Research
When setting out to film just about anything, the first thing you’ll need is a camera. In his book The Bare Bones Camera Course for Film and Video, Tom Schroeppel describes the camera is an imperfect imitation of the human eye, seeing by means of a lens. The lens directs this light onto a surface which sense the differences in brightness and color. That information is then directed onto a sensor to create an image. The surface of the sensor contains thousands to millions of tiny light sensitive areas called elements, or pixels, which change according to the color and intensity of the light hitting them. Both the lens of the eye and the lens of the camera are curved outward (convex), so the pattern perceived is upside down.
Movie cameras record images the same way still image cameras do, just more often. This is where the phrase frames per second comes from; it’s the rate at which the still images are being displayed. When these frames are projected at an accelerated rate, they create the illusion of motion. Persistence of vision causes the viewer to perceive the separate images or frames as continuous movement
Lenses
The type of lens you should use depends on what shot you’re trying to capture. The three main categories are “normal”, wide angle, and telephoto Wide-angle lenses are shorter than normal lenses. Conversely, telephoto lenses are longer than normal lenses. Different lenses reproduce faces in different ways. The more extreme wide angles suffer the most distortion. This is known as “barrel distortion”.
Depth of field is the area in front of your camera that is sharp and in focus. There are serval important things to note about depth of field.
Your depth of field decreases as you increase focal length
Your depth of field increases as you decrease your focal length
Your depth of field increases as you close down your aperture
Your depth of field increases as your subject gets farther from the camera
You always have less depth of field in front of your point of focus than behind it
Composition
The camera is where you choose what exactly the viewers get to see and how they see it. The By choosing what to shoot and how to shoot it, you are creating your own selective version of the world. There are many composition methods that help tell a story.
Rule of Thirds is used when placing a subject in frame. Imagine the frame is divided into three, horizontally and vertically. Placing a subject on one of the intersections of these lines creates a more engaging composition.
It’s important to make sure a composition is balanced, both in space and color. Make sure a subject has enough head room or lead room. Pay attention to the colors in your composition and make sure the brighter ones are used to draw the audiences’ attention. Leading lines are also a good way to direct your viewers line of sight. Lastly, make sure the mass of your subjects are given enough room.
On film, there are only two dimensions; height and width. Angles can be used to give a composition depth. The placement of the camera can influence the audiences’ feelings towards a subject.
I completed a visual scavenger hunt to better demonstrate the power of shot composition which can be viewed here.
Camera Movement
Basic camera movements can be broken down into zooms, pans, and tilts. Not hard to figure out, but a zoom in is typically when the camera zooms in to direct the audiences’ attention to something. Zoom outs are used to reveal new information in a scene, like a setting or a situation. Pans and tilts are also used to reveal new information. Be sure to be careful when using pans; if you go too fast, vertical lines will strobe. Keep the direction of your pans in mind for when you’re editing to ensure that transitions and flow are smooth. When choosing to move the camera in any way, begin and end on a well composed static shot.
Montages
A montage is a series of related scenes and shots used to span time or a distance, set a mood, or quickly sum up information in a visually attractive way. Everyone can think of at least one training montage from a movie that was more fun to watch than what the actual training would have entailed. Montages keep the story moving without leaving out critical information. For a montage to truly work, it’s best if each shot is different from the one before it. They can be similar, for example in the same area, but if they’re almost identical it will just appear to be a bad cut. Shots can have a variety of angles and focuses, but make sure the orientation of the camera is the same throughout.
Composition Examples
A good example of Rule of Thirds and Balance in film is a movie ironically about someone looking for the perfect shot. Nightcrawler does a great job of always balancing the frantic activity of crime chasing photographers. Lou (Jake Gyllenhaal) is always balanced by people avoiding his camera or racing cop cars and when he’s alone, he’s always slightly off center.
A good example of the power of leading lines is the twins scene from The Shining. The walls of the hallway guide the viewer through Danny Torance’s perspective, right to the appearance of the twins. The lines give the viewer a chance to notice the girls before Danny does and helps build the unease of the scene.
A good example of using color to draw the audience’s attention is the club scene in Uncut Gems. Howard (Adam Sandler) has been doing his best to avoid Demany, who arrives as a literal glowing caution sign. He’s in a crowded club but he’s all the audience can look at.
Pre Production
Once you feel a little more comfortable with a camera and how to use it, before you can shoot anything, it’s a good idea to plan everything out. Filming takes time, effort, and sometimes a lot of money so it’s a good idea to go into filming with a plan laid out.
A storyboard is essential to pre-production planning. It’s a blueprint that maps out the flow of your video. This is a chance to hash out ideas and get rid of shots that aren’t feasible or fitting in. A storyboard is an editor’s best friend! It should include:
Tech details
Set location
Time of day
Contents
Verbal delivery
None of this has to be artistic, it can even just be stick figures! The point is getting your thoughts down on paper and assembling a rough plan. As you continue refining your pre-production plan, here are a few tips to ensure the success of your project:
Define the objective of your project and your audience
Decide what type of video you are planning to make
Establish a concept and a message
Put together a treatment and a storyboard
Hold pre-production meetings
Get all your paperwork in order and create a schedule
I am setting out to create a video montage on Philadelphia’s Italian Market. Before I can just go out and shoot what I see, I need to plan what I want to capture.
After I decided what would be visually compelling to go along with the story I’m telling, I began pre-production. I considered what visuals I wanted to place with the script to best illustrate my point and engage the audience. My plan can be viewed here.
Photo by cottonbro: https://www.pexels.com/photo/black-crt-tv-on-brown-wooden-table-4561940/
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