\\ 111<111\ cameras can automaticall;. compcn..,atc c.\pt~'>urc '' ith the apcrtt~rc or -,huller. thus m.tkmg "'ramp111g'" during the ... hot fin e:hier Ramping ha.., become a popular and useful techn1que. ll1gh~.r frame rates arc frcquentl;. U'>cd 111 commcn.:iat .... t:'>pcclall) 111 shot... of "atcr soaked \ egctable.., dropping to the table or bet.?r can ... opcnmg. fhe-.c frame rate.., arc general!) at least 120fps or h1ghcr. 120('p.., can be ach1c\ cd '' ith standard cameras such a-, the \rri Ill m-L\5 or the Palla\ i'>IOil Panastar II <\nythmg O\cr 120rp.., c alb fur a -,pcc1al high-'>pccd camera. Photo-Sonic-, manufacture... a 3.24 top) A very long lens on a pan number of"high -.peed camera-. as doc..,\ ,\(. fhcsc arc discussed 111 ning shot makes the background and fore9round swoosh by in an impres detail 111 the chapter Ti' t h111cu/1"11n. 10n1stic blur
SLOW SPEED BLUR

There 1 ... a ... pecwl ca-..e or ulf--.peed li lmmg \\ hich produce-.. a \ er;. dramatic. blunlll!.! cfkct "h1ch I'- often used 111 commcrewb and ocC<blllllall\ in n:uTatl\ e film .... lhe cfkct 1.., ach1e\ ed b\ runnin!! the ca111e1a .,(ll\\Cr than U'>Uai. nlll.._t olten at either 12 r,;.._ ( fhune~ per ...econd) or (l q,., and then tran-..l"crnng to' ideo at the same rate. I he eflixt 1., blurring but the act1on run" at normal ... peed It looks \ c'l'\ much lih 11 i... shm cd dm\ n. but 11 tsn "t (I igurcs 3.2-+. 3.25 and 3 2)) The rea ...on it \\orb I'- that "hen the can;cra h run at a \en l<l\\ spe...:LI. th~. -.hutt...:r 1s open fllr a much longer than normal t11n~. \n~ one' \\ llh e\pcnence in ... ttl I photograph: kilO\\ ... that I 60th or ,, -.,econd I'- about the slo\\ est ) ou can -,hoot an;. 1110\ ing ... ublt:Ct "itlwut not1c...:abk blurrinl!. '-,lwotiiH! at '-I\ I P<.; make~ each frame uppw,imatel;. I 12th or a-....:cond ~ \t 2-l fr:une ... per -,ccond and a t;.p1cal I XO ... butter. the lilm cam...:ra i-, e\11lhtng each rram...: for I 50th or a -.ccond. lhc rea ...on that it 1s ac...:eptable to -.holll at ... u...:h a llm ... pc...:d I'> that. due w the per-.1-.tcncc or\ ision. the Jiam...:s perc...:ptuall;. 0\ crlap -..lightly and ma~k

3.25. (above) A combination of shut ter speed, very wide lens and dutch tilt g1ve this shot extra punch.

3.26 Slow speed blur IS a combma tion of shutter angle and telecine lens language

55

the un:,harpnc ... s. 'v\ ith 'el') rap1dl)- mo\ ing object .... the blur i-. app;lrent. but th1-. general!) reinforces the feeling of speed and cnerg~ . Blur" lm:h render-. a single frame as ncarl\ unrccognl/ahle b\ it-.df rcmmth u-. that "c arc n~ot tak1ng still pht)tos. \s :I '>till phntt1graph this \\Ollld not <,land up itsel( but a-. part ofthe scene. 11 l'i C\Cn more cffccti\C that a perfectly lit. \\CII composed detailed photograph.
3.27. This shot from Three Kings employs a combination high frame rate and wide shutter angle

SHUTIER ANGLE

Another factor 111 the sharpness of an image i-. the shuller angle. ~1ost film cameras run" ith a -.butter of apprO:\Imatd)- ISO Thi.., mcam. that the fllm 1s being c-..posed for half the time and for the other half. the 1magc is bcmg prOJected 11110 the \ IC\\ ing s)-stcm for the operator to sec. Vlan)- camera.., ha\e \anable ... butters. The '' 1dcst standard shutter i'> 210 . wh1ch is not apprccwbly different liom IXO'. Closing the -.butter dm\ n more and more h<h an cllcct on the 1mage. The more closed the shutter. the shorter the C'\ptNir.: and thcrdi.m.: thl.! -.harper the image. A shuucr of 90 . lor c:o;amplc. ''ill be a much cleaner. sharper image of an) mo' mg object Be;. ond 90 there ''ill be another effect in add1t1on to -.harpnes-.. )mce the shutter is 110\\ closed -;ignificantly longer than 11 1s open. th~.. -.ubject has longer to mo\c between c:\posure-... This" ill result in a ....,trobe" effect '' 1th a stuttering mot1on cllect Tlw, ''a-. used e\ten-.1\ cl\ 111 Sal'lng Pril'llle Ryan. ~Three Aill,!!,\ and other films as \\ell as n1an) music\ 1dcos (I igure 3.27). Changes in shutter angle can also he used 1n conJunction "1th ..,trobc lighting such as Uni lu\. !\.., 111 ... till photograph)-. strobe lighting has the cfTcct of "free/Ill!!.. actltln. Details ol liuhtlll!! '' llh '>t;obc-. arc discus..,cd 111 the cha'j11cr on Technical issue.\ ~Tik ~abdit;. of -.trobc lightmg to ... harpcn and dclmeatc 1110\ ing 1magc" 1s often usctl in product "hots of bcH:ragc cans opening or shtm cr ... hot-. for ..,hampoo commercials. As d1scu..,scd later. pure ~trobe l1ght 1ng can usually be too ... harp. In a sho" cr shot. lor example. using strobe onl)- mah.cs the drop" of water look llh.c ... harp ncctllc.... ro moderate th1s clli:ct. the -.trobe lighting 1s Lhuall)- combined'' 1th a continuous ... ourcc ..,uch <h tungsten lighting.
TIME LAPSE

,\n C'\treme C\amplc or sit>\\ motiOn lS tunc lapse photograph~. In t11nc lapse. there is a significant amount of time bet\\ccn each e'\po-.ure. A-. a rc-.ult. the action '' d I be ... pccdcd up cons1tkrabl). Cloutls \\ill slide across the sh. dav can turn to nit!ht in a fc\\ secontls or a rose can bloom inlc..,.., than a 1111nutc. Time lapse is u-.uall)achiC\cd \\lth an intcnalomctcr. Sec Technim//\.\1/ts for inli.mnation on domg the calculations to dctcnmnc frame rate and duration.
LENS HEIGHT

Variations 111 len" height can also be an cll'ccll\ c tool li.'r atld1n!! subtc.-..t to a ... hot. As a g'Cneral rule. dialog and most ordmary "p~ople" shots arc tlonc at th~: eye level of the actors im oh etl. Some fi 1mmakers attempt to avoid usi ng many straight on eye le\ el shots as the)- consider them boring. Variations l'rom eye level have rilmspacc implications. psychological undertone-. and arc useful as a -.tnctl)composi tional de\ icc. \ariauons from eye lc' cl arc not to be done casually. c... peuall) \\ ith dialog or reaction shots. Keep in mmd that de\ 1at1on.., from C)-C lc\cl arc asking the' IC\\Cr to pm1icipate 111 the scene in a moue that is \ Cl') dlllerent from normal. ... o be sure that there 1s a good rc<t...on lor 11 and that it 1 s contributing in a way that helps the scene. This does not appl) to establishing shots. in which the 'IC\\Cr I'> \\Cll accustomed to -;ccing the scene from ahtl\'C.
crnematography

56

High Angle

When the camera is above eye height, we seem to dominate the subject. The subject is reduced in stature and perhaps in importance. Its importance is not, however. dimini. hed if the high angle reveals it to be a massive. extensive tructure. for example. This reminds us that high angles looking down on the ubjcct reveal overall layout and scope in the case of landscape, streets or bu ilding . This is useful if the intent is an establishing or expository" shot where it is important lor the audience to know something about the layout. The opposite is true for a low angle. When a character is approaching a complex or landscape as seen from a low angle, little is revealed beyond what the character might see himscl f - we share the character's surprise or cnse of mystery. The two can be used in combination for setting up a shock or uspense effect: if the shots associated with the character arc from a low angle, we hare his foreboding and apprehension at not knov.ing. If the care then combined with high angle shots which reveal what the character docs not kno\\. we arc aware of whatever surprise or ambush or revelation awaits him: this is the true nature of suspense. /\s ll itchcock so brilliantly observed - there can be no real suspense unlc!-.S the audience know \\hat i going to happen. I lis famou example is the bomb under the table. If t\\ o characters sit at a table and . uddcnly a bomb goes off - \\ e ha' c a moment of surprise that is quickly over. a cheap shock at best. Ir the audience knO\\ s that the bomb is under the table and is aware that the timer is clicking steadily towards explod ing, then there is true suspense which engages and involves the audie nce in a way that simple shock never can. Ir the audience is on the edge of their scats kno\\'ing that the time on the clock is growing shorter, then the fact that the two characters seated at the table arc nattering on amiably abou t the weather is both maddening and engagi ng. The audience is drawn into the scene, frustrall:d by thei r inabi li ty to warn the people to run for their li ves. The high angle is, of course, impersonal by its \Cty natu re. As\\ ith subjective and objective camera views on the lateral plane, we can see camera angles that diverge fiom eye level as increa ingly objective. more third person in term ol'our literary ana logy. This applies especially to higher angles./\ very high angle is ca lled a God's eye 'iew: suggesting its omniscient. removed poi nt-of-view: distant, separate from the scene, a world view. philosophical and contemplative. We sec all parts of the scene, al l interacting forces equally without particularly identi l'ying with any or them. See the example from Fmgo in Figure 3.28.

3.28. If this shot was not done from a very high angle, it would not be so graphrcally stron9 and abstract, which are the qualitres which reinforce the scene values of isolation and ominous portent. (Fargo, Grammercy Pictures/ MGM, 1996.)
lens language

57

3.29 This very low angle from Citi zen Kane IS the scene the morning after Kane has suffered the devas tation of losing the elect1on as his affair with the singer was revealed. The low angle reinforces the feeling that the world is out of whack, noth ing is normal, all is lost. The usual eye-level angles would convey none of this.

Low Angle

3.30 below) and 3.31 (bottom) In Touch of Evil, Welles uses th1s smash cut from a very low angle to a very high angle to convey disjointed frenzy JUXtaposed with quiet con sp1racy.

1" not q u it~ a" tru~ l\1r lo'' angle-;. \!though an~ ttll1L' \\L' rrom human ~) c k' cl '' ~ ar~ tk<.:r~a-,ing our subj~<.:l h c ltknttfkatlon '' ith th~ <.:hara<.:kr.... lo\\ angJc.., ~an h~<.:om~ mor~ -,ub.1~(11\ ~ in oth~r "a~" C karl~ a 'e~ lo\\~ angle can b~ a dog-... ~: ~ \ le\\: esp~ctall: if it 1.., l'lll Ill nght ai'ter .t ... hot or th~ dog and then th~ 'er~ lm' angle nHl\ ~" ... ome" hat errat1call: and 111 the mann~r ol a dog (I 1g ur~... 3.30 thmugh 1.321 Thi ... "<h u... ed 'cr~ elkcti\ ely tn tlh.' lilm IJIJ//. "h~n the char.tct~r tunh 1nw a "~r~" oil: fh~re ts a "Jl~l'tal ng. (a I kd Doggy -cam .. -.pecili(all) dc:-.lgn~d l(lr these I) p~ ... or ..,Jmh I he rdati\ c ... ubl~l'11\ en~"" or a shot r~lat~-. to thing" fm \\ l11d1 '' c ha\ e a height rl'ICIcnc~: a 'cr: lo" km. height ca1~ be a pig.., ""'". an L'Y~ k~ d PO\ can b~ a ..,talker PO\ and pcrhap" a 7 or X li1ot len.., hetght could h~ a gtanh or a roboh PO\. but b~) ond that "e do not ha\ ~a -.ubj~ct rL'f~r~ncc and it I" no longer ... ubj~ctt\ ~- 11 1-. perc~ I\ ed by th~ autl"~ncc <han ob,~clt\ c 't~\\ and lhlthing mor~ \\ 1th lo\\ angle .... the ..,ub1ect t~nd ... Ill dommak u.... Ir th~ ... ub(Ct:t 1.., a t:haracl~r. tha t actor \\til ... ~~111 n111rc po\\crl'u l and dominimt. \\dies u-.,cd ltl\\ angle-. c\ten"" ely in ( tfcen A."an, ltl ... ugge-.t the po'' ~rand ll\ erbearing p~p,on alit\ llllhe centralcharact~r !l i!!Ure 3.29). \m time th~ actnt belll!! \ i~\, ~d 1.., m~ant [() b~ m~nacing or fright~nlll.g Ill th~ character \\ ~ arc """octallng th~ PO\ "11h. a In" angle 1.., u..,ually appropnate ('~rtai n l) 1f11 j-. any -.or! ol \ tJialtl OJ' nHllhlL'r. an ~y~ Jc\cJ -;hot\\ Ill dim1n t..,h th~ ...etlS~ til dang~r
TILT In nHhl ... hollting "~ ... trl\ L' li.lr the ~..uncra ltl b~ pL'rli:l'll) le' d It ,..,

I h~ sam~ g~t a\\ a~

the JOb of the camera assl..,tanl and th~ doll) gnp Ill l'~chcd.; ~\ L'l) time t h~ camera 1.., mmcd and ~thurc that it 1s -,till "on the bubble ... Thi-. rcfi:r' to thl! btll 1 -.-c\ ~ or trans\ crsc bubbl~ le' cis that arc standard on all camera mmu{t..,. head-, and dollle". This ,.., crucial bccau-.e human p~rception 1.., mu1.h lllllr~ sctNlt\ e h) off-lc, ~I 'erticab than to niY-k' cl lwn/ontal.., lithe camera i-. C\ en a little oil. "alb. doom ay .... telephone pole~. an;. 'crt teal li:aturc \\ill be lllllllediatcJy s~~n <h OUt of plumb. 1 here arc in-.tancc-.. ho\\ e\cr. \\ here "e \\ant the' Nmltell-.1011 ol'thi-. of'f'-lc,cJcondnionlll '' ork for u.., to create ,tn\let~. par<anol.t . ..,Ub.Jugallon or my ... tel'\ . I he t~ rm ror lht-. 1 ... "dutch tilt" or "dutch angle." fh t-.. I" used ~\.li'Cillci) \\ell In the Ill) ... t~l') ... u,pcn ... ~ lilm Tltt nun/ CtnC'natoqrapl'y 58

3.32 Kubrick is a master of choos ing the right angle and lens to tell the story powerfully. In this shot, the lens height and angle make a clear statement about the state of mmd of the character (Or. Strange/ave: or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb. Columbia Pictures, 1964).

