Golden Guidelines of Cinema: Secrets to Cinematic Shots

1. The Introduction: Hi, I'm [inaudible]. This class will teach you how to get cinematic shots using low budget industry techniques. You will learn how to choose an aspect ratio that matches your project, how to frame a subject depending on the actions and emotions that you wish to show, how to master the composition of your shots, and how to use all of these together in order to plan and film a visually stunning scene. For your project, you will be tasked with filming a short, one minute scene, with any device of your choosing in order to put your learnings into practice. You will be given a node dialogue script which will maximize the impact of your visuals. Prior cinematography knowledge is not required. If you are truly serious about improving your skills and mastering the basics of cinematography, then this class is for you. 2. Aspect Ratio: One of the most overlooked technical decisions in low-budget film making is the aspect ratio. But what is the aspect ratio exactly? The aspect ratio represents the proportional relationship between the width and the height of the image. In this case, the width of this shot is 1920 and the height is 1080. So the aspect ratio of this image is 177 by one. This is also known as 16 by nine, and is the standard high-definition, ultra high definition and television aspect ratio. You get this number by dividing the width by the height. So 1920 divided by 1080 is 1.77. Sixteen divided by nine also comes up as 1.77. In cinema, the standard ratios are 185, which is also called the flat, and 239, which is also called the scope. So which aspect ratio should you use? There is both a technical and the creative answer to this, and both should be kept in mind when making a decision. The first question you need to ask is where will your film be seen? YouTube, for example, supports 177 videos, whereas cinemas generally display 185 or 239. Depending on the screen on which the image is displayed, if it does not match the aspect ratio of the film, then it will either get cropped, letter boxed or pillar boxed. Letter boxing represents the addition of black bars horizontally and pillar boxing represents the vertical placement of these bars. The aspect ratio will also have a huge impact on the field of the film. Wider aspect ratios such as the scope, can give more dramatic feel to a shot and are really great at highlighting the emotions of the characters and making smaller objects seen more visible. Tunnel aspect ratios, on the other hand, offer a more genuine feel to your shots, focusing on a character's body language and relationship to the environment. In the end, it's up to you to decide what look and feel your film needs in order to deliver your vision to the audience. There is no right or wrong answer as long as it's motivated technically and creatively. Next we will learn how to frame our characters. 3. Framing I - Long Shots: Now that you know which aspect ratio is suitable for a film, let's have a look at the various types of framing you have at your disposal when shooting a character. Starting with the extreme long shot. This shot allows a subject to be absorbed in the background to give us a better feel of the location and the time of the scene. The actions or emotions of the character can be seen properly. The focus in this type of framing is usually to inform the audience or even to set a certain mood. The long shot has a similar use to the previous framing in a sense that it is very useful in establishing location and time. Only now the character becomes of equal importance to the environment. This type of shot is particularly useful in showing the relationship between the character and what's around him. Notice how there's ample space above and below the subject. The full shot puts the character's actions at the center of attention as the subject is now framed from head-to-toe, with enough room to move around. This is a great opportunity to get a feel of who the subject is through his body language, attitude, and behavior towards other characters. Next, will move in closer. 4. Framing II - Medium Shots: The medium long shot frames the character from below the knees up, while still leaving some space above his head. This framing focuses on the upper body actions of the subject, keeping his surroundings visible where other characters can potentially join in. The cowboy shot is a slight variation of the medium long shot where the character is framed the knee thighs up. This framing works really well for shots where the subject's hands need to go below the waistline or when he needs to bend over. The medium shot is the most popular frame in a cinema. Due to the fact that this is where a character's emotions start to be really visible while retaining some of the background detail. The subject is framed from below the waist up. The medium close-up invades the character's personal space, framing him from the chest up. In this type of shot, the environment becomes just a small reminder of what the character is, as the main focus is now the face and its visible emotions. Next up, we'll get even closer. 