Grammar of the Film Language

G ram m ar o f th e F ilm La n g u a g e Daniel Arijon

Silman-James Press Los Angeles

C opyright © 1976 by Daniel Arijon All rights reserved. No p art of this book m ay be used or rep ro d u ce d in any m anner w hatsoever w ithout w ritten perm ission from the publisher, except in the case o f brief quotations em b o d ied in critical articles and reviews.

First S ilm a n jam es Press Edition 10 9 8

Library o f C ongress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Ariion, Daniel G ram m ar of the film language / by D aniel Arijon p. cm. Includes index 1. C inem atography. 2. M otion pictures— Production and direction. I. Title TR850.A8 1991 778.5'3— dc20 91-28390

ISBN: 1-879505-07-X

Cover design by Heidi Frieder Printed in the U nited States of America

Silman-James Press 1181 A ngelo Drive Beverly Hills, CA 90210

CONTENTS 1

F IL M L A N G U A G E AS A SY STEM O F V ISU A L C O M M U N IC A T IO N Beginnings o f film language Types o f film m aker F orm s o f film expression Defining out aims

T H E IM P O R T A N C E O F P A R A L L E L F IL M E D IT IN G Two basic types A ction and reaction Peak m om ents and the understanding How parallel editing is obtained A wider perspective

1

2 3 3 4

2

3 D E F IN IN G T H E BASIC TO O LS Newsreel D ocum entary F iction film T hree types o f scene Elem ents o f film gram m ar The shot M ovem ent Distances Types o f editing Visual p u n ctuation Scene m atching O pposed glances C entre o f interest alternates

6 6 8

9 10

11

12 12

13 14 14 15 15 15 16 17 18 19 21

23

4 THE T R IA N G L E P R IN C IP L E Basic body positions Line of interest Im portance o f the heads Five basic variations o f the triangle principle Em phasis by com position Types o f visual em phasis Triangle principle: One person 5 D IA L O G U E B ETW EEN TW O PLA Y ER S Face to face N um ber contrast Perform ers side by side Players behind one an o th er W ord o f caution Cam era distance Cam era and actor height Subject lying side by side Telephone conversations Opposed diagonals T ranslucent density m asks Players reflected on m irrors 6 T H R E E -PL A Y E R D IA L O G U E R egular cases Irregular cases External/interna! reverse cam era positions Internal reverse cam era positions Parallel cam era positions Pivoting p oint Emphasizing the centre o f interest Partial em phasis Total em phasis A ‘north-south’ to ‘east-w est’ change Using only four cam era positions Introducing internal shots Eight cam era sites are em ployed A simple m ethod using three cam era sites Using a pivoting shot Deliberate om ission Summing up

.

26 26 27 30 32 36 39 46 50 50 52 52 55 59 61 62 66 68 69 73 74 75 75 76 80 84 84 85 90 91 93 95 95 98 100 103 104 105 107

7

D IA L O G U E IN V O L V IN G F O U R O R M O R E PE R SO N S Simple cases 1 Using a com m on visual axis 2 U sing a right angle cam era site G roups arranged round a table Subdividing the g roup G eom etrical p atterns Several opposed sectors H andling large groups A perform er faces an audience A crosswise change o f the line o f interest C row d with m ain player a t centre A ctors as pivots

109 109 110 111 112 116 118 121 124 124 127 129 130

8

E D IT IN G P A T T E R N S F O R ST A T IC D IA L O G U E SCEN ES A pproaching and receding patterns How a sequence begins Re-establishing shots Im p o rtan ce o f silent reactions Inserts a n d cut-aw ays N u m b er co n trast Parallel editing o f m aster shots Line o f in terest—changing sides Pause between dialogues T im e com pression Speeding dialogue tem po

135 136 136 137 138 138 149 149 152 152 156 159

9 T H E N A T U R E O F S C R E E N M O T IO N M o tio n b ro k en dow n C hanging view with m ovem ent U sing cut-aw ays N eu tral d irection P erform er indicates the change C o n trastin g m otions in the sam e h a lf screen C onditions o f the cut W here to cu t C utting on action

160 162 163 164 164 164 172 175 175 176

10 C U T T IN G A F T E R T H E M O V E M E N T

378

11 M O T IO N IN S ID E T H E S C R E E N T urning U sing a com m on visual axis B rief sum m ary A personal preference

188 189 213 245 248

12 M O T IO N IN T O A N D O U T O F S H O T M ultiple fragm ents M o tio n in three fragm ents

249 249 250

13 P L A Y E R A M O V ES T O W A R D S P L A Y E R B C onverging m o tio n R ight angle cam era sites Reverse cam era angles Parallel cam era sites C om m on visual axis A w alks beyond B

261 261 262 266 268 268 274

14

U S IN G M A S T E R SH O TS T O C O V E R M O T IO N S ON THE SCREEN

276

15 IR R E G U L A R CASES Visual pause w ith larger groups T h e pause is om itted U sing reverse angles D ivergent m otions C o n stan t screen position for one player Both players m ove

289 290 293 294 298 298 299

16

301

P L A Y E R A M OVES A W A Y F R O M P L A Y E R B

17 P L A Y E R S M O V E T O G E T H E R In term itten t m o tio n

322 339

18 SO L V IN G D IF F IC U L T E D IT IN G S IT U A T IO N S M ovem ent betw een cam era and static subject M o tio n at the beginning o f the second shot M o tio n beyond the static players Using right angle cam era sites Both players m ove Hiding a m oving subject in the first shot

340 340 343 345 346 348 349

Using a strong foreground m otion Substitution o f the static subject Redirecting attention Using non-hum an m ovem ent Parting curtain effect

351 351 353 357 359

19 O T H E R TY PES O F M O T IO N C ircular m ovem ent Vertical m ovem ent D ynam ic stops

360 360 370 376

20

T W E N T Y BASIC R U LES FO R C A M E R A M OVEM ENT M ovem ent and the cam era Basic guidelines for cam era m ovem ent Solid dram atic m otivation

380 380 380 384

21 T H E P A N N IN G C A M E R A Scanning panoram ically C hase sequences In term ittent panning Full circle panning Fast panning In tw o directions Vertical tilts Side tilts Jointing a static and a panning shot Editing two consecutive panning shots A crobatic pans

385 385 386 399 401 403 405 406 409 409 415 421

22 T H E T R A V E L L IN G C A M E R A Interm itten t action covered by a continuous tracking Joining a static and a tracking shot In term ittent cam era tracking Using b o th sides o f the track W inding paths Panning while tracking C am era and perform ers move in opposite directions Single file form ations T racking speed

424 424 426 433 436 437 443 446 454 456

r Subject approaches tracking cam era E diting consecutive tracking shots Static shots intercut within a tracking m aster shot C ircular tracking '

457 458 461 464

23

T H E C A M E A R A C R A N E A N D T H E ZO O M LENS Follow ing action F oreground props stress height T o visually unite tw o o r m ore story points To inject m ovem ent into static situations T o single ou t a story point in a panoram ic m ovem ent T o provide strong m ovem ent for cutting on action Zoom ing Zoom ing speeds Zoom ing and panning com bined Tilt shots using zoom effects Cam era tracks as it zoom s Zoom ing through foreground obstacles

469 469 469 470 471 472 474 475 476 477 479 479 482

24 A C TIO N SCEN ES Standard form ulas The subjective point Qf view Five ways o f enhancing visual action Reaching a visual clim ax Breaking the clim atic action into several shots High speed and slow m otion fo r action sequences Follow focus technique

483 484 486 492 495 497 500 501

25 E D IT IN G IN T H E C A M E R A Pre-planning is required The pause between m ovem ents The change o f zone A pproaching o r receding from the cam era Changing the body position Substitution by sectors Switching screen sectors Num erical contrast Editing within the film fram e

