by Gil Bettman
The good news is that the skill of visual design for motion pictures can be taught and learned. The beauty of directing the camera is that given a certain input, the camera always produces the same result. Almost the opposite is true when it comes to directing actors. Given a certain input, each actor will react differently, and the ability to gauge this unique reaction and make just the right modification to the input cannot be taught. It is intuited in the heat of the interpersonal exchange between director and actor. Similarly, a brilliant student can be taught and learn all the rules of screenwriting and never be able to write a truly great script. That takes God-given talent. But the camera is an instrument and so given the correct input it will always produce the correct result. The only gift that one needs in order to achieve great proficiency at directing the camera is the ability to picture in the mind’s eye how each camera position changes the way objects look in relation to each other in the frame. Using this gift, you can make the movie in your head before you make it on the set. If you were good at geometry in school, this will come easily to you. If not, not to worry. Directing the camera, for the most part, is a science with rules that describe how a given input will produce a given result. So, like math, it can be learned.
This gives me confidence in the effectiveness of the lessons in this book. The rules that govern visual design are quite simple. As I see it, all good camera movement is invisible and there are three kinds of camera movement that are always invisible. The visual design of the master shot dictates all camera movement in a scene shot with a moving camera, and every moving master tries to strike the perfect balance between the demands of five tasks. There are three things you have to do correctly when shooting action. And those are all the rules governing visual design.
The hard part comes in applying those rules to the unique demands of each scene. Because the drama of each scene unfolds differently, and because each scene is shot in a different location at a different time, the visual design of each scene requires a specific customization of the rules. What makes a great visual stylist great is that his application of the rules to the demands of each scene is not merely adequate or good; it is the best. This is how Cameron or Spielberg or Cuarón or Campion emerge a cut above the rest. The student director will need great talent to rise to that level. But even without great talent, the student can attain professional proficiency at visual design through repeated practice. The more times one applies the simple rules of visual design to the unique needs of each scene, the more proficient one becomes at this key component of a director’s skill set.
This is why this book is half images and half text. The images provide an explication and analysis of how different directors have gone about applying these rules to the unique needs of selected scenes from their films. The images serve as case studies in how a skillful application of the rules can be used to produce the best visual design for a representative scene.
The scenes which I analyze in my explication of how to shoot with a moving camera were taken from the following three films: Robert Zemeckis’ feature thriller, What Lies Beneath; Cameron Crowe’s morality tale, Jerry Maguire; and a Showtime TV movie, Conundrum, written and directed by a successful movie-for-TV director, Doug Barr. Three action sequences are broken down and explicated: an ambush, a chase, and a fight. The ambush is from a low-budget feature I directed, Never Too Young to Die; the chase is from Kathryn Bigelow’s theatrical feature, Point Break; and the fight is from an episode of the TV series Las Vegas, directed by veteran film and TV director, John Badham.
Taken together, these scenes provide an excellent representative cross-section of the different challenges in the realm of visual design that student directors will confront when they become working professionals. By studying and understanding my explanation of how each of these directors applied the basic rules governing visual design to the specific needs of each of these scenes, an aspiring director can begin the process by which he becomes a master of visual design. Armed with this initial understanding, he can go into the field and solidify his grasp of visual design by repeatedly applying the tenets of this book to the unique demands of each scene he directs.
It takes much practice (how much depends on each individual’s talent) to become fully proficient at visual design for contemporary films. However, this book can jump-start the process. Coming up with the best moving master shot for a multipage dialogue scene involving four or more speaking parts is a complex and demanding task. The same is true of a fight with four or more participants or a high-speed car chase. The aspiring director must surmount a steep learning curve before he can take on any one of these tasks and produce a professional result. But the lessons in the book will help propel him up that curve.
HOW TO USE THIS BOOK
In order to succeed as a director you have to know how to direct the camera. As I explain in detail in Chapter 1, this was not the case forty years ago, but it is true today and will become increasingly true as time goes on. The visual component of filmmaking has become much more complex and much more powerful. The lessons contained in this book will teach the aspiring director how to master that complexity in order to harness that power.
The knowledge required to effectively direct the camera can be broken roughly into two separate parts: (1) how to shoot dialogue scenes with a moving camera; and (2) how to shoot action sequences. Accordingly this book self-divides into two parts. Chapters 2 and 3 address how to shoot dialogue scenes with a moving camera while Chapters 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 teach how to shoot action sequences in general and chases and fights in particular. Chapter 1 serves as an introduction to both parts.
CHAPTER 1
Chapter 1 lays out in detail what you probably have sensed on your own and what has motivated you to pick up this book and read to this point. To make a great film you have to be in complete control of the visual side of the medium.
CHAPTERS 2 AND 3
Chapters 2 and 3 will teach you how to best use a moving camera to convey drama. This can be tricky because there is a contradiction at the core of this task: drama is best conveyed with a static camera. These two chapters will teach you how to strike a balance between the conflicting demands inherent in shooting a dialogue scene with a moving camera.