\fan.'' h~n: at ka-.t half the -.hot-. are done\\ ith the camera ollie\ el .

\\elks alsou ... es it\ er:y cffecti\ ely The Lmlr Fmm 5/wng/wi. In thi.., C\ampk. he i-. trapped 111 the canm al era/) house at the end of the film. I k ~'-abo ... till under the mlluence of the pill-. he took ""pan ol'h1.., e-.cape lrom the courthou-.e. In thl'> ..,hot. the camera 1-.. tilted rad11.:a lh n!!111 a.., he enter.., 111 the distance. Then. a'> he cro-,se-.. frame and !!OC'> tl~rnu!!h a door to a second room. the camera. Instead of traLkmg. tilt-. to tl~c oppo:-.1tc angk and end~'' ith a hard krt tdt (1-lgurc-, .\ \..f ,md i ..\5) Thi ... or cnur-.e 1 ... entirely 111 keeping \\ Jth the -.urreall-.tiC atmosphere or the cra/y IHlll..,l' and or hi-. deranged. drugged ... talc or mmd. but 11 ha-.. another ath antage a'> \\ell. Track mg -.hoh \\ l11d1 11H1\l' pa-.t \\all-.. are 1wt at ,tllumNial. lnth1-. t)pc of-..hot \\C tr.1ck along '' 1th the char.tcter '' ho '' <~lb through a door Into the 11~\l rnom. The cameru passes through the ''all and \\hat we see 1s LNIall~ a black \crllcallme '' hich repres~nh the edge of the ''all \\h1ch '' e arc mag1call) tmn-,, crsing.

or~on

REVEAL
\-.. \\ c ha\ c mcntllllh:d. ''hat thc aud1cnc~ doc:-. not scc can bc as important a-.. \\hat the audience doc-. -.ec. Camcra po-..111011'- and pcr-..pectl\ c-. ma;. bl' cho..,en '' l11ch dcllberatel;. obscure -,omc key l1hjectm character until the filmmaker chooses to -.ho\\ ll. rhh lypc llf 1110\C I'-' called a rc\cal. Rc\cals not onl\ unco\er ne,, mformation. thC) can al-.n bc an important part or a~lding layer-, of dcpth to the frame . \ -.;Jmpk C\ampk kt \ go back to I Iden on thc '' ay to her oJlkc. fh~ purpo-.c or the -.ccne I'> lO fC\ cal that llelcn j-, '-OlllChlH\ trapped 111 a linaneial -.candal. \\e lbeussed hm\ the e-..tabll-.hlng shots can be u...ed to not on I: shtm "here \\ e arc and onent us '' ith1n I kkn ., \\ orld but can abo impart \ aluabk 111 li.mnat1on that th~n doc' not ha\c to be -.p~lkd out in '"on the nosc c\po..,itor: 3.33. Carol Reed uses dutch t1 t very effectively throughout The Third dialog. Man. \\c kilO\\ \\C ha\e a 11C\\ -.-.tand 111 front or her buiidll1!! and that thc linanct.d -.candal 1.., on the rront page I ct'-, -.a;. llclc~ ..,top-, on hcr \\a~ to the ollie~ and p1cb up a nc\\ <.,paper. \-. -,he open-. 11. the hcadlmc li Ib the frame. The 111li.m11ation 1.., 'hO\\ n to the aud1cnc~ 111 a l~1irl~ unsdf-const:lou-. \\ay fhc nc''"f1aper is th~n kmcrcd. \\c C\pcct to '-l'l' llclcn. ln-.tcad \\ ~ -,ec ln cr her shoukkr .lu'>l pa..,t her J'., the r~porter '' ho broke thc ..,tor). It 1-. thus rc\ eakd and mtroduccd 11110 thc ..,ecne in a 'cf\ natural and -..camlc-.., \\a\ T"ht-. ,.., a r~\ cal \\ ith th~ u-.c of prop-.. kc\ ~als arc nwr~ often accompltshed \\ ith a ~amcr.1 111\l\ c
lers I nquaqe

59

3.34 and 3.35. In the 'crazy house" sequence from The Lady From Shang llai, Welles LJSes a tilt from dutch right (near right) to dutch left Har right) in the same shot. It serves as a transition from one room to another and tntroduces an element of off-bal ance drunkeness that is even stron ger than a simple dutch shot.

3.36.Truffaut used hand held camerd for specific story effect in Jules and Jim (Les Films du Carrosse/Janus Films, 1961).

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CAMERA MOVEMENT Camera mon::ment as.,ociated '' ith fir.,! or second person P< l\ ~' 'en im oh Ill!! and cn!!a!!in!!. \\'c arc drtl\\ n in becau ...c '' c constailll~ strl\..: -to rcorie7ll ~and .. place"' our... eh e... 1n the "rene. \-.. 1110\ emenl 1., llisonentmg our brain is engaged in to lr) to kcl.'p u-.. onentl.'d to ..1--el.'p up"' "1th the mo' cml.'nl and figure out "her..: it beconK'" intcracti\1.'. :\hl\ cment "..: ar..: and \\hat 1-.. !!Olll!! on can of cour-..e be '..:f) third pcr.,on a ... "l.'ll: if nothmg about the -..hPt -..uch <h camera placement suggest~ a -..ub.kcti\ e refcn.:nec. then the mo\ement 1'. objeeti\e and 1., merely 'hll\\ing u-.. different <>uh1eeh or 1-.. lakin!! u-.. from one subjeL:t to thl. nc\t. It ... hould ,tl\\a\" be .1 goal that die _itlllflle) fiom Llpcning franK' to ending frame i,e 'hUally mtere,tmg and cngagmg all along till.' \\a). Ifit hl.'eomc-.. ...u pmsaic as to be noth111!! more than tr<n clinl.!. !'rom one lhune loanothl'r. ) ou arc b..:ller ofT"~th a cut ~ In term ... of pacing. \ t:f) rapid anti enat11: camera lllll\ L'ml'nh 'll!!ge-..t cnerg) or r..: ... tk....,ne... -.. or chao-,. especially In con:unctHlll \\ nh rapid CUlling. 1 rul'f:nll and Oth..:r-, nf the <.:arl) si\tiCS brokl.' ll\\ .1) from the rccci\ ed "i-..dom that all camera mo\ ..:mcnt llHht be <,t,Ihk. '11lLHllh and fhm in!!. The\ rc\ l.'led in the randomne-,, and lllllllccllac\ of tho.: -,II!!htl\- -,hab~ handhcltl camera dil'l\:rent fn1lll the 'it~atlicamlook. \\elks tiscd handheld l\1r certain ...ccncs in fi111c h of T1 if one of the early e\ampk-.. in \mcrican film. l'hl. mtrnduction of..,malkr camera" 111 film a-.. \\l:ll a-.. 111 \ 1deu h.h prompted man~ director' toda~ w u'c free-flo" 111g. loose handheld a-.. thl.ir cnnstant technique Remcmhc1 that ju-.t bccausl' ) ou cell/ doe~n't mean that \lHI 1/wu/c/ certatnl\ not all the time I (l\hl! hand-held ha-.. -,p..:c11k meaning and effcci in thl! 'ncabulni') of Clllematic and should nnt be abU\Cd ju:-.1 bel:<llhC it 1'<'111' like .I fa,ter and k-,-.. -..tn:-,,ful ''a\ to "hoot Don t make the mi-.wh uf -.ub-..tnutinQ 11 ror carcl'ull\ tl1inkinl.! about the 'i ... ual dl\:ct and cin..:m.111c m~aning of) our rlaming. I chnic..: and camera chorc(lgrapll\

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camera dynamics

4.1. (previous page) Billy Bitzer, D.W. Griffith's constant collaborator, in a very early moving camera rig. 4.2. (above) An early dolly shot, this one on the film Sunrise (F.W. Mur nau Fox Film Corp, 1927), famous for its extraordinary floating, extended camera moves.

Along \\ ith sequential cdit1ng. the abilit;.. to 111mc the camera i:-. the most fundamental aspect \\hich distinguish<.:'> film and \ideo from photograph). painting and other 'l'>Ual arts. \-, '' e h:l\ c ...een. mO\ ing the camera is much more than ju~t going from one frame to another. The movement itself. the St}lc. the trajectory. the pacmg and the tim ing in relation to the act1on all contribute to the mood and feel of the '>hot: the\ add a subtc\t and an cmot1onal content independent of the subje~t. \\c talked about the cinematic uses of camera 1110\ es 1n /.ell.\ Language; here \\C can cover the tcchn1ques and tcchnolog;.. ol mm ing the camera. The most basic usc of the camera 1.., ''here you put 11. Camera placement i-. a key decision 111 ;torytclling. \1ore than lUst .. ,, here It looks good." it determines'' hat the aud1encc '>ec... ,llld Irom ''hat perspective they sec it. As d1scussed 111 the chapter on Film'Jiace. \\hat the audience docs not sec can be a-. 1mportant "" "hat the) do sec. Sll1ce Gri lfith freed the camera from II'> statiOilar) Singular pn111l or 'ic'' mo\ ing the camera ha-., become an e\er 1ncreas111g part of the 'isual art of filmmaking. In this section \\e \\ill look at the d;..namIC~ of camera mm cmcnt and also take a look at some reprc ...cntati\ c '' ay" in'' hich this is accomplished. The doll) a'> a mean-. of mm mg the camera dates nom the carl} part of the 20th century. The crane came into it~ O\\ n in the 1920s (Sec Figure -l.3 for a modern 'er-,1on ). Shot'> from mm ing \chicle., \\ere accomplhhed in the carl1e.,t of -.i len h. a'>'' c sec from this photo of the D. \V. Gri fllth s great cameraman and collaborator Bill) B1l/cr (ligurc -l.l ). \Iter the introJw.:tion of the crane. little chanucd '' ith the means of camera mo\ ement until the imcntion of the S~teadicam bv Garrell Bro\\11. It \\as fir-.t used on the films Bound For Cion anJ Kubrid. 's {he 5ihininl:
MOTIVATION AND INVISIBLE TECHNIQUE

In narrative filmmaking. a kc) concept or camem movement 1s that it must be motivated. The mo\emenl should not just be for the sake or mo' in!! the camera; do1ng so usual!\ mean'> that the d1rector I'> suiTcring lrom a lack of stor) telling -;k(lls. Mot1\at1on Gill come 111 two \\ays. First. the action itself may moll\ ate a 1110\e. Fore\amplc. 1f the character get'> up from a chair and crosses to the'' mdt)\\. 1t i.., perfect!) logical for the camera to mm c "ith her 1\.ot nccc-,sar). but clear!) one '' ay to do it. Both the sta11 and the end of a dolly mme or pan -;hould be moll' a ted. The moti' at ion at the end may be as simple a'> the ract that '' e ha\ e arri\ed ,lithe ne\\ frame. but clearlv it 111U'>l be a ne\\ frame. one '' llh nc\\ Information composed 111 a ,i,ealllnglul '"'! not just be .. ,.,.here the camera ended up." A b1g part oftl11s 1~ that the camera should "settle" at the end of an\ mmc. It needs to "alight" at the nC\\ frame and be there for a be~t before the cut pomt. ~ Partlcularh \\ ith the ~tart and end of camera mo\ es that arc nwti' ated by ~ub.1cct mm cmcnt. there need-. to be a scnsiti\ it;. to thL' timing of the subject and also a delicate touch a~ to speed. You seldom ''ant the doll) to just "take off' at full speed then grind to a sudden halt . Most of the t1me. ;..ou ''ant rhe doll;. grip to "fi:ather" 111 and out of the mm c. The camera mm cmcnt it sci f may haH.: a puq1ose. l-or C"\amplc. a mm e may rc\ cal ne\\ 111 formation or a ne'' 'te\\ of the scene. The camera ma;.. mo\ e to meet someone or pull bac!.. to slum ,1 \\ tder ... hot lnmoti\ a ted camera mmcs or zooms arc distracting: the) pull the audience out of the moment and make them con-.cious that the\ arc watching a fiction: they do hO\\e\ er hm c the1r u-;es. part1cularl; in \ Cl")- st;.. lized filmmak111g
cmematoqr,Jphy

62

llh.:r~ .tr~ 111.111\ ''a\-. to lind a mot I\ au on I())' a cam~ra mm ~ and th~\ can be u-.~~1 tn ~nhanc~ th~ -.c~n~ and add a la\~r nl' meanHH! b~,ond till' -.hnt-. th~m..,~h~-.. Th~\ can al-.o add a ~~ns~ ot' ~n~r!.!\. Ill~. m~nal~. -.adn~...,... or all\ lither emotional m crht\ . ( "amcra mo\~ .mclll 1-. much Ill\~ th~ pac1i1g ol mt1-.1c >\nan~ 1m;,~ can .... oar""'"' th~ rml'.. ic !.!11e-. upb~at m the camera can dane~ "ith the ~n~rgy ot' th~ nwm~nt -.udl as '' h~n Rock~ reach~-. th~ top or the mu-..cum -.t~p ... and thl Stl'adicam -..pllb around .md around him :\1oti\atmg and timrng a Gtm~ra mm ~ 1-. a part of the goalol 111\ hlbk t~chniqu~ . .lu-..t ,1, 1n '' 11h cutting and CO\ ~rage in the ma-..ter -.c~ne m~thod. till' !.!l1al1-.. l\11 th~ tnck-.""to h~ unnoticed and not d1strall flomth~ \lOr\ tl' lim g.

