You would think this would be obvious.
You would think it wouldn’t have to be said: clear your frame.
That is Director-speak for “whatever is not supposed to be in the frame must be framed out, or removed.”
If, after having told any member of your camera crew repeatedly to check and clear their frame, they do not, then you are dealing with:
1. incompetence
2. passive-aggressive behavior
3. willful insubordination
None of these are acceptable. Remove them from set immediately.
It is essential for any filmmaker who is responsible for tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars (and eventually millions of investor and studio dollars) to learn the power of dismissal.
Always be fair, but be firm.
Tyranny breeds rebellion, so you can’t be a tyrant. But you should be running a benevolent dictatorship, not a democracy.
Make the call. If you don’t have the answer, get a short list of options from people with opinions you trust. Then make the call, and politely demand everyone to comply.
But in the end, it doesn’t matter how pretty your shot is, how compelling the acting is, how gorgeous the art direction is – if Camera B is reflected in the mirror behind the actors YOU CAN’T USE THE SHOT. And forget “camera safe” — clear your frame edge to edge.
Be a professional. Clear your frame.
Style
Dictionary.com defines style as:
(Def. 9.) a particular, distinctive, or characteristic mode or form of construction or execution in any art or work: Her painting is beginning to show a personal style.
Don’t worry about the previous eight definitions: they are very close to this one.
First, you figure out what your style is. That’s easy, it’s what you like in the work of others. Start there, then add your own flourishes to it, make it your own.
Second, you find someone who thinks like you, sees things the way you see them. Find someone who shares your style. Now you have a team. Find a third person and your team is bigger.
Once you have the same language you can communicate directives to achieve your style in any part of your filmmaking.
Do not make the mistake in believing everyone else sees what you see – they do not.
An invaluable part of pre-production is showing your camera operators and your lighting team the movies and the moves you like. Storyboards and pre-visualization is critical to getting your team thinking in the right direction.
I learned this the hard way.
If any person of your crew doesn’t understand what you want. Explain it to them, meticulously if necessary. Thereafter, if they are incapable or unwilling to give you what you want – replace them immediately. Find someone who can follow your orders. You do not want to start the editing process with shots that embarrass you, deconstruct pace and mood, and weaken the story.
I would spare you that pain.
Handheld Camerawork
There is a chance, albeit a slight one, that with the breakthroughs in modern medicine and the benefits of living a largely guilt-free life, that I will live long enough to see the end of hand-held camera work.
Having just finished a feature film, I can unequivocally inform and educate you that the best investment you can make for your first time is a [expletive] tripod.
Mount the camera. Lock down your shot.
Do not be deceived by others or yourself into thinking hand-held camera work is some instant and immediately comprehended mechanism for being “edgy” or “organic” in storytelling.
New Rule: nothing screams amateur like the inability to stabilize a shot – nothing. Would you settle for out of focus photography? Then why settle for camera work than cannot even demonstrate the basic ability to be still, or follow the action properly.
Any camera movement (zoom, dolly, pan, crane, hand-held, swing) should only be considered in service of the scene, and the mood contained therein. If as a filmmaker you are picking any shot arbitrarily you have failed in your first obligation to the audience: you are not hip, naturalistic or defying film’s many choking rules – you are being selfish and ignorant. It may take too long to get a great shot, but it takes the same amount of time (whether you have a lot or little of it) to frame a steady, good shot as it does to frame an unbalanced, compositionally flawed one.
This should be common knowledge. The bad news is that it isn’t. You must communicate your visual expectations or you will not get what you, the scene and the story need. Beyond this, you must be strict with your expectations.
Buy a tripod then use it.
The Atlanteans — big fans of hand-held camera work. Look what happened to them.
David Jetre
Writer | Producer | Director
You would think it wouldn’t have to be said: clear your frame.
That is Director-speak for “whatever is not supposed to be in the frame must be framed out, or removed.”
If, after having told any member of your camera crew repeatedly to check and clear their frame, they do not, then you are dealing with:
1. incompetence
2. passive-aggressive behavior
3. willful insubordination
None of these are acceptable. Remove them from set immediately.
It is essential for any filmmaker who is responsible for tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars (and eventually millions of investor and studio dollars) to learn the power of dismissal.
Always be fair, but be firm.
Tyranny breeds rebellion, so you can’t be a tyrant. But you should be running a benevolent dictatorship, not a democracy.
Make the call. If you don’t have the answer, get a short list of options from people with opinions you trust. Then make the call, and politely demand everyone to comply.
But in the end, it doesn’t matter how pretty your shot is, how compelling the acting is, how gorgeous the art direction is – if Camera B is reflected in the mirror behind the actors YOU CAN’T USE THE SHOT. And forget “camera safe” — clear your frame edge to edge.
Be a professional. Clear your frame.
Style
Dictionary.com defines style as:
(Def. 9.) a particular, distinctive, or characteristic mode or form of construction or execution in any art or work: Her painting is beginning to show a personal style.
Don’t worry about the previous eight definitions: they are very close to this one.
First, you figure out what your style is. That’s easy, it’s what you like in the work of others. Start there, then add your own flourishes to it, make it your own.
Second, you find someone who thinks like you, sees things the way you see them. Find someone who shares your style. Now you have a team. Find a third person and your team is bigger.
Once you have the same language you can communicate directives to achieve your style in any part of your filmmaking.
Do not make the mistake in believing everyone else sees what you see – they do not.
An invaluable part of pre-production is showing your camera operators and your lighting team the movies and the moves you like. Storyboards and pre-visualization is critical to getting your team thinking in the right direction.
I learned this the hard way.
If any person of your crew doesn’t understand what you want. Explain it to them, meticulously if necessary. Thereafter, if they are incapable or unwilling to give you what you want – replace them immediately. Find someone who can follow your orders. You do not want to start the editing process with shots that embarrass you, deconstruct pace and mood, and weaken the story.
I would spare you that pain.
Handheld Camerawork
There is a chance, albeit a slight one, that with the breakthroughs in modern medicine and the benefits of living a largely guilt-free life, that I will live long enough to see the end of hand-held camera work.
Having just finished a feature film, I can unequivocally inform and educate you that the best investment you can make for your first time is a [expletive] tripod.
Mount the camera. Lock down your shot.
Do not be deceived by others or yourself into thinking hand-held camera work is some instant and immediately comprehended mechanism for being “edgy” or “organic” in storytelling.
New Rule: nothing screams amateur like the inability to stabilize a shot – nothing. Would you settle for out of focus photography? Then why settle for camera work than cannot even demonstrate the basic ability to be still, or follow the action properly.
Any camera movement (zoom, dolly, pan, crane, hand-held, swing) should only be considered in service of the scene, and the mood contained therein. If as a filmmaker you are picking any shot arbitrarily you have failed in your first obligation to the audience: you are not hip, naturalistic or defying film’s many choking rules – you are being selfish and ignorant. It may take too long to get a great shot, but it takes the same amount of time (whether you have a lot or little of it) to frame a steady, good shot as it does to frame an unbalanced, compositionally flawed one.
This should be common knowledge. The bad news is that it isn’t. You must communicate your visual expectations or you will not get what you, the scene and the story need. Beyond this, you must be strict with your expectations.
Buy a tripod then use it.
The Atlanteans — big fans of hand-held camera work. Look what happened to them.
David Jetre
Writer | Producer | Director
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