This
lesson was all about the 180°-rule and continuity. When we came in,
the cameras and tripods we learnt about the week before were lying on
the floor infront of us, ready to be looked at again, and to be
worked with properly for the first time.
The Sony FX5, Canon EOS 5D and the Sony FS100 on the floor, in their cases.
Matt was
going to attempt to explain the 180°-rule in three different ways –
the first way was to explain it by placing a toy bike on the white
line that was drawn on the floor, and also placing the Sony FS100 on
the floor with him; it was connected to a computer screen so we could
see what he was talking about. He was sitting on one side of the
line, the bike was completely on the line, and the camera was on the
other side of the line, so that in the video, the bike would drive
from left-to-right. He showed us different camera angles whilst still
on the side he was supposed to keep the camera on, the bike always
travelling from left-to-right. He then demostrated what happens when
he goes over the line and defies the 180°-rule; the bike no longer
travels from left-to-right – it travels from right-to-left, giving
the illusion that there are actually two bikes driving towards
eachother.
The
second way he explained it to us was by using actors. The first time
around, he placed the toy bike on the table, and an actor was
required to walk in, pick up the bike, look at it, put it down, and
leave – but we didn't only shoot a wide shot, we also shot a
close-up and an extreme close-up from an angle, of the bike, all
agreeing with the 180°-rule. If he had gone over the line whilst
filming, it would have looked like the actor left the bike somewhere
completely different, and it would no longer make sense with
continuity.
The third
way, which I sadly didn't get any pictures of, was between two
actors, and their over-the-shoulder shots whilst doing dialouge. If
the camera is in line with the 180°-rule, the shots look natural and
all is well, however if one over-the-shoulder shot is shot from one
side of the line, and the other on the other, it doesn't quite make
sense, as it will look like the actors aren't even looking at
eachother whilst speaking.
Then, it
was our turn to shoot our own sequences whilst paying attention to
continuity, different angles and the 180°-rule.
In our
first shoot we had Sam, our actor, walk into frame, pick up a
suitcase, and then walk off frame. One thing we paid close attention
to was where the suitcase was placed, so it wouldn't look weird when
shooting different angles, as suitcases don't generally move on their
own. By paying attention to this it adds to the over all outcome and
doesn't distract the audience from what is happening. We shot from
four different angles; one wide shot, one close-up of the suitcase,
one close-up of his face, and one point of view shot of the suitcase.
When filming the P.O.V of the suitcase, we almost made the mistake by
not agreeing with the 180°-rule, which could have made the sequence
look weird when we piece it together next week.
Our camera crew hard at work
In our
second sequence, we had the actress accept a phone call, look
distressed, and leave the scene. We never really changed camera
angles when filming said second sequence, however we did use a tilt;
this should make post production quite interesting.
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