The Skeleton Key. Directed by Iain Softley. Universal Studios Home Video, 2005. All Rights Reserved.
9.6
CAR WALK
In the real world, we rarely talk to people in a moving vehicle; it's easier for the car and the person to stop and talk. In film, however, this convention helps to sell the idea that there's a mild barrier between two people. It's used most frequently when one person is trying to coerce the other into their life. The effect can be sinister or sincere, depending on context.
As shown here, the framing is quite simple, with the exterior character framed hard to the right, and the interior character framed to the left. Camera height, though, is crucial in determining whose scene this is. In this example, the camera is at the driver's height for both directions, indicating that we identify with the driver more strongly. If the camera were at the walker's head height, there would be a very different feeling. Some directors choose to put the camera at different heights for each direction, but this can neutralize the scene.
Great care must be taken when shooting these scenes, and the car should barely even move at walking pace. When shooting the driver, set up a dolly, and track along with the car, slightly ahead of the driver, so that he can be framed to the left. When shooting the walker, set up the camera in the front seat (close to the front windshield) so that the walking character is framed to the right.
A long lens helps to separate the characters from their surroundings, but you don't want to cut out the bodywork of the car completely, or the shot can feel a bit disorientating.
Murder By Numbers. Directed by Barbet Schroeder. Warner Home Video, 2002. All Rights Reserved.
9.7
SHOOTING THROUGH WINDOWS
During a stake-out type scene, or where characters are sitting in a car waiting for something to happen, you need a unique set-up. You don't want to have the actors looking at each other, or to rack focus between them as they talk. Instead, you set up a camera angle that focuses on each actor in turn.
In the first set-up the camera is located on the left side of the car, far enough away that a very long lens can be used. This makes the actors' heads appear roughly the same size. This is vital because the farthest actor is meant to be the focus of the shot, and too short a lens will make his head appear relatively small.
The use of a long lens also means that by focusing on the farthest actor, the actor closest to the camera is out of focus. This directs our attention where it needs to be, while still allowing us to see that there are two people in the car. You may need to cheat slightly, and sit the farther actor slightly forward in his seat.
When you want to show the actor in the left-hand seat, you change to a completely different angle. Here, the camera is placed directly in front of the car, with a long lens framing this actor's face for a close-up.
There are many variations on this approach, with cameras at various angles and with different framings. The important point is that whatever angle or framing you choose, only one character should be the focus of attention at any one time. This shot is about watching and waiting. If it's about a conversation, you'll use one of the other set-ups previously described.
Don't Say a Word. Directed by Gary Fleder. Roadshow Home Entertainment, 2001. All Rights Reserved.
10.1
DIALOGUE SCENES
CONVERSATION DOLLY
All too often, dialogue scenes are framed with the characters looking directly at each other, with the editor given no choice by to cut between the two angles. It works, but it can be tedious. An alternative, shown here, is to sit the characters next to each other. At the same time, you push in on the characters, from both angles.
One character should be quite dominant in the scene, as shown in this example. One character is looking directly at the other, who attempts to avoid her gaze.
Whether you're shooting with two cameras at once, or taking each angle in turn, it is essential that your dolly moves happen at exactly the same speed. You'll be cutting between two moving shots, and that only looks good if they move in at the same speed.
A fast push in will create way too strong an effect, so this works best when there is a relatively brief conversation, and the dolly draws us into the intimate power of this moment between two characters.
If your cameras come to rest before the end of the scene, you may find that when you edit, it's more powerful to stay on one angle until the scene ends. Cutting between the two shots after the move is over can seem a little forced. On the other hand, cutting out of the scene while the cameras are moving feels like we're leaving before the conversation is over. Ideally, the camera should come to rest just a couple of beats before you want the scene to end, so you can stay with one shot for a moment, and then cut.
The Quiet. Directed by Jamie Babbit. Sony Pictures, 2005. All Rights Reserved.
10.2
OFFSET BACKGROUND
To make a dialogue scene interesting, you can have one character refusing to look at the other, and use a camera move to focus in on this conflict.
The effect works particularly well if there is a more detailed background to begin with, as shown here. In the initial framing, there are three people. And as the move finishes, there are just two. This means that as the conversation continues, we are drawn to the stubborn character, as the rest of the world fades away.
At the same time, however, the character who's facing him remains in frame, but because the camera is closer to both, the distant actor goes slightly out of focus. This again keeps our focus on the nearest character.
Set up your actors in an L-shaped pattern, and frame the shot behind the main character, as shown in this example. The background can be a corridor, a landscape, or as shown here, another person. Track the camera around, bringing it very close to the face of the nearest actor. As you do, you must pull focus onto him, throwing the background slightly out of focus.
