The focal length of a camera lens determines the distance that the camera can “see.” Zoom lenses allow the focal length to be gradually changed. With a Zoom, the frame may transition from a wide shot to a close-up without ever moving the camera.
The Zoom is considered an unnatural technique because our eyes aren’t able to incrementally change their focal length. Because of this, Zooms are often used for effect.
A very slow Zoom can be a subtle alternative to a dolly movement in locations where there is no room to rig a dolly and track. A very fast Zoom — a whip zoom — can be used to draw attention to objects in a scene.
Where can I see it?
Fluttering Zooms are used in G.I. Jane during action sequences. Fluttering Zooms are also used in Opera, in conjunction with the sound of a heart beating. The camera Zooms in toward and out from still photographs in Soylent Green.
In Zatoichi, an emphatic whip zoom shows a samurai’s face as he’s told his rival’s name.
The Color of Money uses both fast and slow zooms in many scenes. The Wild Bunch showcases many different kinds of zooms — slow, fast, short, extended, zoom in, and zoom out.
Zoom
TRANSITION
What does it look like?
A Transition is any method for switching from one image or “frame” to another.
The simplest of all Transitions is the cut. A cut may appear almost seamless to the audience, or it may be used to create harsh jumps in time and space.
Dissolves are very common in movies. A dissolve layers a new image over the old one, gradually increasing the new image’s opacity until the transition is complete. Dissolves create a “soft” Transition.
Fades slowly change to an image from a colored screen or from an image to a color. The fade color is usually black, but not exclusively. For example: fading to white frequently shows some kind of “explosive” Transition. A fade to red could induce the imagery of blood; or blue of the ocean. Fades often begin and end scenes.
Effects Transitions use a special effect to transform one image into another. Examples of effects Transitions include wipes, page turns, vertical blinds, and morphing. Effects Transitions may be accomplished with specialized equipment such as an optical printer, or with a computer.
Where can I see it?
Several horizontal wipe Transitions are used in Red Beard.
Effects Transitions give Star Wars the feel of an old science fiction B-movie. At the end of Jacob’s Ladder, the scenery fades to white as Jacob ascends into heaven with his son.
MONTAGE
What does it look like?
What is Montage? There are at least a few recognizable definitions for the word. The most common of these is: a specific sequence of images in a film, usually without words and often set to music. For clarity I choose to call this the “Montage Sequence.” Many films use this technique to express the passage of time or a sequence of events with little or no dialogue.
According to Webster’s Dictionary, a montage is “the combination of elements of different pictures, esp. photographic.” If we go by this definition, then a montage is simply a series of images — like the cuts in a film. Therefore, every film is an example of montage.
Perhaps the most unique description of montage can be found in the writings of Sergei Eisenstein, one of the forefathers of modern film theory. Eisenstein said that montage can be seen in films, and that its essence can be seen everywhere — in writing, in music, in art. Eisenstein’s definition of montage allows for a broader definition — the collection of “elements” that build something — the tastes, sights, sounds, textures, and smells. Because film is purely an audio-visual medium, film montage is based on building up structures that affect the visual and aural senses.
Even though montage is a very important aspect of film, it can be detrimental if not used correctly. André Bazin, a respected French film critic, argued that the lack of montage can actually be beneficial for certain types of films. The reduction of splicing and cutting in a film gives the audience a more realistic perception of the story’s time and space. Without montage, a director cannot cut away to hide falsehoods and mistakes.
Where can I see it?
In Babel, Montage is used when Cate Blanchett’s injured character is transported by helicopter to a hospital. The entire sequence is shown entirely with images. No dialogue is used.
FRAMING TERMS
Common terms used to frame objects within a scene are generally applied to actors, but can refer to inanimate objects as well. Examples are: a close-up of a phone or an extreme close-up of a coin slot. A director will often capture a collection of master shots, medium shots, and close-ups to provide a variety of footage during editing.
EXERCISES
• Pick some of your favorite movies and watch them again. Instead of watching them for the story, concentrate on the basic techniques the director uses, such as pan, tilt, dolly, mechanical, pull focus, and zoom.
• Watch for different types of transitions. Keep an eye out for cuts, fades, dissolves, and wipes. If you have the capability, slow the playback to observe quick transitions in slow motion.
• Learn about montage There are many good books on the subject, including the works of Sergei Eisenstein and André Bazin. Montage is a fundamental element of cinema. By exploring this technique, you’ll greatly expand your knowledge and your ability to comprehend how films are made.
• Seek out montage Not only will you see montage in movies, but you’ll discover that it’s a fundamental aspect of art, music, and other fields of creation. Observe how smaller components are combined to create the collection of elements that an audience enjoys.
