Subjective
EXERCISES
• Look at the world around you and observe how reality is being presented indirectly. Examples: reflections, portals, and shadows. What’s the difference between these examples and the reality we see with our own eyes?
• Watch some horror films. Why do you think Dark Voyeur is used so frequently, and why is such a simple technique so effective?
• Create your own masks and vignettes. You can cut a form out of cardboard and use it to frame a photograph, or you might draw a border around a magazine illustration.
• Make a film that takes the perspective of some inanimate object. You may be able to achieve some interesting scenarios with this technique.
• Observe. How do directors use the Subjective, POV, and Voyeur techniques to transport us into the internal perspective of a character onscreen?
CAMERA TECHNIQUES
This category includes cinematic techniques that are achieved by dealing with the camera itself, rather than with a device that moves the camera through space, such as a dolly or crane. Many of these techniques could conceivably be achieved by a single camera operator. Some of them might require special equipment to get the full effect.
Typically, a film camera has controls for exposure, focus, and focal length (zoom lenses). Digital cameras must be white balanced before each setup in changing light conditions. In addition to these controls, the camera can be panned, rotated, or flipped over. By manipulating the camera controls, and by manipulating the camera itself, the fragments of a cinematic language are revealed.
A NOTE ON CAMERAS
When I first wrote this book in 1997-1998, the technology available to the beginning filmmaker was considerably less than it is today. Nowadays, even Hi Definition digital cameras can be purchased for independent films without breaking the bank. But before you go out and drop thousands of dollars on a new camera, consider that there are many wannabe filmmakers who made their one short and gave up after not finding instant success. So there’s usually plenty of used equipment around, as well as rental facilities that give reduced rates for low-budget projects.
WHIP PAN,
WHIP CUT
What does it look like?
With a Whip Pan, the camera is moved quickly from one angle to another, causing the image to blur from the motion. If the camera zooms in, the effect of the Whip Pan will increase. This is because more apparent distance is covered by the zoomed camera movement. Whip Pan is often accompanied by a swishing sound that emphasizes the effect.
The blur that occurs during a Whip Pan can be used to make a creative Whip Cut. By starting out with a Whip Pan and cutting to another Whip Pan, the audience never notices the difference between the two blurs, making for a transparent transition.
Where can I see it?
In Gangs of New York, several fast pans are linked with cuts as two candidates run against each other in an election.
Whip Cuts are used in Some Like It Hot. Whip Pans and Whip Cuts are used frequently in Breaking the Waves. Towards the end of Casino, Whip Pans express the escalating intensity of the story.
Whip Pan
WHIP ZOOM LOOK
What does it look like?
Whip Zoom Look is created by zooming quickly toward an object.
Because zooming is an unnatural technique, whip zooms force our attention to a specific object or character in a scene.
Where can I see it?
In Army of Darkness— when Ash forges his new arm— the camera whip zooms towards each step in the process. In The ‘Burbs, the camera whip zooms when skeletons are discovered in the trunk of the Klopeks’ car. The Quick and the Dead uses this technique during a quick draw competition.
Whip Zoom Look
SEARCH UP
What does it look like?
Search Up is a technique used to gradually “describe” a character or an object. The camera moves slowly over an actor’s body, gradually revealing information about the character. Finally, the camera ends up at the character’s face, revealing her identity. This technique works with inanimate objects as well.
Where can I see it?
In the beginning of Aliens, the camera searches across Ripley’s body: from a cigarette clasped in her hand to her close-up. In Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, Search Up is used when Lois Einhorn steps into the room. In Terminator 2: Judgment Day, the camera Searches Up from the Terminator’s boots to his face as he steps out of the bar. In Goodfellas, the camera Searches Up Ray Liotta at the airport.
In Twins, the camera uses Search Up as Arnold gets into the car with a beautiful blonde. In The Bride Wore Black, Search Up is used to show Julie in a white dress. In Once Upon a Time in the West, the camera Searches Up a lone gunman as he steps into the room. In Easy Rider, the camera searches across the characters’ motorcycles.
Search Up
BACK TO FRONT
What does it look like?
With Back to Front, we first see an action occur far in the background. As soon as that short scene is finished, the camera pulls focus and another scene occurs much closer to the camera.
Back to Front emphasizes depth, and is also used to compare and contrast two separate but related scenes without moving the camera.
Where can I see it?
In Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest, we first see a large wheel in the background, then Johnny Depp pops out of a grave in the foreground.
In Heaven’s Gate, the image starts on a close-up of a dead man, and then pulls focus to reveal an army of horses in the background. This is the opposite of Back to Front. In Topkapi, the guard returns to his post in the background, followed by the thieves appearing in the foreground.