5. Framing III - Close-ups: The close-up allows the emotions and reactions of the character to dominate the shot. This type of framing works best if used sparingly as it delivers a strong connection between the audience and the character. When framing a subject, it's usually done from the shoulders up. The close-up can be of anything or anyone that is truly important in a scene. The chocker is a powerful shot that focuses on the raw emotion of the eyes and the mouth. The face of the character fills the frame from below the mouth to above the eyebrows, and helps to enhance any feelings of anger, determination, fear, or sadness that the audience can empathize with. The extreme close-up emphasizes a specific detail or area of our characters, such as the eyes or the hands. This is a useful shot when a normal close-up just can't deliver the impact that a small area has in the scene, such as a poker player eyes during a game. Knowing the framings you have at your disposal will allow you to save a great deal of time in searching for the big shots. Some things to keep in mind though. When filming a close-up try to keep the eyes around the top two-thirds of the frame. This will help the shot feel natural, whereas having them too low or too high gives it a very off-putting feel. It's also very important to not cut off characters, arms or legs at the joints. It feels very odd when they're cut off like that. When framing two more characters that are at different distances from the camera try to fit each of them in one of the framings you learned. Let's move on to composition. 6. Composition I - Space: You now know how to frame your character in order to send various types of information to the audience. Let's see how you can improve your shots using a few composition techniques. The golden ratio is the formula devised by mathematicians to describe beauty or what makes an image beautiful. This is used mainly in photography, but it offers a great deal of importance to cinematography as well. Let's start by understanding the rule of thirds. This is a simplified version of the golden ratio. The rule of thirds is made up of two vertical and two horizontal lines that divide your image into nine equal parts. The idea is that if you place your main point of interest on the vertical lines or at the points where the lines intersect, the subject will feel natural and normal to the audience. In order to use the rule of thirds, you need to ask yourself, what is the main point of interest and where are going to place it in the frame? The main point of interest refers to what an audience needs to focus on. It could be on a particular character delivering dialogue, or it may be a specific object within the frame. Where to place the point of interest in a shot? Let's talk about head space. This refers to the amount of empty space between the character's head and the top of the screen. Apart from the choker and the extreme close-up, the character should always have some space above his head. For close-ups, keeping the eyes around the top two-thirds of the screen will dictate how much head space you can offer. But for a medium or a long shot, this will depend more on the background, the other characters, and the action of the character. Too much or too little head space will feel unnatural, so experiment with head space until it feels right. What about the space to the left or the right of the character? That is called leading space and generally you align the character in such a way that a third of the image is behind them and two-thirds is in front of them. If a character is looking to the left, we will align them on the right vertical line. Whereas if they are looking to the right, we will align them on the left vertical line. Alternatively, if your character is facing towards the camera, you can align them dead center. This alignment works best when there is symmetry in the shot. A creative way to break the leading space rule is to purposely align the character to the same side you're facing in order to highlight the feeling of being trapped. The space between two or more characters in a short can also be a great tool to showcase the relationship between them. You might want to distance a bit two characters that don't see eye-to-eye or are not that close, whereas if you shorten the distance between them, it shows that they are probably close friends or they agree on a subject. Let's add some depth. 7. Composition II - Depth: Let's see how you can add some depth to your composition. The depth of the shot is a clear distinction between the foreground, middle ground, and background elements. A flat image can help to show that the character feels lonely or isolated. But if you overuse the flat image, it will make your footage field, amateur. Perspective lines are a good way to achieve that. Look for various lines, either real or suggested, that help to guide the eyes towards your point of interest. You can also use the frame within a frame technique by placing the point of interest with the natural framing within your shot, you achieve the same eye guiding effect as the perspective lines. Another way to add depth is through contrast. For example, by placing a character in front of a differently colored background, you will let them stand out and make it easier for the eyes to see them. But contrast isn't limited to just color. It can be a contrast in light or brightness, in shape, or even in size. The contrast in size is particularly useful to highlight how important or unimportant something is within a frame. Your shots should have some balanced to them. For example, if a character is occupying the left side of the screen, make sure to add something to counterbalance and make the frame feel natural. Not all shots needs to be balanced, but it is a useful way to improve the composition of certain shots. You now have a basic understanding of how composition works. Let's see how you can further enhance your shots using some camera angles. 