Film Making Tips 101 Camera MovementsZoomingZooming can work well given the right equipment and camera operator. I’m sure you’ve seen shows where the zoom is unsettling because it snaps in quickly. On occasion this can work, but it’s best to do so with a little more subtlety and always to be aware of how much the zoom is apparent. Zooming in will focus on a particular subject and draw the audience’s attention. By comparison, Zooming out will allow the audience to take in more of the scene, background or action and will draw away from just the subject focused upon. It can help to reveal more information in a scene.Personally, I prefer pushing the camera in or out rather than zooming. If the camera is mounted on a dolly or dolly simulation, pushing the camera forward can have an arguably better effect than zooming.

Film Making Tips 101 Moving the CameraAs mentioned earlier, simply zooming doesn’t make sense unless it’s not noticeable. The point of moving the camera is to further illustrate or enhance what you’re trying to say. You’re the viewer’s perspective, and as such you don’t want your audience to know this piece has been constructed. You want them sucked in, attentive and ignoring that this is a story with people filming, editing and acting.Also please take this advice to heart. You should begin and end every move with a static shot. The pan, zoom, or tilt should start firmly, make it’s movement and end firmly. Even if the bulk of the action takes place during the movement, it still falls under the idea of clean entrances and exits and is also easier to edit!

Film Making Tips 101 The “Line”You can tell when someone makes a film without thinking it through. It becomes even more obvious when people completely disregard where things should be placed, where things are in relation to them and also, they forget about the “line.” The line, also known as the “axis of action” or just “the axis.”The line (axis/axis of action) is where the camera faces. Regard the camera as the center point and imagine everything before it is the world we see. If we go to the opposite side of the camera, the line, we’re crossing the line. Meaning everything must be reversed, we’ve now changed where we’re positioned and the background behind the subject, and so the subjects must be automatically reversed. Failing to do so will disorientate our audience and just not make sense.But in addition to that, we have to be very weary of doing such a thing as crossing the line. Even if done properly, crossing the line can make the viewer confused and uneasy. It’s best to take a look through the camera and feel out how it would work before doing so rather than just going ahead and wasting time. Reversing ...

Film Making Tips 101 Clean Entrances / ExitsAn editor will love you if you allow each scene to be played out in it’s entirety with clean entrances and exits. This will allow for the editor to choose when to jump from shot to shot and help them do it seamlessly. The term clean entrance/exit refers to a subject(s) entering a frame, doing whatever they’re there to do and then completely leaving. As the shot begins they’re not present, after a couple of seconds they enter, the scene takes place and they leave completely.This also helps when matching a variety of different shots, if the entrances are clean; the shots can play out entirely and be placed together without having to worry as much if they’ll fit.The rule here applies to anything moving through the frame. For any sort of editing purposes, clean entrances and exits are extremely handy and will help propel the flow of your project.

Film Making Tips 101 Pick UpsEvery now and then you’ll have 99% of a scene complete and satisfactory. However, that 1% of the time (or maybe just to be on the safe side) you’ll need a pick up. What does that mean? It simply refers to focusing in on an element of a scene and re-doing it, re-shooting it etc.Varying ShotsThere’s absolutely no point filming ten different levels of close ups, beginning from a wide and leading to an extreme close up if the camera angle isn’t slightly changed. Vary the angles and the shots to keep the images fresh and interesting. Try to move the camera a minimum of 45 degrees each time you change the shot. Try to also change the image size as you change the camera angle. This can make the transitions work better when editing.It’s also a very good idea that if you are changing the angle that the subject is seen physically pivoting from one camera position to the other so as to be able to match in post production.

Film Making Tips 101 Cutaways / Reaction ShotsCutaways are shots which literally are taken in case during editing there needs to be something to “cut away” from the action. If there’s a long monologue and we start to get bored staring at the particular subject (though we’re interested in what they’re saying), a cutaway can provide a nice breath of change to break up the monotony of seeing the one subject. A cutaway does not have to be a human or animal response; it can be action taking place on the street or something relevant in the background.It’s also labeled as a reaction shot when it’s of a human or animal responding to what’s being said.InsertsInserts are shots which help further explain or focus on an aspect of the action/story. If a man getting his key out of his wallet is relevant to the action, then a close up shot of his hand pulling the key out of the wallet and placing it into a lock may be extremely helpful to see close up. These are referred to as inserts.

Medium Shots / Medium Close UpsMedium Shots (Medium Close Ups) are also relative in what they mean. Essentially they refer to being closer to the subject than a wide shot, but they don’t go too close. They tend to cover from around the middle of the thigh upwards. Not focusing on the entire subject.They’re also sometimes referred to as 2 T’s (two tits, as in from the chest up)Close UpsClose ups are like the term suggests, close up. They tend to be of the main part of the subject; typically the head and can vary as to how much they cover. If the close up focuses only on one area and becomes very “close” up, it’s referred to as an “extreme close up.”

Film Making Tips 101: Scenes and the shots that compose themEvery filmmaker is different. Well, that’s a lie actually. Filmmakers that wish to carry out their own style and vision differ from others; some are just out to copy other’s styles. The point is that there are many different ways to shoot your scene and many different rules.Some filmmakers prefer shooting entire scenes in wide angles; they hate cutting and jumping from one angle to another. Some prefer the opposite, they hate relying on one establishing shot and remaining with it. The secret for a good shoot in my opinion is to cover all bases unless you have a clear vision from start to finish of how you want a scene to flow.

Wide Shots / Establishing ShotsThese tend to be always grabbed as they encapsulate the entire situation. They take in the background, the subjects etc. That’s the point, get all you can and show the audience what they need to see – what’s going on and where. Some directors wish to remain with just a wide shot and simply allow the action to take place within it. That’s a creative choice; there are no rules with this.A wide shot does not necessarily mean though that it takes up a huge amount of space, it essentially means the subject is captured in their entirety. It can take in the background too, or if it’s an establishing shot, it can be understood as solely the background – the background being established so that we know the particular location.

Your Environment / Landscape / BackgroundIn every shot you have an environment, a background. A scene is part subject, part surroundings and so it’s important that the subject is placed appropriately against the background.Something which you should always be aware of are lines. If placed wrongly, a subject can appear to have objects such as lamp posts, door frames etc. growing out of them. Be sure to place your subject accordingly so that the images work.Busy backgrounds can also draw your attention away. This can be handled by focusing well and/or balancing the colours they mix with.Often there will be elements in the background of your frame which move. This can range from wind making trees rustle to far beyond that. The way to best deal with these issues is to move either the subject or the camera. It’s easy enough to work around these problems, but essential to be aware of them.Another easy way of tackling this problem is to reduce the background, by changing your angle or moving closer to your subject. Or, thinking practically – could you place your subject in front of the distracting background? Maybe you could place an object in front?Always keep a ...