502 502 503 503 508 514 516 523 533 538

26 M O V IN G F R O M Z O N E TO Z O N E G eneral principles A g ro u p m oving from zone to zone T he g ro u p expands Two fu rth er variants A player moves, the other rem ains stiil The group contracts Devices for zone change

542 542 543 545 548 551 554 554

27 C O M B IN E D T E C H N IQ U E S Shot by sh o t editing M erging the techniques Sum m ing up

564 564 571 577

28 F IL M P U N C T U A T IO N T ran sitio n s from scene to scene: fade o u t— fade in W hite-outs and colour fades Dissolve W ipe Iris Use o f d ark areas Titles Props Light change Q uestion and answ er A m ovem ent in the sam e direction S u b stitu tio n o f an object W ord repetition A deceptive visual m atch C u ttin g aro u n d a p ro p A sudden close up T ran sitio n by parallel editing Scene openers T he a c to r T he cam era In tro d u cin g points o f view A b ru p t ju m p cuts used as pu n ctu atio n Ju m p cuts as tim e transitions Selected peaks o f action In actio n as p u n ctu atio n

579 579 579 579 580 580 581 581 581 581 582 582 582 582 582 587 588 588 589 590 590 591 595 597 597 599

Single shots as pauses in n arratio n An entire sequence used as a narrative pause O ut o f focus im ages as p u nctuation D ark screen used as p u nctuation P unctuation by cam era m otion Vertical p u n ctu atio n F rozen fram e

599 601 602 603 604 611 614

IN D E X

616

FOREWORD TO THE PRESENT EDITION

T h e h ard co v er ed itio n o f th is b o o k has en jo y ed a successful life d u rin g th e p ast fifteen years u n d e r th e im print o f Focal Press. It sa w several rep rin ts in English a n d translations w e re p u b lish ed in J a p a n e s e , F rench, S erbo-C roate, a n d Spanish. I've h ad th e p le a su re o f see in g it u se d as a tex tb o o k in several film a n d te le ­ vision sch o o ls a ro u n d th e w orld. T h at kin d o f re cep tio n to my w o rk h as m a d e m y m o d est co n trib u tio n to th e u n d ersta n d in g of th e visual g ram m ar o f the m oving im age a w o rth w h ile effort. N ow , Silm an-Jam es P ress grants m y w ork an e x te n d e d life in this p a p e rb a c k edition. I h o p e th at th eir effort will benefit all th o se in tere ste d in p u rsu in g a ca ree r in th e com m unication w o n d e r o f this age: the m oving im age in all its diffuse variants— film, tap e, disk, a n d w h a te v e r m ay co m e in th e future. T h e tru e a n d te ste d rules o f visual la n g u ag e o u tlin e d in this b o o k will rem ain co n stan l for a lo n g tim e to com e. You can b e su re o f that. As I said in th e h ard co v er ed itio n , th e greatest m ovies o f o u r age are still u n m ad e. Let us try to b e th e o n es wrh o will m ak e them . T h ere is an e x p a n d in g a u d ie n c e all over th e w o rld w aitin g for th e s e stories. D aniel Arijon M ontevideo, U ruguay April, 1991

INTRODUCTION There are so m any books on film m aking, th at one is tem pted to ask why there should be yet another. And why this o n e? The au th o r feels, and this conviction stem s from his own case histories, th at for the last tw enty years there has no t been, a book on the m arket th a t chronicles the developm ents in the narrative tech­ niques o f the cinem a in a practical way. A young person n o t lucky enough to be associated with good film m akers, usually seeks the inform ation he needs in books. He will find m any books th at discuss various theories ab o u t film, or contain criticism and interviews or essays. A highly com plicated endeavour such as film m aking, requires the effort o f m any specialists, som e o f w hom have w ritten good technical books. But one sector o f the subject has been neglected in recent years— which m ay be term ed the organizing o f images for their projection on a screen. Existing books on the subject are o utdated o r in­ com plete. A nd few o f them have any tangible practical inform a­ tion th a t the budding film m aker can assim ilate and apply in his ow n w ork. T he aim o f this book is to fill the gap th at has opened since those works were originally w ritten. The cinem a has evolved a t a w ondrous pace, especially in its narrative form s. W ith new lightw eight cam eras, p ortable recorders and o th er technical developm ents on the one hand, an d econom ic hire charges for good equipm ent, cheap raw stock an d processing on the other, the possibility o f m aking a professional full length low -budget film is alm ost within the reach o f everyone. I f the dream o f the form er generation was to w rite the great novel o f their time, the aim o f the younger generation seems to be the m aking o f very good films. To them , an d the m any other persons who are increasingly turning to film as a m edium o f expression, this b o o k is m ainly dedicated. It is designed to shorten the years o f apprenticeship and avoid the uncertain task o f collecting scraps

o f inform ation here and there and to assembie the basic rules o f film narration. Y ou will n o t find theories here, b u t facts, tested and proven over a long period by diverse film m akers all over the world, which can be readily applied to any film project you m ight be considering. W ork on this b o o k has taken up nearly twelve years alongside with my own career in film m aking. I hope that m y hum ble effort will also help anyone who, like the au th o r, began their career or is ab o u t to begin it in countries or areas where an in­ dustry th at absorbs new biood does no t exist. Age, n ationality o r background does not m atter. W hat is im ­ p o rta n t is th a t y o u have som ething to say th at can, and m ust, be expressed th ro ugh the film m edium in your ow n way an d in your own term s. T he greatesL m ovies o f o u r age are still unm ade. L et us try to be the ones who will m ake them . Daniel A rijon M ontevideo, U ruguay, 1975

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This b o o k would not have been possible w ithout the help o f CarriUon Films del Uruguay, where I found unlim ited support for my project, and where m oviolas and projectors were freely put at m y disposal over a num ber o f years. Luis Elbert and Nelson Pita located an d obtained m any o f the film prints used by the au th o r in his research. M anuel Martinez Carril o f Cinemateca Uruguaya also helped provide film prints for viewing and analysis expressly for this m anuscript. The late Jorge Calasso, M iss Elena Iuracevich, Raul Fernandez M on tans, and last b u t n o t least, M ilton Cea, m ade invaluable contributions and suggestions. To all o f them , my heartiest thanks. Daniel Arijon

This book is dedicated to Delmer Law rence Daves who ignited the spark and to H ector M ario R aim ondo Souto who propelled my efforts into reality

1 FILM LANGUAGE AS A SYSTEM OF VISUAL COMMUNICATION A cross the open d o o r o f m y office, I can see the editing equipm ent we have been using for several weeks in p utting together o u r last film. From my desk I can partially see the sm all screen o f the editing m achine. N ow it is only a white rectangular sp o t—lifeless, ju st a piece o f coated glass. O n a sudden im pulse I rise and w alk into th at room . I stop a t the d o o r and survey it in a way I have never done before. T he objects are fa m iliar^ -th e cans o f film, the bins full o f strips o f celluloid, the scissors, the splicing m achine. On sm all hooks hang num erous strips o f film, some o f only a few fram es length, o ther o f countless feet unreeling loosely into the bins. I select one o f the strips o f film a t ran d o m an d thread it into the m oviola. 1 pull som e switches a n d the strip o f film starts to move. O n the small screen suddenly an im age appears. W e are inside a church, large, m odern, ascetic. A girl, young and innocent, walks to w ard s us. W e follow her until an o th er figure appears on the screen. It is an actor dressed in a d ark spacesuit an d wearing a strange and b rilliant helm et. We only catch a glimpse o f the lone glass eye o n the projecting front o f his helm et and there the shot ends. T he small screen becom es blan k again with only a flickering light shining beneath the glass. W h a t I have seen is ju s t a fragm ent o f a pho to g rap h ed reality. A reality th at was carefully arranged an d rehearsed in front o f a m ovie cam era. A sim ilar process was registered on the other strips o f film. H ere, reality is broken dow n into little fram es and here in the cutting room I stand, thinking ab o u t this aspect o f my craft. T hose pieces o f film were selected by me, recorded on film by a photo g rap h er, im m ersed in chem icals in a lab o rato ry until the images were clearly visible and fixed on the celluloid base. And 1