CHAPTERS 4, 5, AND 6
If you are directing an action sequence nobody can get hurt. If somebody gets seriously hurt your directing career will be cut short. Therefore, the stunts in your film must never be violent, dangerous, or out of control. But in the final film they must look extremely violent, dangerous, and out of control. How you direct the camera enables you to perform this magic trick. You must put the camera in the right place, put the right lens on the camera, and get the right amount of coverage to make this magic happen. Chapters 4, 5, and 6 will teach you how to do this.
CHAPTERS 7 AND 8
The rules controlling how you use a camera to perform the magic trick described above are constant. But the way you go about applying those rules to shoot a great chase sequence is distinctly different from how you apply them to shoot a great fight sequence. Chapter 7 explains how the rules are applied to make a chase fly. Chapter 8 lays out how the rules are applied to make a fight rock.
IF YOU ARE A COMPLETE BEGINNER
The book presumes that the reader already knows how to shoot a dialogue scene with a static camera by breaking the scene down into a master shot and tighter coverage shots, following the 180-degree rule. If a reader does not understand these basic elements of directorial craft, then he should study Stephen Katz’s excellent book, Directing Shot by Shot, or a similar book that explains the basics of cinematic visual design. After that, all the lessons in this book should be comprehensible and useful.
IF YOU ARE A FILM SCHOOL STUDENT
If you are a film school student and the curriculum in your school does not include a course in shooting dialogue scenes with a moving camera, or only touches briefly on this subject as part of a more general course in film directing, then you should study
the lessons in Chapter 2 and 3 to learn this essential element of directorial craft.
Very few film schools offer courses in shooting action sequences. If this is the case at your school, then you can use the lessons contained in Chapters 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 to become proficient at this valuable component of a contemporary director’s skill set.
IF YOU HAVE MADE SEVERAL SHORT FILMS
If you have made several short films, then you have probably become proficient at shooting dialogue scenes with a static camera, but are still learning how to do so with a moving camera. If this is the case, then by studying Chapters 2 and 3 you can fill out your understanding of visual design for contemporary films.
Very few short films contain extensive action sequences. If your short film is a hit at Sundance and you land a contract to direct a studio movie, you may well be called upon to direct an extensive action sequence. The lessons contained in Chapters 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 will prepare you to take on this challenge.
FOR FILM SCHOOL STUDENTS AND THOSE WHO HAVE MADE SHORT FILMS
Learning how to shoot a dialogue scene is more difficult and demanding because drama is inherently more nuanced than action. At the beginning of your career you are going to be shooting much more dialogue than action, because shooting action is expensive. So start with Chapters 1, 2, and 3 and do the exercises at the end of Chapter 2 and 3.
Every scene from every film requires a unique application of the principles taught in Chapter 3. The more times you apply these principles to the unique needs of an individual scene, the better you will get at shooting dialogue scenes with a moving camera. The exercise at the end of Chapter 3 suggests that you pick a scene from the fifteen “Walk and Talk Scenes” and shoot it with a moving camera. But don’t stop at one scene. Shoot all fifteen. Or as close to that number as time and interest allows, but there is no end to what can be learned by repeating this exercise.
Chapters 4, 5, and 6 cover the basics of shooting action. Even if you think you know the basics, start with these chapters because they teach the general principles governing the most effective way to shoot action sequences, which I then apply to the specific demands of shooting a chase in Chapter 7, and to shooting a fight in Chapter 8. You need to grasp the basic principles as I interpret them in order to understand the lessons in Chapter 7 and 8.
IF YOU ARE A WORKING DIRECTOR
If you are a working director and you have picked up this book and read to this point, I would assume that you agree with my basic premise that to make films which will fully succeed with today’s audience, no matter what the market, you need to know how to energize your dialogue scenes by shooting with a moving camera. You must have taught yourself by various means how to do this. By studying the lessons in Chapter 2 and 3 of this book you can perfect your understanding of this essential element of directorial craft. My descriptions of the overarching principles governing how to best capture drama with a moving camera will enable you to fully grasp why everything you are doing right is, in fact, the optimum method. In these chapters I analyze in detail specific scenes from the films of Spielberg, Zemeckis, and Cameron Crowe to demonstrate exactly how these successful directors follow the methods I espouse when they move the camera. Studying these detailed analyses will help you to hone your craft, as well as give you some new ideas about how to best apply it so your films rise to the level of these masters of visual design.
It is certainly possible that even though you have launched a viable career as a working director, you have yet to shoot an extensive action sequence. Action has priced itself out of most film and TV projects except studio movies and bigger-budget indie films. But if you are about to direct a film that contains one or more action sequences, or if you would like to prepare yourself should such an opportunity present itself, the lessons in Chapter 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 will teach you everything you will need to know to sell your stunts.
Shooting action is more of a science than shooting dialogue scenes. It is really just a matter of using camera placement and lenses to make the movement of a body in motion appear as dynamic as possible. So it can be easily taught and easily learned. Chapters 4, 5, and 6 will give you the basics. Chapter 7 explains how to apply those basics to shoot a great chase and Chapter 8, in the same way, will prepare you to shoot a great fight.