BASIC TECHNIQUE l h~r~ is an ~ndk ... .., 'ariel\ nl ''a\.., to 1110\ e th~ camera and it '' ould b~ 1mpo. . ..,1bk to catalog~' ~r~ "on~ her~ It Is u-..~ful to lll11k nt a
I~\\ basr~ cat~gon~s oft::.pcsolmmc" ILl pro, ide a g~neral \ocabulan llr caml'ra d' rwm1c-... The most fundamental of cam~ra mn\ es. th~ pan and tilt c:m h~ accompli..,hed in almo ... t any mode, includ1ng handheld . rh~ ~\c~ptinn 1' ''hen a cam~ra i-.. locJ..~d nlf on ~rth~r .1 non-mo\ abk t11llUnt (as it 1111ght h~ l\.11 an ~\plosilln or big ... tunt l or '' h~r~ 11 i-.. on a nHl\ abl~ h~ad. but th~ nlll\ cmcnh arc l<lL'kcd tlll\\ nand thl'r~ i-.. no opl'rator. \Jan) I) P~" ol cfl~ct ... hoh r~quire the cam~r.t l<l h~ lncJ..~d do\\ n ... o that note\ ~n the ... li!.!IH~ ... t mm ~m~nt 11rth~ cam~ra 1.., po.., ... ihk. ~ B~) ond th~ ... impl~ pan and tilt or zoom. mo ... t 111ll\ '-'" 111\ nh ~ .111 actual change tll" cam~ra p<hltlon in th~ ..,Jwt. Other than handheld. th~-..l' kmds nr nHl\~ . . in\llh~ ... p~cific tcchnologl~'> and also thl' -.upporl or oth~r team m~mb~r... : the gnp lkpartm~nt ( nps arc the ~'P~I"h ''hen itcllmc.., ttl mounting the camera 1n am ''a\ llthl'r than

4.3 A Chapma n Lenny Arm rrgged on a camera car for some movmg shots m Greenwich Village Photo courtesy of Mark Wemgartne ( mera cyn

63

right on a tripod or a dolly and they arc the people'' ho pro\ 1de the rigging. the stabi li zntion and ac tual operation'' hen it come... to performing the actual move. A good gri p ere\\ makes it look easy. but there is wn-..1dcrahk kno\\ ledge and fi nes<;e im olved in laying smooth doll) track on .t rough urface (Figure 4.4 ) or rigging the camera on the front of < I roller coaster. E' c1 y detail of rigging is beyond the scope of thi-.. chapter but we "ill touch on <.,ome of the major issues.
TYPES OF MOVES PAN

Short for panoramic. pan appl ies to left or right horl/ontal mmcment of the camera where the camera position docs not change. Pans are fa irly easy to operate with a decent camera head. There 1s one opera tional li mitation that mus t be dealt '' ith. If the camera 1s panned too quickl y, there wiJJ be a Strobing e0cct wh ich\\ ill be \er) disturbing. As a general rule of thum b. " ith a shutter opening of I XO and a frame rate of 24 or 25 fps, it should take at least 5 second ... for an object to mo' c from one side of the frame to the other. An:r faster and there is a danger of strobing. IIighcr frame rates call f()r slo" cr panning speeds. There arc tables "hich enumerate e:-.act panning peeds but they require usi ng a protractor and stopwatch and arc not really practica l on the et.
TILT UP OR DOWN

The tilt is up or dm. , n mo,cmcnt '' ithoul changi ng camera po~ll1on. Technica lly, it is not correct to say "pan up." but a a praeticalmattcr e\'erybody says it. The till. being a vcrti calmo\ C, is used much ks-. freq uently than the pan. For better or "orsc. we live most of our lives on a gc111.:rall y hori;ontal plane and that is the way most action play out in narrati ve. documentary and info rmational fi lmmaking. As we will sec below. the usc of the crane, the Steadicam and aerial moun ts is to a la rge extent used to break out of the confined hori;ontal plane and make the scenes more truly three-dimens ional. Standard filmmaking is confined, to a large degree. by \\here \\C can put the camera. Certainly the ability of the Stcadicam to move " ith action up and do" n stairs and slopes has opened up a ne\\ \'ariety of mo,es which help ' ' ith this thrcc-dimcm.ional efli.)rt and keep us with" the characters as they move th rough space. Given the tech nology n O\\ available and the ingenu ity of our grips and camera assistant . there is hardly any\\ here a camera can't go.
MOVE IN I MOVE OUT

MO\ c the dolly toward or away from the action. Common tcnmnology is push in or pull out. For example, to the dolly grip: "When he sits down. yo u push in ." A good dolly grip will have a feel for the exact moment to start the move. This is di ITerent from a punch-In (sec below). Moving into the scene or out of it arc ways of combining the wide shot or a scene with a specific tighter shot. It 1s a way of selecti ng the view lo r the audience in a way that is more dramatic than j ust cutting fiom wide shot to closer shot. It has the effect of focusi ng the ' icwer's attention even more effectively than just doing a wide establishing and then cutting to the scene; bv mo\ing in tO~\'ard the cent. the camera is saying~.. of all the things on thi~ street. thi is the part that is important for you to look at. .. Of COurse. there arc infinite USCS of the simple ITIO\'C in 1110\ e OUt. We may pull back as the character moves out of the scene or as another character enters: the move is oticn j ust a pragmatiC "H) of
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64

niJm, inu mon.: room t(lr additional clements or the '>t:ene or to lie ~omethinu: else to the immediate action we have been watching. Con\ er~el}. '\,hen someone km e.., a ..,cene. a ~ubtle push-in can tak~ up the slack 1n the frammg.
111

ZOOM

'\n Ofllieal change of focal length. Mon::s the point of VIC\\ in or out '' ithout mo\ ing the camera. Zooms arc not popular in feature film makmu:. but almost all \ideo\\ ork is done\\ ith zoom~. When a 1oom is t7sed it is Important that the /00111 be moti\ atcd. Also. it is best to hide a zoom. lliding a 1oom is an m1. The zoom may be combined'' ith a doll;y mo\e or'' ith a 1110\C by the actors so that it becomes unnoticeable. An unmotivated ~:oom is distracting and usually looks unprofessional.
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A ZOOM AND A DOLLY SHOT

Say you" ant to go from a ''ide or medium to a close-up during the

shot. On the face of it. there would ~eem to be no real di !Terence bet\\eenmm ing the dolly in or /Ooming in. In actual effect. they arc quite ditrcrcnt. for se\eral reasons. I irst. a mom change~ the perspccti\C from a \\ide angle "ith deep locus and inclusion of the background to a long kn~ shot" ith compressed background and \Cry little or the background. It also changes the depth of field. so that the background or foreground might go from sharp locu~ to soti. These might be the ctTccts you \\ant. but often the) arc not. Second. the dolly mo\c is dynamic 111 a way that a 1oom cannot be. \N ith a zoom ) our basic point of\ Ie\\ stays the same because the camera docs not mo' c: "ith a dolly the camera lllO\ es in relation to the subject. hen if the :-.ubject stays center frame. the background 1110\ cs behind thc subject. This adds a sense or motion and also the shot ends '' ith an entirely di ffercnt background than it opened ''it h. This is not to say that a zoom is ne\ cr desirable. ju..,t that it is important to understand the di !Terence and ''hat each type or mm e can do tor your '>eene. A 'CI) dramatic ellcct can be produced "ith a combmatil)n of zoom and a doll). In this technique )'OU zoom out as you dolly in. This keeps the image si1e rclati\ el; the same. but there is a dramatic change of perspecti\C and background. Thi-. \\as used 'ei) efTectl\cl~ in .Jnn. ''hen Roy Scheider as the sherirr is sitting on the beach and lirst hears '>Omeone call "shark." It \\as also used etTectivcly in Good/('1/w in the scene \\here Ray Liotta is h<n mg lunch

4.4. A very simple pipe dolly ng for this !max shot in China. Pipe aolly rigs are especially useful for situations like this where a rental dolly is unavailable and it is impractical to fly one in. Many people carry the wheels and hardware w1th them and build the dolly and track with locally available materials. (Photo courtesy of Mark Weingartner). camer a dynam ics

65

\\ tth Robert De 1\tro in the diner.. \t thl.' moment Ltotta realitl.'~ hi.' is betng set up tor k ill111g by ht~ old fncnd. the combtnation mm c e!Tccti\ ely under~corcs the feeling or disOrientation. or lui\ tng the rug pulled out from under him.

PUNCH-IN

Di tTen:nt from a push in.\\ hich im oh cs actually movi ng the caml.'ra. a punch-in means that the camera stays\\ here it is. but a longet focal length prime is put on or the lens is toomed in for a ttghtcr shot The most common LhC of a punch-111 ts lor co\erage on a dialog seen\.'. u... uall) \\hen going from an O\ cr-thc-shoulder to a ckan ..,mgk. Since mm ing the caml.'ra rom ard fiom an O\ er-thc-shouldl.'t ma\ im oh c rcpo~itionmg the off-camera actor and othl.' r logistic..,. 11 1~ olkn easier to just go to a longer lens. There is some slight chang\.' in pcrspecti\ e but for thi s type or close-up it is ofkn not not icl.'abk a-.. long as the head st.tl.' remains constant.
MOVING SHOTS TRACKING

..
4.6. Countermove.

The simplest and most clearly moti\ a ted of camera 1110\Cs is to track alone.\\ ith a character or\ chicle in thl.' same direction ( Fiuurc -L 'i) For ~1c most part. the mm cmcnt is alongside and parallel~ It '" ccrt.:unl} possible to "Ia} ahead of and looking back at the -;ubjcct or to lo llm\ along behind. but these kinds of -.,hot-., arl.' not ncar!\ as d: namtc as tra~king alongside. \\ hid1 gl\ es greater cmphast.., I\) the lllO\ ing background and the sweep Of the lllOtton . Technically an) dolly mo\C i-., a tracking shot. but this gcneraltcrmmolog) is not much used an) morl.'. \ltm. the term track ing shot usual I) means mm ing along \\ ith the -..ubjcct. One \ anation of thl.' tracktn!.!. shot is ''hen the camera mm cs in the same OYerall direction as t he ~ubject. but not e\actly parallel to it. I he most dynamic of this type of shot is ''hen the camera come.., around to meet someone. as in I ig.ures -UL -l.9 and -l.l 0. Thl.' pur po-.,c her\.' i-., not 10 prcs\.'nt an e\hau-.,ti \ e catalog of C\ cr~ I) pc of mm ing shot. the point is that in a shot like th i-.,. mo\ ing the camera chang\.'" the shot. llcrc 11 progresses dynamica lly from a\\ idl.' ... hot to a close-up. When both camera and subjl.'ct arc heading tmHtrd the ~amc goa l. the move can be quite powerful and dramatic.
COUNTERMOVE

4.5 An ordinary track with move. Camera move matches the direction of the subject. 4.7. Dolly across the lme of movement. Tnis one has to be used wi th caution. If the entire shot is not used. the screen drrection will be flipped without explanation. See the chapter CinematiC Continuity for further discussion of this issue.

Ifthc camera ah\ ays mm c-., only '' ith the subject. matchmg th dtrl.'ction and ..,peed. it can get a little bonng. In thi-., cas\.'. the came ra ,.., "t u:d to .. the subject and compktdy dependent on it. For the camera to sometimes 1110\ e independently of the subject can add a coutllcrpoint and an additional clement to the scene. Cl.'rtain l} it can be d}namic and energetic: it adds a counterpoint of' mo\emcnt '' htch deepen.., the scene (rigurc 4.6). Whenc\cr the camera mo'e" tn thl.' oppo-.ite dtrection the background appears to lllO\C atl\\tce thl.' rate it \\Ould move if thl.' ca mera \\as tracking along in the same tltrcction as the subject. 1\ variation is (() 1110\ acro~s the line or tnt\ d. U<., in rigurc 4 ). \ variation of the COUnternlO\C is \\here the doll\ mo\ es ~l the opposite direction and the subjects cross the a \I" (;r motion a~ in Figure 4.12.