they are destined to be shadow s, ungraspable, ever-changing patterns o f light when projected on a screen in the m oviola, the cinema th eatre o r a m illion television sets across a nation. W hat had we been doing in th at room for the last few w eeks? We played w ith fragm ents o f recorded time, arranged shadow s and sounds to convey a story, pursued som e m om ents o f truth, tried to com m unicate som e feelings and reached for the clues th at would gran t those im ages the pow er to grasp the atten tio n and em otions o f a n audience th a t will always rem ain anonym ous to us. A nd how did we attem p t to do it? T he answers would be m ultiple an d all interdependent. But they rest on a com m on base, w hich is b oth solid an d yet shifting— the knowledge o f our craft. F ilm editing, m ontage, schnitt are the w ords used to describe it. A n d in its m ost simple sense they also define a simple o p eratio n : the jo in in g together o f tw o strips o f celluloid. T h a t is the final step in a long process. G o o d film editing starts with the writing o f th e script intended for representation in front o f a registering m echanism , the movie cam era. W here d o we learn the process? H ow has it evolved? W hat are its tangible rules? Beginnings o f film language Film language was born when film m akers becam e aw are o f the difference betw een the loose joining together o f sm all im ages in various states o f m otion, and the idea th a t these series o f images could be related to one another. They discovered th at when two different sym bols were com bined, they were transm itted into a new m eaning and provided a new way o f com m unicating a feeling, an idea, a fact— one plus one equalled three— as in other systems o f com m unication. T heorists began to experim ent. T here were no signposts to guide them tow ards the language they needed. M any o f the concepts evolved were so cerebral, so abstract, th a t they b o re no relation to reality. In spite o f all their m istakes, delusions an d false discoveries, those film m akers were a painstaking lot. If any value is to be found in their rules, it is th a t they are the p ro d u ct o f experim entation, an accum ulation o f solutions found by everyday practice o f the craft. T hose rules really w orked for them and their epoch. T he draw back was their lim ited use and the im possibility o f being transform ed into constant principles. Few film m akers have the ability to rationalize their creative m ental processes in the form o f w ritten, analytical theory.

All languages arc types o f accepted convention. A society agrees o r is taught to interpret some sym bols with uniform m eanings for everyone belonging to that group. Storytellers, men o f ideas, have first to learn the sym bols and the rules o f com bina­ tion, But these are always in a state o f flux. A rtists o r philosophers can influence the g ro u p by introducing new sym bols o r rules and discarding ancient ones. The cinem a is not alien to this process. T he history o f the progress o f the cinem a as a m edium o f visual com m unication, is directly related to the ability o f film language to grasp reality. But reality is an ever-changing concept, an everchanging form o f perception. Film editing is the reflex o f the sensitivity o f its user, o f his attunem ent to the current m oods of the m edium . Types o ffilm m aker T he difference between the creator and the artisan lies in the fact th a t the first has the courage to innovate, experim ent and invent. He is not afraid o f his m istakes and is therefore always advancing, w hereas the artisan uses the best pieces o f knowledge gained by the creators and avoids the experim entation stage, incorporating the new advances into his repertory only when they have been accepted by the mass. Both types o f film m aker are necessary to the craft. Films made between 1910 and 1940 were rich culture pods on which were tried different visual and audio experim ents in an industry producing an enorm ous o u tput o f films for popular consum ption, Perhaps this factor contributed m ost to the evolution o f film language. The steady work o f the artisans provided the m eans for the industry to function and then, as now, a healthy industry continued to give op p o rtu n ities to the creators to go on experim enting. A good film is n o t the product o f total im provisation, but the result o f knowledge, not only o f the life and the world that it portrays, b u t o f the techniques that render the ideas more ex­ pressive. Forms o ffilm expression All forms o f film language are artistically licit, except perhaps the use o f the m edium as an em pty play o f forms. The contem porary film goer registers a natural repugnance for the abstract and 3

abstruse use o f film n arration. He seeks a representation o f reality, whether external, internal o r imagined, th at is less loaded with clues, charades and unintelligible symbols,, Film as a m edium has lim itations, you m ust understand its strong points and its shortcom ings. C onflict and m ovem ent are close to its soul. But peace, hope and great tru th s are all o f a static nature and can be bu t poorly served by the film m edium . T houghts and ideas, especially abstract ideas, cannot be expressed on film as clearly as by the w ritten w ord; they m ust be show n as acting upon the behaviour o f the characters, anim als o r things recorded by the cam era. Film portrays only the external result— the actions and reactions created by m otivations, thoughts or desires. R obert Flaherty rem arked once: ‘Y ou can’t say as much as you can in writing, but you can say w hat you say with great conviction.’ He was right.

Defining our aims The purpose o f the notes th a t follow is very simple, and perhaps very am bitious too. All the rules o f film gram m ar have been on the screen for a long time. They are used by film m akers as far ap a rt geographically and in style as K urosaw a in Japan, B ergm an in Sweden, Fellini in Italy and Ray in India. F or them , and countless others this common set o f rules is used to solve specific problem s presented by the visual n arration o f a story. This book sets out to record system atically the contem porary solutions to those specific problems. We are dealing with a craft th a t is constantly subject to change; the practices com piled here have proved to be stable for a very long time and hopefully they will continue to be for a long time yet. R ichard S. K ahlenberg, o f the A m erican Film Institute, has pointed out that never before has the aspiring film m aker had such a wide o pportunity o f learning his craft as today. Film s used to be made to be show n for a few weeks and then they were shelved. Now, thanks to TV they are replayed at o u r hom es, as by a nostalgic time m achine, enabling film buffs to see the w orks of past m asters. Television ‘cools' the images and technique can be readily appreciated. K ahlenberg pointed out th a t m any film m akers have learned their craft studying these old films. Peter Bogdanovich is a well know n exam ple o f th at approach. 4

Like any w ritten w ork on a practical subject this is not, o f course, w ithout lim itations. Y ou will not learn film language by exam ple, o r by analyzing o ther people’s w ork only. N o t until the film is running through your fingers will you com plete your education. The knowledge o f others an d personal experience are bo th essential to acquire film sense. Sadly we can only ofTer the first h alf o f the job. W e hope it will encourage you to undertake the o th er half. In this context it is well to rem em ber the following com m ent, th at A nthony H arvey, a film editor and director, m ade in a n interview for the British m agazine Sight and S o u n d ': ‘M y greatest fear has always been th at o f becom ing too technical. Sitting at a m oviola day after day, year after year, one is in danger o f becom ing obsessed w ith the m echanics so th at they take over everything else. Y ou can lose the whole p o in t o f a scene th a t way. O f course, you have to know all the technical possibilities, b u t you need to know them so well th at they becom e second nature, not so th at you use them to d istort the m aterial y o u ’ve g o t.’ W ise film m akers stick to their visions. T h a t should be their prim e concern. The com plexity o f the inbetw een processes in­ volved in the tran slation o f a vision from the brain o f its au th o r to a strip o f celluloid, m ust not blind the creato r and d istract him from his own, personal, unique conception o f the them e th a t m otivated his desire to use film as his system o f com m unication.

1 Sight and Sound S pring 1966 Vol. 35 N o. 2. “ P utting the M agic in It" by R oger H udson.

2 THE IMPORTANCE OF PARALLEL FILM EDITING

T he m ovie cam era, in spite o f its com plexities as an instrum ent an d th e specialized knowledge needed to operate it, m ust be for the film m ak er only a registering m echanism , such as the p en or the typew riter are to a w riter. T o handle a cam cra, only an efficient crew is needed. F a r m ore im p o rtan t to a film m aker is the ability to handle ideas and concepts. Once these ideas have m aterialized o n strips o f film they m ust be assem bled. F o r th a t he relies heavily on an editing principle: the altern atio n o f tw o o r m ore centres o f interest. This ‘parallel film editing’ is one o f the m ost frequently used form s o f film language. It serves to present clearly conflicting o r related story lines by m oving alternately from one centre o f interest to the other. The technique is so com m on th a t audiences take it for granted in every film. A film w hich avoids use o f the technique irritates the viewer even though if pressed to supply a reason for his discom fort he w ould n o t be able to give the right answer.

