camera lesson 2

In The Studio (24/09/2015)

Last lesson we went into the studio to learn more about the cameras and how to use them.

180 Degree Rule

The first aspect we looked at was the 180 degree rule. This aspect is essential when shooting as if you disobey this rule it can disorientate the audience. The idea is that when filming something, for example a conversation, you cannot cross the line that goes between the two characters. This means you will always been filming from the same side, but you can adjust to different angles when switching between who is speaking. At first I thought this rule would limit the amount of different angles you are able to get however it actually has a wide range of different angles you are able to use. This was demonstrated on a toy motorbike, as if filming some sort of chase and it clearly showed how to get plenty of different perspectives just by following this rule.

Filming A Sequence

We were then taught how to film a sequence in groups. To do this there had to be a director, a camera operator, a continuity person, and someone on lookout for anything that looks out of place or wrong (assistant director). I acted as the director and looked out for continuity errors also, all of us did as this is an essential part of a movie and a commonly made error. Continuity is essential as, if you do not look out for continuity, when you put the scenes together some things will look out of place if not everything is kept the same between shots.

After establishing these roles, we learnt about the important terminology you must use. For example the director must say to the camera operator:

Director: “standby”

Camera Operator: “standing by” meaning they are ready to begin filming.

Director: “role camera”

Camera Operator: presses button to start recording, “rolling”

Director: “action”

This is when the actor/actress will walk on set and begin the scene.

Director: “cut”

This means the camera operator will stop recording and they can adjust something that didn’t look right, or move on to another scene.

We then went off in our groups to work with the different cameras. Our group was working with the Canon 5D. We decided to do a scene of Francesca taking off her watch and placing it on the table. We began with a wide shot to establish the environment she was in and just generally set the scene. We then moved on to  a mid-shot of her taking off the watch where you could still see her surroundings, but the main focus was of her taking off the watch. Finally we moved on to close up shots where we shot one of her hands while taking off the watch to add a sense of drama to the very normal action. After this we did a close up of the watch being placed on the table and then kept the camera on the watch for a bit longer to add dramatic effect again. We then attempted to do a close up of her face as she took off the watch however we realised throughout the scene Francesca had her hair covering her face so you could not see her expression, due to this we decided to abandon this idea.

If we had more time I would have liked to have done a shot from above, looking down on her taking off the watch, and one from below looking up, as we tended to stay at the same sort of height throughout.