REVEAL 1\ ... implc doll) or crane move can be used for an ctTcctiYe reveal. \

subject filb the framl.' . then with a 111m c. something else is rl.'\l.'alcd. This type of shot is most effecti\ e ''here the second frame re\ l.'ab ne\\ content \\ hich amplifies the meaning of the first shot or tronically comments on it.
crnematography

66

I~

CIRCLES
V\ hen onkring a dolly and track it i:-. quite common to also order

at lea'>t a couple of pkces of c1rcle track. Circular track generally comes 1n two types: .f5 and 90 . These designate '' hether it takes ltlllr p1ece-.. or eight ple<.:e'> to maJ..e a complete circle." hich define-; the ralllu-.. of the track ..'\ 'el) -..pectfk u-..c of c1rcle track is to doll) completcl) or hall\\ H) around the subject: thi'> type of mmc b C<I..,JI'v abu-..cd and can be \ er\ -..eJ f-conscious If not motivated b\ somctliing 111 the scene. Some c'ompanies specily b) radiu'>. On 1111portanl nole on '>ellmg up a circle track '>Cene: as it 1s quite common Ill usc circle track to mme \Cr) ~Jm, ly around the subject in a tight '>hot. locu ... pulling can get quite comple\. rhe best wa) to -..11nplil~ a circle mo\ c 1s to '>Ct up the '>hot so that the '>UbJcct i-.. po:-,itioned at dead center of the radius of the trad.. Thi-.. "ill make life much eas1cr for 1he lt)Clh pulkr and hdp ensure that numcrou-.. take-.. "1ll not be nece-..... al") lo get one that '>lay ... '>harp (Figure .f. II )
CRANE MOVES

4.8, 4.9 and 4.1 0. (top, left to right)

The most useful aspect of a crane is its abilitv 10 achic'c lan.~e \crtical 1110\C'> \\ ithin the shot. While a crane n{<l\ be used on I~ to ~ct lhc camera up high. the mtht ba-,ic \ariel) ol\:rane shot is.to ... t:trt '' uh a h1~h angle' IC\\ of I hell\ era II scene a-; an estahlishinu shot and then~ll10\ ~ l.fll\\ n and 111 to Isolate a piece of the geog~aph) mo'>t often our main <.:haraeter... "ho then proceed" ith the action or dwlog. lh1s 1s mosl olkn used to open the scene b) combining the cstabl1shmg -,hot" ith the clo-,er-in master of the specilic aclion. The oppo'>ik mmc. starting tight on the ~ccnc and then pulling back to re\cal the \\ide -;hots. i-; an eiTccti,c \\aY to end a scene a-, \\ dl and 1s on en used as the dramatic last shot ~)fan enure film a slo\\ disclosure. Depending on the content of the scene and the enure film. it can ha\ e a po" erful emotiona l content. I f. lor e-..;ample. the tight shot 1s ofthc )Oung man bleeding to death on the pa\emcnt. pulling back to a\\ ide shot or the deserted ~treet. \\ lth no help in -,ight can hme a tragic. hopeless feel. Such shots make a \el") specilic -.tatement and should not be used c;.l'>uall). The abilit) of the crane to .. s\\ oop dramatically and flo\\ ingly can be used !'or C\hilaratlllg and energetic effect: more than any other type or camera mo\ c. 1t can rea II) dance.. '' ith the characters or the act1on. \nothcr aspect of the crane that is important to keep mmind i..,lhat llllht crane:-, arc capable of g01ng beltm the k\ el of then mountmg -;urface. Th1s can be used to get )OU dO\\ n 11110 a ditch or other place \\here '>Citing a tripod or doll) \\Ould be impractical. Of course. <,uch usc can al\\a)" be enhanced by building a platform for the crane. 1111-. has the effect ofraislllg the top end of the mo\c. Since you arc no\\ also u-..mg the bcJm, the ..,urfacc capability, you can employ the full range of motion oflhe crane I(H the most d)ilallliC -,hot.

A "going to meet them" move. Th1s is a very dynamic shot as the subject distance changes. This can be used to start with a wide tracking shot and end up with a tight close up or viceversa.
4.1 1. (above) The secret of a ci rcle dolly move is to get the subject as close to the center of the circle as possible. This minimizes focus shifts during the move and makes it easier on the AC.

4.1 2. (below) A complex and very

dynamic move: the shot tracks, pans and subject distance and direction change all at the same time.

cam era dy'lall'ICS

67

ROLLING SHOT I h~ L~rm rollin!!. -.,hot i.., thcu '' h~r~\ ~r th~ ~amcra "' mounkd on .t \chicle. ~ith~r ~n the p1ctur~ \chicle 01 a camera c.:ar '' l11ch tr:l\ l'), along'' llh the p1clllr~ 'chicle. Th~ "picture"' chicle is the one he111g
photograph~d.

CAMERA MOUNTING HANDHELD llandheld is n:-- time.: the operator take.:" the.: camcra 111 h.111d. usual!) held on th~ -,hould~r. but it can be hcld lo'' to the gwund. plac.:~d on the knee-, or am other combination. !or mam \car-.,, handheld \\as the pnnhll) mean'> of making the camcra mobil~ in c.:a-,es \\hcn: a doll) ''a" not :1\ailable or not practic,d (on st.ms. t'nr c\.IIllpkl '\im\. \\ Ilh so man) other\\ :t) s to keep the cam~ra moh ile. handheld IS most onen Used ('or artistic purpose-.. llandhcld ha-.. a scihC of 11nmed1ac\ and cncn.!\ that c.:.mnot be duplicated b) other means. Sal'/ II~ p,;ll.ah R1wl~ ii1r instance. ",,., -..hot 90 u handheld. e\ en thou!!h oh\ IOu-.,1\ the hud!!.ct '' ,,, there to mount the c.:amera m an\ c.:t~ncei\able \~a\. It sll~!!.ests .t doc.:umcntar) appro;tc.:h and thu-.. ~ubtl) implie..; thai ")OU :lr~ thl'fl:.' .mJ "this'" real!) happening." llandhcld can con\e) a ...ensc ofhone-.,t). immcd1ac) .1nd -,implic.:ity that makes 1t popular 111 man) commercials.

CAMERA HEAD The camera cannot bc mounted direct!) lln a tnpod or doll). II 11 ''a-.,. there "mild be no'' a\ to mm e the camera. On dollies. crane-. and car mounts. there ,.., al-,o an intc.:rmetliatc aep. th~ lc.:' d111g head ( FI!!.Ure -L 13) lim ,.., the hasc the camera head '>lh on '' h1ch aiiO\\.., l~r le\ el111g ol the cam~ra In the case of a tnpod lc\ el111g is .tccompl1shed b) lengthening or ..,J10rten111g one of the legs to g~t the camera lc\ cl . Camera head" make -..moot h. ..,table and rcp~atablc Illll\ c.., pth'>Ible I kad-. fall into four categone-; FLUID HEAD The ...c u"c oil and internal damper-. and "Pring" to make ~\ti ~mel) -,mtlllth lcft nght and up dO\\ n mo\ c.., plhsiblc ( f1gur~ -LI-1 l. I he .unount o f r~-, i -.tancc i" adju-.tablc. 1\.lo"t camera operator.., "ant the head to ha\ ~ a good amount of re-,Jstance work In!! aga1n..,L thl.'m. This make-, "mm;Lhl.'r mm es ptN.,ihlc. a free tloatmg l1~ad i" \ ei') thl:. finilt to control.
4.13 . (top) A levelmg head - an essential part of almost all camera mounting systems. 4.14. (middle) A fluid head (Photo courtesy of OConnor.) 4.1 5. (above) A geared head. Long a staple in classic studio production. it is e~sen tial not only for the abil1ty to execu te perfectly smooth and repeatable moves but also for the ability to hold very heavy cameras. (Photo courtesy of Arri Group.)
The!-~e

GEARED HEAD head-., arc operated \\ 1th ''heels" h1ch the np~rato1 can llHl\ c.: \ef) -.,moothl) and prccl-.,cl) rcpcatmo\C" (l!gur~-+.15) I hi.' gcar~d head ha ... ,, long and \ en~rable hi'>tor:-- 111 -,tudio prndut.:llon. l'hc !!.Cared head '" useful not on!\ till the abiiil\ to c\ecut~ '>mooth and repcatahle 1110\ es but al ... o b'ecau-,c it can -handle \l.'l) h~a\) ~am eras. REMOTE HEAD (Jcarcd head" can abn b~ fitted'' llh motor.., to be operated n.nwtel) orb: a comput ~r li.n motion control (nw-co) Remote!\ c.:ontwlkd head-. ,ue U'>~d lor a \anct: of purpose" and ha\~ mad~ po-.sihk thc ll'>~ of' crlllC" \\ hit.:h \.'\ tend lllUt.:h farthcr and lll!.!her than\\ ouJd he pO'i'>iblc II th~ ann had to b~ dc ... Igncd to carr) the \\ ~Igh t or ,111 operator and camera a-,-,JStant. Remote.: heath can al-..ll p~rtorm llW\C'> "hil:h \\ou ld not be pos..,iblc 1r the opcratm had hi-, l'\C to the.:' Ie\\ finder: J(JO rolb. for c\ample. or mo\'e" '' l11ch wtate mor~ than I XO 'crt1call)

cmematography

68

FRICTION HEAD

The 1110~1 primitive form of camera head. they u~e adjustable friction to help the operator control the mo\ c. Friction heads arc rarely used
110\\ aday~.

UNDERSLUNG HEADS

These are lluid heads but the camera is not mounted on top. It IS suspt:ndt:d on a cradle bdow the pivot point. Underslung heads can rotate 'ertically far pa:-.t where an ordinary fluid head can go and thu-. arc goou for ~hots" hicb need to go straight up or d<m nor e\ en fun her. Some underslung heads. such as the one sho~ n here ( hgurc -l.l-l) arc true noual poi~! heads. \\ hich \\ i 11 be discus~cd in TeZhnica//\\1/C!\.

THE TRIPOD

The tripod i:-.the olde-.t and mo~t ba:-.ic type of camera mount but still sees constant usc on all types of film and' ideo sets. Being smaller. lighter and more portable than just about any other type of mount. its \ersatihty make~ up for its shortcomings. It can be quickly rcpo~it1oncd and can be made to fit into 'very tight. odd places. Its main au\ anlage is that it can be transported just about any\\ here.
HIGH-HAT

The high-hat is ..,trictlv the mountin!!. surface for the camera head; it has no~le,clmg or mt)\Cment capabilit) at all. It is used \\hen the camera nccJ-, to go \cry lm\. almost to the surface. It is also uscu ''hen the camera needs to be mountcu in a remote place. such as on top ora laduer. The high-hat is usually bolted to a piece ofply,,ood \\ hich can be sere\\ cd. bolted or strapped in to all sorts of places.
ROCKER PLATE

The dra\\ back of a h1gh-hat is that the camera head (fluid or geared) 'itill has to go on top of it. As a result. the lens height is still at lca..,t I X" or more abm c the surf~tcc. If this just isn't lm\ enough. the fir<>t ch01cc IS usually to prop It on a sand bag. The pliable nature of the sand bag allow-; the camera to be positioned for leYcl and tilt. \n) mo' cs. ho\\ C\ cr. arc pretty much handheld. If more control is desired. a rocker plate can be used. Thi-. is a simple de' icc \\ hich allm\s the camera to be tilted up and dm\n. Smooth side to side pans an.; not possible.
TILT PLATE

used when the camera angle needed is ~reater than what can be achieved w1th the camera head in use. 4.17.(bottom) A compact and h1ghly maneuverable crab dolly - the Chapman Peewee. (Photo courtesy of Chapman/Leonard Studio Equipment.)

4.16. (top) A tilt plate -

omctlmc..,. a shot calls f(Jr a greater range of up and d0\\11 tilt than a t) p1cal camera head can pro\ ide. In this case. a tilt plate can be mounted on Lop or the camera head (Figure 4.16). It is usually geared and can be tilted to the desired angle. The !!Carin!! (if there 1s Zmy) is gcncrall) not smooth enough to used i1~a shot.

be

THE CRAB DOLLY

The crab doll) is by far the most often used method ormountmg and mo' ing the camera. A crab dolly in the hands of a good dolly grip 1s capable of a -.urpn-.ing range and llLlldit) ol 1110\ cmcnt. Figure -+.17 1s at) pi cal dolly '' idcly used in production today.
DOLLY TERMINOLOGY Dolly In/Out 'vlo\ L' the doll) to\\ aru or away rrom the subject (Figure -l.l9).

\\hen a doll) i~ on the f~oor and you\\ ant to 1110\ c lor\\ a rd. there arc I\\O choices. "Mmc in' can either mean move fonHtrd on the a'\is ol the len-, or on the a\is in '' hich the crabbeu '"heels arc aiming. 1 hese arc "in on the len-... or "in on the'' heels." ~
camera dynam1cs 69

Standard ltr.uk)
Front of dolly

Steer

l
Track back or Pull out

Boom up Boom down

~
Track forward or Push In or Track left/right

Round

Crab

or Track left/ right

Dolly Left/ Right Move the dolly len or right. If the dolly i~ on tracb. it i~ left or right in relation to the a\is of the track. If the doll) 1~ on the ftoor. then it i~ left or right in relation to the subject (I igure 4. 19).
Boom Up/Down

Nearly all dollic::-. hm e a boom: a hydraulic ann capable of mo' ing 'ertically in a smooth enough motion to be used 111 a shot \\ 1thout ~bakes or jarring. Some boom terms include: top lloor ( ladic::-. Iingerie) and boll om lloor (bargain basement). Crab Left/ Right \ lo-.t dollies have" heels that can crab (figure 4. 1X). that 1'>. both front and rear\\ hecb can be turned in the <>7une direction. alltm in!!. the dolly to mm e latera II) at any angle. Crab function is absolute!) essential if the dolly i~ to be u<>ed din.:ctly on the floor and not on traek. For most normal operations. the rear \\heels are in crab mode and are the smart\\ heels.'" rhe front \\heels arc locked in and rune! ion as the '"dumb \\heels. I or a true crab lllO\ c. all four\\ heels arc ~\\itched to crab mode. There is another \ariation of crabbing\\ htch can be done only'' ith certain dollies. This is roundy-round~ "here the\\ hccb can be set so that the dollv rC\Ohcs in a full 360 ctn:k on ih 0\\11 center. To do this. the frotit and rear\\ heels arc crabbed in opposite direction~. This can be done \\ith some Fischer dollte-. as \\ell as the Panther and the Elcmack ( Figun.: -L I X). DANCE FLOOR Stable. shake free doll~ moH:-. can onl) be accomplished on smooth floor<>. If there is no room ror track to be laid or if the director i-. looking for dolly mo' e::. that cant be accommodated by stn.llght or cuncd track. a dance floor can be built \\hich allm\s the camera to tno\e any\\ here. A dance 11oor is built \\ith good quality 3 -f' pi~ " om! (usually birch) topped \\ ith a layer of smooth m<t-.tlntte. The joints an.: then carcl'ully taped. Thi-.; f(mns an e.\ccllent surl~lCC ror -.month mo' es. A good dolly grip can crab and roll any'' here. and combination mo\cs can be quite comple\. The only dnmback ts that you ha\ c to a\ otd shm\ ing the floor. Smooth floor-; or dance floor becomes especially cntical tf an) thing other than a\\ tde lens is up on the camera. Once you get to a normal len-; or longer. e\ cr~ ltlllc bump in the lloor or the dolly track is going to -.hO\\ on -..creen.
cme matography

4.18. {top left) Dolly wheel positions

for various types of moves.

