Important Definitions

• Objective: Practice the art of framing your shot and how to recreate traditional camera moves.
Student are to compose a sequence of traditional camera shots
De finitions:
POV (Point of View) = location in the scene where the camera is placed; can also refer to the
framing of the camera to represent a character’s perspective
POI (Point of Interest) = location in space where the camera is focused; can also refer to a
character, an item, or an action within the scene
Pyramid of vision (cone of vision) = the portion of the 3D environment seen through the camera
Line of Site = the perpendicular line that travels away from the camera
Clipping planes (near & far) = the planes perpendicular to the camera that define the closest (near)
and most distant (far) area visible to the camera.
Field of vision = defined by the space inside the pyramid of vision that falls between the near and far
clipping planes; the Renderer ignores all geometry outside the field of vision.
Focal Length (Focal Distance) = the distance from the camera to the focal plane.
Focal Plane = the plane perpendicular to the camera that is in perfect focus.
DOF (Depth of Field) = the area around the focal plane that appears to be in focus; defined by the
near and far focal planes.
Dolly = horizontal camera move (X-axis)
Boom = vertical camera move (Y-axis)
Truck = depth camera move (Z-axis)
Tilt = camera rotation around the X-axis (look up/ down)
Pan = camera rotation around the Y-axis (look left/ right)
Roll = camera rotation around the Z-axis (used when simulating a fly-through)
Zoom = animating the camera’s focal length to make it appear to move
Aspect Ratio = determines the relationship between the width and height of the final image; a 2:1
aspect ratio means the image is twice as wide as it is tall. It’s important to set this early on because
lighting & composition decisions are closely tied to it.
Five C’s of Cinema
• Camera Angles = defining the angle of the camera relative to the POI The angle of the camera
helps establish the viewer’s emotional relationship with the POI.
• Continuity = establish a logical coherence between shots in both time and space
• Cutting = showing multiple views of the same action
• Close Ups = hide or reveal info
• Composition = defining the position, arrangement, and view of the objects within the frame
Camera Angles (aka Perspective)
• Dramatic/ Extreme Angle Low = items seem tall & powerful as viewer looks up to them
• High = items seem diminished as viewer looks down on them
• Extreme Low = exaggerated low angle; positioned below the character’s feet looking up at
sky as if we’re about to get stepped on.
• Extreme High = exaggerated high angle; positioned on top of a tall building looking down
on humanity
• Bird’s Eye = an extreme angle positioned directly above the scene, facing straight down.
• Reverse Angle = response to previous shot; commonly used to show the faces of 2
characters interacting with each other (see 180-Degree Rule)
• POV = “point of view”; audience sees exactly what the character sees; can be used to
increase the viewer’s emotional attachment to the characters onscreen
• POV 2nd Person = We travel along right behind the subject and observe their experience as
it happens.
• Inventory POV = (variation of the POV technique) whatever the character is carrying shows
up in the frame and allows the audience to see what he is holding
• POV object = (variation of the POV technique) takes the perspective of an inanimate object
or projectile
• Voyeur = framed in such a way (through binoculars, from inside a closet) to make us feel
like we’re spying on the scene, rather than simply observing.
• Re flection = instead of seeing the real world, we see an image reflected off something in the
scene; reflection can give us an insightful view of the action, showing us a hidden or
psychological view of the scene.
• Shadow = instead of looking directly at the action, the action is seen as a shadow on a wall,
floor, or other surface
• Silhouette = the subject is placed against a strong backlight so that its features and
expressions become dark or completely black.
• Subjective = camera is strapped to the subject’s body, usually facing the subject, so that the
camera becomes part of the subject’s experience.
Continuity
• We live life as one continuous "take" except when we sleep or get knocked unconscious
• Film is like dreaming, where we can jump from one place to another, or have the world
change around us
• Viewer expects good continuity; poor continuity distracts from narrative
• Careful planning can create a consistent vision of the story/ narrative
o Analyze and handle cinematic time/space
o Build consistent space relationships (with Screen Direction)
o Create consistent temporal sequencing (in Editing)
• Screen Direction (“180-Degree Rule”) = keeping the direction an object is facing consistent from
shot to shot; helps keep the viewer from getting confused about what character they’re looking at.
Imagine an invisible line drawn through the characters in your scene & keep the camera within a
180- degree arc to one side of the line; results in characters favoring one side of the screen.
o If your character is moving through a series of shots, keep directional continuity between them by never
letting the camera cross the character’s path of movement.
o As seen in the Top View, both cameras sit inside the180 degree arc created by drawing a line through the
characters. The result is that the Black Hat character favors the right side of the screen and the White Hat
character favors the left side of the screen consistently when the camera angle is reversed.

