At some points in this shot, other actors move toward and past the camera, which adds even more to the effect.
The Adjustment Bureau. Directed by George Nolfi. Universal Pictures, 2011. All rights reserved.
Black Swan. Directed by Darren Aronofsky. Fox Searchlight Pictures, 2010. All rights reserved.
1.9
THE MEDIUM LENS
The medium lens, as its name suggests, can lead to quite dull shots. It looks too much like the images we see when looking at the world with our eyes, rather than with a camera. To make the most of it, interesting setups, small moves, and clever framing can make it worth using.
The medium lens is a good choice when you want to see the actors within their environment. You can create scenes where you are aware of the room or space, and the character, without either being emphasized over the other. This is shown in the frames from Schindler’s List where we see the actors, take in their expressions, and also get a good picture of the room they are in.
To make this shot more interesting, the director started with the camera down low, and turned to follow the actors. The camera comes to rest as they stand briefly, and then pushes in as they take up their final position. With nothing more than a pan and a short dolly move, we effectively get to see three interesting compositions.
As seen in the final frame, from Black Swan, the medium lens can also be used to convey a great deal of visual information. The focus is on Natalie Portman in the foreground, but the background (including reflections) has been filled out into the distance so that we see the size of the room, the number of people, and the presence of the piano. A short lens would not let us see the actor within this space, and a long lens would cut out too much of the room. Here, the medium lens lets us see the actor, and her expression, while taking in the scale of the scene.
Schindler’s List. Directed by Steven Spielberg. Universal Pictures, 1993. All rights reserved.
Black Swan. Directed by Darren Aronofsky. Fox Searchlight Pictures, 2010. All rights reserved.
1.10
CUTTING THE LENS
There is nothing to stop you shooting with short, medium, and long lenses, then cutting between all those shots. In many films, and especially television, that is exactly what happens. You often begin with a wide lens establishing the scene, move to a medium lens to show two actors, and then switch to a long lens for close-ups.
This is such a standard practice that it’s worth thinking about working in other ways. You can shoot an entire scene with a short lens, even though the close-ups will appear distorted. Equally, you can shoot landscapes and establishing shots with a long lens, even though you will cut out a lot of the angle of view. These are quite extreme alternatives that are worth experimenting with.
Whatever you choose, however, take careful note of where you position the camera. You should choose the lens according to the effect you want, then move the camera to get the framing you want.
In these frames from Love Actually you can see cuts between various long and medium lenses, but to enhance the effect of the lens change the camera itself is moved closer and further away from the actor. It is, however, kept roughly in line with the center of the bed, to help orient the viewer. If the camera moved all around the room, with lots of lens changes, the cuts would feel quite disorienting.
In Never Let Me Go, a relatively long lens frames the couple, then a longer lens frames the single character. When the camera cuts back to the couple an even longer lens has been used, but the camera has been moved around slightly, so we are looking more directly at the actors. As the intensity of the scene increases, it helps to look more directly into the characters’ eyes. The cut to a longer lens at this point throws the background out of focus, and therefore puts the focus more strongly on the characters than the space they are in.
There are no rules when it comes to which lenses, or how many different lenses, you should use in a scene, but whatever you choose, don’t forget to move the camera, to enhance or reduce the effects of your lens choice.
Love Actually. Directed by Richard Curtis. Universal Pictures, 2003. All rights reserved.
Never Let Me Go. Directed by Mark Romanek. Fox Searchlight Pictures, 2010. All rights reserved.
CHAPTER 2
ESSENTIAL MOTION
2.1
BLENDED MOVES
The simplest setups can lead to complex-looking moves. Your aim should never be to look complicated for the sake of impressing people, but sometimes you want to create a great sense of motion and space, without excessive camera moves.
These frames from Laurel Canyon show a move that is nothing more than a simple dolly to the right. It is the way that the camera and actors are staged within this framing that makes the shot interesting. This shot establishes the space that they are entering together for the first time, so it has been designed to heighten the sense of the environment seeming new, daunting, and even overwhelming.
This is achieved in several ways. The actors emerge from behind the bushes to the left, and then snake to their left, and away from camera. This motion feels almost like people picking their way through the jungle. This is a subconscious impression, but the shot creates the feeling that they are exploring or finding their way, rather than strolling into a familiar environment.
When they move away from the camera, we get to see the bags they are dragging with them, which emphasizes their arrival more effectively than if we saw them in medium close-up.
As they move away from the camera, they appear to shrink in the frame, while the house and its grounds remain the same size. The characters are effectively swallowed up by the environment, which is made to appear unnerving to them.