IF YOU WORK PROFESSIONALLY IN SUPPORT OF OR IN COLLABORATION WITH DIRECTORS
If you work with directors, this book will make you better at your job. As I explain in Chapter 1, because the visual side of filmmaking has become more powerful and complex recently, it has also become more expensive. It now sucks up most of the budget of most professional product, and therefore it demands the majority of the director’s time and energy on the set.
The dirty little secret of professional filmmaking is that most professional actors direct themselves. Any working actor will confirm this. On the set of your film, your director will be devoting himself primarily to directing the camera. If you understand the contents of this book you will be able to do a better job of helping him.
If the project you are working on is dialogue driven, you can focus on Chapter 2 and 3. If there are action sequences involved, then you should also study Chapters 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8.
IF YOU ARE A FILM INDUSTRY PROFESSIONAL AND YOU ASPIRE TO DIRECT
This book will provide you with the crucial skills you will need to succeed as a director. As I explain in detail in Chapter 1, because the visual side of filmmaking has become more powerful and complex, it now sucks up most of a director’s attention on the set. The lessons in this book will prepare you to fully succeed when you get your initial opportunity to direct.
The increasing importance of visual design in today’s mainstream films actually benefits the aspiring director, because this is the component of directorial craft that can be most successfully taught and learned.
To make a great film you need a great script. But the ability to generate a great script is largely God-given. You also need great performances, but, similarly, the skill of knowing just what to say to an actor to help him improve his performance is largely intuitive. Neither can be fully taught and learned.
However, a camera is an instrument. Given a certain input it will always generate a specific result. In Chapters 2 and 3, I systematically explain how to use a moving camera to best convey a dramatic moment.
In Chapters 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8, I explain the science governing how specific camera positions and specific lenses make bodies in motion appear most dynamic on screen. Once he fully understands this science, the aspiring director will be equipped to direct action sequences that meet professional standards.
IF YOU TEACH DIRECTING
This book is designed to enable the contemporary film-school teacher to empower his students with the knowledge they will need to succeed as directors.
In Chapter 1, I explain why the lessons contained in this book are now the most essential for all those who aspire to direct.
Chapters 2 and 3 teach how to shoot dialogue scenes with a moving camera. This is one of the most difficult elements of craft for an inexperienced director to grasp. It is also perhaps the most important. In truth you can go on, and on, learning how to do it. But the lessons contained in Chapters 2 and 3 will help to jumpstart the process. They teach the overarching principles governing how to best capture drama with a moving camera. Once the student understands these principles, he will be prepared to continue to learn this essential element of craft the best way possible — by doing.
Chapters 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 teach the other essential responsibility of a director on a contemporary film set — how to shoot action sequences. Chapters 4, 5, and 6 lay out the basic rules of how to best do this by putting the camera in the right place, putting the right lens on the camera, and getting the right amount of coverage. Chapter 7 teaches how to best apply these rules to the specific needs of shooting a chase and Chapter 8 teaches how to do the same when shooting a fight.
There are Summary Points at the end of eac
h chapter. Both the student and the teacher can use these Summary Points to determine if the student understands all of the essential components that make up each lesson in the chapter. The student, after reading the chapter, can check his retention of what he has read by making sure he understands each of the Summary Points. The teacher, using the Socratic Method, can ask questions designed to elicit an answer which displays a complete understanding of the argument made in each of the Summary Points.
There is a “For Teachers” section at end of Chapters 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, and 8. Each contains an exercise designed to test the student’s mastery of the elements of craft taught in the chapter. Chapters 1 and 4 are theoretical. They do not teach any specific directorial skill and so they do not contain a “For Teachers” section.
The exercise in the “For Teachers” section at the end of Chapter 3 calls for the student to shoot a dialogue scene with a moving camera. The exercise in the “For Teachers” section at the end of Chapter 8 calls for the student to shoot an action sequence. These exercises are the most effective teaching tools in this book. The best way for the student to grasp the elements of craft taught in this book is to apply them to the unique needs of a specific piece of drama or action sequence.
In theory, shooting a dialogue sequence with a moving camera or shooting an action sequence is simple. But it takes years of experience and some talent to learn how to apply these simple theories to the unique needs of a specific dialogue sequence or a specific action sequence and always come up with the very best visual design. The ability to do this is what distinguishes a master of visual design — a Hitchcock or a Spielberg or a Cuarón — and puts him a cut above his peers.
The exercises at the end of Chapter 3 and the end of Chapter 8 will launch the student director on his quest to become a master of visual design. They can be done repeatedly to good effect. To this end, I have included a collection of “Walk and Talk Scenes” at the end of Chapter 3. These fifteen scenes all lend themselves to being shot with a moving camera. The scenes are drawn from successful, theatrical features and are all dramaturgically excellent. A student could shoot all fifteen of these scenes with a moving camera and continue to hone his craft with each additional scene. Similarly, the exercise at the end of Chapter 8 which calls for a student to shoot an action sequence of his own design could be done multiple times and benefit the student each time it was repeated. Such repetition enables the student to learn in the same manner as working professionals — by doing.
