“Jeremy Vineyard’s Setting Up Your Shots breaks down the prep for shooting with excellent visual accompaniments. The book’s many illustraions explain how and why each shot was chosen and the effect it creates for the audience. Shots is a great asset for conceptualizing setups and for learning more about filmmaking.”
— Ross Otterman, director, June Cabin
“Setting Up Your Shots is a great starting place to learn the rules of the road in visual storytelling. And if you’re striving for avant-garde and want to break the rules, it helps to know what they are. This book lays out the basics and with examples. Quick and easy read and reference.”
— Paul Clatworthy, CTO, PowerProduction Software, www.powerproduction.com
“Jeremy Vineyard, with wonderful illustrations by Jose Cruz, simplifies complicated shots and takes you beyond amateur filmmaking, into the realm of professional filmmaking. Before you shoot anything — read this book.”
— Matthew Terry, screenwriter and teacher, www.hollywoodlitsales.com
“Setting Up Your Shots makes a complicated — and intimidating — subject easy enough for a novice to understand. By reducing the art to concrete terms and combining them with simple illustrations (by Jose Cruz), Vineyard has crafted a primer that can help filmmakers up their game to a higher performance level.”
— Catherine Clinch, Publisher, www.MomsDigitalWorld.com
“This ‘widescreen’ — as in horizontal format — tome is a quick-and-easy tutorial on the cinematic language. Supported by excellent storyboards, framing, camera movement and editing techniques are conceptualized simply, along with the emotional and psychological impact behind each choice. A wide variety of movies are cited as examples for you to check out yourself. This is a great reference for beginners and pros alike.”
— Douglas Bankston, Managing Editor, DV Magazine / DV.com
Setting Up Your Shots
Great Camera Moves Every Filmmaker Should Know
2nd Edition
Published by Michael Wiese Productions
12400 Ventura Blvd. #1111
Studio City, CA 91604
(818) 379-8799, (818) 986-3408 (FAX).
mw@mwp.com
www.mwp.com
Cover design by The Art Hotel
Printed and manufactured by McNaughton & Gunn
Copyright 2008 by Jeremy Vineyard
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without permission in writing from the author, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in a review.
ISBN 978-1-932907-42-1
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Vineyard, Jeremy, 1977-
Setting up your shots : great camera moves every filmmaker should know / Jeremy Vineyard. -- 2nd ed.
p. cm.
Includes index.
ISBN-13: 978-1-932907-42-1
ISBN-10: 1-932907-42-4
1. Cinematography. I. Title.
TR850.V56 2008
778.5'3--dc22
2008009566
Contents
Acknowledgements
How to Use This Book
Introduction
Basic Cinematic Techniques
Pan
Tilt
Dolly
Tracking Shot
Mechanical
Pull Focus
Zoom
Transition
Montage
Framing Terms
Exercises
Composition Techniques
Camera Height
Dramatic Angle
Extreme Angle
Bird’s-Eye View
Screen Direction
Tilted Horizon
Canted Angle
Extreme Close-Up
Staging
Deep Staging
Planar Staging
Lead the Eye
3’s and 4’s
Layers
Multi-Layer Action
Exercises
Crane Techniques
Crane Up, Move Away
Crane Down, Move Toward
Searching Crane
Rise Up
Fall Down
Crane Front-to-Top
Crane Up Entrance
Crane Up Expression
Crane Up, Look Down
Crane Down, Look Up
Exercises
Techniques of Movement
Character Dolly
Discovery
Pull Back Retraction
Pull Back Reveal
Open Up
Close Out
Draw In
Draw Out
Spin Around
Fly Over
Depth Dolly
Dolly Up
Dolly Down
Spin Look
Track Through Solid
Vertigo
Expand Dolly
Contract Dolly
Collapse Dolly
Long Shot
Long Take
Delayed Revelation
Exercises
Techniques of Perspective
POV
Inventory POV
POV Object
POV Projectile
Tension Away
Tension to Camera
Broken Wall
Voyeur
Dark Voyeur
Mask
Vignette
Screen
Reflection
Portal
Shadow
Silhouette
Subjective
Exercises
Camera Techniques
Whip Pan
Whip Cut
Whip Zoom Look
Search Up
Back to Front
Focus Out, Pass Out
Focus Transition
Overexpose Fade
Underexpose Fade
Ceiling Twist
Flip Over
Shifting Angle
Sleepover
Exercises
Editing Techniques
Jump Cut
Match Cut
Impact Cut
Impact Move
Thematic Cut
Thematic Move
Subliminal Cut
Cross Cut
Cutaway
Freeze Frame
Look At
Multi-Take
Cut Zoom In
Cut Zoom Out
Montage Sequence
Jump Cut Sequence
Split Screen
Sub-Clip
Superimpose
Fill, Reveal Frame
Walk, Reveal Frame
Collage
Camera Snap
Photo to Scene
Impact Flash
Flashed Cut
Flashed Jump Cut
Exercises
Miscellaneous Techniques
Cinematic Reality
Slow Motion
Fast Motion
Motion Mixer
Image Harmony
Image Dissonance
Icon
Particles
Biomass
Split Focus
Lighting
Color
Chroma Keying
Color Seep
Journey Through Eye
Rear Projection
Global Zoom
Time Slice
Strobe
Thematic Filter
Negative
Imagery
Kinetic Imagery
Lens
Mixed Media
Mixing Stocks
Sound Design
CGI Cinema
X-Files
Exercises
Summary
About the Authors
Movies Index
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I found the Internet Movie Database to be invaluable when researching this book. The IMDB is an online reference tool with information on thousands of films, television shows, actors, directors, writers, and more. It can be found at imdb.com.
