Camera Workshop 2

Camera Workshop 2 

Today we learnt about the 180 degree rule. A rule that is fundamental to keep the continuity and sense for the audience. The 180 degree rule is an imaginary line where the camera cannot pass one side. This keeps the actors either on the left or the right. This helps the audience grasp where the actors are in the room. 

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We were also introduced to the practice of 'three'. This is where you film a full scene three times or with three cameras. This gives you options to cut to and from different angles or shot types. The order in which you film these would be a wide, mid and lastly, close up. A wide is important to film first as it establishes the scene. A rule with this technique is to ensure the actors movement and placement are exactly the same, this keeps the scene's continuity. Usually, there will be a mark on the ground for the actor to stand on, making sure they are in the same place for the different takes. 

When we started recording we learnt about call outs. The director or assistant director yells 'stand by,' to ensure everyone is ready to shoot. It is called this because it is strictly a professional term. They then say 'roll camera'. The camera man then says 'camera rolling', this is to ensure the camera is recording. The director yells 'action' at the beginning of the scene and then 'cut' at the end. It is important that the camera man begins filming before saying action and continues recording after the scene has ended and before saying cut. This ensures that they have all what the director wants on camera. 

I discovered in this workshop that you shouldn't watch the footage back on set. This would simply just take too much time, and double the length of one take. Letting the actors look a the footage on set could trigger them to start over thinking, or become insecure.