4.19. (top right) Dolly and boom ter-

minology. 4.20.(above} A fluid head that quickly converts to a dutch head. (Photo courtesy of Cartoni S.p.A.}

70

DUTCH HEAD

Dutch an!.!k 1s \\hen the camera i-. lilted otT hori/ontal. lhe \arialions arc Juh:h kli and dutch n!.!ht. :\::- '' llh man\ obscure tcnns 111 tl(m. there Is much -.pcculallOn as tO the origin. (;1 fi.lCl. II goes bad, to 17th CClllllr) Lngland. "hen a Dutch royal. \\ illiam or Orange. ''a-. placed on the throne of Bnta111 There wa~ much resentment and all thmgs l.'llllSidcrcd not quite nght"' ''ere called dutch. Hence dutch doors. dutch dates and dutch auctions. Spcciallj built dutch heads arc also a\allabk '' hich convert back and fi.mh bet\\Cen dutch and normal opcrallon \Cr) qlllckl) (1-i!.!ure -L20)
EXTENSION PLATE

\\ hcn the L'amcra 1s mounted on the dollv. it ma\ be nccessar\ to e:-.tcnd ll Ill the left. 1"1!!111 or rof\\ard ot' \\here -the doll\ cal{ !.!0 ( Figun: 4.21 ). for c\am1~e if you need to place the doll] at ihc center of a bed Thi'> can be done" ith an e\tcnsion plntc \\hich mounts on the doll). tht.:n thc camera head 1s mountt.:d at the ..:nd.
LOW MODE

Somt.:time-.. thc camcra needs to be lo\\Cr than tht.: boom can go In th1-.. ca-...:. thcrc arc t\\O poss1bll1t1t.:-.. Some dolllc'> ..:an ha\e- tht.:1r camera mountmg arm rt.:configured so that ll 1s onl) a fc\\ inchc-, above tht.: floor ( FI!!Un: 4.23 ). Ir this i-, not avai !able or j-, not t.:nouuh. a /-bar can bc use-d to gt.:t the camera all the \HI) to the floor. Tl1c Z-bar 1-. ba-.1call::. an e:-.tcn-,ion arm that e\tentb out then dtm n.
FRONT PORCH

Somc dol lie-. ha\..: a -.mall e\tcns1on '' hich flh on the front of the doll\: thl'> 1-. abo km)\\ n a-. a ctm catcht.:r Thi-. can be u-.cd It> hold the batter) or a-, a placc for thc operator or the camera as..,l'>tant to stand dunng 1 mm c (I 1gurc 4 22 ).
SIDE BOARDS

4.21 .(top) An extension plate. (Photo courtesy of Matthews Studio Equip ment, Inc.) 4.22 (middle) Side boards and front porch. (Photo courtesy of J.L. Fisher Inc.) 4.23. (bottom) A drop down plate, sometimes called a Zbar. Used to get the camera very low but still maneuverable.(Photo courtesy of J.L Fisher, Inc.)

Sidchoard-, tit on cllhcr -.ide of the doll) as a placc for the operator to -.land. The) arc rcmm able for transportation and for\\ h..:n the doll) has to fit through tight o,paccs.
SEAT EXTENSION

\ lltm-. the -.cat to bt.: more mobile and lets the operator get into bettc1 positlllll li.>r some camera 1110\ t.:'>.
RISERS

6... 9... 12 .. or I X.. t.:\lt.:lhll>ns can plat.:c thc camera h1ghcr than thc boom lrmcb fhc longest C\tCINOns canl!et the camera \t.:ry hiuh hut at the prit:c ol abst;lutt.: stablllt) STEERING BAR OR PUSH BAR

\lltm-.. the dolly gnp to push pull the dolly and also to stt.:t.:r tht.: doll::. 111 standard modc (\\here on I~ thc rear\\ h..:t:l-, pi' ot) tn 111 crab lllOdt.:. \\here both St.:t-. of\\ h..:t.:f-. piH)l.

CRANES
Crancs <Ire LiiJXlhlc ol much grcat..:r 'crt1cal and hori/ontal mo\ cmcnt th<lll a doll:. Tht.:rt.: arc I\\ o typt.:'>: pb am1s han: no scat ti.)r thc camcrapcrson and arc usuall) opcratt.:d b) somconc standing on the llnor or pt.:rhap-. an applc bo\. I ruc crancs gcn..:rall:. ha\ c scah for thc operator and a camcra as-.,1-.tant. Largt.: cran..:s can generally gct the camcra. operator and assistant up to a lcns h..:1ght ol'around27 or morc abm c tht.: base \\ c -.a\ abm c thc base bccausc ortcn a cran..: '' 111 bc mountcd on a platli.>llll. \chrck or othcr crane for additional hcight. \I) pica! cranc 1-. o,hO\\ n Ill rigurt.: 4.29.
camera dynam1cs

11

Both cranes and jib arm!-. ha\C one fundamental charactl.!n~til: that may become a problem. Bccau!-.c they arc all mounted on a J11' ot point. the ann ah\ ny!> ha-, -,omc degree of arc as it 1110\ co., up. do\\ n or latcrall). With dolly arms thi ... degree of arc is u-.;ually neg! igiblc lor all c<ccpt c-.:act111g macro or' cry tight" ork that call.., l(lr critkal tocu ... or a 'cry precise frame ~iLc. With cranes the arc can be quite large. but a-. the cranl.! can al..,o moYc in or out. the arc can often be adjusted for '' ith a compcn..,ating mo\ c of the crane arm or b.> abo mo\ ing the dolly the nanc is mounted on slightly
4.24. The Chapman Titan II, a truck mounted crane. The truck can run on battery power for sync-sound shots. (Photo courtesy of Chapman/ Leonard Studio Equipment, Inc.)

CRANE/JIB ARM A crane is any camera support \\here the arm can rotate rrcel) as v\cll as boom up and do\\ n (Figure 4.24 ). For nearly all crane .... therl.!

is a pi,ot point and behind this point nrc counterweights. This Is Jiffcrent from a dolly. "here the boom arm is fixed and opcratl.!d by hydraulics. J\ jib arm generally means a small er crane arm. Mo ... t .1 ib arms do not have a -;cat lor the operator and camera assistant. the camera is operated from the lloor or perhaps on a ... mall I,Idd!.!r or ,111 apple box (Figure 4.2~ ). The countcrwcighto., C\tcndmg behind the pi' ol point ha\ c L\\O important consequences. f-irst. it is Important to take this bach\\ mg into account" hen planning or -;cUing up a crane mo' c. I ftherc 1..,n1 sufficient room at best vour 1110\ cs ''ill be limited and at \\Or... t -..omething "ill be broken. The second i<; a safety Issue and it i.., lme that cannot be cmpha ... izcd enough. Cranes can be c.\ trcmcl) dangl.!rou-... When ) ou arc on a crane. the key grip or crane gnp Is In charge. obody get-. on or oO"thc crane without pcm1ission of the crane gnp. The reason for this is that your ''eight and the camera \\eight ar~ rrccisely counterbalanced by the weights on the back end. II ~ ou \\en; to suddenl y get oiTthc crane wit hout warning. the camera end \\ ould go Aying up in the air and very li kely cause damage or injlll") . With anyo ne gelling on or oiT. or'' ith any changes in equipment. the crane grip and the back-end grip communicate loudl) and clearly -..o that every step is coordinated. Ir you arc the camera operator. ..,11lm courtCS) to the gnps. It can be a big job for them to get you on and off. Don"t do it friH>lously. T\\O other -.afct) 1-.sucs \\hen \\Orking on a crane: '-' I \\car )Our ::.alcty belt. J\l\\ ay~ . ..2. Be c\tremely careful around all\ ckctrical \\ires. Arter hclict>pters and camera cars. cranes around h;gh \Oitage "ires arc the leadi ng cause of-.cno u ~ Injury and death in th!.! mota1n pidure indu-..tr)'. Take 11 ... criousl). The best bet is to tell yolll crane grip" hat )OU \\ant and then JUst let him or her be 111 charge. Tht' lcll\ c-. ) our allention licc \0 ltlCU'> on the shot it sci f.
CRANE OPERATION

Crane operation should al\\ay-.. be a three man JOb; an) th1ng lc..,.., Is absolutely not safe. (l his docs not apply to jib anm \\ htch don't ha\e scats for the operator and J\C.) The key grip usually operate-. the front part ol" the arm and guides thc move; another grip pushc-.. and pulls the chas~is and a third grip is at the rear or the crane'' llh \\Cighh. This grip helps the ke) '>\\ ing the arm and '>Cn c-. a-. a ""damper"' to cushion the end of the 1110\ c. so that the inertia of the crane doc ... n"t let it O\ cr..,hoot the mark. A good crane ere'' e:--.ccutmg com pic:-. mm cs 1-.. a jo) to "atch. They make 11 look easy. but it calb l(lr muscle power. coordmation. carel"ul choreof:_rraph) and ncar!~ balktllke precision.
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The Arc

\nothl.!r 1..,..,UI.! '' ith 1:1"<1111.!.., 1.., that. b~causl.! the} pi' ot on a ccmral potnt. an} crane arm (man} doll~ arm) 1110\ c., 111 an arc. not along a '>traight \Crtical lmc. In llllht ca.,c<> thi., t'i not a problem. It only becomes an IS'iUC \\ tth \Cry tight '>hOh \\ tth limited dcrth of focu .... \ct) lc\\ ng... allo'' you to compensate tor the an:. The Stinger jib {ltgure -l 12) i... one or them. rhe camera ... upport -.,!ides back and lhrth on raib.
Chassis Left/ Right Or ln'Out

The cha..,..,h 1., a doll~ or '>pl.!cwll~ built platform that '>upports the crane 1\1o..,t small and medium ..,izc jib am1s or crane., mount either on a doll) or a braced rollmg platform similar to a dolly. The cha'>"1" nHt} roll on a ... mooth lloor or may be mounted on dolly track tor more repeatable mo' ement'>.
Crane Up/Down

These tern,.., arc the ...ame a ... boom up boom do\\ n but appl) to cratll.: .... Opcrationall::-. a cram~ i.., more diflicult than a doll}. One of the m;un rea ... ons 1.., that the crane 1.., Aoattng freely. unlike a doll) "hich ha-, -,peciflc limits and -,pecific marks. It ts relaun:l) ca ...) lor the doll) gnp to make mark... on the boom arm for the high and IO\\ stop points. as "ell as marh:s on the dolly track ror precise start and end pomh. This is not pos ... iblc on a crane. One thmg that mo.,! crane gnp.., ''ill do i.., atlach a rope to the camera platform and braid 11 \\ tth knots. These knots make it easier to grasp and pull the crane but the::- abo help \\ 1th marking. Since the rope hangs dtm n nght under the camera. it i" po-,..,ible to make marh:s on thl.! Aoor to indicate camera pO'>ttton and colored tape on the rope can indicate lctb height. The best crane gnps e<tn htt these mark... agam and again'' ith great prectsion.
NON-BOOMING PLATFORMS

1r all that ts needed ts hetght. c..,pectally for hetght greater than can be accomplt,hed '' ith the a' ailablc crane. the camera mtght he nHnmted on a con-.tructton erath.: ... uch <h a ( ondor. "hich h frequent(~ u... ed a~ a nHnmung tor hghb. The-,e t) pe~ of cn1ne" can get the camera "here~ ou need tt but the~ u...uall~ aren't capable or boom in!.! up \)r d1m n "ithout 't..,tbk shake.
CAMERA ON A LADDER

4.25. Camera on a ladder, one of the qu1ckest ways to get a camera up high. It is usually done with a high hat clamped and strapped to the top rung (Photo courtesy of Mark Weingartner.)

1he -,imple-,t and cheape-,t method or gettmg the camera htghcr than normal i.., 10 put it on a ladder as in f-igure 4.25. Thi.., ,.., done b) ha' ing the gnp.., clamp and .,trap a high-hat on tnp of the ladder A second ladder .,hould stand along., ide to prO\ tde a place for the fixus-puller. Both the..,c ladder~ ... hould be "ell stabth/ed \\ tth -,and hag... and a gnp -,(wuld al\\ a~.., stand b) lor safet).
REMOTE HEADS

Remote control heatb lul\e re\ olulloni/cd crane shots. Since 11 ts no\\ po..,..,ihle to de-;tgn cranes that do not need to support the \\etght or the operator and camera assistant, crane" can be longer. htgher. lighter. m1)re portable and f~t..,Ler to -,et up.
TECHNOCRANE

4.26. A crane on top of a crane. Not only does it get the camera higher and farther out, it also makes possible some very fluid compound moves. (Photo courtesy of Mark Weingart ner.)

\II crane ... 1110\ cup Jo\\ n and left right. The 1 cchnocranc adds one nlllre a xi-, ol mm ement. The arm can be extended or retracted ... moot hi) dunng the mo' c. Like man) remote heads. it can abo be re' oh ed ..,othat the camera -,pith horizontally. 1 he in out mm ement can he lhed to compcn-,ate li.H the arc problem
camera dyPal'l iCS 73

CRANES ON TOP OF CRANES

~~
Drt... , .. - H
liP!