Two basic types To clarify w hat parallel film editing is, here is a n exam ple—a rough description o f the first sequence o f a well know n film. 1 Elio P etri’s film The Tenth Victim, begins with U rsula A ndress being pursued on a New Y ork street by a hunter (G eorge W ang). T he h u n ter is m om entarily detained by a policem an who checks the validity o f his ‘licence to kill’. 2 A m an seen in close up, begins to explain w hat the G reat H unt is. In the n o t so distant future citizens exercise ‘licences to kill* in governm ent sponsored duels to the death. 3 T he film retu rn s to U rsula A ndress being chased aro u n d the 6

scenic sites o f New Y ork by the hunter, who keeps firing his gun, a n d misses every time. 4 A gain the unknow n m an is presented in close up, and gives m ore inform ation ab o u t the G re at H unt. 5 Miss A ndress teases the hunter to keep on firing, until he runs o u t o f bullets. 6 Once m ore the unknow n m an appears in close up and details the advantages o f succeeding, in ten consecutive chases, alternating as h u n ter and victim. 7 U rsula A ndress, followed at a short distance by her pursuer, steps o n a c a r’s hood, jum ps over a net fence and runs into the ‘M asoch C lu b ’. 8 H er pursuer arrives and, after a pause, also enters the club. H e moves in the futuristic interior, walking am ong the seated patrons. 9 A m aster o f cerem onies on the stage (the m an we had pre­ viously seen in close up explaining the m echanism o f the Great H unt) introduces a dancer. She emerges, wearing a m ask and a costum e o f blue and silver sequins, and starts to dance. 10 T he h u n ter sits dow n and watches her. 11 She moves am ong the club’s patrons who remove pieces o f her dress, until only two small garm ents rem ain. 12 T he h u n ter w atches her. Tw o types o f parallel film editing are to be found in the sequence described. Firstly, two different situations are alternately presented to the audience: the chase on the streets o f New Y ork, and the explanation o f w hat the G reat H unt is. Each story line develops separately, contributing m ore inform ation on each successive appearance. O n the external views o f the chase (the first story line) we becom e aw are th at som ething unusual is happening. Then we see how the victim is controlling the hunter at will. Later we see how she leads him to a site she has pre-selected (paragraphs I, 3, 5 and 7). The close ups o f the club’s m aster of cerem onies (the second story line) explain w hat the G reat Hunt is, then w hat its m echanism is, and later w hat are the advantages o f surviving in ten consecutive chases (paragraphs 2, 4 and 6): Second, two related situations in a com m on site are a ltern ated : the dancer, and the hunter. Once inside the club, the parallel film pattern changes, and 7

concentrates on the relationship between the dancer (as shown in paragraphs 9 and i 1), who is really the victim in disguise, and the confused hunter (shown in paragraphs 8, 10 and 12). The task o f relating two story lines, o r two characters, o r two different events, o r a larger num ber o f story lines, characters and events, is assigned to parallel film editing. These types o f parallel editing could be defined as follows: 1 The lines o f interaction are close together, in the same space. 2 T he lines o f interaction are far apart, in different places, and only a com m on m otivation provides the link. The first type o f parallel film editing is exemplified by the con­ frontation o f the dancer and the hunter. A dialogue between two persons, where both are separately observed by the cam era, falls in the same category. The chase on the streets o f New Y ork alternating with the explanations o f the m aster o f cerem onies, exemplifies the second type o f parallel film editing. Their interrelation can be im m ediate (as in a race where two opponents are m oving tow ards a com m on goal), o r delayed to the end, such as in the example quoted, where the identity o f the m an who speaks (he is the m aster o f cerem onies) is carefully hidden from the audience a t the beginning o f the story. This m an is the link between both story lines. Interrelating two story lines in a parallel pattern gives them a m utual dependence, since the average film viewer has been conditioned to expect such a response from this com bination. C om parative behaviours can be presented on the screen with this m ethod. T he docum entary film form is very a p t to obtain rem arkable im age associations by the conscious editing o f several events in parallel patterns, i.e. various athletes in different sports prepare to com pete, the com petition begins and some o f the participants fail. By observing the sam e athletes in the three stages o f behaviour and seeing them alternately at each stage, a space-time relationship unique to the cinem a is obtained. Action and reaction When we are told a story we unconsciously w ant to know two things: what action is going on, and how the people involved are reacting to th at action. If the storyteller forgets to keep track o f those two things his

audience will be confused o r unsufficiently inform ed. If you were telling the story personally, your audience would ask you ab o u t the m issing facts, which you w ould then supply. But telling a story on the screen is an im personal act because you seldom see y o ur audience o r hear their reactions. T he film is already printed, the story inm utable an d if you forget som ething you can n o t stop the film and supply the m issing inform ation. M ost film takes contain action and reaction within the length o f the shot. W itness this exam ple w here two shots are used: Shot 1: a hunter m oves his rifle from side to side and fires. Shot 2: a flying bird is suddenly hit and falls. Shot 1 shows the h u n ter aim ing (an action) and then he fires (a reaction). Shot 2 shows the bird flying (an action) and its flight is suddenly interrupted (a reaction). B ut if we showed S hots 1 an d 2 w ithout grouping the actions an d reactions, o u r understanding o f w hat is going on w ould not be as effective as if we grouped them as follows: (A ction)

S hot 1: the h unter m oves his rifle from side to side, aim ing off screen. Shot 2: a b ird is flying in the sky. ( Reaction) Shot 1: the h unter fires his rifle. Shot 2: the bird is hit and falls. In this way we have grouped first the inform ative parts o f the shots, enabling us to show the outcom e m ore com prehensibly. T h at alternation o f shots: Shot 1— Shot 2—S hot 1—Shot 2, is know n as parallel film editing, and is only one o f its form s. In this exam ple we were dealing with two lines o f action, b u t the num ber o f lines involved m ight be increased for a different situation. This grouping o f action and reaction perm eates the whole structure o f a film : from the union o f two shots, to the ju x ta ­ position o f two or m ore sequences, an d to a greater extent the construction o f the whole story itself. P eak m om ents and the understanding The process o f m anipulating action ju st described forces a selec­ tivity process in w orking ou t a film story. Only the peak moments o f a story are shown on a screen, and all the events o r actions that 9

delay o r do n o t a d d new, significant m aterial, are deleted from the narrative. Selection o f p eak m om ents im plies the control o f tim e and m ovem ent. A n expert film m aker is always com pressing o r ex­ panding time an d yet he gives the illusion o f supplying us w ith the entire real time o f the event: m ovem ent m ay be fragm ented and controlled according to a dynam ic criterion. F ilm editing de­ m olishes the old d ram atic unities o f place an d time. The audience is m oved from here to there, from the present to the past, w ithout w arning. A nd the viewer accepts all this quite naturally. This process originates from w hen m an invented his first w ritten language. W ritten thoughts force the reader to analyze an d assim ilate each graphic sym bol individually to obtain m eaning, and th a t developed capacity for instant analysis and com parison differenciates us from prim itive m an, who lived in a tru e unity w ith his environm ent, always conscious o f the w hole and unable to conceive a n ab straction. T o properly understand the visual language o f film, the viewer needs to have passed through the experience o f learning a w ritten language m ade o f conventional signs particu lar to his com m unity. W ith this sam e ability he can assim ilate a conventional way o f linkage betw een the m oving images on a screen. A s long as a succession o f actions an d reactions is m aintained th e in terp retatio n o f th at visual language does no t dem and o f the viewer an und erstanding o f its physical construction. But for the film m aker this action-reaction pattern dictates all the form ulas fo r cam era placem ent an d sequence construction an d the needs o f editing. How parallel editing is obtained Parallel film editing to cover a story point, can be achieved using two app ro ach es: single shots o f sh ort duratio n an d /o r long m aster shots. If short single shots are used, the tw o o r m ore related actions involved are covered individually by using diverse and m ultiple cam era set ups. These shots are edited in such a way th a t they shift the view­ p o in t alternately from one action to the other, thus piecing together the whole event o r scene. E ach shot used, each piece o f 10

