i dont know if this is the right forum but i plan on making an independent comedy series and i need help on camera angles and how to make it look right. like for example. some shows wills have the characters talking and you will see an over the back shot then it'll show the other person talking. do they have two cameras at certain angles or do they just shoot that same shot over again?
help with directing
- Thread starter goldy40211
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A DP is a Director of Photography. Basically he/she is in charge of what the shot is going to look like. Where the camera is going to be, what the lights are going to do, even some blocking of the actresses and actors. You have the absolute final say but he/she puts the shot together for you. As far as where to find one, they are everywhere. Put the word out that you are looking for one and lay down what you can offer. Maybe a good opportunity for a student to get their hands dirty. Hope this helps.
You got it. For the vast majority of productions, one camera is used. If your scene is two people talking, you will shoot the same scene over and over again with different setups (a setup is a single camera position.) Setups for this scene might include a master where you can see both actors in frame, from over one character's shoulder, from over the other character's shoulder, and some closeups of their hands. Then you edit this one scene by using different parts of each of these takes.
Since access to cheaper digital video cameras has increased dramatically, its becoming more common to use multiple cameras at the same time. In theory this reduces on-set time since you can capture multiple setups without having to repeat the scene as many times.
A DP is a Director of Photography...his job is to listen to what you want as the director and setup the camera enough different ways to capture it.
To elaborate a little more:
That shot is called an “over the shoulder” shot. You will set up
the camera looking over the shoulder of “Bob” and seeing “Mary’s”
face. You will shoot the entire scene - all the dialogue.
Then you will movie the camera behind “Mary” so you are seeing
over her shoulder to “Bob’s” face and shoot the entire scene again
- all the dialogue.
As Uranium City mentioned, you should also shoot what is called a
“master”. Set the camera away from “Bob” and “Mary” so you can see
them head to toe. Shoot the entire scene - all the dialogue.
Then you “punch in”. From the same camera angle you will now get a
shot of “Bob” and “Mary” from the top of the head to their waist.
Shoot the entire scene - all the dialogue.
Then you move the camera to get a close up of “Bob”. Shoot the
entire scene - all the dialogue.
Then you move the camera to get a close up of “Mary”. Shoot the
entire scene - all the dialogue.
This is called “coverage”. You will cover the scene over and over
and over from different camera angles.
Check out this thread
http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?t=20530
That shot is called an “over the shoulder” shot. You will set up
the camera looking over the shoulder of “Bob” and seeing “Mary’s”
face. You will shoot the entire scene - all the dialogue.
Then you will movie the camera behind “Mary” so you are seeing
over her shoulder to “Bob’s” face and shoot the entire scene again
- all the dialogue.
As Uranium City mentioned, you should also shoot what is called a
“master”. Set the camera away from “Bob” and “Mary” so you can see
them head to toe. Shoot the entire scene - all the dialogue.
Then you “punch in”. From the same camera angle you will now get a
shot of “Bob” and “Mary” from the top of the head to their waist.
Shoot the entire scene - all the dialogue.
Then you move the camera to get a close up of “Bob”. Shoot the
entire scene - all the dialogue.
Then you move the camera to get a close up of “Mary”. Shoot the
entire scene - all the dialogue.
This is called “coverage”. You will cover the scene over and over
and over from different camera angles.
Check out this thread
http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?t=20530
http://www.amazon.com/Bare-Bones-Camera-Course-Video/dp/0960371818
This book packs an incredible amount of useful information into a very short length. Easy read. Simple to understand. Effective. And it's only $10!
This book packs an incredible amount of useful information into a very short length. Easy read. Simple to understand. Effective. And it's only $10!
One camera is standard. There are situations where multiple cameras make sense, but not a lot. It's becoming more popular to use multi-camera now that cameras are cheap (comparatively), but most DPs don't like it because lighting a shot well for 1 camera angle is hard enough.
so yall telling me this is a one camera shot kind of directing? wouldnt it be easier to shoot with two cameras so you wouldnt have to do so much re-shooting? and can yall give me show examples of one camera and multi camera shot comedies? im trying to shoot this comedy and i need help like a mofo.
Examples of single camera TV comedies:
Arrested Development
The Office
30 Rock
Parks and Recreation
Curb Your Enthusiasm
Examples of Multi-camera TV comedies:
The Cosby Show
Everybody Loves Raymond
Two and a Half Men
Pretty much most (if not all) classic sitcoms, this was the standard.