Some cranes can be stacked on top of large cranes such as the T1tan for additional height and mobility a~ in Figure -L2o. Obviously. a top notch grip team is critical for thi s type of,,ork. a~ safety 1s en1c1al. This type of rig can accomplish some highly complex compound 1110\e~. Walkie-talkies\\ ith headsets arc important as coordmation bet'' een the g rip~ on both cranes i:- essential.
PEDESTALS

One type of camera mount is capabl e of\crt ica l mo\cmcnt \vlthout arcing: the pedestal. Pedestal s are the norm for tele\ is ion studiO'> hut arc rarely. if c\ er used in film or\ ideo field product1on.
CAR SHOTS

4.27. (top) Standard camera posi tions for car mount rigs. 4.28. (above) A fully tricked out car rig with multiple mounting positions.

Car shots have always been a big part of film product ton In the old studio days they were usually done on '>Cis with rear projection of mO\ ing streets \isible through the rear or side wi ndO\\ s. Special partial cars called buch had the entire front of the car removed for ca..,e of shooting. Rear or front projection or e\terior scetll.!S is rarely U\Cd these day... partly because the technol ogy of shooting on li ve locations has b.:en perfected as well as 111m or digital replacement ol"thc background . Car shots are accomplished \Vi th car mounts. There are two basic types: hood mounts allo\\ one or more cameras to be placed on the hood area for shooting through the windshield. ll ostcss trays (named for the trays that used to be standard at drive-in hamburger joints) allow the camera to be positioned on the side. usually ~hootin g th rough the dri'vcr\ '' indm\ and the passenger's window.
CAMERA POSITIONS FOR CAR SHOTS

The standard positions for car shots arc shcm n in Figure 4.27. Those at the side widO\\S arc accomplished \\ ith a hostess tray (Figure 4.2X). The one~ on the front arc done V\ith a hood mount. These l\\0 components arc the <;tandard parts or a car rig kit. but be sure to ..,peci ry both if you need them.
VEH ICLE TO VEHICLE SHOOTING

Camera cars arc ~pcc i a liLcd trucks\\ ith \cry smooth suspension and numcrou~ mounting positions for multiple cameras (figure 4.29) Camera cars are used in two basic modes. ! or close-ups or the actors. the picture car i~ usually tO\\ ed b) the camera car or mounted on a lm' -boy trailer" hich is tO\\ ed. The reason that it needs to be a ltm trailer is so that the per:-pectivc rclation~hip or the car to the road ''i II ~ccm natural. Ir the car is too high it ''iII look odd. Ttm ing has two ad\antagcs. First. the position ~or the picture car doesn~ change radically and unpredictably in relation to the cameras.\\ l11ch can be a problem fo r the camera operators anu the focus puller-.. . Second. it is much safer since the actor doesn't have to 1x:rlorm and tr) to dri\c at the same time. '\ s1mp kr technology for towing shots is the wheel mount tmY. This is a ~mall t\\ o \\ heel trailer \\ hich supports on ly the lront \\ !web or the car. As the picture car is still at ground le\ el. there arc fb\ problems \\ith perspcctiYe. This can be an advantage if. fix c\amplc. the car has to stop and someone approaches the \\ indm\ . This could all be done in one shot. where 1t v,ould be uilficult trthc car is mounted on a full trailer. One safety consideration for front \\heel to\\s: the tire:.. arc usually held onio the 10\\ carriage \\ ith :-traps. Ir the actor tries to "steer" too much. it is possible for these straps to come loose. Ir the actor docs IHl\ c to dri\ e. then:: should
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74

ddi111teh be a !'olio'' car for safet\. A motorc\cle ortlcer in thc lead 1~ al~o a good ltlea for ~a let) anlin man) Jll;.l.,tilcuon-. i.., rcqu1rcd. Camcra JlO'>itlolb lor' ch1ck to \chick uo.,ually. repcat the '>landan.l JlO'>Illon~ li.ll hood mounh. ,\ crane may abo be mnuntcd on the camera car "hid1 can bc u-;cd for 'Cr\ U\ llai111C 1110\ c-, -;uch a-. ..,tart in!!. "1th thc C<lnH:ra o.,hootin!.!. thn~u!.!.il thc "1llllsh1dd. thcn rulling hack and up to -,llll\\ thc~ \\hole~car tnl\dlllg ;tlong-,ldC. \lthough thc-,c ma) bc nde-along nanc..,. a rcmotc head I'> much -.al\.:r. I \trl'nH: cautHm ~'- al\\ a\'> called ror in tnl\ din!! -,hoh camera car <ll'Cidcnh arc the number (me cauo.;e or death'> 111 thc motion picturc mdu-,tr\
AERIAL SHOTS

\erial ..,lwh "ere abo allcmpted 'el) early in film lll'>tlll). 1\s as hel1coptcr.., \\erc <1\a dable after the Korcan \\ttr. the] \\Cre J1l"C'>SCd into ~Cr\ ICC ror aenal -,hoh. \ ibration hao.; ah\ll)'> hCCil a pwblem \\ rth acnal ~hoh a-, \\ rth thc prc-,-,urc or the \\ ind-.trcam. Both makc 11 tlll"l1cult to get <I good -,table -.hot and control thc camera acccptabl:. I hc r: ler mounh ror hdlcortcr-. I'>Oiatc thc camcra tiom 'ibrati1111 and ~tcad: it ~o 11 can bc opcratcd -,moot hi). Tmla). llllht acrial o.,hoh arc ;u.:compl!-.hcd \\ llh .. hot hcad .. ty. pc mount-,. \\ llh thc camera mountcJ to the C\tcnor of thc <1in:ralt and thc opcrator in-,ltk u~mg remote comrols but 111 ttght hudgct or impromptu ..,1 tuat1on~ 11 I'> o.,till ~ometime~ neces ... ary. for thc camcra hopefully opcrator to !can ouhiUC and balance on the pontoon \\ 1th thc propcr salcty ng. In -,uch cascs. don! forgct to o.,ccurc the camera a-. ''ell a~ am filters. malle bo.\ or other item~ that mi!!ht come loo~l' 111 thc ~iip..,tream. You ma)' \\ant to tare y. our ~l;irt ~lcc\c~ and pant.., kg-, a-, ''ell: thcir flapping 111 the C\trcme "ind conditions can get in thc \\<I)' or smooth oreration. 1 hcre arc mall) candidate-, ror the best helicopter ... hot or all 11111\:. but a Jcading COntender IS thc opening shOt Of' lloJ"A/11,~ (iirf \\hich -;tarts \\ ith a tH!ht ( L or the lltce or the Statue or Lrbert\. then Ill a o.,\\eeplng m\~\C Clrde~ around the head. reels nfrto a ~\Ide o.,hot or ..,..,C\\ York llarhor. then l!raccl'ulh nHl\ e-, Ill loa ti!!lll -..hot or the Statl:n bland 1\.:rn. thl:n 111:1 hidden. ~ut !.!.lles 1no.,1de tl~e km. to lind the main charact~r. It "' a 'inuoo.,o p1ec~e or camera nperaiion and helicopter ll) ing and one can on I) \\onder hm\ man) takes "ere nccc-...,ar\ to C\llllC around and catch thc fern 111 e:-.acth the riuht spot 111 C~llllpkte thL' nlll\ c. ~
~oon

4.29. leh) A towed vehicle shot set

up for Three Kings (Warner Bros.

1999.
4.30 (top) A Chapman Lennx ArM

Plus has a reach of up to 34. (Photo of Chapman/Leonard courtesy Studio Equipment, Inc.)
4.31 . (middle) The Cable Cam rn

use on the film Gone In 60 Seconds (Touchstone Pictures, 2000).

4.32. (bottom) The Chapman Stmger arm, one of the only rigs that can boom up and down without an arc (Photo courtesy of Chapman/ Leonard Studio Equipment, Inc )

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MINI-HELICOPTERS

A n.::cent ue\ elopment 111 aenal ~hots I!> the usc or n::motd~ controlled mini-helicopters \\hlch are adapted \\ 1th camera mounts (Figure 4.33). Generally only \cry lightweight cameras such a" a modified Arri Ik or motori/ed l:]cmo can be no,, n on the ...l' hellcopter-.. Smaller 'ideo cameras can also be used. e\\ ng-. gl\ e the camera a-. much mobilitv <h mHrht be found on a full aenal nHHII1t - including 360 roll. CABLE-CAM

lm en ted by Garrett 8ro\\ n. " ho also conccl\ ed the SteadH.:am. the Cable-Cam (Figure 4.31) can perform -.omc trul; amazing shot-. 111 places that a helicopter might not be usable. such as O\ era stadium crO\\ d. The Cable-Cam can carry an operator or the a remote head. The unit comes\\ ith its O\\n crew and generally requires at least a day or setup.
OTHER TYPES OF CAMERA MOUNTS
RICKSHAW, WHEELCHAIR & GARFIELD

( amera mounts can be put on anythmg that mO\ c-. as "e sle 111 some or these photographs. The poor man\ doll y. often used b; li lm students. is a '' heelchair. With its large radiu" '' heds and the operator hand-ho lding. 1t can prO\ 1dc some remarkable smooth doll;. shots. Tho;: Garfield 1s a mount '' hich ~.toe-. on a \\ hcdchair to allo\\ for mounting or a Steadicam.
STEADICAM

4.33. (top) A mini-helicopter by Flying Cam. (Photo courtesy of Flying Cam, Inc.) 4 .34. A low mode prism. (Photo courtesy of Cen tury Precision Optics).

The Stcad icam re,olutionizeu camera mo\emcnt. It can ... moothh mo\ c the camera in places\\ here a uoll~ \\ ould be impractical 01 difficult such as stm rs. rough ground. slope-. and -,and .\ -,killeu operator can pull off ama11ng shots that can almo-,t be an additional character in the scene. In -.tandard mode. the fi lm or 'ideo camera 1.., mounted on top or the central post and the operator-, 'ideo monitor and battenes ndc on the -.led at the bottom of' the nu. The onh luni tation 1.., that -,ince the post C'\tcnd-, UO\\ n from the c-amera. th~ll 1.., thl' lm,er Jim1t or tra\\:1 for the camera To !.(O an\ lo\\cr than thh. the entire ng must be"" Itched to lo\\ -moue~
LOW MODE PRISM

Gettlll!.( the camera IO\\ to the ~.tround can ~omct 1mc~ be diftkult. E\ en (i' the camera i~ taken oiT tl~c doll; or tnpod. 1 1 "'still mounted .., still at ka ...t on the ucared or llllld head. Tim mean ... that the lens 1 a root or more oiT the !.(round. I he head sti II ha ... to be mounted on '>Oillcthing: genera l! ~ tile lo\\ est th1ng a\ailablc I'> a high-hat. To get C\ en IO\\ cr. a pri-.m may be necessary. This i... a pmm that fits In front of the lens and optical!) JtH\ cr... the len... '>0 that the ..,JlOt appear-, to be flat on the ground (I 1gurc 4.34 ). C1reat care mu..,t be taken to keep lens llarc oiT the pn ... m and to keep the opt1cal -;urfacc ab ...olutclv clean. I he on!\ \\ av to uct lo" cristo till! a hole or budd one 111 the set as \\as done on C'iti::~n A.wu!. T he set ~' a" construltcd on riser-, so that 11 I" off the floor. Sections or the set floor can then be rcmO\ cu to get a bclo\\ the lloor camera pos111nn. Bulld111g portions or all or the -.ct on n-,crs 1s not a-, diil1cult or a-. e'\pcn ... i\e :h one n11ght imagine.
CRASH CAMS

l-or e'\p lthlons. car\\ reck'>. tram crashe-, and other dangerou ...... tun h. cameras must '>OillCtllllC'> be placed \\here there 1s great danger lli' them bcmu dcstrovcd ( rn!llrc 4.36 ). In tlw. case. cnhh cam" arc u-.ed. The.:-c arc m:uall;. f:~c mo ... that ha\ c been fitted \\ 1th n~ ... talcinematography

76

"' nc motor.., and mounh for 'tkon m Canon len"<.:". "hich MI.' a fractton nf the cost of motion pt<.:turc lenses. Thl.'sc rigs cost on I) a fc\\ thousand dollar-.. and i r somcthmu !!.OCS \\ 1"011!!.. thctr los ... i... not cata ... trophtt:. ()f"tcn. 1.'\ <.:n If thl.' cam~r<ll" de ... troycd. the fi 1m may . . ttll bl.' ll\<lhk.
SPLASH BOXES

In ca..,co., \\here the caml.'ra doco.,n't hm 1.' to be actually submerged but \\til be 'en ncar the "atcr or C\ en ... light h. under the ..,urf~H.:e. a "plash bo'\ c:in be usl.'d. The"<.: combmc <l ck.ar optical port '' tth a '' atcrpronr bo'\ or pl<hltc bag \\ hich protect-. the camera '' tthout encasing 11 tn a full undcn,atet castng '' hich can be clum..,y and tunc con-.,tuning wu-.,c.
UNDERWATER HOUSINGS

for actualundcn\ atcr "ork. a fully "atcrproor hmhtng ,.., nccl.'-.,sar:. Thc-;c arc -,pccJall) COJhtructcd rig"" hich hm 1.' I.''\ tenor controls for the on otT"" itch and focu-.,. l nLkr\\ atcr hou-..tn!!.'> arc al ... o a\ atlabk for I1ght meter... . MOTION CONTROL

(I he folio\\ tng '" cnurtc") of \l,ul Robert-, \1ottnn Control ) \\hat i'> mnt1on wmrnl'.' l.)omc filming spcc1al ciTccts tcchntquc-., need highly accurate control of the motion of the film camera. -.,o that the s.une mo\ c can he repeated llHIIl) tum:.... '' ith each cam<..'ra P""" bcmg t<.knticalto pre' tou" pa-.scs (Figure -L\X). \\here the nlll\cm<.:lll Of the camera I\ COntrolled b\ hand. It h \ lrtually unpns-.tbk 10 get an C'\aCI dupltcalllln or a P;'l'\ IOU\ pa-.-.. Traditionally. tht-.. pwbkm has been sol\cd by holding the camera 111 a fi,ed IKhtllnn tktlll\\ n as .. lncktng off" the camera). and th.:n layenng the re..,ultant takes to produce the compo..,itc tmage. But to look really natural. and to produce \Ollll' ..,tunning 'i-.,twl dkch. thl..' camera can he mad<..' to nlll\ c dunng the pass. Tht.., require-. ''hat i.., c... sentiall) a .. robot .. that comrols .._.,cry a-.pect nf the cam.:ra thmughnut .:ach tah. and compktcl) control" the llllHion .. ,r the caml..'ra 111 -.,pacl..' \-, the t.:nn .. robot .. '>lHilttb ,1 littk l'l1rbidding and not\ cry crl..'atl\<.:. thc ...c htghly tcchntcal ptccc-. ofmachmcry h<l\ ... come to bl.' C<tlkd .. mntton contwl n~-. Ikcau ...: thl'..,c ng-. at\.' l:llntrulkd by cnmputet. the <.:\act po-,tttnn 1.11 the camera in >D -.pan: ts al\\ ays kntm n. no matter htm raptdly thl..' calll<..'ra '" h~..tng lllll\ cd

4.35. (left) lmax cameras rigged fo a helicopter shot. (Photo courtPsy of Mark Weingartner.) 4.36 (top) A crash cam and armored box; 1n this case an Eyemo 1s us ~ d . !Photo courtesy of Keslow Camera 4.37. (middle) A multi aXIS remote

control head. (Photo courtesy of Chapman/Leonard Studio Equ p ment Inc.)

