When characters have long conversations on the move, you have the opportunity to be creative with your camera. You can start the shot with the actors fully visible in the frame and follow them through their dialogue, but it can also be interesting to reveal these characters slowly.
In this scene from Paris, je t’aime, the camera starts a long way from the actors and gradually moves around in front of them. The camera is never quite parallel with them, which is important because it gives the impression from the outset that the viewer is on a collision course with them. The subtle angle and slight sense of getting closer makes it clear to the audience how this camera move is going to end.
The advantage of a move such as this is that it really makes your audience listen to the dialogue, which is important in such a long scene with so many words being spoken. It also gives you time to flesh-out the characters through what they say and through their body language, with their facial expressions being added last of all.
You can even have the actors stop and face each other while the camera keeps moving, as shown here. When the camera is on the front of them, you can continue the shot, tracking backwards at an even distance from them or cutting to another angle.
Paris, je t’aime (segment titled Parc Monceau). Directed by Alfonso Cuarón. La Fabrique de Films/First Look Pictures, 2006. All rights reserved.
7.9
REPEATED SWING
When your actors walk through a busy scene and then come to a rest, you can move the camera in complex ways to take in their faces, the environment, and their body language. This scene from Star Trek shows the characters and their surroundings, capturing the energy of two people in a fast-paced, exciting space.
The actors start the scene higher than the camera, and as they move down the stairs the camera moves backward. The actors move past, and the camera pans 180 degrees to follow them. It continues on the same track, but now facing in the opposite direction.
This is a strong move in itself, but the actors are now facing away from the camera, and we need to see their faces for the final part of the scene. The director’s first solution is to have Chris Pine turn right around to look at somebody who’s walking past.
At this point the camera arcs around the actors, so that when they come to a rest it frames them both in profile for the final dialogue. Pine’s turnaround acts as good motivation to send the camera off on this arc, and helps it feel like part of a flowing scene, rather than a forced move to bring the camera to its final position.
A move such as this is not ideal for essential dialogue, because there’s too much going on, but for a light moment or an offbeat scene, it’s a great way to get a lot across at once.
Star Trek. Directed by J. J. Abrams. Paramount Pictures, 2009. All rights reserved.
7.10
TETHERED CAMERA
When you tie the camera’s movement and height to a character, you put the focus absolutely on that character, at the expense of all others. This works best for somebody who is giving a speech, or at least addressing a group of people.
In this scene from Full Metal Jacket, the camera is absolutely tied to R. Lee Ermey’s movement, so the focus is on him, not the people he’s talking to. He walks up one side of the room, turns around, and walks down the other side of the room, and the camera remains at the same distance. His face is in the same part of the frame throughout. At the end of the scene, the camera stops when he stops, and the focus changes just in time for a cut to some dialogue.
Kubrick shot full frame (as shown here) and cropped down for theatrical release, but this effect works just as well in widescreen as it does with the full frame.
When shooting this way, the smoother the movement the better, so use a Steadicam or a wheel-based dolly system rather than a handheld camera. If you do go handheld, it might be better to get closer to the actor so that the sense of presence is never lost.
Full Metal Jacket. Directed by Stanley Kubrick. Warner Bros., 1987. All rights reserved.
CHAPTER 8
INTENSE EMOTIONS
8.1
ARGUMENT IN MOTION
When emotions are running high, it’s good to keep your characters on the move to reflect the shifting balance of power and the unstable emotions.
This scene from Revolutionary Road could be seen as angle/reverse angle with a twist. For most of the scene, the actors stand facing each other, delivering lines, and this is justifiable because they are directing their anger straight at each other. But there are also times when the characters move, so that the distance between them is always shifting. This makes the audience uncertain of where the argument is going and how the scene will end.
The opening shot shows Kate Winslet almost lunging at Leonardo DiCaprio. This is not an over-the-shoulder shot; she is alone in the frame to emphasize that she is taking a stand against him. She turns and walks away.
The director then cuts from the reverse angle and she walks toward the camera. The argument continues with her back turned to him, leaving him in place. This setup, with both characters facing the camera, is often used in soap opera, and is regarded as a cheap, fast way of shooting. So why does it work so well here? Partly it’s because this is such a fast-moving scene. He does not linger in the background, but rushes straight up to her, and his taunts force her to turn toward him.
To get this right you need to find a balance between motion and stillness. Let the actors be almost still when they deliver their most important lines, but keep them on the move when they are working through the argument.
This scene moves through several rooms, with the actors repeatedly moving toward and away from each other, and it is much more effective than if they simply stood in place shouting at each other.
Revolutionary Road. Directed by Sam Mendes. Paramount Vantage, 2008. All rights reserved.
