MasterShots Vol 1

by Christopher Kenworthy

  Set up your camera so that you can see the whole scene just by panning. Although you can track in the middle of this shot, the simple version involves nothing more than a pan. There are no set rules about how to frame or compose the beginning and end shots, except to say that each should be composed as though it was a finished shot in itself.

  The transition, where the actor moves past the camera, should be relatively brief, as it isn't interesting enough to hold the attention for more than a moment. It is a transition, rather than a journey.

  State and Main. Directed by David Mamet. Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment, 2000. All Rights Reserved.

  8.2

  HANDING OFF MOTION

  In a busy scene, where more than one thing is happening at once, you can switch between the main areas of action with a subtle camera move. This enables you to show the whole scene without a cut. Although there has been a trend in recent years, to cut-cut-cut in order to imply that things are moving fast, you can achieve more by avoiding a cut altogether. By letting a busy scene play out, the viewer sees all the various story threads taking place in one frame, and it enhances the sense of urgency and drama.

  For this to work, you want the characters to be on the move, shifting around the room. Give them good motivation — they should be fetching a file, for example. Don't just have them wander around (unless, of course, that is the point of their character). In the example shown here, James Woods is wandering soulfully through the chaos, and that's the point. He's meant to be a calm center of focus in the middle of the drama.

  The move itself is nothing more than a backward dolly, timed to coincide with a character's movement. In this example from Contact, Jodie Foster moves toward the camera, and it backs off, as if to make room for her. As it does so, a space is left open for James Woods, and then the focus is on him.

  To the audience there is no sense of a camera move, only the sense that we're first with one character, and then with another, as a fast-moving scene takes place.

  Contact. Directed by Robert Zemeckis. Warner Home Video, 1997. All Rights Reserved.

  8.3

  CHANGE OF DIRECTION

  A sense of space is sometimes essential to the story, and you want to show the audience that your characters are located within the space. Rather than just panning around to show them the space, you can use the characters' motion to motivate a camera move that lets the audience see the whole landscape. Of course, they don't see everything, because the crew are all standing behind the camera, but they get to look in both directions, and it feels as though they've seen the whole landscape.

  You could just point the camera at the actor and pan with them as they walk past, but this lacks any sense of dynamic motion or flow. It's better to move the camera with the actors, dollying backward as you go, and then have one character move faster than the other. As she runs or jogs past the camera you pan with her, slowing the move to a rest. You do need a good motivation for her to run — don't simply have her speed up because it's convenient for your camera move.

  It helps if the actor who moves faster is initially behind the other character. This emphasizes her sudden movement. Rather than having her run straight forward, have her run across the other actor's path. This brings her much closer to the camera, which adds to the sense of speed. This is important for the camera move to be carried off without drawing attention to itself. You don't want the audience to sense a big camera move; you just want them to watch a character run off into the wider world.

  You can think of many variations, with one or more characters moving off, but the advantage of having just one character run is that she can look back toward the off-screen character, which lets us see her face. A face is usually more interesting than the back of somebody's head.

  Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Directed by Michel Gondry. Roadshow Home Entertainment, 2004. All Rights Reserved.

  8.4

  REFLECTIONS

  Some of the great directors, such as Steven Spielberg, use reflections so frequently that it is almost a trademark. There is a good reason for this. Reflections enable you to show two things at once. In the example shown here we can see Irene Jacob's reaction to the choir, while seeing the choir at the same time. This is far more elegant than cutting from a shot of her to a Point of View shot.

  You can use this to direct the audience's attention to the background, by having the actors stare off-screen. This guides our eyes to the side of the frame where the reflection lies.

  The larger the mirror, the more flexibility you will have in setting up this shot. Where possible, have the actor actually look at the subject they are meant to be looking at. It's common to cheat eyelines in many shots, but when using reflections a cheated eyeline can register with some viewers as being somehow wrong.

  Reflections can be used in slow, gentle scenes, as shown here, or it can be used at a moment of revelation. As somebody bursts through the door, you can show the appearance and reaction in the same moment. Lens choice is challenging. If you use too wide a lens, then the reflected subject may appear too distant. But with a long lens, the reflection will always be blurred unless you pull focus to the background (taking the foreground out of focus).

  For sudden revelations, you may need to cut shortly after the moment of shock, to show a close-up of the person who's just burst in, to help solve this problem. You certainly don't want to keep focusing backward and forward between foreground and background, as that doesn't guide attention so much as confuse the viewer.

  Don't be limited to mirrors. You can use glossy tables, walls, and other objects. Watch Spielberg's AI to see countless uses of reflections to show two things happening at once.

  The Double Life of Veronique. Directed by Krzysztof Kieslowski. Artificial Eye, 1991. All Rights Reserved.