4.38. The MILO mot1on control ng.

(Photo courtesy of Mark Roberts Motion Control.)

cam ercl dynam s

11

4.39. (right) A su1cide rig built and operatea by Mark Weingartner. Kids, don't try this at home. (Photo courtesy of Mark Weingartner.)

The bc\t motion control rigs arc .. l'ramc accurate." Tht\ mean~ that on multiple pas\c~. at any gi\cn film frame on a camera pa~\. the camera ,... ill be in an iJemical po'>llion to that or pre\ tou~ pa-. ...c-,. n:garJicss or the phy ... teal \pecJ of mmemelll or the camera I ht'> means that matching up passes 111 the post-proJw.:uon pha"c to produce the composite image become.., 'cry Cast anJ pamle-.,s. and nm..,equcntly cheaper. \siJe from the ob\ tou-., benefit-., or multiple camera pa~\e-... tht-.. abo prm ttles a ma_1or aJ\ antage ''hen combining II\ e acuon '' tth computer generated tmages (CCII) l(lr the l'ollln\ tng rea~Oll'>. In orJcr to hmc digitally creuted tmagc-. appear to tnteract photo-realisticall\ v\tth the real world. the\ ha\e to meet three ha-.u.: cntena Fir.,tly: the dignal image has t(i be 111 pcrspeclt\C '' tth the bad.grounJ. Second h. the 1.hgitul tmagc ha-. to ha' e the -.a me lt!!htitH! ~nd color balanc~ a-., the backurou~d. Thirdh. the digital tma~c h,t~ ih 0\\ n three-Jimen~ional shure "hich ahqt)-. Ita-. tl~ he orict~ted to the \ ie\\ point prm ided by the li lm camera. A motion control ng also has other major benelit\ "hen lilmmg. l-or e\ample. the director al\\ ay-. knO\\ s e\actly "hat the camera 1~ gomg 10 do once the mo' c has been set up. ~o he can de' lllL' ,til or ht-.. attention to the action and not the camera. It ha-., also been remarked that hecau-.e a camera llHl\C can be set up "o -.,imply and rapidly. it can even make single-pass live action shooting ea~ier. J\nd \\ ith the lutest pre-\ isualisatton -.,oft,, are. the Lliret:lor can e\ en plan the camera mm e or 1110\ e\ belorchanJ. anJ kno\\ that the ng ''ill be able to phy-,ieally perlorm the mo\e before he e\en gL'h tnlo a studto. So. \\hat then i" motton control'? It'" an c-.-.,enttal prodm:tion tool in the \oolbo\ or filmmg technique .... ,.,hich allo\\.., that e\tra depth of reality in many -..pccial cfrccts shot~ ( < r-.t.1rk R<'hi.:lb
\1olllll1 ( ontrol Ltd .)

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78

cinematic continuity

SHOOTING FOR EDITING

Filming is ultimately !>hooting for editorial. The primary purpo~e of the shoot is not mere ly to get omc "great shots": in the end it must serve the purpose of the film by giving the editor and the director what they need to actuall y piece together comrlcted scenes and sequences v. hich add up to a fi nished product that makes sense and accomplishes its purpose. There are four primar:y categories or conti nuity.
CONTINUITY OF CONTENT

Continuity of content applies to anything' isiblc in the scene: ''ardrobc. hairstyle. props. the actors, cars in the background. the time set on the clock. As discus ed in the chapter on Set Operoliom. it is the cript supen.- isor in conjunction wi th the various department head-, v. ho must ensure that al l of these items match from shot to shot. These kinds of problems extend from the very obvious: she '' <h wearing a red hat in the master, now it is a green hat in the close-up. to the very subtle - he was smoking a cigar that ''as almost finished when he entered and now he has a cigar that is just star1cd. While the script supen isor. on- et wardrobe and prop ma-,ter arc the first line or defense in these matters it is still up to the dtrector and camera per on to always be watchful for problems. A!>\\ ith almo t anything in fi lm there is a certain amoun t of cheating that is possible; the audience can be very acccptmg of minor glitches. Absolutely perfect continuity is never possible and there ts a large gray area. It is sometimes aid that. with creative cheating. you can get av.ay with anything but errors in wardrobe continuit).
CONTINUITY OF MOVEMENT

5.1 (previous page) A continuity sequence from High Noon. As discussed later in this chapter, when the geography is very clear and well established, it is possible to be a bit looser about some of the rules of continutty and tn fact the editor does so a few times in this scene.

Anything that is moving in a shot must have a 1110\ emcnt in the next shot '' hich is a seamless continuation or\\ hat was begun. Whether it be opening a door. picking up a book or parki ng a car. the mo' ement must ha,e no "gaps" from one shot to the next. Th is is where it is so critical to be aware of hO\\ the shots might be cut together later. To play it sa fe in shooting any type of movement and be sure that the edi tor is not constricted in choice!'>. it is important to overlap all mo\ement. E\en if the script calls for the scene to cut a\\ay before she fu lly opens the door. for example, it is best to go ahead and kt the ca mera roll for a few seconds until the action is complete. Nc,cr start a ~hot e'actl y at the beginning or a 1110\ cment - back up a bit a roll into it. then let it run out at the end. One prime example of this is the "rock in." Say you shot a master of a character wa lking up to the bank teller. Ilc is there and already has his checkbook out and is talking to the tel ler 111 the master. You then set up for a c los~.:-up of the character over-the-shoulder of the bank teller. You ma) know for certain that the edit will pick up \vith the character al ready in place. but the safe way to do it is to ha\ c the character do the final step or two of walking up as shot in the close-up OTS pos ition. There arc times. however. "hen focus or po it ion is critical. It 1 s difficult to guarantee that the actor v. ill hit the mark \\ ith the precision necessary to get the shot in focus. In this case a "rock in" "' the way to go. The technique is si mple: instead of actually tal-.mg a full step back. the actor keeps one foot firml y planted and step" back \\ ith the other, then v. hen act1on is called he can hit his marl-. again '" ith great precision. The most important aspect or continuity of movement is to screen direction, \\ hich is discussed 111 more detail later in this chapter.

cinematography 80

CONTINUITY OF POSITION

( ontllllllly or position I" most otkn problematiC \\ llh props. Props that arc used 111 the scene arc going to be 1110\ ed in almost e' cry ta"-c. [\CI)Onc mu ... t \\atch that they start and end in the same place. othem 1sc it ''ill be an editor\ nightmare. Th1s is often the di' iding line bet\\ ccn a thoroughly professional performer and a beginner: it 1s up to the actor to usc the props and place them exactly the same 1n e\ e1-:v ta"-e. Ir for some reason. there i.., a mismatch in placement of a prop between the master and a element of CO\ crage. it is up to the director to e1thcr rc-;hoot one or the other or to do some so11 of repair CO\ erage that'' ill aiiO\\ the editor to solve the problem. Th1s can be done in a \ariety of,,ays. One '>llnplc e\.amplc: if the actor put the gl<hs dlm n on the left side of the table in the master, but it i'> one the right side in the medium. one solution 1s to do a shot "here the actor slides 1t across the table. This sohes the problem. but there 1s one dnm back.: the editor has to usc that shot. This may end up creating more problem-. than it solves.

5.2. Occasionally continuity of time can be reinforced by cutting to the clock, but this cannot be the primary means of keeping the audience aware of"when" they are.

or resettmg the clock so that It always read" the same time (that is prop continuity and comes under cominuity of content sec f-1gure 5.2), rather it has to do ''" ith the 11m' of time'' ithin a -.,ccne. lor example. if Dave No11h is walking :1\\ a) from Sam South in the wide shot. then you cut to a close-up of Sam South, b) the time )OU cut back to Oa\C '\lorth. his action must be logical t1me'' ise. That i.... if the close-up of Sam outh ''as for thn:c seconds, ''hen cullmg bac"- to the ''ide -,hot. Da\ e '\lorth can't hmc \\alkcd fith feet a''a\. Clearh he can't haH~ \\alkd that far Ill three seconds-and the ell'cct ''ill-be jarring. Tlw, applies mostl) \\ 11h111 a scene \\ hich is bemg played out realistically. There arc man) cxct:ptions. as discussed bciO\\ in the section on manipulation of time. Internally '' nhin the scene. certain com entions help mamtain pacmg and llo\\. particular!) in cases "here a character mo'e" "it hill a -.,ccne. The act1on or background at the beginning of the mo\C may be mponant a-, the) ma) be important at the end of the scene ( mdccd. the) mu ... t be. othem ise "hy arc the) being shot?) The nlllldle rart of the mo' c. hO\\ e\ cr. is often not important in formation. II" the character ha-. to cro~" a "ide room or walk up a 11 ight of stair-,. it ma) be hclpfulto skip O\er some of that mme. To JUst skip it would be. of course. a jump cut and a ... erious error in contmuit~ but there arc se\ era I \\ ork-arounds. The simplest is to let the character C\.lt frame then enter liame 111 the next shot. Thi'> IS a sunplc ti.mn t>f an elliptical cut ('>cc belm\) and a good deal of mo\ cmcnt tunc can be left out "ithout di-,turbing '>lllooth continuit\. Thi-, ,.., a cultural I\ conditioned film com enti~)n that audiences \\-orlth\ ide ha' c com~ to acccrt. To prcscn c 1110\ ement continull) and scrct:n dircctton. 1fthc actor exits the len side of frame she mu-,t enter the nc\t frame on the right side. In hi.., book Thl' ll'chnictue of Film and I"h/1'0 Editing. Ken Dancygcr pomts out another de\ ICC used by Kurosm\ a in Se1en Sa/1111rai and b\ Kubnck in Par h.' of G/m,- and. of course. in manv other !llnh: a t1ght close-up of the character that tracks or pans a-, tl;c character mo' cs. 1\-, long a... the direction. action and speed match that of the\\ ide '>hOt, the 1110\ ClllCnl of the character can either be longer or shorter than the real time mm e "ould take. I!'the character ch~ngcs direction in the shot. then that change of direction must be prcser~cd "hen cutting back. to a "idt:r -.hot.
1 hi-. doe ... not rekr to the problem
c1nematc contmu ty

CONTINUITY OF TIME

81

..... ... __

5.3. (above) The movement of the car establishes the line The woman at top will see the car moving to her left (5.4 above right); the woman at the bottom will see the car moving to her right (5.5, right).

5.6 (below) If both of the women are viewing the car from the same side of its movement of direction, then they will both see it moving in the same direction, as in 5.7. (below right). This is the basic principle of "the Line" and screen direction.

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82

5.8. (above, far left) Two people relating to each other in some way creates a "line" - indicated here by the dashed line. With the camera on one side of them (shown here at the bottom of the picture, the woman will be on the left and the man will be on the right, as in 5.9 (above, middle).
5.1 0. If the camera is shifted to the

THE PRIME DIRECTIVE

Mo~t of these technique~ and rules arc based on one principle to not create confusion in the mind of the audience and thus distract them from the -,ton or annov and frustrate them. Let's take a fundamenlal c~ample (Figures 5.3-through 5.7). Two women arc standing on opposite sides of the street. Woman "A" sees the car going right. Woman .. B.. sec.., the car 1.wing lcfi. If we move them to the same side of the '>trcet. thev ;ill both see the car 1!0ing in the same direction in relation tt) their O\\ n sense of ori;[1tation (lcft 'right). Thus their perception of the car'' ill be the same. The mo,emcnt of the car e'tablishcs direction. but there is another aspect: "here the \\omen are' tewing the movement from is also important. In combination. these t\\O establish the spatial orientation of the scene.

other side of the line (lower far left) their positions are reversed; the man is now on the left and the woman is on the right, as shown in 5.11 ( lower left). These two shots cou ld not be c_ut together without creating a jar nng effect. 5.12.(above, right) Where the camera can go without creating this jump in directional relationships is defined by a 180" semi-circle on one or the other side ofthe line. The camera can go anywhere in that 180 arc and directional continuity is maintained. This semi-circle sweep will be used throughout this chapter as a symbol for camera positions that maintain continuity. It is a symbol only - the camera can go closer or farther away, higher or lower as long as it stays on the same side of the line.