Screen Direction can also be used to emphasis a character’s emotional weight. For Example: Good guys
always face right, bad guys always face left.
Cutting
• ALWAYS cut on the action (wide shot of classroom with someone entering; CUT ON ACTION of
entering to a closer shot of who it is)
• Avoid "jump cuts" (a cut that is a small, barely different camera angle or framing -- very
disconcerting; looks like mistake; use sparingly and with intent)
Close Ups
Close ups hide or reveal information Composition
Elements and Principles of Design
Line Angles
o Horizontal & vertical lines match the straight edges of your frame and add stability and tranquility.
o Angled lines conflict with the straight edges of your frame and create tension and a sense of movement.
“Rule of Thirds” Guideline for composing your image created by dividing the screen into a 3x3 grid & nine
equal parts (two equally-spaced horizontal lines and two equally-spaced vertical lines), and that important
compositional elements should be placed along these lines or at their intersections.

o Aligning a subject with these points creates more tension, energy and interest in the composition than
simply placing the subject “Dead Center”
o Consider the location of the important element in each frame, and how that changes from shot to shot.
Framing = defining the distance from the camera to the POI
o The rule of thumb for shooting a scene sequence is that you start farther out to show the scene’s location
and surroundings, and then move in closer to focus the viewer’s attention on the details of the scene.
o Therefore, the list of defined shots starts with a series of far (long) shots, and then moves in
for a series of near (close-up) shots.

o Long
• Extreme Long (ELS, XLS) = shows environment from very far away (IE. Earth
viewed from outer space).
• Medium Long (MLS) = shows general typography & sky
• Long (LS) = shows local scenery; characters barely recognizable
o Medium

• Wide = shows enough of scene to include the full bodies of 5 character

• Medium Close-up (MCU) = also called a “head shot” because it includes face, head,
neck, & shoulders; focuses on facial expressions and head movement
• Close-up (CU) = fills frame with subject’s head excluding all other items from view
• Extreme close-up (ECU, XCU) = cropped even closer; presents very small details
Types of Scenes

Active
An active scene is where stuff is happening; characters are moving from one point to
another or they are doing something that involves any type of physical movement.

Passive
The passive scene is the exact opposite, where there is no movement on the screen
and the characters are static within the field of vision. The characters might be
sitting at a dinner table talking or the character is standing and delivering his lines
but not moving at all.
Dialogue
This is a shot where one or more characters are talking.

Montage
The word montage is from the French term "to assemble". A montage is a sequence of
related scenes that can have large time gaps missing between each of the scenes. In
this example, the character is getting dressed in his costume and transforming into
the super hero, The Zit. A series of actions that might take several minutes in real
time, is condensed down to just the highlight points in a matter of seconds and does
not use any dialogue.
Silhouettes
Are used to make something mysterious or scary.
One of the most chilling uses of the silhouette is from the film "Nosferatu" where he
is climbing the stairs to the girl's room... very creepy.

Shot Selection
O.k., so you have all these shots available to you, how do you know when to use them
and what order can you put them in?
Well, there aren't really too many rules and regulations about this, and of these
rules, you can (and many directors have) break them and make up new one's to fit the
needs of your film.
So, here's the number one rule, which really should never be broken: Don't confuse
the audience. If the viewer says in their head, "I have no idea where I am or what is
going on here or what this means.", chances are, you've done the wrong thing... unless
your whole plan was to be confusing.
It's like telling a joke that isn't funny, no one will get it. And no one will want to
listen to it again. If your film doesn't make sense, who will want to watch it again?
It's point meaning the where a not you're. If, order a understood of the like is
sentence to are make out trying words. In other words: It's like a sentence where
you're trying to make a point. If the words are out of order, the meaning is not
understood.