• Watch for close-ups, establishing shots, extreme close-ups. Observe how the director changes the meaning of a shot by the way he frames actors or objects in a scene.
COMPOSITION TECHNIQUES
What is composition? Composition describes the way a director positions, groups, arranges, and views objects within the frame when he’s filming a scene. Maybe he composes the shot so that the good characters are all on the left side of the screen and the evil characters are all on the right. Maybe he tilts the camera slightly to add tension to a scene.
The ideas behind composition are inherited from thousands of years of art history, and are every bit as meaningful in the world of motion pictures. This book is by no means meant to be an authoritative subject on framing and composition. There are plenty of good texts already written on that subject. However, some of the composition techniques that are used most often in filmmaking are included here.
CAMERA HEIGHT
What does it look like?
The height of the camera has a considerable effect on the meaning of a shot.
If you only show a person’s feet, there is a mystery — who are they? This is a very common technique. If you show their upper body but not their face, you discover more about them (they might be doing something with their hands), but you still don’t really know who they are. Finally, when the camera is brought up to eye level with the actor, the mystery is resolved and the character is revealed.
Where can I see it?
See Rosemary’s Baby, near the end, in the scene where Rosemary is carrying a knife. The camera alternates Camera Heights to show different aspects of her emotional state. Her feet, the knife in her hands, and a close-up of her fear and anxiety all heighten the effect of the scene.
Camera Heights
DRAMATIC ANGLE,
EXTREME ANGLE,
BIRD’S-EYE VIEW
What does it look like?
A Dramatic Angle adds to the emotional impact of a scene. A low camera angle makes characters and objects seem tall and powerful. A high camera angle gives the characters a diminished feel — as if the audience is looking down on them.
An Extreme Angle is a magnified version of a Dramatic Angle. An extreme low angle might start below the feet of a subject, staring up into the sky. An extreme high angle could be the view from
the top of a tall office building, looking down on the insignificance of humanity.
A Bird’s-Eye View is an Extreme Angle in which the camera is positioned directly above a scene, facing straight down.
Where can I see it?
A high Dramatic Angle is used to view the carnage after a shootout in Taxi Driver. A high Dramatic Angle is used in Niagara as a man kills his wife. A low angle is used in Stray Dog to view a conversation. Most of the frame is filled with the clouds above.
The Crow uses many Extreme Angles to achieve the aesthetic of a comic book, a medium which commonly exaggerates angles and perspective. In Terminator 2: Judgment Day, many of the sequences with the Terminator are shot from a low angle. This technique enhances his image of strength.
Dramatic Angles
SCREEN DIRECTION
What does it look like?
Essential to establishing the visual flow of a collection of shots, Screen Direction is simply the direction an object is facing in a scene — left or right. Screen Direction can maintain a visual continuity when making cuts, or it can be used in a non-standard way to add impact to a scene.
For example: If a director is filming two actors talking to each other, he might want to use close-ups. He must be careful to always film the actors from the same side. If he doesn’t do this, one of the actors might face the right side of the screen in sections of the dialogue and the left side of the screen in others. This would be very disconcerting to an audience.
This is commonly referred to as the 180° rule — you must stay within a 180° arc of the actors in order to maintain consistent Screen Direction. Of course, all rules can be broken at the director’s discretion.
Where can I see it?
In Das Boot, the submarine always faces toward the right side of the screen when traveling out to sea and toward the left when coming back to port.
Screen Direction
TILTED HORIZON,
CANTED ANGLE
What does it look like?
Also known as a “Dutch Tilt” or a “Canted Angle,” Tilted Horizon simply involves tipping the camera slightly to the side in order to increase the tension in a scene.
This technique is most effective when there are strong horizontal and vertical lines that the non-uniform camera angle enhances.
Because our eyes are used to seeing everything straight up and down, the diagonals that result from Tilted Horizon tend to attract our attention.
Where can I see it?
Tilted Horizon is used extensively throughout The Third Man. Canted Angles are used in The Fisher King to indicate Parry’s mental instability.
Tilted Horizon
EXTREME CLOSE-UP
What does it look like?
An Extreme Close-Up is simply a magnified view of a small object, causing it to fill the entire frame.
Extreme Close-Ups are effective because we are not used to seeing an abnormally magnified level of detail. By filling the frame with a singular feature, the audience’s attention is drawn to that subject, to the exclusion of everything else.
Extreme Close-Ups can be used to emphasize a particular scene or a sequence of dialogue. For example: if a character is nervous, the director might cut to an Extreme Close-Up of the actor wringing his hands or shifting her eyes.
Where can I see it?