The shot also effectively establishes essential aspects of this space for later use in the story, such as the presence of a pool, chairs by the pool, and a house on the hill, and yet it is all achieved with nothing more than a slight motion to the right. When planning your shots, work out what story elements you’re trying to bring out of the script, and see if a simple move, combined with characters moving through the scene, can give you everything you need. There’s no need to set up ten different shots when one does the job effectively.
Laurel Canyon. Directed by Lisa Cholodenko. Sony Pictures Classics, 2003. All rights reserved.
2.2
CAMERA IN MOTION
When you want to create a feeling of extreme speed, during a chase sequence, you need to move the camera at the same speed as the actor. This enables you to keep the character’s face in the frame, so we can see his expression, while simultaneously having the environment rush by.
As you can see in these frames from The Karate Kid, the camera is set up ahead of the actor, and is angled on to him. It dollies along the same path as he does, remaining the same distance at all times. If you have the actor get closer or farther away from the camera, it can create unexpected results, and can even make it look as though the action is slowing down. Although there are benefits to experimenting with such setups, if you want to create a rapid running scene with no change in pace, then keep the camera at the same angle and distance. Also, adjust the framing throughout so that the actor remains in exactly the same part of the frame.
To get the sense of speed, it’s also important to have objects between the actor and the camera. As these flash past, out of focus, they enhance the effect. Having the actor run past a wall is much more effective than if he was running in an open space.
The second set of frames shows a slight variation on this approach, taking even more advantage of objects between the actors and the camera. The camera moves at the same pace as the actors, but a longer lens is used, and we are lower down, so that cars and people obscure the frame even more. This approach should be used when you want the sense of people rushing through a crowded or busy place. It takes only a few cars and people to create the impression of a chase scene through a busy place.
The Karate Kid. Directed by Harald Zwart. Columbia Pictures, 2010. All rights
reserved.
2.3
CHARACTER DRIVES CAMERA
When you let the character’s motion drive the camera, you help the audience identify with the character. This is particularly useful when there’s no dialogue, and you want to convey movement and emotion. It can be difficult to communicate emotion during camera moves, because the actor’s face may not be where our attention goes. By letting the actor’s movement dictate the shot, you keep the audience focused on what the character is thinking or feeling. Equally, when the camera freezes in place and the character moves away, you can show that a decision has been made.
In these frames from The Book of Eli, the shot begins with the camera framed on the broken pipes in the background. This establishes that it’s a new scene, but we have no idea whether we’ll cut to something else, or push in on the pipes. To have the character walk in from the left is a moment of surprise that draws our attention to her much more strongly than if we’d cut to her already in motion.
The camera then moves with her, by dollying to the right, keeping her at the same position in the frame. The background moves and changes, indicating that she’s moving to a new place, but we are able to see her face clearly.
She comes to a stop where the environment changes. Here, the horizontal pipes end, and more broken pipes run off into the distance. This indicates a moment of choice — she could carry on, or head off in a new direction. This would work just as well on a street corner, or at a crossroads of two paths.
As she comes to a halt, so does the camera. To show her indecision, the director has her look back in the direction that she’s already come. Then, as she walks away from the camera, it stays where it is, letting her be engulfed by the location.
There are many variations on this setup, but the essential point is that the camera remains stationary unless the character is moving. When you do that, you keep the audience focused on the character’s internal monologue. When the character moves in a different direction, and the camera remains stationary, you show that there’s been a moment of change or decision.
The Book of Eli. Directed by the Hughes Brothers. Summit Entertainment 2010. All rights reserved.
2.4
REVEAL MOVES
When you want to introduce a new character, you can do so by creating a sequence of moves that emphasize their importance. These frames from Heavenly Creatures show how the shot begins with the teacher on the left of frame, and then ends with Kate Winslet in almost exactly the same framing. The move replaces one character with another, so that rather than merely appearing in the scene, she takes it over.
By starting with a conventional framing, you lull the viewer into expecting an ordinary sequence of cuts, so it’s a surprise when the camera arcs around to the right. Rather than panning over in the direction that the camera is pointing, which would lose the teacher from the shot, the arc lets us see the teacher introducing Winslet’s character. The scene is then effectively handed over to Winslet’s character, as the camera pushes into a relatively close shot of her.
The camera remains low throughout, which gives Winslet’s character far more authority than if it leveled off to her head height. This too helps her to dominate the scene and makes her introduction to the film unforgettable.
Even the most complex moves can be achieved handheld, but you may find a move like this works best if it is precise and strong. A crane and dolly combination would be the best way to achieve this, although you could get a similar effect with a camera stabilizer.
Heavenly Creatures. Directed by Peter Jackson. Miramax Films, 1994. All rights reserved.