8. Camera Angles: Let's talk about how the camera is positioned in relation to the character. The eye level is an angle where the camera is set at the same height as the eyes of our character. This is more of an objective shot and has a neutral feeling to it. The low angle is a shot generally used to convey that the character is dominant, more powerful, or scarier in the context of the scene. Low angles can also be used to show how a character can feel trapped by showing the ceiling right above them. The camera is placed below the character's eyes. The worm view is an angle where the camera is placed directly on the ground facing up. This has a psychological effect on the audience giving them a feeling that everything around them is gigantic and confusing similar to how children might see the world around them when they get lost from their parents. The high angle is used to show that the subject is either scared, weaker, or dominated by another character. The camera is placed above the subject's eye level. The eagle view is an angle where the camera is hovering above the character and looking straight down at him. This can give the audience a sense of the subject surroundings, but is generally a very cold and detached shot that pulls the viewers away from the character's emotions. A special type of angle is the Dutch angle. This is achieved by physically tilting the camera diagonally in order to achieve a very unbalanced, unnatural look. This works best for shots intended to confuse the audience or to show how a character might be feeling out of place, depressed, or lost. Next, we plan to shoot the scene. 9. The Shots Need a Plan: You now have the knowledge necessary to achieve stunning images, but in order to film a visually effective scene, you need to plan your shots carefully. Let's take this script as an example. We understand that this is a scene which focuses on the girls feelings and fear of the unknown man that keeps staring at her. It builds tension up until the moment when she decides to run away and then releases the tension with the reveal. When deciding the aspect ratio of the scene, first and foremost, I'm thinking that it would be contained within this 177 video. I need to complement the eerie moments and tension building and I also wish to see the characters reactions clearly. If this was an action driven script, I would have probably gone with something why they're such as 239, but for this scene with everything in mind I'll go with 185. In regards to framing, I want to get closer and closer to the character throughout the scene in order to highlight the evolution of her dreads towards the strangers actions. I don't want to go too close on the blind man, astronaut trivial the twist too soon. In fact, to keep it consistent, I'm not going to go close on him at all, except maybe a medium here or there. Also, it is important for the scene that the audience feels the girl is vulnerable. Perhaps I will add a shot to establish that they are alone in the area. I will film her with more of the high angle without shooting her from his perspective at all. He will be shot with a low angle, but only when she's looking at him, so from her point of view. Composition will be decided based on the location and character blocking. With this simple plan in mind, let's see what we can shoot. As you can see, without using too much camera movement, dialogue or lights apart from the natural light at the location, we managed to shoot a very cinematic scene. Now it's your turn. 10. Your Project & Final Thoughts: You have gone through a great deal of information in a very short amount of time. It is crucial that you practice this new information as soon as possible. Cinema is best learned by practicing it. Your project is to shoot this short scene. I have removed all emotions from it so you can interpret the scene in any way you wish. How does the character feel about the repeating phone calls? Is he indifferent, happy, angry, scared, upset? It's up to you now to use aspect ratio, framing, composition and angles to get some cinematic shots. There are some rules though. You may not add any dialogue at all and you may only shoot in one location. You can use any equipment you wish, even a smartphone. The purpose of this project is not to fill my strong story, but a carefully planned series of shots. One last tip for you, the secret to achieving a great shot is to feel it. Yes, if you look at your shot and you don't feel anything exciting about it, then it's time to rethink it. Take as much time as you need even if you have to film a shot a day. The more you practice, the easier it would be to get those shots. While you're filming your project, we can discuss your shots in the project section below in order to help you achieve a great scene at the end. Ready? Action.