  8.5

  REST pOINT

  You often need to show a character reacting to a physical object that is handed to them, such as a letter. There's obvious impact to be had when this revelation brings the character to a halt, and literally stops them in their tracks.

  This camera move doesn't follow any of the objects or characters directly, but is always heading for a close-up with the main character in the scene. This creates a great sense of gravity, as though this moment of revelation was inevitable. The camera moves straight there, letting the actors move away, in and out of shot, but ends in that close-up.

  In the example shown here, the shot begins with the camera following the actors as they run for a school bus. As the bus (and the mother holding the letter) comes into view, the camera continues to move at the same pace, even though the actors speed up. The camera continues its move, passing the mother, as the daughter turns and comes back. The camera stops when it gets close to the daughter. It's a brief series of movements and motions.

  Plan this scene so that, wherever the shot begins, the actor ends on a mark just in front of the camera's resting point. You need to time this so that the actor comes to rest at the same moment as the camera, or perhaps a beat or two earlier.

  It's vital that your actor initially ignores the letter — or other object — so that she moves off into the background. If she simply stops when the object is offered, the effect is destroyed. The sensation you're creating is of a magnetic moment, and everything is drawn into it, including the camera.

  White Oleander. Directed by Peter Kosminsky. Magna Pacific, 2002. All Rights Reserved.

  8.6

  COLOR GUIDES

  Color can be used to direct the audience's attention just as effectively as any camera move. In this scene, the audience needs to know that when a figure appears distant and blurred behind Jim Carrey, it's the same character we saw earlier. By giving the character a strikingly colored jacket, the effect is achieved.

  You can't give your actor a bright orange jacket if it doesn't suit their character, but you can always introduce an element of contrast. The effect is enhanced here by the fact that the rest of the shot is graded down to bl
ue. There are almost no colors other than the blue wash of the entire shot, with a dot of orange. When Kate Winslet appears behind Jim Carrey, the audience has no doubt who they're looking at. We've just seen a reasonably close shot of her in the orange jacket, so the connection between orange and the character has been made. If she was wearing an indistinct color, then her blurred appearance in the background would not be so obvious.

  This technique is particularly useful when the background character's appearance is significant to the foreground character. There should be no slow dawning for the audience; we need to know in a beat who that is in the background.

  You can use a long lens, quite close to the foreground actor, letting the background blur out. The subconscious audience expectation is that a shot like this will only focus on the foreground, but the splash of color draws attention to the background, and then the foreground actor reacts.

  Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Directed by Michel Gondry. Roadshow Home Entertainment, 2004. All Rights Reserved.

  8.7

  REVERSE ANGLES

  When people argue, or discuss anything dramatic or important, they rarely stay still. You need to direct the audience's attention to the character who's dominating the scene (or talking most) at any time.

  When you shoot a scene like this, the actors will want to be on the move, and it will look better if they are. People who argue circle around and pace. The challenge for you is to capture this movement without the audience losing track of where they are in the shot. One way is to shoot a relatively wide master shot, with almost no movement.

  By keeping the camera essentially in the same place, and moving the actors, you can capture all the motion and emotion of the scene without any complex moves.

  To make this work, you need to block the actors' movements so that the character who is doing most of the talking faces the camera. Then, when the second character does most of the talking, the actor's motion should already have taken place, so that she is now the one facing the camera.

  The main problem with a shot like this is that there is always one actor facing away from the camera. Make sure you give that actor enough body movement and body acting to give them a presence throughout the scene. You aren't shooting close-ups, so both actors have to give it their all in every shot.

  If, while shooting this, you feel you didn't get a single perfect take, you may need to shoot some coverage to enable a cut. This doesn't have to be coverage of the face; you could just as easily get coverage of hand and foot movements, which would enable the cut, while maintaining focus on the energy of the argument.

  The Game. Directed by David Fincher. Universal Studios Home Video, 1997. All Rights Reserved.

  9.1

  FRONT SEAT SHOOTING

  There are few contemporary films that don't have a scene set in a car. The challenge is to get good shots, without having to spend all day setting up complex rigs to carry the car and vehicle. The alternative, low-budget approach is used in many films with great success. You put the camera in the car with the actor, and shoot from one seat to the next.

  In the simplest terms you place the camera in the front seat, and point it into the back of the car. By using a long lens, you let the actor's face dominate the scene, so that it's about the actor and not the car.

  There are many ways to stabilize the camera, such as keeping it handheld and letting your body absorb the shocks from the car. Whatever approach you use, make sure you drive the car at an abnormally slow speed. So long as the background is moving a little, you'll create the sensation of the car moving along. You don't need to speed along when all you're filming is a conversation.