In U Turn, Extreme Close-Ups are frequently cut in at odd intervals with the action and dialogue. In The Fifth Element, we see an Extreme Close-Up of Leeloo’s eye opening as she discovers the horrors of war.
Extreme Close-Ups
STAGING
What does it look like?
Staging is somewhat the opposite of montage. Instead of cutting between wide shots, close-ups, reversals, and cutaways, Staging involves filming in very long sections.
Staging derives its name from its similarity to watching a play being performed on stage. When you watch a play, there is no camera to cut back and forth between the actors. The audience sees all of the action being performed from a single distance and angle.
Where can I see it?
Rope is an experimental Hitchcock film composed of extremely long takes. Woody Allen is known for filming scenes as very long sequences without cutting. This gives the actors more freedom to improvise, because they don’t have to worry about how the editor will splice the cuts together in post-production.
Staging
DEEP STAGING,
PLANAR STAGING
What does it look like?
Deep Staging involves placing the characters in the frame at excessive distances from each other, emphasizing depth. One character could be all the way down the hallway, while the other character sits in close-up toward the front.
Planar Staging has roots in the theater, where all the characters are lined up on a stage. Planar Staging emphasizes a flat surface for staging a scene.
Where can I see it?
In The Virgin Spring, the characters line up at a dinner table as an example of Planar Staging. In The Outsiders, a deep frame is used. Dally runs in the foreground and a cop car is far in the background on a rain slicked street.
In Red Beard, four doctors sit to have a meal. They are composed left to right, facing the camera, an example of Planar Staging.
Citizen Kane makes considerable use of Deep Staging. In 2001: A Space Odyssey, there is a conference in which the speaker stands at a podium far in the background.
Planar Staging
Deep Staging
LEAD THE EYE
What does it look like?
A director can compose a scene in such a way that objects within the scene Lead the Eye toward a specific object, character, or section of the frame.
Leading the Eye is often accomplished with the use of a long object such as a fence, a winding road, a dinner table, or even a line of actors. The advantage of this technique is that it makes it easier for the audience to figure out what to focus on in a complicated scene, or it can simply be used for aesthetic effect.
Where can I see it?
In Through a Glass Darkly, a long pier Leads the Eye out into the ocean. In Witness, a group of Amish sit in a line. This line of actors Leads the Eye toward a block of Amish standing in the background. Witness also uses long roads and fences to Lead the Eye. Liv Ullman runs down a long road in Shame, searching for her husband.
A row of burning Chinese junks Lead the Eye in The Sand Pebbles. A curving road Leads the Eye in How Green Was My Valley. A long stone wall Leads the Eye to a duel in Barry Lyndon.
A row of parking meters Lead the Eye in Cool Hand Luke. Railroad tracks also Lead the Eye far into the background in another scene. A line of lamps on a table Lead the Eye to a CEO in the background in Network. A flagpole Leads the Eye in Fearless towards Jeff Bridges below.
A truck rolls down a hill over a long road in Paper Moon. A bridge Leads the Eye in Thunderbolt and Lightfoot.
3’S AND 4’S
What does it look like?
A helpful technique is to realize that the human eye naturally forms bonds and connections between objects within a scene. Our sense of natural composition often sees harmony in objects that form triangles, or groups of 3’s. This can be useful when composing scenes with a small number of actors, or a couple of actors and an object or icon in the background.
In more complicated scenes, in which there are more than 3 characters, it may be helpful to conceptualize each group of actors as their own separate ‘triangle group’. If you’re trying to shoot a scene with lots of characters, and they’re all changing positions this can be useful. Keeping an eye on the triangle groups should help you maintain a reasonable composition as the scene shifts and changes.
Where can I see it?
In The Seventh Seal, Jof, Mia, and Antonius sit and discuss their lives in a 3-type composition. In Signs, the four members of the family form their own 4-type composition, consisting of two triangles with a shared line. In The Big Lebowski, three men sit in a theater, discussing their plans.
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sp; In Winter Light, as two characters talk, a large crucifix in the background makes up the 3-type composition. In The Life Aquatic, two actors talk in a bar. Extras in the background form 3-type compositions as an “addition” to the two actors in foreground. A detective at a bar, the crowd behind him and dancing girls on stage form a 3-type composition in Le Cercle Rouge.
Jim, his mother on the stairs, and his father are all arranged in a 3-type composition in Rebel Without a Cause.
3’s and 4’s
INTERIOR FRAME
What does it look like?
The frame created by the film camera to surround the image we see on screen is the exterior frame. For added effect, the filmmaker can add an Interior Frame, such as a window, a bush, or a door.
This effect isolates the characters even further within the frame and makes the scene stand out from a group of actors performing in an open space.
Setting Up Your Shots Page 2