Grammar of the shot

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Cover Half Title Title Page Copyright Page Table of Contents Introduction Acknowledgments Chapter One – The Shots: What, How, and Why? What to Show Your Audience? Choosing Your Frame Aspect Ratio A Brief History of Aspect Ratios Further Exploration: Why Do We Like Widescreen So Much? An Introduction to Shot Types: The Basic Building Blocks of Motion Pictures The Long Shot/Wide Shot The Medium Shot The Close-Up The Extended Family of Basic Shots: The Powers of Proximity The Extreme Long Shot/Extreme Wide Shot The Very Long Shot/Very Wide Shot The Long Shot/Wide Shot/Full Shot The Medium Long Shot/Knee Shot The Medium Shot/Waist Shot/Mid-Shot The Medium Close-Up/Bust Shot The Close-Up The Big Close-Up (UK)/Choker (USA) The Extreme Close-Up Why Do We Even Have Different Shot Types? Pulling Images from the Written Page Script Breakdown for Cinematographers Shot Lists Storyboards and Animatics Phases of Film Production Let’s Practice Chapter One – Final Thoughts: The Pictures Speak Related Material Found in Chapter Seven – Working Practices Chapter One – Review Chapter One – Exercises Chapter One – Quiz Yourself Chapter Two – The Basics of Composition Simple Guidelines for Framing Human Subjects Headroom Subjective versus Objective Shooting Styles Look Room/Nose Room The Rule of Thirds Camera Angle Horizontal Camera Angles The 360-Degree Method The Clockface Method The Camera Position Method The Frontal View The 3/4 Front View The Profile View The 3/4 Back View The Full Back View Vertical Camera Angles The Neutral-Angle Shot The High-Angle Shot The High-Angle Shot of an Individual The High-Angle Shot as a POV The High-Angle Shot of an Environment The Low-Angle Shot The Low-Angle Shot of an Individual The Low-Angle Shot as a POV The Low-Angle Shot of an Environment The Two-Shot: Frame Composition with Two People The Profile Two-Shot The Direct-to-Camera Two-Shot The Over-the-Shoulder Two-Shot The Dirty Single The Power Dynamic Two-Shot The Three-Shot Chapter Two – Final Thoughts: Wrapping Up the Basics of Composition Related Material Found in Chapter Seven – Working Practices Chapter Two – Review Chapter Two – Exercises Chapter Two – Quiz Yourself Chapter Three – Composition: Beyond the Basics The Illusion of the Third Dimension The Use of Lines The Horizon Line Vertical Lines Dutch Angle Diagonal Lines Curved Lines The Depth of Film Space: Foreground, Middle Ground, and Background Foreground Middle Ground Background Depth Cues Overlapping Object Size Atmosphere The Camera Lens: The Observer of Your Film World What Is a Camera Lens? Primes vs Zooms The Prime Lens The Zoom Lens Lens Perspective Lens Focus: Directing the Viewer’s Attention Pulling Focus or Following Focus Chapter Three – Final Thoughts: Directing the Viewer’s Eyes Around Your Frame Related Material Found in Chapter Seven – Working Practices Chapter Three – Review Chapter Three – Exercises Chapter Three – Quiz Yourself Chapter Four – Lighting Your Shots: Not Just What You See, but How You See It Light as an Element of Composition Light as Energy Color Temperature Color Balance of Your Camera Natural and Artificial Light Correcting or Mixing Colors on Set Quantity of Light: Sensitivity Quantity of Light: Exposure Quality of Light: Hard versus Soft Hard Light Soft Light Contrast Low-Key Lighting High-Key Lighting Color Basic Character Lighting: The Three-Point Lighting Method Contrast Ratio or Lighting Ratio Motivated Lighting: Angle of Incidence Front Lighting Side Lighting Lighting from Behind Lighting from Other Places Set and Location Lighting Controlling Light: Basic Tools and Techniques Chapter Four – Final Thoughts: Learning to Light … and Lighting to Learn Related Material