film, is a peak m om ent in the series o f actions and reactions that all story lines contain. W ith this m ethod, the whole event can be appreciated only when all the shots have been cut together. T hat is the main difference betw een the single shot and the m aster shot approach. As the nam e implies, a m aster shot is a single cam era position from which the event is recorded in its entirety. In practice two o r three cam era positions m ay be used sim ultaneously to provide several such m aster shots. If fragm ents o f those m aster shots are selected, and edited in parallel, the total event recorded can be recon­ structed using the best o r m ost significant segm ents o f each master take, presenting a fragm ented view sim ilar to the short single shot process. A good film m aker uses either m ethod. Both are quite dynam ic and offer definite pictorial advantages over a single shot recording o f a scene. A wider perspective Parallel editing covers greater possibilities in the interaction of tw o narrative lines. W here the degree o f knowledge shared between the characters o f th e story, o r between the film and its audience is variable th e alternatives can be seen as those in which: 1 Both story lines su pport each other, and the d ata th at both contribute (alternately) builds up the story. 2 In o n e line, the m ovem ent o r intention is kept the same, while on the o th er th e reactions to th at steady repetition are varied. 3 T he characters involved in b o th narrative lines are unaw are o f w hat the o th er group is doing, and only the audience has all the facts. 4 T he inform ation given in both narrative lines is incomplete, so th at the characters have all the facts, but the audience is purposely kept in the dark, to stim ulate its interest. W hich one o f these approaches is to be used m ust be decided by the story w riter and the film m aker concerned. B ut one fact rem ains, parallel film editing will always provide the best way of conveying the desired inform ation to the audience. T he two basic elements, action an d reaction, will help com plete the presentation.

11

3 DEFINING THE BASIC TOOLS

Films m ade with a cam era alm ost always tel! a story. Usually in these movies, real persons and objects are recorded on film and reproduced on the screen a t the sam e film cadence: 24 frames per second. But on som e occasions that procedure is altered and m anmade drawings, patterns, objects, anim als, and persons projected at 24 fram es per second, m ay have been recorded at speeds th at go up to hundreds o f frames per second, o r dow n to fram e by fram e phn(ography with variable time lapses between each exposure. In the first group, we can place the following film form s: newsreel docum entary, and fiction. In the second category we can include all the films th at require a radical change in recording techniques. This second category would cover: anim ated cartoons, anim ated puppets, time lapse photography o f objects, plants, anim als o r hum an beings. We are particularly concerned here with film techniques applicable to the first three.

Newsreel Newsreels attem p t to cover an unrepeatable act o r event. The film m aker has m inim al control over the incident he records. He is a spectator with a visual recording m echanism . In its crudest form this coverage produces a series o f disconnected shots th a t register portions o f the total event but when projected on the screen present 12

I

total chaos. M any things arc missing b u t a n arrato r can give some unity to the ensem ble. A m iddle stage is reached if these shots are bridged by others where spectators arc seen reacting. This creates a sort o f action-reaction relationship, which the audience accepts though still conscious th at they are seeing an incom plete occurrence. T he m ost com plete film record is o b tain ed by using one or m ore m o to r driven cam eras synchronized with a tape recorder registering all the events, interesting or dull, as in som e “ verite” films. But o n film, there is no such thing as the ideal cam era position to cover a situation fully and im partially. C am era operators have to choose their sites, heights, lenses, lights. All this leads to a com prom ise— an unavoidable selection. A nd even then, few people w ould cover a situation in exactly the sam e way, D ocumentary T he docum entary film form offers fu rth er variants. T o start with, m ost docum entary films deal not with one, bu t w ith a succession o f occurrences th at take place under a com m on m otivation. W hen presenting this m aterial o n the screen, changes are intro­ duced in the real order in which the situations occurred. M any m otives m ay be involved, such as the follow ing: a Several situations th a t respond to a com m on stim ulus are grouped into a sequence. As the n atu re o f the stim ulus is changed, the subjects are grouped in new sequences. Each individual subject was perhaps filmed reacting consecutively to the chain o f stim uli, bu t now his actions are fragm ented and p u t together in p atterns o f behaviour, thus disrupting the tem poral continuity to achieve an idea progression, b The linear recording o f an event is interrupted to introduce an explicative visual variant different in nature, i.e.: anim ated draw ings to show a process th at can n o t be photographed using the real elem ents, c T he series o f events are repeated in different pattern s o r order o f p resentation, to explore diverse approaches and solutions. T he list can be longer. B ut the fact rem ains th a t manipulation is necessary— facts have to be arranged to be show n at their best and an event is often repeated to be filmed several times. R epetition m eans staging. 13

We are m anipulating the occurrence, selecting w ith a technique th a t cloaks o u r tam pering with reality. T he result borders on the realm o f fiction. Fiction film M any o f the best docum entaries have profited from a dual a p ­ p roach th at blends unadulterated reality with carefully recom posed fiction. This statem ent leads us to the ultim ate film form — total fiction. H ere the events are also real, b u t can be repeated a t will as m any times as necessary, until the exact nuance o f behaviour or acting is captured on film from one, two o r several angles. Each situ atio n is carefully planned an d enacted for the benefit o f the cam eras. The end result strived fo r is an im itation o f reality. In fact, w hat we see is a richer version o f reality. T here is no t a single view point, b u t a plurality o f them , such as no hum an being is able to o b tain in real life. R econstructed reality is the m ost popular o f film form s. F ilm stories m ay be planned o r unplanned. The techniques to be discussed here m ostly concern the planned approach where events are selected, arran ged an d staged for a series o f related actions. U nplanned events m ust be treated in a way th at perm its them to blend with plan n ed scenes. Three types o f scene F ilm stories usually have a structure th a t progresses scene by scene from the statem ent o f a situation, through a developm ent o f the conflict, to a denoument th at closes the play. All scenes fall within these three categories: 1 dialogues w ith o ut action 2 dialogues w ith action 3 actions w ithout dialogue These are o f course simplified categories. A ctors m ay no t move while they talk, b u t the vehicle on which they are placed can, an d the cam era also can be in m otion. W hen actors m ove during their exchange o f dialogue the cam era can be fixed, o r m ove with them . A nd in the third instance the voice o f a n a rra to r o r the internal thoughts o f the characters m ay accom pany the pure m ovem ent fram ed on the screen. F urtherm ore, all three techniques can be used together within a single sequence. B ut this classification is essential to the study o f gram m atical rules. 14

Elements o ffilm grammar T o translate scenes from script to picture any rules m ust have a tw ofold effect: 1 W e m ust shoot film th a t can later be joined in continuity. 2 W e need solutions for the editorial problem s th at will arise in different situations. T o achieve this we m ust control two things: 1. T he distances from which we record the event. 2 T he m otions o f the subjects perform ing th at event. By selecting the distance, we control w hat the audience sees and th e num ber o f perform ers and objects shown in the different shots. Points o r m om ents o f em phasis in a story, can be governed by approaching o r m oving aw ay from our m ain subjects. W ith the second device, w ithout ham pering the free m ovem ent o f our perform ers we im pose a m easure o f control on the recording process o f th at m otion.