  As a general rule, the actor usually looks across the empty space in the frame, but that's not usually possible with this sort of set-up. As you can see from this example, Winona Ryder looks to screen right (even though the empty frame space is screen left). This feels a little unbalanced, which is perhaps why her hand is in shot, to help fill the empty space.

  You can shoot two people talking in the back seat with this set-up. Shoot a close-up for each, and also try for a wider shot that shows their interaction. If the person in the back seat is communicating with the driver or front seat passenger you'll also need to use the Back Seat Shooting technique in the next chapter.

  Girl, Interrupted. Directed by James Mangold. Columbia Tristar Home Entertainment, 2000. All Rights Reserved.

  9.2

  BACK SEAT SHOOTING

  This shot complements the Front Seat shot from the previous chapter, and can be used in the same sequence. In essence, you sit the camera operator on the back seat, and shoot the driver or front seat passenger.

  As can be seen from this example, the trick is to get the driver's face in shot. When you're shooting the passenger, it's not so much of a challenge, because the passenger can legitimately turn around to look into the back seat. The driver, however, needs to watch the road. This is especially true if your actor is actually driving the car.

  The solution is to have the driver only glance around, and look in the mirror. Use a longer lens for the mirror shot, as you want the eyes to be clearly visible. Focusing on a mirror image can be tricky, so double-check the focus.

  This set-up works well when the main character is in the back seat, and the character in the front seat is of less importance. (If the front seat character was more important, you'd probably put the camera in the passenger seat and film him from there.)

  By shooting briefly from the back seat, you create the slightly disconnected feeling typical of a taxi ride. It can make the passenger seem a little isolated and unsettled, as the communication is all through glances, reflections and slight turns of the head.

  Girl, Interrupted. Directed by James Mangold. Columbia Tristar Home Entertainment, 2000. All Rights Reserved.

  9.3

  CAR DIALOGUE

  You can achieve excellent in-car dialogue, without having to use car-mounts or complex rigs, by shooting from the back seat.

  As you can see from this example, the actors need to look across at each other for their expressions to be clearly in frame. This will mean that the non-driver gets far more coverage than the driver, because the driver will have to spend most of her time watching the road.

  As always, slow driving will give an impression of reasonable speed, so don't rush. Give your actors plenty of motivation to look at each other; this shouldn't be a casual chat, but a conversation that forces them to make eye contact.

  For each set-up, put the camera on the opposite side of the car to the actor. The actor who's driving should be framed hard on the left, and the actor on the right should be framed hard to the right.

  Having the windows slightly open, as shown here, can disturb the sound, but does add a bit of energy to the scene, as it makes the actors' hair flutter in the breeze.

  White Oleander. Directed by Peter Kosminsky. Magna Pacific, 2002. All Rights Reserved.

  9.4

  THE PARKED CAR

  Many scenes take place in parked cars, and because the car's not moving you have a bit more flexibility in your shooting approach. Although you could simply put the camera in the backseat, as shown in the previous chapter, you don't have to do so.

  By placing the camera outside the car, you can use a longer lens. This helps the audience to focus on the actors, and their dialogue, rather than on the surroundings.

  Set up your cameras outside the car, as shown in the diagram. Your actors will need to lean forward, in most cases, depending on the construction of the particular car you're using. This forward lean makes the conversation seem important, so only use this technique when the conversation is truly engaging to the characters.

  To avoid shooting through glass, open the door, or put the window down. Every car is different, but by using a long lens and opening windows and doors, you should be able to find an angle that gives you a good shot. To the audience, it should feel as though we're in the car with the actors. Ask your actors not to move too
much, because their motion may make the car chassis wobble around at the edge of the frame.

  Sideways. Directed by Alexander Payne. Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment, 2004. All Rights Reserved.

  9.5

  LEAVING THE CAR

  Transitional shots, where somebody moves through a doorway, can be a moment of power and interest, or a moment of boredom. This is never more true than with car doors. If you're not careful, then getting into or out of a car is nothing more than passing time, and does nothing to keep the audience interested. If you need to see your character get out of the car, you need to make it interesting.

  One way to do this is to identify with the actor closely, by staying on her level and moving in to a tighter framing as the scene progresses. When the shot begins, in this example, the camera is at head height. The framing is attractive enough to keep the viewer interested, and as she stands up, the camera rises with her. Some time during this transition, a cut is made to a medium close-up, with a longer lens. This draws us into the character's world, and helps us identify with her. It's a subtle difference, but it's far more interesting than just pointing the camera at somebody as they get out of the car.

  You can set your camera up in one position, at head height, and simply follow the actor's movement, then repeat with a longer lens. It also helps if the actor is looking almost directly into camera, rather than away into the distance. Try to frame the shot so that whatever she's interested in is apparently behind the camera, so she has a motivation to put her eyeline close to camera.