Found in Chapter Seven – Working Practices Chapter Four – Review Chapter Four – Exercises Chapter Four – Quiz Yourself Chapter Five – Will It Cut? Shooting for Editing The Chronology of Production Matching Your Shots in a Scene Continuity of Performance Continuity of Screen Direction The Line: The Basis for Screen Direction The Imaginary Line: The 180-Degree Rule Jumping the Line The 30-Degree Rule Reciprocating Imagery Eye-Line Match Chapter Five – Final Thoughts: Be Kind to Your Editor Related Material Found in Chapter Seven – Working Practices Chapter Five – Review Chapter Five – Exercises Chapter Five – Quiz Yourself Chapter Six – Dynamic Shots: Subjects and Camera in Motion The Illusion of Movement on a Screen Presentation Speed: Slow Motion and Fast Motion Slow Motion (Overcranking) Fast Motion (Undercranking) Subjects in Motion: Blocking Talent Camera in Motion Handheld Pan and Tilt Shooting the Pan and the Tilt The Start Frame The Camera Movement The End Frame Equipment Used to Move the Camera Tripods Dollies Crab Dolly/Track/Truck Zoom Steadicam™ and Other Camera Stabilization Devices Cranes and Booms Chapter Six – Final Thoughts: Movies Should Move Related Material Found in Chapter Seven – Working Practices Chapter Six – Review Chapter Six – Exercises Chapter Six – Quiz Yourself Chapter Seven – Working Practices 1. Storyboards and Shot Lists 2. Slate the Head of Your Shots 3. Help the Boom Operator to Place the Microphone 4. Use of Two of More Cameras 5. Be Aware of Reflections 6. Communicating with the Talent 7. Safe Action/Safe Title Areas 8. How to Manually Focus a Zoom Lens 9. Always Have Something in Focus 10. Control Your Depth of Field 11. Be Aware of Headroom 12. Shooting Tight Close-Ups 13. Beware of Wide Lenses When Shooting Close-Up Shots 14. Try to Show Both Eyes of Your Subject 15. Be Aware of Eye-Line Directions in Closer Shots 16. Place Important Objects in the Top Half of Your Frame 17. Keep Distracting Objects out of the Shot 18. Use the Depth of the Film Space to Stage Shots with Several People 19. Ensure an Eye Light 20. Be Aware of Color and Contrast Choices Made Throughout Your Project 21. Allow the Camera More Time to Record Each Shot 22. Follow Action with a Loose Pan and Tilt Tripod Head 23. Shooting Overlapping Action for the Edit Continuity of Action Matching Speed of Action Too Much Overlapping Action 24. Frame for Correct Look Room on Shots that Will Edit Together 25. Shoot Matching Camera Angles When Covering a Dialogue Scene 26. A Three-Person Dialogue Scene: Matching Two-Shots Can Be Problematic for the Editor 27. Beware of Continuity Traps While Shooting a Scene 28. Ways to Cross the 180-Degree Line Safely 29. The Long Take 30. Zooming During a Shot 31. Motivate Your Dolly-In and Dolly-Out Camera Moves 32. Use Short-Focal-Length Lenses to Reduce Handheld Camera Shake 33. Allow Actions to Complete Before Cutting the Camera 34. Shooting a Chromakey 35. Shooting B-Roll, 2nd Unit, and Stock Footage 36. Shooting a Talking-Head Interview 37. During Documentary Filming, Be as Discreet as Possible 38. Use Visual Metaphors 39. Aim for a Low Shooting Ratio Chapter Seven – Review Chapter Seven – Exercises Chapter Seven – Quiz Yourself Chapter Eight – Concluding Thoughts Know the Rules Before You Break the Rules The Reason for Shooting Is Editing Your Shots Should Enhance the Entire Story Involve the Viewer as Much as Possible Take Pride in the Quality of Your Work Practice Proper Set Etiquette Know Your Equipment Be Familiar with Your Subject Matter Understand Lighting – Both Natural and Artificial Study What Has Already Been Done Conclusion Appendix A – Helpful Resources for the New Filmmaker Appendix B – Crew Members Commonly Needed for Motion Picture Production Glossary Index