8.2
FREEZE REVEAL
When a character is shocked by something that’s said, or when a piece of disturbing news is revealed, it’s common for the camera to push straight in. A variation on that has the camera moving back in one direction, and then moving straight forward to push in. As you can see in this scene from The Majestic, this works by planning various movements specifically for the scene.
The shot opens with three characters walking toward the camera. The main character is in the middle of the frame. There is a mass of background action, but that is specific to this film and not required for the technique to work.
At the moment the shocking news is revealed, Jim Carrey stands still. The camera keeps moving backward, although the other two men gradually come to a stop. As they turn to face him, their turn almost drags the camera back, and it pushes all the way in to a medium close-up on Carrey.
This is a dramatic move because it captures that feeling of disorientation that comes with a shock. It also works well to suddenly isolate him in the frame. In a matter of seconds he changes from a man walking with a small group of friends to a man alone in the frame, devastated by what he’s been told.
Making the camera go back in the direction it’s just come from, or re-tracking, is sometimes frowned upon because it can appear clumsy. That is why the director has worked hard here to use the other actors’ body movements to pull the camera back in. The move is also timed precisely to the plot revelation. Used in the wrong place, a move such as this would draw too much attention to the mechanics of the shot, so use it with caution.
The Majestic. Directed by Frank Darabont. Warner Bros., 2001. All rights reserved.
8.3
HOMING IN
Sometimes the most intense scenes occur when characters are whispering and acting covertly. In this scene from E.T., the characters are ostensibly looking for things they need. What’s actually going on is a conversation about how the main plot is affecting everybody on an emotional level. To capture this, Spielberg starts with a wide shot, then slowly moves in to show just the characters.
The move is quite simple, pushing in toward the actors and then titling up to keep
them and the table in frame. A lesser director might have had them stand, but by having them kneel by a low table the sense of secrecy is increased. The scene is not all whispered, but by conveying this feeling of being huddled away (with just one light in a dark space), Spielberg sustains the covert nature of the scene even as the actors raise their voices.
The move also serves to isolate the characters from each other slightly as their emotions rise. At the beginning, the two of them are together in the center of the frame, but by the end of the shot they are on either side of the frame. There is even a physical barrier between them (the lamp and the cloth) to suggest separation.
These small but symbolic changes in the way characters relate to each other only work when you use one continuous shot. If you made a cut you would lose the effect of gradually moving the two of them apart.
E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial. Directed by Steven Spielberg. Universal Pictures, 1982. All rights reserved.
8.4
MIXED DISTANCE
Dialogue scenes often start quite wide, then move in closer to the actors, gradually ending with close-ups. This scene from Onegin takes this idea to its extreme by moving rapidly from a wide shot to a close-up. This suits the incredibly intense emotions that have built throughout the film.
If you’re shooting a scene that the audience has been waiting for — a culmination of everything that’s gone before, where characters finally reveal their feelings — this is an effective technique to use.
The first shot is not extremely wide, but wide enough to show a distance between them. There is also some distance between the camera and Ralph Fiennes, and the walls are some way away from Liv Tyler. It feels as though everyone is distant from everything. Although they are trying to connect, there is a huge distance for them to cross.
Then, to the viewers’ surprise, this distance is crossed in a single look. As Tyler turns, the director cuts to a long-lens shot that shows nothing but her reaction. The next cut goes straight to a close-up of Fiennes. In moments the viewers have crossed the divide between them. The director makes his audience uncomfortable by keeping the shot so tight on Fiennes during his emotional collapse.
This is a stunning scene in terms of performance, but the director makes the most of it by repeatedly collapsing and expanding the space between the actors.
Onegin. Directed by Martha Fiennes. Siren Entertainment, 1999. All rights reserved.
8.5
MOVING OUT
When emotions spill over into uncontrollable crying, you might direct one actor to resolutely resist eye contact. This heart-wrenching scene from Only Clouds Move the Stars makes astonishing use of this technique. It works so well because the scene begins with this close-up, rather than with an establishing shot.
The opening shot, filmed with a long lens, pushes the two characters together. He’s sitting at 90 degrees to her, so the viewer sees his face and her profile. This gives enough of a look at the state she’s in, without shooting directly into her eyes. It doesn’t matter where they are located, so we don’t need to see any more than this. The reverse shot is angled so that his face remains in view, and it doesn’t matter that she covers her face with her hands.
As the scene progresses, and she calms herself, the director cuts to a wider shot of the two of them. This is effectively using an establishing shot at the end of the scene rather than the beginning. By moving out in this way, the camera takes the viewer back to reality in the same way it takes the characters. When people collapse with intense emotions the outside world vanishes, and this approach captures that feeling perfectly.