2.5
MOVE WITH CAMERA
Having two or more characters walk and talk is a good way to let a scene unfold at the actors’ pace, without the scene being controlled by cutting. This doesn’t always work, but if a scene needs to convey a relationship between two people in just a few sentences, it’s an effective way to show how they relate. The movement through a location is also a useful way to make a relatively dull conversation a little more visually interesting.
One way to shoot this is to stay directly in front of the actors at all times, and keep the camera at exactly the same distance from them. This can lead to problems when you change direction, however, as the background seems to rush by, and there’s a sudden feeling of drama when there shouldn’t be. To avoid this, you put in a small move, followed by a larger one, as shown in the frames from Derailed.
Begin the shot with the camera directly in front of the actors. They are framed centrally, and the camera moves backward. Then, let the camera move around the corner slowly, as the actors catch up slightly. For a moment the actors will almost be alongside the camera, rather than framed in the middle.
Your camera then continues its move backward along the next corridor, and the actors again become framed in the middle. This small move at the beginning, where you allow the actors to move alongside the camera, prevents too much dramatic motion, and gives the shot far more variety than if you simply stayed in front of them.
When there’s no real change of direction, it works well to keep the camera at the same distance, as shown in The Karate Kid, and we get to see the actors’ relationship from the proximity of their bodies, as well as their expressions.
Derailed. Directed by Mikael Håfström. The Weinstein Company (US), Buena Vista International (Non-US), 2005. All rights reserved.
The Karate Kid. Directed by Harald Zwart. Columbia Pictures, 2010. All rights reserved.
2.6
MOVING STRAIGHT ON
When you push straight in on a subject, this is another strong way to introduce a character, or show that he is important to the upcoming sequence. If you do this too directly, though, the effect can be comical, so there are a few tricks that make this work.
In these frames from The Adjustment Bureau, you can see that the camera pushes straight on to Terence Stamp from some distance away. To make this dramatic, rather than comical, the actor on the right (with his back to camera) is moving rapidly toward Stamp. His movement drags the camera along, and makes the whole effect make more sense. If we pushed in this quickly, without that additional movement, there is a strong risk of accidental comedy.
Although that actor provides the motivation for the forward camera movement, the camera eventually catches up and passes him. By this stage, it’s acceptable, because the remaining distance is no more than you would get with a normal push in. So when you want to push in rapidly from a long distance, use an actor’s movement, off to the side of the frame, to get you most of the way there.
It also helps to have considerable movement in the frame at the beginning, from other actors, and from the wall on the left. By the end of the shot, this movement has been taken away, and Terence Stamp is isolated in the frame. This makes his presence felt far more powerfully than if other actors remained in the shot.
Finally, the entire scene happens at a slightly oblique angle to the set. Rather than heading directly down a corridor at 90 degrees to the opposite wall, the camera crosses the room, and remains at a slight angle to the opposite wall. This softens the move slightly, enabling it to occur quickly without looking over-stylized. Conversely, if you want an extremely stylized look, don’t use the oblique angle.
The Adjustment Bureau. Directed by George Nolfi. Universal Pictures, 2011. All rights reserved.
2.7
MOVING SIDEWAYS
The best moves remain largely unnoticed by the viewer, but achieve several effects at once. By dollying slowly to the left, while the actors move in a variety of different ways, you can create a complex scene that brings out interpersonal dynamics between the characters.
The frames from Laurel Canyon show the camera moving steadily from right to left. The location is ideal for this, as the aisles of the store help to add visual interest because they pass close to the camera, and exaggerate the perspective. They also give the characters motivation to move around. When planning this sort of move make sure there
is a reason for the character to move, so that it’s easier for the actors, and so that it makes sense on screen. Don’t move them around simply to get a good visual.
As the camera moves, the actors change sides within the frame. This is achieved by Christian Bale moving to frame left and turning around as the camera moves to that point. This scene is partly about his avoidance of certain issues, and this setup lets us see that clearly. We see Kate Beckinsale’s eyes, gazing almost toward camera, as he moves around shiftily.
Both characters then turn away from the camera, and move back into the shot together in the next aisle. Again, she is following him, giving us the feeling that he is uncomfortable. The camera comes to rest as they do, and she is once again framed on the left, with her expression the dominant one in the scene.
The scene works because of her facial expression and his body language, and it’s worth pointing this out to your actors. Some actors want their faces on screen at all times. If your actor tries to achieve that result, it could potentially ruin this sort of scene, Instead, point out the power of body-acting, and let the contrasting acting style work with the camera to get the scene to succeed.
Laurel Canyon. Directed by Lisa Cholodenko. Sony Pictures Classics, 2003. All rights reserved.
MasterShots Vol 3 Page 3
