Basics of Shooting

Creating the footage for your film is one of the most crucial steps of filmmaking. You can break down a scene into these different parts.

Shots:

• Establishing shot: A wide, angled, moving clip that shows the landscape or building where the scene will take place. This clip is placed at the beginning of a new scene to show the viewer where the scene is about to take place.

• Medium: Usually of a character, this shot captures their face and upper body to bring the focus to their actions or dialogue.

• Closeup: A shot that gets up close and personal to the characters, showing their eyes or facial expression in detail. This clip brings attention to how the character is feeling or reacting.

• Over the shoulder: when two characters engage with each other, filmmakers often take a shot over the shoulder of another, focused on the character that is talking or reacting

• POV shot: not used often in modern filmmaking, but basically a glimpse of the characters point-of-view

Angles:

A low angle can give a character an powerful, intimidating, or evil look. By contrast, a high angle can make a character look vulnerable or weak.

Framing:

• Mirror: Mirrors are a fun and artistic way of framing the focus of the clip

• Windows: Windows provide a natural structure and lighting to spotlight your subject

• Lighting: Lighting is very important when directing your audience's focus. Don't forget to pay attention to the harshness and angle of the lighting!

• Foreground: Taking your clip from farther away and using the foreground to frame your scene is a common technique. This is especially effective when the front is much darker than the area your scene takes place.

Movement:

Movement is when you change the shot/angle/frame without a cut, for example moving the camera from a characters face to their hands. This can be done while shooting or editing. You can always move the actual camera from the face to the hands, or you can take a wide shot of both, then while editing, zoom the clip into the face, then move to the hands.

The movement of the camera should match the pace of the scene. If you see some action scenes, sometimes the camera is shaky, but the audience doesn't notice because it contributes to the stress of the scene.