Cameracraft 2: Balancing Act


How good your camcorder footage looks depends upon how you place the various objects in the frame. Here are some tips on framing conventions and shot continuity.


David Llewelyn Wark
In the very earliest days of movie-making 100 years before the digital camcorder became a reality, it was a convention for the movie camera to assume the position of the audience in a theatre and for the performance to be covered in one wide shot. However, it wasn't long before pioneering directors like D. W. Griffith (pictured right), together with his legendary cameraman Billy Bitzer, were experimenting by physically moving the camera closer to the action in order to shoot what soon became known as "the close up" in order to heighten dramatic impact. Though individual performers were overjoyed at the prospect of their faces being up there on the big screen, the purists reckoned that the camera should remain where it belonged - in the stalls. Given that the medium of cinematography existed solely to replicate theatre performances, to move the camera onto the stage itself offered an unrealistic perspective of the performance, it was argued. Needless to say, Griffith disagreed; the close-up had been invented and we’ve never looked back. Today, the framing conventions that are used (consciously and subconsciously) in film, TV and video production conform to those laid down by not only those early 20th century film-makers and photographers, but by generations of landscape and portrait artists before them.

Look at virtually any sequence of shots on TV or in movies and you’ll find evidence that a standard framing convention is being applied. You might not realise it - few passive viewers ever do - but all shots and sequences are constructed according to a particular format in everything from TV soaps to commercials - and even some wedding videos.

In Cameracraft 1: Sharp Shooting we explained just how important it is to get to know the basic functions of the camcorder and use this knowledge to take effective control over what’s being recorded. Many first-time cam users will start by shooting scenes as they are - people at parties, landscape shots whilst on holiday, baby being fed in the high chair, kids at their school sports' days, and so on. Even with these subjects, care and preparation in their recording can result in much-improved footage - even if it’s not to be edited. Who knows, you might even get the urge to write and direct your own video productions involving performers - and that’s where the fun really starts. Devising a scenario in which people will follow your directions and speak your lines is a major step forward - and a real test of your understanding of the medium.

Framing in the balance


Most people are aware of the most basic framing options - it’s common to hear ordinary people talking about "getting a close-up" of someone’s face, even when photographing friends in the back garden. Similarly, most people understand what is meant by a "wide, panoramic shot". Despite this, it’s in the area of composition and continuity that a lot of novice videomakers encounter problems. Let’s look at basic composition first.

It's all a question of balance, really. If a person is looking directly at the camera, then it’s normal for him or her to be in the centre of the frame. If, however, the shot requires the subject to be looking out of frame right or left, then it’s necessary to modify their position in the frame. A centuries-old framing convention known as the "thirds" principle then comes into play.

Frame your subject in order to provide
The trick is to divide up the image with two horizontal lines and two vertical lines; unless your subject is to look straight into the lens - and placed centre of frame - you’ll find it more aesthetically pleasing to position your subject on one of the vertical lines. This is particularly important where the subject - let’s say an interviewee or an actor - is in conversation with somebody out of shot. It’s important to position them in such a way as to have space between their eyes and the right (or left) of frame. We describe this as giving the on-camera subject some "looking room" as depicted in the illustration above. This is very important - you'll see this in evidence in virtually all film and TV shots. In addition, the "thirds" rule is particularly important in sequences containing cuts between two people engaged in dialogue or action within a scene.

Framing Conventions


Many of you will be familiar with the basic framing convention for a single person standing before the camera; in framing a person, there’s a choice of compositions ranging from a Long Shot (LS) to a Medium Long Shot (MLS), Mid-Shot (MS), Medium Close Up (MCU), Close Up (CU) and finally a BCU (work it out yourself). Another point to bear in mind is that it’s not good practice to frame a shot on a joint - such as knees, waist, elbows or shoulders. It’s usually better to frame just above. Look at your friendly TV newsreader seated at the newsdesk and talking to camera. Framing will either be just below the elbows or just above. Or at least they should be!

Framing guides are an established convention

Simple Storyboards


As you’ll already know, the most conventional method a director employs in planning shots and building sequences is by creating storyboards. At its simplest, a storyboard is a means to sketch out a few shots in order to see how a sequence will work out. Nor to they need to be elaborate - I’ve worked with storyboards that have been hastily scribbled on the back of a pub lunch menu! Don’t worry about your design skills, either; if you’re the only user and you understand it, then so what? Another way of putting a storyboard together is to use a Polaroid camera and take pictures using stand-ins for actors - or, better still, import digital stills into a PC graphics program and create them that way. I tend to scan my sketches into the computer and work up the images from there.

Storyboard images don't have to be works of art. Sketch frames out on low cost index cards and then re-arrange them to make a sequence that will work when you eventually commit the actions to camera. It's where the editing process starts!

Simple storyboards can often help with planning what you're going to shoot
Every storyboard image should be regarded as a building block of a sequence - and it’s a good group exercise to see what kind of sequence can be created from a set of apparently unconnected story frames drawn onto card.

Using around 20 original drawings on a theme, try shuffling the story cards and laying them out onto a table. Now - like a game of Patience - see what kind of sequence you can make from the collection of frames. Would such a sequence stand on its own if you were to shoot them as live action on video? It’s an exercise that I have used with great success when running video-making workshops around the country, and it always works.