The shot N ow , let us define which are the gram m atical tools o f the film language. F irst o f all we have the shot. T he length o f the shot o r take is lim ited only by the am ount o f film th at can be exposed in the cam era w ithout reloading—say, four, ten o r thirty three m inutes. T he shot can be used in its entirety in an u ninterrupted flow, o r broken up into sm aller strips o f film to be intercut w ith other shots. A staged event can be shot repeatedly, in whole o r p a rt from the same or different positions. G enerally, when the scene does no t play too well the repeat shots are taken from the sam e position. Changes o f cam era position are used m ore conciously, to allow the film editor to cross-cut.

M ovem ent D uring a shot the cam era can rem ain fixed , or it can pan (sweep horizontally on its axis), o r it can tilt (pivoting either up or down) o r it can travel a t different speeds attached to a moving vehicle. It can record simple o r com plex events. It can move supporting the action th a t it records. It can do all th at from different distances. Those distances can be obtained either physically or optically. 15

r

Distances The gradation o f distances between the cam era and the recorded subject can be infinite. A ctual practice has taught th at there are five basic definable distances. They are know n as: close up, or big close up close shot, m edium shot, full shot, and long shot. However, these denom inations do not imply a fixed m easurable distance in each case. The term inology is quite elastic, and deals mainly with concepts. It is obvious th at the distance between cam era and subject is different between a dose shot o f a house and close shot o f a man. Figs. 3.1 to 3.5 illustrate the areas th at each cam era position covers.

T hrough actual practice it has been discovered th at the hum an figure has ‘cutting heights’ from which pleasing com positions can be obtained, w hether one o r m ore bodies are shown on the screen. These cutting heights are: under the arm pits, under the chest, under the waist, under the crotch, and under the knees. 16

FIGURE 3.3

Medium shot.

FiGURE 3.4

FIGURE 3.5

Full shot.

Long shot,

If a full shot o f the hum an figure is fram ed, the feet o f the subject m ust be included. C attin g above the ankles will n o t give a pleasant com position. Figure 3.6 illustrates the diverse cutting heights. Types o f editing T here are three m ain ways in which a scene can be edited: 1 A m aster shot registers the whole scene. T o avoid m onotony, there are several techniques for editing ‘w ithin the film, fram e or ‘in cam era’.’ 2 A m aster shot is inter-cut with o th er sh o rter takes. These other takes cover fragm ents o f the scene from a different distance or introduce subjects in an o th er place, and are intercut into the

m aster shot to provide em phasis on key passages o f the scene. 3 Two o r m ore m aster shots are blended together in parallel. O ur point o f view alternates fro m one m aster shot to the other. By using any o r all o f the three m ethods we can cover a sequence. A sequence envelopes a scene o r a series o f related scenes th at have a time and space continuity. U sually a sequence has a beginning, a m iddle and a conclusion. This conclusion ends either on a high point or a low point o r a iow m om ent o f intensity o f the story. Visual punctuation Sequences are jo in ed together by two types o f punctuation : 1 A straight cut. 2 A n optical. In a straight cut the transition is visually ab ru p t. T he several ways 18

o f achieving it will be discussed later on. In the case o f an optical, a fa d e out, fa d e in, dissolve o r wipe, can be em ployed to obtain a sm ooth visual transition. Scene matching In m atching scenes the following three requirem ents m ust be satisfied. It is necessary to m a tc h : 1 T he position. 2 T he m ovem ent. 3 The look. T he movie screen is a fixed area. If a perform er is shown on the left side o f the screen in a full shot, he m ust be o n th a t side if there is a cut to a close shot placed on the same visual axis. If this rule for m atching the position is no t respected, aw kw ard visual jum ps on the screen will result, so th at the audience has to switch atten tio n from one sector to an o th er to locate the m ain character

FIGURE 3.7 The central subject o l the scene should, in normal cases, be kept In the same frame position, as in the first example, when making a cut from one shot to another, *

19

f whose adventures they are following. This is both annoying and distracting. The spectator m ust be given a com fortable eye scan o f the shots with a constant orientation th at allows him to co n ­ centrate on the story (Fig. 3.7). F o r this purpose the screen is usually divided in two o r three vertical parts, in which the m ain perform ers are placed. All position m atching is done in any o r all o f these areas. M atching the movement has a sim ilar logical base. D irection o f m ovement should be the sam e in two consecutive shots th at record the continuous m otion o f a perform er otherw ise the audience will be confused ab o u t the supposed direction o f m ovem ent (Fig. 3.8). RIGHT

WRONG

FIGURE 3.8 Movement is of a sim ilar kind and in the same direction in the first example illustrated. The audience follows the motion of the subject easily. But if the dlfeciion of movement is suddenly reversed in the second shot, there will be con­ fusion as to where the subject is Qoinc.

M atching the look is the third requirem ent to be taken into account when assem bling shots where players ap p ear individually or in groups. M atched looks on the screen are always opposed. Two subjects who exchange looks, do so in conflicting directions, as shown in Fig. 3.9. 20

z z FIGURE 3.9 tions.

W hen two peopfe face each other, their glances are in opposed direc­

I f the actors are fram ed in separate shots, this o pposition in directions m ust be m aintained for a p ro p er visual continuity.

FIGURE 3,10 If both players are featured in separate shots, their glances should still be in opposed directions.

If b oth players were looking in the sam e direction in bo th shots, they w ould logically be looking at a th ird person o r object, and not at themselves, as dem onstrated in Fig. 3.11.

FIGURE 3.11 When both players look In the same direction, they are not looking at each other, but at something or at somebody else.

W ithout this opposition o f glances, scenes becom e weak and som etim es m eaningless.

Opposed glances Establishing and m aintaining a co n stan t opposition in the direc­ tion o f a look exchanged between two players, can be achieved

very simply. The only requisite is th at their heads face each other. T he physical distance betw een them is unim portant. I f a player moves to a position where he now has his back to his fellow player, the opposition o flo o k s is m aintained as he periodically glances at the other person over his shoulder, o r if after a m om ent, he turns to face his in terlo cutor again. In a group o f three, one o f them is the arb iter o f attention. W hen one o f the actors speaks, the other two look at him. As the interest shifts, one o f the players looks to the new centre o f attention, m aking an effective and clear change for the audience to follow. See Fig. 3.12.

FIGURE 3.12 Player 8 acts as the arbiter of attention, shifting the Interest from A to C . He achieves this change by moving his head from one pfayer to the other.

In the first exam ple in Fig. 3.12 attention is centred on player A, an d in the second illustration the interest is on perform er C. We m ust see the arb ite r o f attention, subject B in this case, m ove his head from one side to the other, to guide the audience in following the displacem ent o f the point o f interest from A to C. T his also happens if we fram e each player in separate shots. Interest in a scene can be destroyed by allow ing the players to 22

look a t the w rong places, in tw o o r m ore directions. W e m ust guide the audience, n o t confuse them (Fig. 3.13).

RIGHT

WRONG

FIGURE 3.13 In the first example tw o players concentrate on the person In the fore ground, who thus becomes the dominant one. In the second case. B looks In another direction, drawing away the attention of the audience, who are forced to choose and are unable to. Either player C is Im portant or something of! screen is really upstaging her. The audience cannot know.

Centre o f interest alternates W hen large groups have to be presented, two possibilities arise: 1 All players focus their atten tio n on a central character, changing in unison to a second centre o f atten tio n as the point of interest in the scene shifts. 2 Several groups are present in the scene. E ach g roup has two basic centres o f interest. A predom inant group is chosen. In the first case two subjects are the centre o f interest in the group. The atten tio n o f the audience (and th at o f the rem aining players on the screen) moves from one to the other, and back again. The silent perform ers are the arbiters o f attention. They look in unison at the actor holding the interest, an d shift their looks to the other perform er as the centre o f atten tio n is transferred. Sometim es a third centre o f interest is introduced to break the m onotony o f continually shifting betw een tw o points, especially in lengthy scenes from a single cam era position. 23

FIGURE 3,14 Me^e a large group Is seen throw ing attention first on to A and then on G. These two players are the centre of attention In the group, and the silent per­ formers decide with the direction of their glances, cast In unison, which of the two la dominant at any one time.