Also think of any sitcom with a live studio audience
Executives like multi camera shows because they tend to be cheaper (it takes less time to make). But I gotta say, if I were gonna make a tv comedy, I would want to do it single camera.
Arrested Development
The Office
30 Rock
Parks and Recreation
Curb Your Enthusiasm
Examples of Multi-camera TV comedies:
The Cosby Show
Everybody Loves Raymond
Two and a Half Men
Pretty much most (if not all) classic sitcoms, this was the standard.
Also think of any sitcom with a live studio audience
Executives like multi camera shows because they tend to be cheaper (it takes less time to make). But I gotta say, if I were gonna make a tv comedy, I would want to do it single camera.
Single camera would be easier, but in the end it is whatever you want to do. Like somebody said upthread, single is more common just because getting lighting right is tough enough with one camera, no need in doubling your work. On the other side though, since you're rolling from different angles simultaneously there is some time saved in not having to set up for different shot angles. Though for me the time saved would be less than the time spent trying to get the lighting right.
Multi camera is used a fair bit in sitcoms because of the studio audience and because you have the quick reaction shots as two people banter with each other. It can get stale with a lot of takes, works bettter to capture it in the moment. With films the most common use is something you can't (or is expensive to) repeat, like big stunts, pyro, etc...
"so yall telling me this is a one camera shot kind of directing? wouldnt it be easier to shoot with two cameras so you wouldnt have to do so much re-shooting? "
Say it takes 20 minutes for the DP to get the lighting right for camera 1, and another 20 to get it right for camera 2 without messing up camera 1's lighting, in the end, you could have just moved the camera and relit for the same camera in position 2 without it really taking any longer. Add to that, sometimes it's not possible to make the lighting look great from both angles at once. So you have to settle for it looking OK for both instead of great for 1.
Say it takes 20 minutes for the DP to get the lighting right for camera 1, and another 20 to get it right for camera 2 without messing up camera 1's lighting, in the end, you could have just moved the camera and relit for the same camera in position 2 without it really taking any longer. Add to that, sometimes it's not possible to make the lighting look great from both angles at once. So you have to settle for it looking OK for both instead of great for 1.
While you may need a DP to shoot your movie/project you may still need a basic understanding of the shot types, perspective, framing, blocking, etc. As a director you may not need to know all of the terms your crew will use per se but you still need to effectively communicate to your them (i.e., your crew, which may include a DP) and most imporatantly you should be able to undrestand what they are saying to you.
As the director you still need to do your homework. You can go with the very mechanical coverage of "master to punched-in shots" but that could call for more cameras and set-ups than necessary, which could translate into all kinds of problems for a young director (continuity issues, too much footage, wasted time on set, uncuttable takes). The Master to punch-in approach can be pretty efficient for short expository scenes, but it can lock you into programatic/prediactble shooting which could ultimately get boring after a while. Build and create the drama, unfold the story don't cookie-cutter it.
Use the script and rehearsals to discover the motivation of character movement and placement (to resolve your staging and blocking). Then use your blocking to discover the motivation for camera placement (which will help you set-up your shots, framing and focus work, etc.). Then introduce camera movement (static - pans/tilts or dynamic - tracking and craning) to reduce the number of cameras and set-ups even further and make the camera a natural part of the scene (so that it does not bring attention to itself). This is all work that needs to be part of your pre-production planning, but you will reap the gains on the set and in the edit room.
I hope this helped.
Kosh
As the director you still need to do your homework. You can go with the very mechanical coverage of "master to punched-in shots" but that could call for more cameras and set-ups than necessary, which could translate into all kinds of problems for a young director (continuity issues, too much footage, wasted time on set, uncuttable takes). The Master to punch-in approach can be pretty efficient for short expository scenes, but it can lock you into programatic/prediactble shooting which could ultimately get boring after a while. Build and create the drama, unfold the story don't cookie-cutter it.
Use the script and rehearsals to discover the motivation of character movement and placement (to resolve your staging and blocking). Then use your blocking to discover the motivation for camera placement (which will help you set-up your shots, framing and focus work, etc.). Then introduce camera movement (static - pans/tilts or dynamic - tracking and craning) to reduce the number of cameras and set-ups even further and make the camera a natural part of the scene (so that it does not bring attention to itself). This is all work that needs to be part of your pre-production planning, but you will reap the gains on the set and in the edit room.
