2.8
MOVING AT AN ANGLE
By moving at an angle, you can move two characters who are separated by a distance, close together, in a single shot. This scene from X-Men: The Last Stand begins with Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen separated by the car. This gives the impression that they have their differences. By the end of the shot, we are facing both of them, as they stand together. This shows that, for the time being at least, they are going to cooperate.
There are countless ways to shoot two characters coming together from different places, but this move achieves the effect without a cut, and the effect will only be experienced subconsciously by the audience. Patrick Stewart initially dominates the frame, but as the camera moves off at an angle, his size in the frame reduces, as Ian McKellen’s apparent size in the frame increases.
It’s important to notice that the camera pans around as the camera moves. Initially, it pans to follow the actors, but then it pans hard to the left as the camera arrives in front of the actors, looking back down the street. This has the effect of framing them together, roughly in the center of the screen. It also works as an establishment shot, letting us see where they are without shooting it separately.
To shoot this particular example, you would need the camera to be on a crane and dolly, in order to keep the camera above objects such as the fence. In other locations, the same effect could be achieved with dolly, stabilizer or even handheld.
The shots from The Road show a slight push toward the characters, as they struggle across the road with their shopping cart. By having the camera approach the road at an angle, and having the actors move across the road at an angle, we get a feeling of being stuck in a location, rather than moving along it. If the camera was directly alongside the road, or pointing straight down it, this might give the impression that the characters were making good progress. When you want to show a struggle, this angle can achieve that effect.
X-Men: The Last Stand. Directed by Brett Ratner. Twentieth Century Fox, 2006. All rights reserved.
The Road. Directed by John Hillcoat. FilmNation Entertainment, 2009. All rights reserved.
2.9
SHORT MOVES
Chase scenes appear in so many movies, but getting them to work well is an art. One thing that is lacking in so many chase scenes is a sense of fear. If you aren’t worried about your protagonist, then it’s nothing more than a lot of running around.
To create the feeling of fear, it’s a good idea to give the impression that the pursuers are catching up with your hero. There are many ways to do this, with the simplest being to show them getting closer. A more interesting way is to use a small camera move to create the sensation of escape.
In these frames from The Adjustment Bureau, the camera moves backward slightly during the brief scene. This gives us the slight feeling that we are trying to escape.
Matt Damon rushes toward camera, and out of the frame on the right. As we continue to move backward, the pursuers catch up rapidly. They are moving much faster than him. Their speed, combined with the slow crawl backward, gives us the feeling that we’re about to get caught. This leads us to empathize with the character.
During a chase scene it’s often tempting to push the camera toward the actors, to exaggerate apparent movement, but be wary of over-using this, because it can make the audience feel too casual about the scene. The occasional slow creep backward can do much to establish the sensation of unpleasant pursuit that’s essential if your scene is to have emotional impact.
The Adjustment Bureau. Directed by George Nolfi. Universal Pictures, 2011. All rights reserved.
2.10
TURNS AND CURVES
Moving the camera in an arc has many effects, depending on whether you’re moving with or around your subjects. During the chase scene from The Karate Kid, the camera moves with the actor. It stays low, and just ahead of him, as he rushes around a corner.
This sort of rapid, low arc, shot with a short lens, is an excellent way to increase the sense of speed during a chase scene. The short lens makes the walls and objects appear to rush by rapidly. By moving in an arc around the corner, the edge of the wall flashes into frame and obscures the actor for a fraction of a second. This makes it feel as though he’s struggling to go as fast as he wants. The other approach to moving in an arc is to start the shot alongside your actors, and then arc around them. As you do, the camera pans to keep them framed. These frames from Laurel Canyon show how a dialogue scene is made more visually interesting by arcing around the actors. Only when the camera comes to rest at the end of the shot does the director cut to another shot. In this case it is a jump cut to a shot from the same angle, with a longer lens, but you could cut to just about any other angle, because the arc has so effectively established the space and staging of the actors.
There are many ways to move your camera in an arc. Steadicam or other stabilizers are a common option, but you can also use a combination of dolly and crane. Handheld moves aren’t as successful, unless you’re following a subject through the scene.
The Karate Kid. Directed by Harald Zwart. Columbia Pictures, 2010. All rights reserved.
Laurel Canyon. Directed by Lisa Cholodenko. Sony Pictures Classics, 2003. All rights reserved.
CHAPTER 3
DEPTH STAGING
3.1
CHARACTER MOVES
You can use the depth of a scene to create a moment of tension, without even moving the camera. Depth staging is a way of using the space available to you to tell the story. This can be as simple as making sure you have a foreground, mid-ground and background. Or, as shown here, you can have your characters move through the space where you’re shooting, to create an effect.