In the second situation stated above two approaches can be applied. In both the dom inant group is nearly always placed near the cam era. In the first approach we have two, three o r m ore static groups fram ed on the screen. T he one th at interests us is located n ear the cam era. T he o th er groups are in the background. All o f them present closed circles o f interest, being independent from each other. Logically, the group closest to us dem ands im m ediate attention, while we are ju st conscious o f the existence o f the others and would miss them only if suddenly rem oved. T o stress the foreground situation dram atically the other groups could at a certain m om ent b reak the closed circles o f attention and turn to look at the forw ard group. 24

FIGURE 3.15 W ith several groups of people rn the scene, the group closest to the camera is the dominant.

T he second ap p ro ach offers a variant: the foreground group rem ains static, b u t the subordinate groups in the background are given m ovem ent across the screen. Such can be the activity o f traffic in a street, o r o f dancers in a ballroom . These m ovem ents m ust be inconspicuous, o r they interfere with th e foreground action.

25

4 THE TRIANGLE PRINCIPLE

Basic body positions All dialogued scenes have two central players. These tw o dom inant players in a film scene can be deployed in a pair o f linear arrange­ m ents: a straight line com position, an d a right angle relation. F igure 4.1 illustrates the concept. W ithin those arrangem ents fo u r body rap p o rts can be assum ed d uring a conversation betw een the players. 1 T he acto rs face each other, 2 th e acto rs are placed side by side, 3 one player has his back to the other. 4 They are placed b ack to back. A hu m an b o d y can assum e one o f the follow ing positions: 1 lying dow n (either face up o r dow n o r lying on his side) 2 kneeling (either the torso straight up, o r sitting on the heels, o r b en t fo rw ard w ith the elbows on the ground) 3 sitting (from a squatting position to any height afforded by the instrum ent used to su p p o rt the body) 4 reclining (either backw ards on a supporting surface o r for­ w ards by using the elbows as support) 5 standing (either up o r leaning sideways using a han d for support) These body positions m ight be assum ed sim ultaneously by bo th players or different body attitudes could be chosen for each. In the later case various com binations are afforded: different linear com positions, body rap p o rts and body positions, provide in toto 26

FIGURE 4.1 Two players can be deployed In the linear arrangements depicted In these illustrations, either as straight line or a right angle.

a wide range o f visual presentations, for dram atically underlining the dialogue o f exchange between two static characters. It can be said th at betw een two talking partners a line o f interest flows. This line has a straight path. Line o f interest The line o f interest between tw o central players in a scene is based on the direction o f the looks exchanged between them . A line of interest can be observed fro m three extrem e positions, w ithout crossing to th e o th er side o f the line. These three extrem e positions 27

28

form a triangular figure with its base parallel to the line o f interest (Fig. 4.3).

FIGURE 4.3 Basic positions Into the triangular method of covering tw o players located on a common line of Interest.

C am era view points fo r m aster shots, are o n the angles o f this figure. T he m ain advantage is th at each perform er is fram ed o n the sam e side o f th e screen in each shot w ith player A on the left side and player B on th e right. Two trian g u lar cam era fo rm atio n s can be set, one on each side o f a line o f interest (Fig 4.5). But we ca n n o t successfully cut fro m a cam era position in one p attern to an o th er o n the o ther trian g u lar arrangem ent. I f we do th at, we will only confuse o u r audience, because using two cam era positions located o n different triangular form ations will n o t present a steady em placem ent o f the players on the same areas o f th e screen, as m entioned in the previous ch a p te r when discussing m atched shots. A cardinal rule fo r the trian g u lar cam era principle then, is to select one side o f th e line o f interest and stick to it. This is one o f the m ost respected rules in film language. It can be bro k en o f course. T he p ro p er way to d o th a t is discussed later. 29

FIGURE 4.4 Constant screen position for both players Is assured by using the triangle principle for camera coverage of a dialogued scene between two static players. Notice how the girl A is always on the left side of the screen In the three shots. The young man B also remains framed on his own side, the right sector of the screen.

Importance o f the heads W hen tw o perform ers are standing face to face, o r sitting facing each o ther, it is quite sim ple to draw the line o f interest flowing betw een them . B ut w hen the actors are lying dow n with their bodies parallel o r extended in opposite directions, it seems m ore 30

5

e

r^L

v\

J 1

1

f

■ 1V - r 'v

HL. /

w

s>J' V

2 FI SURE 4.S Two triangular formation® can be employed one on each *tde of the tine Interest. One of them has to be chosen, excluding the position on the other.

FIGURE 4.6 The two incompatible right angle positions relative to the line of

Interest, position 2 and position 5.

31

difficult. Y et it is quite simple if we rem em ber only th at the central points o f two persons talking to each other are their heads. They attra ct o u r atten tio n im m ediately, regardless o f the posi­ tions o f the bodies, because the head is the source o f hum an speech and the eyes the m ost pow erful direction pointers th a t a hum an being has to a ttra c t o r direct interest. The positions o f the bodies therefore do not really count, it is the heads th at m atter. Even in situations where one actor has his back to the other, or they are back to back, a line o f interest passes between their heads. In all film scenes, the line o f interest m ust flow between the heads o f the two central perform ers. Five basic variations o f the triangle principle A straight line com position can be covered visually by using three different arrangem ents o f the triangular cam era principle, with the players in a right angle relation only tw o triangular figures can be applied for visual coverage o f the scene. Let us exam ine each one o f these fiv e variants separately. r e v e r s e a n g l e s . The two sites on the base o f the triangular cam era locations (parallel to the line o f interest o f the scene), provide the three variations with which a linear disposition o f the players can be covered. The cam eras placed on those tw o viewpoints can be pivoted on their axis, obtaining three well differentiated positions. Each one o f those positions is applied in pairs. W e m ean by this th at bo th cam era angles on the base o f the geom etric figure assum e identical positioning in their relation to the players covered. In the first case, both cam era positions o n the base o f the ex ternal

FIGURE 4.7 External reverse angles. The cameras In the two positions parallel to the line of interest are directed Inward towards the players. Note that the symbol represents a human figure—the flat tid e Indicates the fro nt o l the figure.

32

triangle are behind the backs o f the two central players, angled in, close to th e line o f interest between the perform ers and covering them both. in t e r n a l reverse a n g l e s . In the second variant, the cam eras are betw een the two players, pivoted outw ards from the triangular figure, and close to the line o f interest though not representing the view points o f the perform ers. In either case the ra p p o rt is n o t th at o f a head-on co nfrontation, though quite close to it in effect.

------FIGURE 4.8 Internal reverse angles. In this variant the two camera positions parallel to the Une of interest point outwards, covering each player individually.

W ith the cam eras back to back anyw here on the base o f the triangle the effect represents the subjective view point o f the player excluded from the shot.

FIGURE 4.9 Subjective camora angles. If the camera positions are back to back on the line of interest itself, they each become the subjective point of view of the player excluded from the shot. p a r a l l e l p o s i t i o n s . W ith the th ird variant the cam era sites are o n the base o f the triangular figure close to the line o f interest, deployed with their visual axes in parallel, (Fig. 4.10) an d cover the perform ers individually.

33

FIGURE 4.10 Parallel camera positions. When both camera positions have their vi­ sual axes in parallel, they cover each player individually giving us a profile view.

T he three situations outlined above can be com bined to m ultiply the cam era placem ents. Fig. 4,11 shows how the com bination looks. Seven cam era view points contained within a trian g u lar figure. All positions can be com bined in pairs to cover both players, except for the internal and parallel sites th at cover each o f the subjects individually.

FIGURE4,11 Thethree basic variants outlined in the previous figures can be com bin­ ed into a major triangular deployment. Thus, varied and ample camera coverage is obtained tor two statfc players during their exchange of dialogue.