Netflix is another good option for those of you who want to keep up on everything from art films to new releases. Again, an easy find at netflix.com.
Thanks again to Jose Cruz for all his hard work and to Michael Wiese Productions for sending the royalty checks on time. I would also like to thank the many readers who purchased and supported the first edition of this book, making it a top seller in its field. I hope you enjoy the second edition as well.
HOW TO USE THIS BOOK
If you are an aspiring filmmaker, this book is an ideal first choice to begin your studies. You can browse through the pages in any order, discovering new cinematic techniques. You can use these techniques in your own short films, watch the movies listed to see how the professionals use them, and expand the domain of your filmmaking knowledge.
If you are a film buff, you’ll find that this book is easy to understand, even for those who don’t know anything about the film industry. If you want to know more about how movies work, study the techniques and watch for them in your favorite films. The movie-going experience can be made more enjoyable by understanding how cinema works.
If you are an experienced filmmaker, a storyboard artist, or an animator, use this book as a reference. It is the culmination of years of research. Why should you have to spend that amount of time when it’s already been done for you?
Stir lightly and enjoy what simmers.
INTRODUCTION
This book began in the late ’90s. I couldn’t afford film school so my only option was to teach myself how movies work. How do you go about that? Well, you sit down and watch hundreds of films and you take notes. I started to re-view every scene I had previously watched and enjoyed as a viewer and tried to approach it with an analytical eye.
There are many common cinematic techniques that are shared across all films. Filmmakers rely on a set of proven “cinematic brush strokes” to communicate specific ideas/emotions to the audience. If these techniques can be categorized, it should help those who are diving into the realms of filmmaking knowledge for the first time.
Each cinematic technique has been given a unique name — a condensed version of the element’s purpose and description. These names are arbitrary— you can call them whatever you want. The advantage to a label is that it gives you a tool to identify techniques used in the films you watch. This skill will greatly enhance your ability to learn from actively watching films, rather than only passively enjoying them. I have listed example films for many of these techniques, as well as storyboards. If you are interested in a particular technique, why not rent one of the example films?
Filmmaking is more than a technical skill. It’s about establishing relationships with the cast and crew, becoming a leader, and pursuing your vision. Technical knowledge alone won’t guarantee that you’ll become a great filmmaker, but it will help you become more fluent in the language of your craft.
NOTES ON THE SECOND EDITION
As the result of years of research, the second edition has a lot more detail and information. I have added references to over 200 new films (350+ films referenced in total) and several new filmmaking techniques. Even if you already own the first edition, the volume of additional content makes this new version a valuable upgrade.
The criticisms for the first edition very commonly referred to the book as “too simplistic.” It seems that those who make this claim are missing the point. This book is intended to be a “fast-and-easy” mechanism to quickly gain an overview on filmmaking. Sure, there are several in-depth monster texts out there, but why should everyone be forced to slog through reams of material to get to the “good stuff”? Authors often inflate their egos by including irrelevant and unnecessary information, simply to boost “word count.” Not my thing.
Sometimes brevity can be the most effective approach.
