Cinematography for beginners

27 July 2016

The picture

There are lot of things to think when you’re planning each shot. You need to think about the individual shots, and how they’ll fit together.

Shot size

What will be in the shot and how big will it be?

Use different shot sizes to help tell your story. You could use a distant extreme long shot to set the scene; closer long shots and mid shots to introduce people and show ction; and closeups and extreme closeups to show the expressions on people’s faces and important details.  More about shot size… 

Composition

How will you arrange things in the shot?

This affects the feel of the shot, and how well it fits with the ones before and after it. For a natural look, put things over to one side (about a third of the way across). Put them in the centre, or use symmetry, to make things look more direct and formal. For a creepy or unsettling feel, put the camera at an angle or make the composition really unbalanced. More about composition…

Camera position and angle

Where will you put the camera?

Don’t just shoot everything from eye level. Point the camera upwards – a low angle shot – to make people or things look powerful or threatening, or use a high angle shot to make them look smaller or weaker. You can even use a birdseye shot from directly overhead.

Put the camera in different places around the subject as well. Film from directly in front to make people feel really engaged, or from the side to show an observer’s point of view. Change the camera position with each shot. More about camera position and angle…

Using the lens

What will be in focus? What kind of lens or zoom setting will you use?

You could use deep focus so people can see what’s happening in the foreground and background. If you use shallow focus you can blur the background so your subject stands out. You can even pull focus between different parts of the scene during the shot.

Use a wide angle lens or zoomed-out setting to get close to the action and make perspective seem dramatic. A telephoto – zoomed in –  shot is better for closeups of faces and for details. More about using the lens…

Light and colour

What will the light be like? How you will use colour?

Light affects the mood of your shot. Bright, high-key lighting from the front has a completely different feel to scary low-key side light with heavy shadows. Atmospheric rim light from behind makes the edge of the subject stand out from the background.

You can adjust the colour of the whole scene when you edit: warm, reddish tones feel comforting, but cool, bluish colours are alienating or futuristic. You could even make it black and white. Colours of things like clothes or walls in the scene can also help tell the story. More about light and colour…

Movement

How will you show movement? Will the camera move?

You could just keep the camera still and let the action happen in front of it. That’s the best way to show subtle movements.

You can keep the camera in one place and pan sideways or tilt up or down. Moving the whole camera looks better, though: track in to build intensity, track out to reveal more of a scene, or track sideways to follow action. You can move the camera on a dolly or stabiliser, or use it handheld. You can even raise it above the action on a crane or jib. More about movement…

Check your shot before you shoot

When you’re ready to shoot, follow this simple ABCDEF rule to make sure you’ve got the shot right. Check angle, background, composition, distance (shot size), exposure and focus. More about setting up your shot…

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