THE LINE

Anybody -;tandtng on the same side of that line" ill sec things from the same orientation. "A" "ill always be on the left and "B" \\ill ah\ ays be on the right. Anybody standing on the other side of the line" ill sec the opposite: .. [3 .. on the left and .. A .. on the right. It doesn't matter" here on the other side. the result is the same. Thi' i:- ''hat "e call -.ere en direct ion. Let s take this simple two shot (figures 5.X through 5.11 ). From our first camera position (f-igure 5.9). the \\Oman Lucy is on the left and the man Ralph is on the right. Then. in Figure 5.1 0. the camera position is shifted to the other side of the line. In Fiuure 5.11. the audience\\ il l sec. lor no reason they can understand. Ralph is on the left sitk facing right and Lucy is on the right si de facing left. It will confi.tse the audience. they won't be able to readi ly under~tand and assimil ate the information. While their brains try to sort it out. their at tention" ill be drawn :.1\\ay from the story. Not only \\'ill they be distracted from what the character:-. are sayi ng and doing. if' it happens oftcn cnough. it \viii annov and frustrate them. What is it that delineates "here we can put ti1e camera to maintain continuity and \\'here we can't?
ci nematic conttnuity

83

THE ACTION LINE

There'" an llllm!inarv a\1-. oet\\een the:-,e t\\O character:-. l1111tlr fir-.. t c\.ampk of th e~car. the mo' emcnt direction or the car c . . tahlt . . he" ''hat \\c call the /me. In alll)r these dwgrams. 11 '" reprc'>cnted by the large tla-;hed line. The line i-.. rclcrrctlto b\ '>C\ era I tcrnl'>: :-.nme people~ call tt the action mi1 or the actio11 liin If ''c '>La) on one e\ erything cuts together perfectly a-. 111 side of it lor all our shots l-igures S.X through 5.1 0. If ''c cro-.s m cr to the other . . ide the characters \\ tii.JUI11p to opposite '> Ides or the screen. Sale location . . ror the camera arcS\ mbolt7ed 0\ the Ixo hal r circle r l!.!llre 5. 12. Tim -.emt-ci rcle S\\Ccp "ill be t;..,cd throughouttht-. chaptc7- tn reprc-.clll the camera location"'' htch '' 111 result 111 coth t..,L cnt directional continuit}. Itt '> a '>}mbol onl}: in pracuce the camera can go nearer or i11rthcr. htghcr and lower 1n relation to the subject....
THESE ARE THE RULES- BUT WHY?

The basic rules of"not cro ... sin!.! the line arc kno11n to <Ill 11orkin!.! filmmakers. hut man) do not -.top to cons1der the fundament<~ theory and perceptual i-.-.ue-. thai underlie thi-. pnnctpk It j, llnportant to under-.tand 1l at a tkcpcr le' cl 1r }Oll arc to he able to -.ol\ c the tricktcr Issues that do not comententh fall into one of the ha:-,tc categories of th i:-. system. \lore importl~lltly. it I \ 0111) \\hen \\C understand the "hole theoretical S\'>tem that ''c can trul\ under stand when 1t 1s pcnni%iblc to break the rub.. Ftrst. \\C ha\e to consider directwnalit\ \\hal do \\c ml!an b\ that'! \\ hat is '>Omcthing that \ not dtrcctl~)nal'! Not much rcall\. \ tcaturcles-. C) Iinder or~ globe painted all the -.amc color arc ilondm.:ctional. but j u. . t about e\ l.!r~ thmg cbc i-.. ,\ so!~t ~ ~ dtrl.!ctHllhtl. . . o i-. a car. A \\oman looking at <~ butldmg 1 ~ directional \Inn.: Important I). her look is dirccllonal. Mm cmcnt 1s also dirl.!cllonal. Sa\ we took that katurck. . ~ !.!lobe and rolled do11 n the s ide\\ alk. Its line of mm cmcnt i~ the l1~1c. Ir \\C .... l!c it from nne side of the line. its going to our !crt and if \\.C :-.el! it from the other side of the line It is go in~g nght. \man picktng up a book i" directional. The imag111ary line c-.;i-;ts bet11ccn an~ 1\\0 object.... that ha\ c 'iOillC .... nrt or n.:lationship. E\ en bet\\ I.!Cn a bonk and a telephone st llmg on a table.
WHAT ESTABLISHES THE LINE?

5.13 (top) A look establishes line. 5.14 !2nd from top) Directtonal m Jvement establishes line. 5.1 5 (3rd from top) A specific action establishes line. 5.16 (above, bottom) Exiting frame establishes the line for next shot. cme matography

I. . the l111e ahlays there"! No. the l1nc onl) c\.ish once 11 ha-. been crcatl!d b) ...omething in thl! . . ccne. As \\C sa\\ in the c\ample of the 1110 \\omen and thl.! car. :rour lirst camera '>Ct-up 111 the -.cnc-.. or shots establi ... hc-. the line but it works 111 conjunction" ith 'opcctfic 'i..,ual clements or the scene it....d r. Sc' l!ralth ings can establ i. . h the line for a particular . . ccnc. The) arc: \ look 1\lm cmcnl \ -.pcc ific actton L\.iting fiamc Ph) sica I gcograph) (e.g .. a courtroom). L \.a mplcs arc -.ho\\ n at left 1n f-i gure:-. 5.13 through 5 I(). \nothc1 ""' of thmktll !!. of it i.., called the /80 mlc. Once the camera '' pla-ced on llllC ~1dc of tlw li ne. ) llll can mo' c around any" here 111 that I XO "1 1<tcl.! and the -.hot" "iII cut together ( f igurl.! 5.12 l.
SCREEN DIRECTION

Scrl.!cn dtrcctton sen cs I \\ o 11nportant purpose~: 11 gl\ c.., the ,ntdtcncl.! due'> about the story and it h e lp~ keep the audil.!ncc fmm getting confused about" here someone is or" hat they arc do1ng.

84

5 .1 7. (left) The hne established by clear and easily understood geogra phy.The action line is practically visi ble itself in this shot from High Noon. Interestingly, the filmmakers actually purposely v1olate the line a few t1mes 1n this scene, but since the geogra phy is so strong these violat1ons do not create a continuity problem.

DIRECTIONAL CONVENTIONS

l he cl<.h..,IC c'ampk of tlw, h 111 lo'' budget CO\\ boy Jl1l)\ ic ... of the hfllc..,. In thc"c films it wa-, ah\a~.., \\CII e-,tabli~hcd that onl.' tllrectmn on ..,l.'rl.'cn '''-h .. tO\\ard.., Hm n and the oppo~11e direction \\as ..mm !iom llmn (f I!.!Ures 5.1X and 5.19). Once \\C knew that \\C coul~ tell ir the gooJ guy.., (\\hue hah) OJ the bad gu;,.., (black hah) \\Crc hcadmg IO\\ard IO\\n or ..1\\a~. \ny dl.'\ 1.1110n from thh \\OUid ha\C been \l.'r~ conru..,mg Thi.., type or culling \\as liN ll'-l!d by D.~. Cirinith. mo-,t notably in hi-, cp1c Binh of u ,\aflon 11915) \\hen: he used cro-,-,-cullin!.! (cUlllll!.! from om: ad,anclll!.! .11111\ !!01111.! one "a\ It) the lHhl.'r a't:h an1.:111~ aml\ !Win!.! the othe~ "ay -) tZ) l.'sl71bl1sh tcn--,ll)n .111d drama. T) p11.:all) as the) gl.'tcloser and thl! momcmof t:onfrontallon ncar-,. the t:uh bct:omc quicker. \noth~:r COil\l!lllion applies to trains. planes and automobile..,. If' -.omconl.' i.., lea' ing the east and go111g 10 thl.' "c..,t thl.' plane nr 'I.' hide ... rwuld bl.' tnl\ clln!.! left in lhl.' rraml.' and \ICC \ cr-,a. Thh 1.., tkri,cd from thl.' lat:ttl~atncarl) all map.., ha\1.' north at the top. thu.., \\C..,t 1.., len and l!ast i.., nght.
DELIBERATELY BREAKING THE RULES

One ofthc a1m" of'l.'dlling h to not nmfLhl.' the aud1cnt:l.'. If a d1<tracter is ''alk111!! to\\artb th~ leli of' the screen in one shot and ''llhout e\planation in the nc't ... hot he I'-" alk111g to\\ ard the right. the ,llJdlencc "ill (C\ en ir onh subconse1ousl\) "onder "In he chan!.!cd Their alll.'ntwn ''Ill be. momentan h dr:.1,, n "''a\ fro1;1 the "tor; a" they try to "ort 11 out. This i.., thl.' bas1c pnnc1ple of' all continuit) in film shoot111g and editmg. I or ~-''ample she ''as JU'>I "caring a red dres.., outside the rc"taurant but once she "tcppl!d through the door -.he h '' canng a blue drcs .... b th1" a dillcn:nt da) '? 1\ dream sequence'?~ hat happened'?
5.1 8. (far leh) In th1s sequence from Htgh Noon, leaving town IS clearly established as going left. It is consis tent throughout all the shots. 5.1 9. (leh) When the marshall decides he must stand and fight. we clearly see him turn the carriage around and head back the other way. When we next see the carriage movmg toward the right, we know without any confusion that they are going back toward to~Nn
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85

5.20. (above) Early films, such as the

Great Train Robbery. which treated

cinema as a 'filmed play" maintained frame and constant. unchanging left/right relationships as viewed by the audience. Since the camera never moves, it never changes the directional relationships of the actors or the set.
il static

or cour-.~ a filmmak~r can u-.~ tht-. a-. a -.tor;. tdlmg d~\ in~ f\.rhap ... 1110'>1 ramOLl'.l) i-. th~ bn..:akltl'>l ... ~qu~m:c in (itt=l'/1 A.wll In thrc...: ... ~amk-.-..1, cut togcth~r ... hoh \\C -.ce (hark-. I ~htel Kan...: and hi, "1fc at th~ -.amc dinim.!. table 111 th...: ..am...: room othlll!.! change, e\ccpt thc1r appcaranc~ and altitude t~mard each other ~ \\e nnl~ knO\\ that tunc'" pmgres-..1ng b...:cau ...~ th...:;. arL' \\...:anng diJ'!cn.:nt clnthes and makeup in each .. hot. Through thts '>tmpk de\ icc the d~tcrioralion or their marriage i-.. told \\ llh great cffiCicnc;.. lo..,t famous I;.. in the pay.otr shot -.he i-. r~admg a nc\\ ... paper put out by. a 1wal puhli-.h~r: \\e kml\\ the marnag~ i-. dlHilll~d .;;uni lar de' ices can inuicate "c \ e gone 1nto a f(mtas;. -.cquencc or flashback Th~~ can be quttc subtle (a -.mall change 111 makeup or h,ur) m dramaltc: the lillie match l.!.lrl on the ... trect '" sutkknl\ 111 a gorg~ou-. ball go\\ n.
MAINTAINING SCREEN DIRECTION

In the earh Javs or Cinema. dramatic films \\~rc COilCCI\ed a-.. r~corded th~at~r: C\ Cl') thing \\as \ iC\\ cd a-.. If it \\ere happ~ning on a pm-.c~nium -.tage. The audtcncc -.at in front and could ckarl) di-.ccrn the n!.!ht and kt't -.ide-.. or th~ -.tag~. The camera merL'I\ ttlllk the place l~r the theater audt~nce and~nc\er nlll\cd 111 rd,ti1on tll the -..cene bcltlrc 11 (J-igurc 5.20). ~nntlarh. 1fthe tiont door olthe hou ...e "a-. on the rigl1i ... ide. 11 nc\ cr mo\ cd either. The li hmpacc """pun.:!) the thrcc-dtmcnsional \\orld on th~ -..!age pro1cct~d on the 2-D proscenium frame. but thi-. frame ''a-. -.tallc. dctintll\ cl) bounded and perceptual I;. flat 1hts undcrl 1n...:-.. a key. concept or continuity. and scn:cn direction: "" lilmspaee h<h become tllLTca-..lllg compk\. tlutd and l~hl paced. 11 ha-.. become more or a challenge Ill keep fl'lllll L'Ompktcl) confu-..mg and frll'>lrating the <lllthcncc
EXCEPTIONS TO THE RULE
5.21 (below) An example of a true reverse from Seven Samllrat. The camera jumps cleanly and com pletely to the other side of the line. !5.22, bottom). 5.23. (below nght) A very htgh shot, such as this one from The Lady From Shanghai, is another example of a neutral shot. From this frame you can cut to any angle and any camera position in the scene without creatmg a continuity clash.

There arc -..c\cral important c\ceptiun ... to the rule of the l1nc. ll"\\c -.cc thing" change po~tt1onm1he ,!Jot. then \\c undcr"tand that thing-.. ha\ e changed posit ton. Ira car IS lllll\ lllg rtl!lll 111 the shot. and then "c -..ce it turn ,Jround -..o that 11-.. gl~lllg kti. then there-.. no problem !Figure-. 5.1~ and.:; llJJ \\hen the camera posttton nw' c-.. during th~ -..lwt. I I ~ ou cut''" a;. to -.omcthlllg wmpktcl~ tllllcrcnt. "hen~ ou cut hack. )Llll can change the l111c. In the C<hC or -.omcthill!.! that IS lllO\ in g. \Oll can L'lll to a ncutrd l a\i~ -.hot. then go b7tck to c1thcr siZk.of the ltnc .

ctnematoqraphy 86