I hope this helped.
Kosh
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i liked what you said and i am a young director. and with that being said could you explain the last paragraph in more detail if you dont mind. thanx.
Sure goldy, but for full disclosure I must state that I too am a young director and by young I mean new not...ah, eh-hem, shall we begin? I'm going to try and tackle this without writing a blog, but I do tend to get carried away so forgive me if I get all Library of Congressy on this topic (what can I say I am a passionate dude).
Scenario: Say your script calls for two characters WOMAN1 and MAN1 to enter a SCENE A where MAN1 blindsides WOMAN1 with a question and pursues her for an answer.
1. Staging and Blocking - You will deduce from the script and actor's natural tendencies and interpretations (in rehearsals) the character movement this scenario calls for. You have character entry, then a stop, dialogue (where the blindside is set-up then happens), then movement as WOMAN1 reacts to the blindside and creates separation, then the pursuit of MAN1 to get the truth (resolving the separation), followed by perhaps another set of separation and resolution. Without getting into the visual components this type of stop-and-go movement creates a nice visual contrast to your scene.
2. Using the staging/blocking to place your camera - We can setup our takes with that standard cookie-cutter "Master/Push-in" coverage by simply choosing a side to shoot from then capturing either the entire scene or parts of the scene for a Master take using some variation of a wide/long shot. Using this approach we would then we proceed with coverage by punching-in on Over-the-shoulder (OTS) shots on WOMAN1 then a reverse OTS on MAN1. Now you can go further by taking External (for dirty single shots of characters - meaning you see part of the back of the head and shoulder of a given character along with the face of the other character) and Internal (a clean single where you just frame the face of one character) sets of OTS on the characters based on the dialog. Let's count the number or cameras we have with just one separation (i.e. WOMAN1 walks away from MAN1) - 1 for the Master and 4 for the OTS (i.e., 2 External OTS and 2 Internal OTS) and we haven't even talked about cutaways (shots of other things in the scene that are always necessary to help resolve issues at editing and/or can be inserted to add depth to your scene). So that's a few shots right there, which call for lighting setup changes and let's not even talk about the continuity issues that can arise from the disparate times between shooting your master and the OTS coverage. Plus if we have already seen SCENE A before (established in some other shot) why do we need to have the geography laid out for us all over again in this scene? Beside it becoming boring it's a waste of tape, resources and everyone's time. Oh and don't get me started on line crosses that are created by the staging of the separation.
So why not skip the Master, which may not be necessary as this scene seems to be more of dramatic one than a quick expository scene. Then go in with tighter shots based on your staging and blocking and tally up the camera count. Which finally bring me to...
3. Introduce camera movement to reduce the number of cameras - Once we have mapped all of our cameras then we go back to see which one's we can drop by having a camera share the shot. By this I mean can a static camera double up for another? To do this we use a pan (camera moves from side to side on it's axis which is usually a tripod) or a tilt (camera moves up or down on a fixed axis). Or can we lay some track and use a dolly (to track shots) or use jib/crane to move the entire camera. This would allow the entire camera to move side to side or up and down. Some people try to use these camera movements for stereotypical meaning of a shot (power, dominance, submission, etc.) which is all good but this limits the power of these shots and starts to bring you back to the old cookie-cutter ideology and it also brings attention to the camera. Instead try thinking of these shots as a) reducing the number of shots for your scene, as you can now have a camera double or triple for many shots - reducing the number of edits and making the scene flow and move. Then you also add b) the ability to do some serious deep staging (for powerful, more interesting shot composition) and getting some high production value takes with less camera setups.
Most of us (I know I do) will be shooting with one camera. So why not maximize the efficiency and use of the camera and everyone's time instead of following some unnecessary cookie-cutter approach and playing it safe. Be creative, be expressive and do what you were born to do - which is direct your movie.
I tried to highlight some of the keywords that you need to have some basic understanding of so that you can communicate to your DP more effectively. Please don't take my words at face value, use them as a starting point in your research. I know some of the veteran directors in here will add to what I have said and may even correct me in some areas. That's why I love this site.
I hope this helps you more than it confuses you.
Kosh
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Nice posts! I appreciated your all posts. Thanks for sharing!!