Although you may be tempted to have this character move, the effect is strongest if he remains still. This allows us to pass him, which creates a feeling of resistance that is much stronger than if we follow any movement.
Onegin. Directed by Martha Fiennes. Siren Entertainment, 1999. All Rights Reserved.
10.3
SHARED SCREEN
The classic way to show a conversation is to cut between shots of each actor, as they face each other. Although this is such an established standard that it nearly always works, it does lack cinematic interest. It also means the rhythm of the scene is dictated by the edit, rather than by the actors. If you want an actor-led scene that shows both characters at the same time, you can achieve a more naturalistic feel. In real conversations, people rarely stand facing each other, so when actors share the screen, the shots feel more realistic.
The danger is that you end up with the classic soap opera shot, where one character stands facing the camera, and the other talks to their back. The reason this is used so often in soap opera is that it's an efficient way to show both characters at once. It's such a cliché, though, and so unrealistic, that it can't be used effectively in films, without giving it a twist.
By orienting your actors carefully, you can allow both faces to be seen in the shot at the same time. It works best when the actors are seated, on different levels, or where one actor is moving around the other. It also helps to have the actors glance at each other throughout the scene.
Letting both actors share the screen is potentially less dramatic, because no actor is completely dominant in the shot. Whoever's looking more directly into camera will draw our attention. Without care, you can end up with both actors being shown in profile, which conceals their performances and lessens drama. To make the most of Shared Screen, position your camera so that one actor has a reasonably direct eyeline toward the camera, making them the dominant point of interest. These shots work with zero camera movement, but an ambitious director will move the camera and the actors. You can even switch which actor has the dominant eyeline halfway through the shot.
10.4
SIDE BY SIDE
You can stage a dialogue scene with the characters standing side by side, but the danger is that they may seem disinterested in each other. If you want them to be engaged with each other's conversation without actually looking at each other, they should be looking at something off-screen that is compelling to both of them.
In this shot, the characters are both looking past (almost directly into) camera, as they watch television. What they're watching is a key part of the plot, so it makes sense for them to be arranged in this way.
Although you can have your actors glance at each other, it's more powerful if they don't. Keep them looking ahead so that the audience gets to see their full reaction. This also means that their only connection is their dialogue, which brings more focus onto what's being said.
Unless you are deliberately teasing the audience, by refusing to show what's off-screen, you will need to cut to a reverse angle, to show what they are seeing. When you do so, it helps if you go behind them, so that they are then included with the subject of their gaze. To simply cut to the subject that they are looking at has the potential to disorient the audience. Also, by placing them in the shot, you maintain the strong connection between them that has been built by this set-up.
You may also find it helpful if this second shot is at a different height than the first shot. If your actors are looking ever so slightly down, then place the reverse angle camera higher up.
Amélie. Directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet. Becker Entertainment, 2001. All Rights Reserved.
10.5
HEIGHT CHANGES
Good directors are always looking for interesting ways to stage dialogue, because anything is better than having the actors stand across from each other. A common solution is to put them at different heights. As always, this has to be justified by the story and the relationships they are exhibiting.
In this set-up, both cameras are at the head height of the actor they are filming. This means that both cameras are level with the horizon. Often when people shoot actors at different heights, they tilt the camera down at the kneeling actor, and tilt up at the standing actor. This set-up, where there is no tilt, is more unusual, but also more intimate. The camera is taking a cold hard look at each character as they respond to the other. It is a very bold and direct technique, but if the scene is strong enough, it makes the dialogue powerful.
One way to shoot this would be to fill the frame with a single actor, with no part of the other actor showing. The problem with this is that, because we are not using the tilt-up/tilt-down technique, the eyelines are far from normal and the audience can become disoriented. It helps, therefore, if you set up the lower camera so that it includes both the actors. In this example, only Brittany Murphy's arm is showing, and that is enough for us to see how the actors are positioned. In the reverse shot of her, there is no need for any part of Michael Douglas to be visible, because the audience is already well oriented.
Cutting between different focal lengths rarely works with dialogue, but when you're shooting at different heights you can get away with it. The more intense character can have a shorter lens, to look slightly distorted and to exaggerate her movements.
Don't Say a Word. Directed by Gary Fleder. Roadshow Home Entertainment, 2001. All Rights Reserved.
10.6
STAGED GLANCES
When people sit next to each other, you can use their glances at each other to emphasize a developing relationship or to show nervousness. This is much more compelling to watch than having both characters stare at each other directly. It works particularly well when the couple are still getting to know each other, as shown in this example.
