3 skills in shots

3 skills in shots

180° line - This is when the camera will stay on one half of an 'imaginary' 180° that is created in the shot. This can be best explained with examples: if there is a conversation between two people then the camera may film it from the left side of the people, crossing the 180° line will mean that the conversation will cut to the opposite(right) side which wouldn’t ruin consistency but would remind the viewer that they're watching a filmed scene which would decrease immersion. Staying behind the 180°  line can be used to also help convey something in the film, for example a car driving from point A to B would be filmed behind the 180° line for the whole journey to make sure it doesn’t appear as if the car has changed direction.

Shot reverse shot - This again uses the 180° line rule but this time will utilize a 3 camera setup. This is often used in character conversations between 2 people. 1 camera will be setup, looking at the 2 people, from the middle of the 2 people in the conversation as a medium to wide shot. Camera 2 and 3 will be set looking at each person, one camera would ,for example, look at one person speaking whilst pointing over the listeners shoulder and vice versa. This is used to increase immersion as it makes the viewer feel as if the talker is aimed towards them.

Match on action - This is all about consistency, making sure that when a cut is made, it is edited so that the action on screen (e.g. opening a door) matches in both shots and is consistent with one another. This just makes sure that the view isn't taken out of the experience of the film and feels like the transition is natural