Camera Lesson 2

We had our second camera lesson today in which we learned about the 180 degree rule and how to shoot sequences. We used the Sony FS100 camera in this lesson to do this and it was quite a challenging yet interesting and enjoyable lesson.

We started off by learning and understanding about the 180 degree rule and how to put it into practice. The 180 degree rule states that you should imagine a line separating the camera and the actor. The actor remains on one side of the line and the camera remains on the other side of the line and the actor can move anywhere in the space as long as they don't cross that line and the same principal applies for the camera. As soon as the camera goes onto the other side of that line the sides on which the actor enters, exits or stands is going to be the opposite to if that had remained on the original side of the line.

For example, if a character walks from the left side of the frame to the right side of the frame during the clip on one side of the line. When the camera moves to the other side of the line the actor will appear to move from the right to the left side of the frame. This can generate mistakes in shots and lead to the audience being confused due to the lack of continuity in the shot. 

We tried this principal out using a director, actor and a person who checks the continuity of the shot. This ensures that the different shots taken over a period of time will fit well together and there will be continuity to the scene which eliminates any confusion the audience might have about the location or character positioning in a scene.

After learning and practicing the principal of the 180 degree rule we then proceeded and started to create our own sequences keeping in mind this rule and the implications put in place to avoid the consequences of this rule from occurring.

My group used the Sony FS100 to shoot a scene where the actor moves from the left side of the frame and then when she is central of the frame she takes her phone out of her pocket, checks it, and then places it back in her pocket before continuing to walk until she exits the right side of the frame. This is a very simple sequence although there were careful precautions put in place to ensure the continuity of the scene and we used different camera angles to get different perspectives and we filmed multiple shots of the event occurring.

We were given a tip which was that you should always film for longer than you need because this makes it easier when editing the sequence as it is much easier to cut down a clip rather than elongate a very short clip. We also learned about the various commands and terminology used on set before a scene is shot. The director will start of by saying ‘quiet on set’ and this is to let every know that a clip is about to be filmed and that any background noise will interfere and could affect the success of the clip. The director will then say ‘camera rolling?’ which is aimed at the camera man and he will only respond with ‘rolling’ once he can clearly see in the view finder that the camera has begun to record and then the action can start. The director will then say ‘action’ and the recording will proceed.

We used many different camera angles and movements that we can later edit together into a sequence that has variations in the angles/perspectives the event is seen from. We used a close up of the girls' face to show her facial expression and this will help the audience gain a deeper insight into what the character is thinking and feeling. We then shot a close up of the phone to show the audience the context of the scene. We had to do this from an over the shoulder angle as the girl was facing profile to the camera. We had to make sure when filming this shot that we took  into account the 180 degree rule to ensure that we were still seeing the girl from the correct side and that the phone would be in the same had as it is in the previous shot. We also shot some mid long shots and long shots which show more of the actresses' body and show her moving across the space and also provide the audience with information on what she is wearing, where she is and how she walks which again give the audience a deeper insight into the character and context during the sequence.

We used what we had learnt from our previous camera lesson about how to set up the cameras and use them appropriately and effectively. We also used what we had learned about the different connotations behind the various different camera angles and movements in order to create an effect and diverse sequence.

Overall, I really enjoyed this camera lesson and it really helped me understand the differences between the Sony NX5, which I learned how to use last week, and the Sony FS100 which we used this week and how the different cameras work and how they differ from each other in terms of the angles and shots they can produce, the differences in the locations of the various features and also just generally how they are different as cameras. I now understand more about the 180 degree rule and I am looking forward to editing the sequence that we filmed today.