Back to Front is used in Terminator 2: Judgment Day. First, Edward Furlong drives his motorcycle far in the background. Then the Terminator drives his motorcycle into frame very close to the camera. In Cinema Paradiso, the camera first looks down at the village square. Finally, a man’s watch is pulled into frame.
Back To Front
FOCUS OUT, PASS OUT
What does it look like?
Focus Out, Pass Out is a POV shot. The audience sees the world gradually losing focus as the character loses consciousness.
Focus Out, Pass Out is often used when a character has been knocked out cold, is falling asleep, or has been drugged.
Where can I see it?
In Intacto, a character’s POV is blurred after she is shot. In Midnight Cowboy, this technique is used as a character falls asleep in bed. In Sullivan’s Travels, the image is distorted as the main character becomes confused.
In Return of the Dragon, a character’s POV is blurred after he is stabbed. When Chuck Norris is losing a fight in Way of the Dragon, this technique is used.
Focus Out, Pass Out can be seen in Point Break, after Johnny Utah is knocked over the head during an attempted robbery. A modified version of this technique can be seen in The Living Daylights. When James Bond is drugged, we see his out-of-focus POV.
Focus Out, Pass Out
FOCUS TRANSITION
What does it look like?
Focus Transition is a specific type of transition achieved by changing the focus over time. This is similar to changing an image’s brightness over time to accomplish a fade to black.
This out-of-focus technique sometimes starts a new scene. The image will be very blurry. As the camera focuses in, the scene is revealed.
Another version focuses out to prepare for the end of a scene. Or, these two techniques may be combined. First, the current scene is focused out and then the film cuts to a new scene that is out of focus. Finally, the new scene gains focus. Because the images are blurred, this technique can be used to make subtle cuts between scenes.
Where can I see it?
In Batman, the camera focuses in to a gambling scene. In Once Upon a Time in the West, the camera focuses in to a train arriving at the station.
Focus Transition
OVEREXPOSE FADE,
> UNDEREXPOSE FADE
What does it look like?
These are two experimental techniques in which the exposure is changed gradually over time. The exposure controls the brightness of the film image. When an image is overexposed, it looks washed out. When an image is underexposed, it’s difficult to make out details because of the dark image.
Overexpose Fade gradually overexposes the picture. This technique has been used to give a sense of enlightenment, or that something significant is beginning to change.
Underexpose Fade gradually underexposes the image. It can create a sense of foreboding or gloom.
Where can I see it?
You can see both Overexpose Fade and Underexpose Fade in Wall Street.
Underexpose Fade
Overexpose Fade
CEILING TWIST
What does it look like?
A Ceiling Twist is achieved by rotating the camera whenever it’s pointed up at something of interest. This object is often a ceiling of some sort. The camera may also move toward the object or away from it to add yet another dimension of movement.
A view of a ceiling by itself can be somewhat static and boring. A Ceiling Twist makes the simple act of looking up at something more interesting. The rotational energy transforms the shot.
Where can I see it?
At the end of Coppola’s version of Dracula, the camera pulls down from a painted ceiling and rotates. At the end of Titanic, the camera looks up at the domed glass ceiling and rotates. In Easy Rider, the camera looks up at a painted ceiling and rotates.
Ceiling Twist
FLIP OVER
What does it look like?
Not only can the camera be tilted, panned, craned, dollied, and spinned, but it can flip over as well. Flip Over starts out looking at the world and ends up looking at the world upside down. Or vice versa.
Where can I see it?
In Apocalypse Now: Redux, Martin Sheen is grabbed by Kurtz’s soldiers. The camera Flips Over to emphasize his confusion and helplessness. In Opera, the camera Flips Over as characters climb through a vent. The camera Flips Over in Cape Fear as De Niro hangs upside down. In Mission to Mars, Flip Over is used as an astronaut flies in through a spacecraft window. In Carlito’s Way, after Carlito is shot we see his POV. The camera then Flips Over and breaks out of his POV to reveal him on a gurney.
The camera Flips Over in Papillon, as Steve McQueen runs down a paved corridor in his dream.
In The Tin Drum, the camera Flips Over at Oskar’s birth and Flips Over again after his father’s death. In 2001: A Space Odyssey, Flip Over emphasizes the lack of a horizon in space. The camera starts out upside down, looking at a space stewardess on the “ceiling.” Finally it Flips Over.
Flip Over
SHIFTING ANGLE
What does it look like?
A Shifting Angle is related to the Tilted Horizon technique. For a Tilted Horizon, the camera always stays tilted at the same angle. For a Shifting Angle, the camera continuously changes the viewing angle, inducing a dizzying effect. The camera continues to move and tilt back and forth.