Only Clouds Move the Stars. Directed by Torun Lian. SF Norway, 1998. All rights reserved.
8.6
TURN WITH MOVE
At the beginning of this scene from North Country, it looks as though Charlize Theron is in the dark, overwhelmed and unable to cope. As the scene progresses, the camera moves alongside the two characters, and she turns to face the light. With one camera move and a simple turn of her body, the director shows the transformation she undergoes in this brief but powerful scene.
When the shot opens, she is absolutely central in the frame, which puts all focus on her. This is important because she is barely lit, and if she was off to one side of the frame, a viewer might not look at her. The director enhances this effect by placing the camera close to a wall, so that the right edge of the frame is black and uninteresting.
This move is just a dolly and pan, but by timing it to coincide with her move into the light and her turn toward her son, the director reveals the emotional journey of the scene.
When shooting a scene like this you don’t have to put your actors on steps, but this is an easy way to get them on different levels, which helps with this move. If they were both sitting against a wall, for instance, it would be difficult to get the same effect at the end of the shot. Whatever location you use, have both actors face the same direction at the start of the shot; then only one has to turn during the move.
North Country. Directed by Niki Caro. Warner Bros., 2005. All rights reserved.
CHAPTER 9
INTIMACY
9.1
PUSH TO TALK
Intimacy isn’t always relaxed, and this scene from Garden State shows how two uneasy characters can still share an intimate moment. They do not gaze at each other, but sit awkwardly alongside each other and glance across. It works well because the audience sees them take up their positions on the end of the bed.
When the scene starts, his back is to the camera and she is facing him. As she comes around to sit on the bed, he sits next to her and they talk. At times her body is turned toward him, but she doesn’t look directly at him. At other times, she looks at him, but her body is turned away. These subtle changes need to be brought out by directing your actors well, but the camera move is also essential.
Throughout the scene the camera pushes in. It begins at their head height and moves forward, lowering down as they sit, and pushing in tighter as they talk. This gives the effect of everything closing in intimately, despite the awkwardness of the characters.
To shoot in this way, you’ll do best with a camera on a crane and dolly, but you can achieve the same effect handheld or on a basic Steadicam. The movement should begin as she heads toward the bed (or whatever they are sitting on), and should progress at a constant pace. If it’s a long scene, the camera may need to slow to a gradual rest once they are framed tightly.
Garden State. Directed by Zach Braff. Fox Searchlight, 2004. All rights reserved.
9.2
CLOSE FACES
When you put two faces close together, you can capture all the performance with one camera, but you can get a stronger scene with several angles.
This scene from Defiance opens with a wide shot directly facing the actors. This acts as an establishing shot, showing where they are in the room and what each actor’s body position is in relation to the other. Without this, the viewer would have no sense of where they are or how they are sitting. It only needs to be used once, briefly, and then close-ups can carry the rest of the scene.
There is a close-up with his face toward the camera while hers is turned slightly away. By using an identical angle to that of the establishing shot, the director maintains the strong sense of connection between the two. It would be tempting to cut to a slightly different angle, but this would weaken the sense of connection. The fact that she is turning away from camera emphasizes her interest in him and her need to hear what he has to say.
A third angle, from the side, means the audience can keep looking into her eyes when she relaxes and turns away from him. This scene is largely about her speech and her body angle to him. Although the audience needs to see his reaction, the cuts are used to keep their focus on her dialogue, while still letting them see his response.
To shoot a scene like this, position your actors in a way that feels comfortable for them but keeps their faces extremely close. To maintain a sense of stillness, suggest to yo
ur actors they avoid overt shifts of body position. Be careful not to force the actors to be too still or they may tighten up.
If you have two cameras, it’s wise to shoot both close-ups at the same time, as there is no change in lighting setup for each character.
Defiance. Directed by Edward Zwick. Paramount Vantage, 2008. All rights reserved.
9.3
HEAD TO HEAD
When people shoot their first film, or when they shoot fast, the main mistake they make is to have their actors look at each other all the time. Throughout Master Shots, Volume 2, you’ll see examples of scenes where the actors barely look at each other. In the real world, people talk without making eye contact most of the time. This means that direct eye contact is more powerful when used sparingly. Ironically, you can create a strong sense of intimacy between two characters when they are physically close but not looking at each other, as shown in this shot from Love Actually.
The shot is achieved with one moving camera, and there are no cuts. This is a camera move that should go unnoticed by the audience as they concentrate on the dialogue. To achieve this, the actors time their body movements to coincide with the camera movement.
The camera begins on eye level with the actors as they lie on the couch. Both are facing the camera, but staring into space. As the camera approaches, it rises up, and the actors roll onto their backs. This keeps their faces in view throughout the move, so the audience continues to listen to them, rather than notice the camera move.
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