Forget about the audio


When experimenting with simple storyboards, it’s a very good idea to ignore audio altogether. The presence of audio at this stage only serves to interfere with the process of constructing a convincing visual storyline. You’ll find that having to work only with images forces you into making every shot count in the storytelling exercise, so make use of the storyboard in testing your ideas before shooting, and then weed out the shots that don’t contribute anything during editing. Eventually, you and your collaborators will discover that it’s perfectly possible to tell a dramatic story with no sound whatsoever - something that was proved by the early film-makers over a century ago. Come to think of it, why not make use of the sepia and widescreen functions of a camcorder and shoot a Keystone Cops-style silent movie?

Continuity


Visual continuity is important in maintaining a consistency of flow through a scene, or from one scene and others associated with it. Watch the varying levels in a wine glass during a scene which has obviously been shot by a succession of single-camera set-ups and you’ll get the idea. But it’s more than that, even. Continuity requires attention to detail in such matters as eyelines and screen direction, too; it’s in this area where to get it wrong can have dire consequences.

Study the TV coverage of a tennis or football match, and you’ll quickly notice that the cameras are all positioned mainly on one side of the field of play. Regardless of which camera shot is featured on screen, the action of the ball travelling from left to right will be consistent - and the viewer gets a true representation of what’s happening on the court or pitch. Put a camera on the opposite touchline and you’ll have a shot which jars with the others - is the player hitting the ball on the left or right?

The rules of continuity are there for good reason - after all, do you want your viewers to be confused? The same principle is true for all set-ups involving more than one person, whether it’s a drama, interview or real-life actuality. The main aim is that the viewer should understand the relationship (in visual terms) between each of the subjects featured in any given scene. So, if we cut from a medium shot of someone picking up a large stone and throwing it out of screen left, and this shot is then followed by a close-up shot of a window, we can be sure that the stone is about to hit the window - even if the two shots were taken months apart in different locations. That’s how powerful the medium is - and that’s how you can use it to dramatic effect. Try it for yourself: record the two "halves" of a conversation between two people completely separately and in different locations. Then edit them together to appear as if they're talking to each other. Many people's brains will over-ride the differences and "see" a conversation between them - even if the two on-camera participants have never met!

Continuity in practice


Let’s assume we’re putting together a scene in which a couple of teenage lads bump into each other in the street and start chatting. We could, if we chose, shoot the whole scene as a single wide shot in which the two of them are featured throughout. In visual terms, it wouldn’t be very stimulating - and we’d be left with absolutely no flexibility when it came to editing. The alternative is to break the action - and the dialogue - down into manageable components designed to highlight certain expressions, actions and key points in their dialogue. What we’ll then have is complete access to a range of interesting shots that will enable to either tighten up the pace or slacken it off (according to the mood of the scene) during the editing stage. It will, of course, necessitate shooting the scene from a minimum of two angles in order to have a range of material with which to work.


Image showing crossover configuration when shooting two people

In the above diagram, you can see two cameras (or two positions for a single camera) designed to provide two sets of shots of each of two young men meeting and talking. The two shots on the right are those shots which will can be composed with Camera A. Notice its position on the floor-plan. Not the relative position of the Camera B to Camera A - and the symmetry of the shots it can therefore produce. We call this the Crossover Setup.

What we might do is begin by taking a master shot - a shot of both of them in situ that establishes the scene and provides the underlying basis for continuity through the sequence. We can then move in to shoot MCU or even CU action of one of the characters, getting him to run through the whole scene; when you’re happy with the material you’ll then be able to set up the reverse shots featuring the other character, and repeat the procedure. In addition to the singular framing of each person, we can shoot matching 2-shots (as depicted above), favouring each of the characters; shots like these give the sequence a bit of edge and allow the viewer to be involved. Finally, a shot where - say - the first character grabs the second by the scruff of the neck could be shot in CU as a balanced 2-shot. That way, we see the eye-to-eye contact in all its glory.

The ability to edit your material tightly and accurately becomes all the more satisfying if you’ve really done your homework before you start shooting. It isn’t that difficult - look at any TV drama and you’ll see it for yourself.

Take a look at the picture on the right. Assume the woman is in conversation with another person out of shot, and we then chose to cut to a shot of that person responding either as a "noddy" or speaking dialogue. How would you frame that shot, assuming it was to be intercut with the one you see here? You see it every day on films and TV, of course, but it's surprising how many people can't set it up without crossing the line!

Sadly, it's all too common to see the work of so-called professionals who make the same fundamental mistakes.

Crossing the Line


Within almost all two-way set-ups involving two or more on-screen characters, it’s normal to balance the shots of each of the two subjects - an MCU with MCU, MS with MS, and so on. Cutting from an MCU of, say, an interviewer to a CU of the interviewee can have implications for the dramatic effect of the sequence - allowing the director and/or editor to crank up the tension on screen. As a means of slackening off the tension, the editor could cut to a 2-shot (both of them in the same frame). It’s the job of the director to ensure that all these options were covered at the shooting stage, of course. You can only edit what was properly recorded in the first place.

In the Crossover Setup diagram above, you can see the relative positions of the camcorder when shooting each of the two participants. The "line" in question flows directly between them, and effectively denotes the limit of the cam’s position in each case if the correct continuity is to be observed. The camera can move to virtually any position from left to right, but if jumps even momentarily to a position the other side of the performers, continuity will be broken and you’ll have crossed the line. In film-making terms, this is a major faux-pas. If you really need to, then you’ll have to create a bridging shot as a means of re-defining the axis. Simple or what?

Composition and continuity takes practice to get right, but it doesn't take long to get right. Try it and see!


Words and pictures: Colin Barrett, SimplyDV, except image of D.W.Griffith (source unknown). No unauthorised reproduction or distribution. Copyright 2002, 2005, 2008.

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