Was thinking the other day about how the DP/ Director selects his camera angles for each shot. It's been nagging me for a long time. I figured there just has to be some kind of formula or guideline, but I couldn't put my finger on it.
The standard rule is that you just place your camera so that the audience can see only what you want them to see. Well, that makes perfect sense, of course. But I thought, surely there's another element as well. I mean, you can probably show them everything you want them to see with all kinds of angles.
And, after you've shown something interesting to your audience, they're immediately going to want to see something else about it. And if you don't show it, they'll lose interest.
So, how do you decide what they will want to see, and how they would try to get themselves into position to see it?
Well, here's my notion. I think you should think of yourself as somebody who is standing in the room where the action is taking place, and beside you, there is a KID watching it, too, but he can't see it all clearly, because he's a kid and you have to help him to see it. You have to be the person who SHOWS the kid exactly what's happening so that they "get it" right away without any explanation.
Example: Your main character enters the room - [you'd put the camera at kid height and facing the door, because the "kid" will be looking candidly and openly at everything to begin with.]
Next, your character walks to one side, towards a table, and stops at the table and open a drawer - [you'd put the camera right close alongside the table, at the same height as before, because the "kid" will have approached the character to find out what he's doing].
Next your character searches through the drawer - [you'd put the camera close up behind the character, at kid height, as if it's looking past his arm and peering into the drawer as well, because the "kid" will have approached him totally unselfconciously to see what he's looking for in the drawer.]
Next, your character finds a gun in the drawer, lifts it out, and checks it - [you'd place the camera back a few feet, at the same height but angled up at the character, because the kid will be slightly frightened and be paying much closer attention to the character now].
Then, because the kid's focus of attention will be on the gun, (or the character's face), you keep your camera at the same kid height and track up and in to the gun.
And so on.... sounds extremely simple, I know. BUT at all times you have kept in mind what the kid would want to see, and how he would best position himself to see it.
I chose a "kid" because really, an audience is a very childlike entity. I think that if you play to the kid in the audience you'll never go far wrong. The kid (audience) is your camera - the camera is the kid (audience).
Thoughts?
The standard rule is that you just place your camera so that the audience can see only what you want them to see. Well, that makes perfect sense, of course. But I thought, surely there's another element as well. I mean, you can probably show them everything you want them to see with all kinds of angles.
And, after you've shown something interesting to your audience, they're immediately going to want to see something else about it. And if you don't show it, they'll lose interest.
So, how do you decide what they will want to see, and how they would try to get themselves into position to see it?
Well, here's my notion. I think you should think of yourself as somebody who is standing in the room where the action is taking place, and beside you, there is a KID watching it, too, but he can't see it all clearly, because he's a kid and you have to help him to see it. You have to be the person who SHOWS the kid exactly what's happening so that they "get it" right away without any explanation.
Example: Your main character enters the room - [you'd put the camera at kid height and facing the door, because the "kid" will be looking candidly and openly at everything to begin with.]
Next, your character walks to one side, towards a table, and stops at the table and open a drawer - [you'd put the camera right close alongside the table, at the same height as before, because the "kid" will have approached the character to find out what he's doing].
Next your character searches through the drawer - [you'd put the camera close up behind the character, at kid height, as if it's looking past his arm and peering into the drawer as well, because the "kid" will have approached him totally unselfconciously to see what he's looking for in the drawer.]
Next, your character finds a gun in the drawer, lifts it out, and checks it - [you'd place the camera back a few feet, at the same height but angled up at the character, because the kid will be slightly frightened and be paying much closer attention to the character now].
Then, because the kid's focus of attention will be on the gun, (or the character's face), you keep your camera at the same kid height and track up and in to the gun.
And so on.... sounds extremely simple, I know. BUT at all times you have kept in mind what the kid would want to see, and how he would best position himself to see it.
I chose a "kid" because really, an audience is a very childlike entity. I think that if you play to the kid in the audience you'll never go far wrong. The kid (audience) is your camera - the camera is the kid (audience).
Thoughts?
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