Where can I see it?
In Irreversible, disorienting twists and Shifting Angles are used. Sam Raimi frequently zooms and Shifts Angles in films such as Army of Darkness.
The use of Shifting Angles in Natural Born Killers adds an incredible kinetic energy to the film. This technique may make you sick if you are prone to dizziness. Near the end of the original Dangerous Liaisons, the camera shifts from a static angle to a tilted angle when pushing in to a female lover’s close-up. You can also experience this technique several times in Raising Cain.
Shifting Angles
SLEEPOVER
What does it look like?
For a Sleepover, the camera is positioned directly above an actor, looking down from a bird’s eye view. The camera rotates slowly, and may also rise or fall as it rotates to set up for a transition or a fade to black.
Sleepover is often employed when a character is asleep, unconscious, or lying down.
Where can I see it?
In The School of Rock, a Sleepover can be seen as Jack Black lies in bed after a long night.
Watch Four Rooms— when the bellhop is knocked unconscious, Sleepover is used. Notice in Batman, when the camera looks down at the Joker’s dead body from above. Towards the end of Titanic, the camera looks over Rose’s body on a raft and spins slowly above her.
Sleepover
EXERCISES
• Experiment with a camcorder or video camera. See what effects you can achieve by tilting the camera, rotating it, and flipping it over. If you don’t own a camera, you can cut a viewfinder out of cardboard and use it to visualize the techniques.
• Use the Search Up technique to “describe” objects in your scenes. Search across an object in different ways: top to bottom, left to right. How do the origin and end of the search affect the audience? If you start at the face of an actress and search down to her feet, the audience will get a different feeling than if you start at the feet of the actress and search up.
• Try moving the camera quickly so that the image becomes blurred. Experiment with different zoom distances to modify the effect.
• Use out-of-focus, overexposed, or underexposed images to your advantage. Learn how these flaws can be used to enhance the emotional quality of a scene.
EDITING TECHNIQUES
After a film is finished shooting, the production wraps and the film goes into post-production. During this period, film editors take all the footage shot by the director, over the course of weeks or months, and splice it together to make a movie. In addition, music, sound effects, and other extras are added to the final print.
Editing is the essence of montage. Without editing, a film would be more like a long documentary than a cinematic experience. Editing controls the rhythm of a scene — the beat. A skilled editor is able to make something beautiful out of a stack of footage reels.
Film editors have a wide array of tools at their disposal. They can edit films digitally in a non-linear editing system. They have tools to manipulate the color of the image, and to add dissolves, fades, titles, and transitions. They can work with specialized companies that create digital effects to augment reality. There are a number of cinematic techniques that are commonly used during the editing process.
A NOTE ON EDITING
If you own a Mac, Final Cut Pro is a great solution for editing shorts or independent films. Avid also provides digital-editing software, but a high-end Avid system can get quite expensive. If you’re on a budget, don’t forget to factor in the cost of hard drives, cables, backup media, and even a monitor for your editing bay. Other costs can include music licensing fees, as well as purchasing fonts or sound effects for your production.
If you’re interesting in jazzing up your short film or reel, Adobe After Effects is an easy-to-use tool to add sophisticated layered animations to your video.
JUMP CUT
What does it look like?
In most films, directors and editors do their best to hide cuts from us. They cut when an action occurs, cut when a character’s eyes move, and use cutaways (see the Cutaway technique). Another technique is to make sure the angle and distance change significantly for each cut. This keeps the audience from noticing “jitters” in the scene.
Directors don’t have to make a cut transparent; they can use a Jump Cut— any cut that isn’t seamless. For example, if a character in a scene suddenly jumps from one part of the screen to the other without moving there, the audience will take notice of this Jump Cut.
Where can I see it?
The frame Jump Cuts in Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore as the characters find and pull out a bed.
In Breaking the Waves, many subtle jumps in space and time are used as Jump Cuts. In Godard’s Breathless, jumps in time and space are made during the dialogue.
Jump Cuts
MATCH CUT
What does it look like?
A Mat
ch Cut is the antithesis of a jump cut. Instead of making us sit up and take notice when a cut occurs, Match Cut is used to make the transition from one image to another as seamless as possible.
The most common way to do this is to cut on the action. When an action is started in one frame, the camera cuts, and then the action is finished in the second frame. Because the audience is paying more attention to the action than they are to the cutting of the film, this cut can become almost transparent.
Another way to do this is to cut on a look. When an actor shifts his eyes to look at something, the camera cuts to a new image. This is a very natural transition because we experience the scene through the character’s eyes. It is natural for us to see something new as the character looks around.
Setting Up Your Shots Page 6