In these frames from Blade Runner, Joe Turkel is not especially close to the camera, and the lens is quite long. This means that when he moves back from the camera, his motion will not be exaggerated. If you wanted the backward motion to be really noticeable, you’d use a short lens. The setup shown here, however, has a different effect. By using a long lens, which throws the background out of focus, and by framing him hard to the left, he almost appears trapped. We can see the space in the room, but it’s as though he can’t escape the frame.
We then cut to a shot that is out of focus, and Rutger Hauer walks into the frame. This is far more visually interesting than if he’d stayed in focus throughout, and captures the oppressive, nightmarish feeling of the scene. This requires an actor who can hit an exact mark, but it can produce quite a profound effect.
This sort of scene staging gives the viewer the feeling of space, and the feeling of movement through that space, without moving the camera. You can make this even more effective by repeating the move a few moments later. The final frames show how the actor backs off, and this time there is no cut, but we see Rutger Hauer move into the shot. He remains out of focus, a motif that is used through the scene to represent fear.
Blade Runner. Directed by Ridley Scott. Warner Bros. Pictures, 1982. All rights reserved.
3.2
CROSSING
To make the most of the space you’re using, and to indicate where everybody is in the scene, it helps to have the characters cross the scene horizontally. Even if the actors are unclear or out of focus, the movement can help the audience to become oriented within the scene. In some circumstances, this can enhance the story.
The frames from Love Actually show one way to set this up. In the wide shot we see the boy sitting in the center of frame, with Liam Neeson crossing the room repeatedly in the background. We cut from this, straight to a close-up on Thomas Sangster’s face. As Liam Neeson passes backward and forward in front of the camera, we only see his outline, blurred and dark, but we only need that motion to know where he is.
Having the boy sit centrally within both frames helps to connect the shots. If one was at a slight angle, or if the boy was offset to one side, the motion might not be as clear.
This scene could have been shot with the two characters sittin
g across from each other at a table, but by having one pace around, there is a sense of nervous tension. The motion is made so obvious, that we feel the unease of the situation. Even though this is a light comedy, the tension is essential, and the staging contributes as much to the scene as the acting.
The second example, from Black Swan, shows how you can focus on a background character, and let other people pass in front of the camera. They are not incidental, as such, but we are more interested in what Vincent Cassel’s character is observing, and how he feels when observing them, than in observing them ourselves. This is a strong way to emphasize one person’s point of view.
If you want to cut to a wider shot, it helps to go really wide. This makes it clear where everybody is in the room, but ensures the other actors are not featured directly, and so our focus remains on the one character and his perception.
Love Actually. Directed by Richard Curtis. Universal Pictures, 2003. All rights reserved.
Black Swan. Directed by Darren Aronofsky. Fox Searchlight Pictures, 2010. All rights reserved.
3.3
MOVE TO FRAME
It’s quite common to use objects within a scene to frame another part of the scene. You might shoot through a doorway, using the doorframe to create a frame within the frame. In this example from Laurel Canyon you can see how the shot ends this way.
The problem with using a frame within a frame is that the composition can look very stark and stylized. If that’s what you’re going for, it’s no problem, but if you want the frame to draw attention to an image more subtly, it works well when you combine a move with a reveal of the frame.
In this shot, the actors approach the door, and the camera pushes toward them at the same rate. Then as the actors move to the right of the corridor, the camera pans to follow them, and the shot ends with the actors and the door framing the scene behind, drawing our attention through the doorway.
The final framing requires actors on either side of the door. In reality this is probably not how people would stand, leaving a space for the camera to peer through. This is why you need relatively fast motion throughout the shot, to disguise the moment where everybody moves into place. It’s a heavily staged final framing, and the quick movement covers the lack of realism.
To achieve this sense of speed, push the camera toward the actors at the same speed they are approaching, then as they move into final positions (some crossing in front of the camera to do so), pan rapidly. The combination of movement covers the move, and makes the effect work.
Laurel Canyon. Directed by Lisa Cholodenko. Sony Pictures Classics, 2003. All rights reserved.
3.4
MOVING POINT OF VIEW
When you unexpectedly break away from a character’s point of view, it can create interesting reactions in the audience. Depending on the context, these reactions can range from surprise, to a subconscious unease.
The scene from An Education begins with a shot of Carey Mulligan walking slowly down the stairs, listening in on the conversation. The shot is long enough to establish that she is moving downward in an arc. When we then cut to a shot moving downward in an arc, we assume we are seeing the scene from her point of view. We are seeing her observation of the characters in the room.
Surprisingly, Mulligan then walks into frame left, and moves into the scene. This is mildly disorienting for the viewer, although most will not consciously notice what’s happened. In essence, the character has walked into her own point of view.