BASIC CINEMATIC TECHNIQUES
I set out to write this book because I wanted to reach beyond the basic cinematic elements that many filmmaking books describe. One of the best ways to learn about these constructs is to watch as many movies as you can. Unfortunately, not everyone who’s interested in filmmaking can dedicate that kind of time to the process. This book simplifies the ordeal by compiling the most common and distinct filmmaking techniques taken from hundreds of films.
It can’t hurt to go over the basics before we arrive at the next “plateau” of cinematic techniques. I have attempted to provide methods for conceptualizing each element — a way of visualizing what the technique actually looks like. Visualization skills should allow you to look at the world around you in a new, cinematic context. This new sight is similar to what artists see when they start to recognize lines and colors in the world, allowing them to create abstract representations of reality.
A NOTE ON CRAFT
The American film industry is not exactly renowned for its focus on craft. It’s a business-oriented machine, where often the realities of cold hard cash outweigh the desires of individual filmmakers to stretch the boundaries of film with unique and interesting ideas. If you do ever manage to secure the financing for a film of your own, you might have only one good chance to demonstrate your skills as a filmmaker. So be prepared.
PAN
What does it look like?
Pan is the horizontal axis of camera movement. When the camera pans, it turns left and right. To conceptualize a Pan, stare straight ahead and turn your head to the left and to the right. Panning is commonly used to look across a very wide panorama that doesn’t fit within the camera frame — a landscape, for example. This technique can be used within a scene to follow characters or vehicles as they move around. This is known as re-framing the shot.
Where can I see it?
In Zulu, the camera Pans across a seemingly endless line of Zulus on a hill, toward the British waiting in the foreground. Robert Redford is discovered at the bar with a simple Pan in The Way We Were.
Pan
TILT
What does it look like?
Tilt is the vertical axis of camera movement. When the camera tilts, it pivots up and down. Tilting is commonly used to look over tall objects such as a cathedral or an office building.
To conceptualize a Tilt, stare straight ahead and pivot your head to look up and down. Like the Pan, this technique is used within a scene to follow characters in motion — known as re-framing the shot.
Tilt
DOLLY, TRACKING SHOT
What does it look like?
Also known as a “Tracking Shot,” Dolly is a very natural technique — the camera simply moves horizontally through space. The energy of this technique is similar to a person walking or riding on a moving platform — a wheelchair, for example. To conceptualize a Dolly, turn your head toward what you are interested in. Then walk forward and watch the world go by. This is how a Dolly movement looks to an audience.
Dolly movements may or may not use an actual dolly. Generally some kind of platform with wheels, the dolly moves along tracks that determine the direction of movement. Tracks must be used because pushing the platform over uneven ground results in shaky and erratic camera movement. The Steadicam is an alternative device that allows a camera to be carried, without experiencing the bumps and jiggles usually associated with handheld camera work. This makes the camera appear to be “floating” through the air. If a camera operator has a steady grip, handheld cameras can create dolly-like movements as well.
Dolly
MECHANICAL
What does it look like?
Mechanical techniques include the use of devices that allow filmmakers to create unique and interesting camera movements. These are easier to conceptualize when w
e can move as the camera does — which is possible if a device has a platform that we can sit or stand on.
Cranes and Jibs are the most common examples of mechanical devices. Each of these devices has a mechanical “arm” on which the camera is mounted. This arm hinges on a pivot that frees the camera to move through space, allowing the creation of sweeping, dramatic camera movements.
There are many other specialized mechanical devices available. Each device creates a unique type of motion that alters the audience’s perception of a film in some special way.
Crane Sequence
PULL FOCUS
What does it look like?
Pulling Focus is considered a natural camera technique. The camera lens operates similarly to the way our vision functions. Our eyes continually alter focus whenever we look at objects at alternating distances in our field of view.
We can either be focused on something close to us or on something far away. Since we generally don’t have the ability to focus on both at the same time, our eyes must Pull Focus to compensate.
When making a film, Pulling Focus is often necessary because most camera lenses don’t keep the entire scene in focus. As the camera pans, tilts, and dollies, a crew member called a “focus puller” will adjust the focus to match whatever the camera is looking at and to compensate as actors move through the scene.
To conceptualize this technique, consciously focus on objects at different depths as you look around.
Where can I see it?
In Apocalypto, the camera shows a man being chased, then quickly Pulls Focus to reveal the group of men chasing him.
Pull Focus
ZOOM
What does it look like?