Your actors should be sitting on a shared piece of furniture, with one being more open than the other, angling her body toward him. In this scene, this is her house and she's more confident and interested in him, so it makes sense for her to face him. If he were to face her as directly, it would be a very different scene. As it is, he faces forward most of the time, and only turns his head to glance at her. When he does, it is a powerful moment, and more moving for the audience than if he was looking at her the whole time.
The camera set-up is extremely simple, with a camera at head height for each actor, at roughly the same distance and angle. Both shots should be slightly over-the-shoulder, so that the two characters are connected at all times.
A set-up like this is very much based on the actors' performance. It must make sense for one character to angle her body, while the other must have a good reason to avoid eye contact. If this does make sense for the script, the set-up works extremely well and the restrictions of a confined working space often help the actors find a performance.
Sideways. Directed by Alexander Payne. Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment, 2004. All Rights Reserved.
10.7
MIRROR TALK
A good way to keep both actors' faces on screen while they talk is to have them look at each other in a mirror. It helps, however, if one is behind the other.
By placing one actor behind the other, it enables you to frame the more distant character in the center of the screen, thus giving him more impact. Even if his face is hidden in shadow, this centralization helps to make this character stand out more. This is important because, being further away from the camera, he will appear too small and insignificant if framed to the side.
When you place him in the center, however, you should ensure that the other character frames him on either side; reflected face on one side, and shoulder on the other. This framing is quite claustrophobic, so it's good for arguments or conflicts.
If framed well, the central character will almost appear to be looking directly into camera. This very tight eyeline helps us identify with him, and means he is the dominant character in the scene. The actors only need to look at each other, and you will achieve this eyeline effect, so long as your camera is as close to the actors as possible.
36 Quai des Orfèvres. Directed by Olivier Marchal. Madman Films, 2004. All Rights Reserved.
10.8
MOVE WITH THE BEATS
People often talk as they move, and so do characters. The problem for a director is how to make the camera move interesting, rather than just tracking along with the characters as they move. One creative solution is to have the camera move according to the changes in intensity that occur in the story.
In the example shown here, the camera begins by dollying back as the characters walk down the corridor talking. This is a classic backward-dolly two-shot. But then as the characters move into the room, the camera turns and backs away from them. This is at the moment that their discussion turns to a more conflicted one. They turn to face each other and the camera makes space for the argument.
Then, after a slight pause, the camera begins to dolly back toward them as the intensity of the conversation moves up another step. This is much more interesting than if the camera had simply stayed with them, or dropped into a medium close-up of them talking.
Seeing characters from the side is never as intense, or as revealing of character, so you should use this shot when you are trying to communicate the relationship between two characters, or the subject matter they are talking about. If you want to reveal an important plot point as the characters talk, this is an ideal technique because you don't want to be staring into an actor's smoldering eyes when you're meant to be listening to important information.
Don't Say a Word. Directed by Gary Fleder. Roadshow Home Entertainment, 2001. All Rights Reserved.
11.1
CIRCLING
A strong way to show characters on the brink of an argument, but trying to hold the conflict in check, is to have them circle one another, almost like animals. This sounds like a relatively simple shot, but there are a few subtleties that help make it work well.
There should be a dominant character who motivates t
he circling. Here, Hayden Christensen is the one who begins to walk around Ian McDiarmid. This means that Christensen's body is side-on throughout the shot, whereas McDiarmid is facing directly toward camera. This makes Christensen looks like he's prowling, whereas McDiarmid is defensive. This is essential for setting up the power struggle between the characters.
Also, when one character begins circling, there is the temptation for the second character to just turn in a circle on the spot, but this tends to look ridiculous when edited into the final sequence. Instead, the second character should also turn in a circle, but this should be more of a side-stepping shuffle, so that he continues to face the main character directly.
You can cover this in many ways, with stationary cameras and circling cameras, but one of the best ways is to shoot two simple versions. In the first, the camera takes the place of the dominant character, and films the second character face on, almost as a Point of View shot.
For the second set-up, you should be behind the second character, in an over-the-shoulder set-up. In both shots, let the actors dictate the speed of the movement, and have the camera follow.
Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith. Directed by George Lucas. Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment, 2005. All Rights Reserved.
11.2
ATTACKING CAMERA
In some arguments, both characters exhibit an equal level of intensity, but in most filmed arguments, there is one dominant character pushing the argument along. This can switch mid-scene, at times, but it always helps to know who's the more dominant character. This knowledge enables you to use the camera to lunge at the more submissive character.
MasterShots Vol 1 Page 9