In this scene, we initially feel we are sharing the character’s secret voyeurism, but when she then joins the scene, we are left feeling as though we are the voyeurs. This sensation makes us uncomfortable, which is precisely what’s required for this scene. We aren’t sure whom to identify with, who’s in the right or wrong, and the camera moves echo this perfectly.
At times of change, or when a character is indecisive, or making a poor decision, this is a perfect device. It works extremely well when there is a sense of sneaking, discovering, or walking slowly, so that we really get time to see the character’s body movement, and cut to a camera move that appears to replicate this movement exactly.
An Education. Directed by Lone Scherfig. Sony Pictures Classics, 2009. All rights reserved.
3.5
MOVE TO REVEAL
When everything remains still, but new things appear in frame due to a camera move, you draw attention to the newly revealed detail. There are many ways to achieve this effect, and even if you don’t have access to a dolly or crane you can achieve the effect handheld.
In the first example, from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1, the shot begins with the cottage framed centrally. There is some movement inside, and as the camera pulls back we logically assume that somebody will emerge from the cottage. Instead, the camera moves back until Rupert Grint is in the frame. As it comes to rest, the focus shifts to him.
For the viewer, it feels as though the camera has pulled back in a straight line. In fact, you need to angle the dolly slightly to the left, in order to frame your actor almost centrally. Only by having this angle can you get in front of the actor.
This shot is useful for drawing attention to a character, to show that he is deep in thought, or about to act. It is a dramatic reveal, and suggests the character is separating from the environment or location that opens the scene. Be wary of using this sort of setup arbitrarily. If you simply want to show that the character is outside the cottage, use something less dramatic and surprising.
The second example, from Bridge to Terabithia, is less dramatic, with the camera rising up from behind the tractor to reveal the house and truck behind. This is more of a utility shot, a way of establishing a location without resorting to a static shot of the house.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1. Directed by David Yates. Warner Bros. Pictures, 2010. All rights reserved.
Bridge to Terabithia. Directed by Gábor Csupó. Walt Disney Pictures, 2007. All rights reserved.
3.6
MOVE WITH REFLECTION
Reflections are sometimes seen as an annoyance on-set, because they show light sources, crew, and other unwanted artifacts. When you learn to use reflections creatively, they become an exciting tool that can be used to create original shots, add visual interest to something that is otherwise uninspiring, or add a layer of symbolism.
The opening frame from AI: Artificial Intelligence shows reflections on the windscreen that might not, at first, seem desirable. Many directors would ask the director of photography to hide them, so we get a clear view of the characters. Spielberg leaves them there because they help add depth to the scene. Haley Joel Osment’s character is separated from his mother against his will. Having him outside the car as she drives away is the obvious way to show this. A second detail is that the actor places his hand on the glass, showing the barrier between them. But the reflections on the glass enhance this all further, making her appear to be enclosed in a bubble that he can’t penetrate.
The next shot is taken directly into the car’s wing mirror, which is angled in such a way that as the car drives off, we see Osment recede into the background. This is a highly specific shot that you probably wouldn’t want to copy, but it gives you an idea for how reflections on moving objects work.
The final frames show a variation on one of Spielberg’s signature shots. He frequently shoots scenes where an actor moves her hand into the frame, holding an object that’s relevant to the story. Normally this is achieved with a short lens, to keep everything in focus, and to make the object that is near to camera appear larger than the background. In this example, however, Spielberg is able to use a long lens because we’re looking at her reflection. By staging things this way we are able to see her face, and then the perfume bottle, without any cut, simply by pulling focus as she raises her hand. A short lens would create a quirky distortion that wouldn’t suit the mood of this scene, so the reflection is an ideal solution for showing two things in quick succession without a c
ut.
AI: Artificial Intelligence. Directed by Steven Spielberg. Warner Bros. Pictures, 2001. All rights reserved.
3.7
REVERSED PUSH
When shooting in two opposing directions, you can push the camera in both directions, to make it clear that a moment of drama is coming. This is a powerful way to show that a fight, chase, or other action scene is about to take place.
In The Book of Eli, the camera pushes toward the graveyard at the back of the house. Anytime you push a camera toward something, you make the subject of the shot seem important. To make this even more intense, we then cut to a shot of the four actors observing the graveyard, and we push toward them.
Two static shots could convey the scene, and show that four people are looking at a graveyard, but by pushing in two directions, and cutting between those shots, we sense impending drama and great unease.
The way you move your actors within the frame has a profound effect on this shot. The actors at the back leave the scene, and as they do, Denzel Washington and Mila Kunis move together. As the camera moves closer the angle of view is reduced, so you need to move the actors together to keep them in the frame.
You need to find a way to move your actors that relates to the story. Here, the actors at the back move out of the scene, but then Washington turns to the side, preparing to leave, whispering to Kunis. Ensure that your actors move in a way that makes sense, rather than to suit the shot. The camera is there to serve the story, not the other way around.
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