Really frustrated at the moment with a dialogue scene that I quite simply am unable to shoot the way I want without 2 cameras. Framing 2 actors in the shot just takes away the dynamism from the scene.
I feel that it does work when you don't want to focus on the actors, and on the reactions and emotions during the conversation, but when you do, it simple is not the way to go.
Apologize for the rant!
No reason to do this. Cheat!
1) You run through the scene at least twice and each time you focus only one actor. Figure out where you want the cuts roughly. You may want to subtly reposition slightly to mimic Hollywood teardown/setups between each of the actors lines. (and I mean SLIGHTLY) You don't have to do this last bit but it's something to consider it sort of mimics Hollywood lens changing and camera jostling and sort of breaks it up so it doesn't look like you're filming one actor alone. Try to keep actions consistent with the actors. Don't focus on little things, but rather major movements so that you can edit between them. Have an actor walk to a certain spot as a cue, or perform an action. You pick up the action on the cut and a small variance won't be noticeable but it will look really pro.
2) People pay attention to what takes up most of the screen. Is it your actors, or the background? This really is causing the problem with your 2 pop wide shot. Never use a scenery wide angle shot to shoot a portrait unless you are in a very small area and trying to make it look big or you are really close and trying to make their nostril hairs look like a field of grass. If you are trying to show two people together bring the shot in as close as you possibly can.
3) A master shot for every single scene it makes your footage sing-songy. Imagine you are renting a 35 mm film camera and blowing $500 on film every ten minutes. If you HAVE to get 3-5 shots every scene you are going to seriously run up your shooting ratio (that is, how much over your actual filmed time you are shooting vs what you use). 90 min feature uses $5,000 in film without errors or retakes and every scene and take adds up and realistically even if you are conservative you have to budget for 3-5 times that amount. Sure on your digital you can go crazy, but think about your 35mm graduation and learn to work in those limits. This mental step makes you avoid wasted time and footage you won't use. Use the establishing shot when the audience can not determine the state of the main characters through other shots. If the environment is exposed during the dialog don't bother the audience will get the drift. You will find not only does this trim up the tapes before the editing begins, but you also feel more propelled through the story. Try to avoid unconscious patterns in your shooting like establishing, 2x over the shoulder, reactions, etc. Use the camera in a live manner and walk around a lot this dynamism will translate to the footage and keep it interesting. Stay away from any formulas for this: always use what is exciting!
Just my ideas, but hey.. I screw around... You may never work on 35mm these days, but you should always think that way just to qualify if the shot is important enough to do. When you think of every shot as costing you $100 you tend to make better choices. The best set up is the one you don't have to do.