34

a n g l e p o s i t i o n s . W hen the a c t o r s are placed side by side in an ‘L’ form ation, the cam era viewpoints on the base o f the im aginary triangle acquire a right angle relationship,' close to the line o f interest passing between the players. In this case with the camera in front o f the perform ers. right

FIGURE 4,12 When the players are placed side by side In an L formation, a right angle camera relationship is assumed by ttie two sites located on the base of the triangular figure for camera placement.

T he same arrangem ent can be placed behind the players, with which a new v ariant for dialogue coverage is achieved, shown in Fig. 4.13.

FIGURE 4.13 but behind.

The right anole camera positions cannot orify be in froDt ot the actors, ,

35

com m o n v i s u a l a x i s . To cover only one o f the players i n a m aster shot while fram ing both players on the other, the cam era in one o f the two viewpoints on the triangle base, m ust be ad­ vanced on its visual axis. Advancing on either o f the tw o viewpoints (optically o r physi­ cally) we obtain a closer shot o f the selected perform er, thus em phasizing him over his partner. Fig. 4.14 shows the arrangem ent.

FIGURE 4.14 Advance on a camera common visual axis. To obtain coverage of a single player in ihe aroup. one of the cameras is moved forward on the visual axis line of either of the two positions on the base of the triangle.

The above m entioned five basic variations are used not only to cover static conversations o f a group o f players, but also the m ove­ m ent of those players on the screen. Emphasis by composition W hen two speaking perform ers face each other, the strongest cam era positions to record their dialogue, are located on the base o f the triangle, parallel to the line o f interest. Positions 1 and 3 o f the external reverse cam era arrangem ent, have two im m ediate advantages over the cam era site situated on the apex o f the tri­ angle. They give com position in depth, because from their view­ points, the actors are placed on two different planes: one close to the cam era and the other further back. The second advantage is that one o f the actors faces the cam era, getting our full attention, while the other has his back to us. In theatrical term s, the second actor has an open body position (face to the audience), while the first has a closed body position

(his back to the audience). T herefore the p erform er facing the cam era is the d o m inant one. O n the screen this is accentuated further by the distribution o f screen space in the com position o f the shot, as show n in Fig. 4.15.

FIGURE 4.15 Emphasis by com position on the two external raverse master shots can be achieved by olvlno tw o-thirds of the screen space to the player who faces the camera, and the remaining third to the one with his back to the camera.

O n norm al screen sizes (3 X 4 ratio) the ac to r who speaks is given tw o-thirds o f the screen space, while his in terlo cu to r has only one-third. If the latter is slightly o u t o f focus, the em phasis o n the speaking perform er will be strengthened. T he sccond position in the triangular arrangem ent is the weakest o f the three. I t view's the actors fro m the side (a half-open body position), an d pictures them on the sam e plane and with equal screen space. It is reserved fo r the opening o r closing o f a conversation sequence. It is also used to introduce a pause in the cutting rhythm o f the sequence o r to precede a change in editorial pattern. The one-third, tw o-thirds, space o f relationship ju st described w orks also wide screen fram es, as Fig. 4.16 shows. 37

m

FIGURE 4.16 The one-third—tw o-thirds space distribution principle is maintained for visual com positions on the wide screen.

B ut a dialogue betw een two persons seen in close shots on such a screen becom es too ja rrin g from a visual standpoint, due to the great volum es o f screen im age being shifted from take to take. A solution can be found however. The screen is divided in three equal p arts for com positional purposes. The player featured in each reverse sh o t is always p u t in the central sector o f the screen. T his m eans, th at player B is in the centre o f the screen from P osition 1, an d perform er A is in the m iddle o f the picture from Position 3. In Fig. 4.17 the pictorial com position in the fore­ ground rests heavily o n the left and on the right respectively. The rem aining th ird o f the screen space m ay be filled only by a background object o r busy detail to balance the foreground com position. Audience attention is thus focused on the centre o f the screen at all times, w ithout breaking the triangle principle for the place­ m ent o f the cam era. This visual solution can be used w ith a norm al 38

screen size com position too, bu t no t with such spectacular results as a large screen affords, especially in close and m edium shots. Types o f visual emphasis N ow th at the wide screen is in general use m any film m akers take advantage o f the long rectangular shape to practise adventurous com positional contrasts in their use o f w hat 1 have called external reverse shots. The player in the foreground blocks h a lf o f the screen with his body. Usually, he is sparsely illum inated, his figure totally in silhouette. T he acto r facing the cam era in the background is brilliantly lit, so th at the lighter areas shift from left to right, and back again, as each alternate reverse shot is used (Fig. 4.18). T he next recourse is to increase the area o f the screen given to the player in the foreground, who has his back to the audience and is m inim ally lit. M ost o f the screen space is allocated to this

FIGURE 4A7 By dividing the screen Into three eq In each master shot can be placed In the centre of trlanole principle for camera deployment. Thus at centre of the screen. ,

39

sectors, the dominant player e screen w ithout breaking the tlon Is always retained In the

FIGURE 4.18

A half area of the screen is blocked by the body o f She player in th e fo re g ro u n d, w hose back is m inim a lly lit, to em phasize the lig h te r fig u re in the back­ ground.

foreground player and a small sector o f the screen is left free for you to see the d o m in an t actor in the background (Fig, 4.19). The device is particularly em phatic, because o u r attention is centred on a small (usually upper, occasionally lower) area o f the screen. R ight and left top angles o f the screen are contrasted from shot to shot, as the two extreme external reverse cam era positions are edited in parallel. W hen an internal and an external reverse cam era position are com bined, some film m akers place the perform ers off-centre in b o th shots, close to one o f the lateral sides. The em pty tw o-thirds o f the screen are filled w ith colour, o r inert shapes th a t do not interfere with the players. Fig. 4.21 illustrates the concept. O n other occasions a dark area th at blocks the same tw o-thirds o f the screen in bo th shots is em ployed to obtain the sam e effect, as seen in Fig. 4.22.

»

A

i i

I i i i

FIGURE 4.19 Here a very small upper area of the screen is used to frame the dom ­ inant player in each reverse master shot. FIGURE 4.20 In this example a smafl lower area o f the screen is used to compose the key figure in each of the reverse master shots.

41

I FIGURE 4.21 A n in te rn a l reverse angle and an e xte rn a l reverse cam era p o s itio n use p icto ria l c o m p o s itio n s th a t co n ce n tra te th e players in th e sam e lateral area o f th e screen.

FIGURE 4.22 The ce ntre o f in te re s t in both m a ste r sh o ts is reta in e d on th e feft side o f the p icture . The re s t o f th e screen is darkened to stre ss th e key, w e ll-lit area. D ire c to r S idney J .F u rle uses m any c o m p o s itio n s o f th is type In his Aim s, espe cia lly in The fpcress Fiie, The Apaloosa and The Naked Runner

,

i

42

This technique is also extended to internal reverse camera positions. These cam era sites cover each o f the two central figures individually. B oth players occupy the same screen area in each reverse shots. T w o-thirds o f the screen in both pictorial com positions are kept empty (Fig. 4.23). I I

I I I FIGURE 4.23 Two Internal reverse shots are used for this example, and the same area o f the screen Is employed to frame the players. Note the opposed glances that relate the players to one another visually.

The usual ra p p o rt fo r two internal reverse shots is to fill two thirds o f the screen area with the figure o f the player featured in the shot, leaving the third area in fro n t o f him free, so th at the com position has b reathing space in front. (Fig. 4.24). J. G . Albicocco in the film L e R at D'Amerique used the wide screen to com pose unusual pairs o f external reverse shots. Fig. 4.25 shows how he fram ed the players on opposed sides o f the screen from shot to shot. He applied the same com positional concept to the juxtaposition o f internal reverse shots, as depicted in Fig. 4.26. 43

FIGURE 4.24 Tw o-thirds o f the screen area are used in each master s h o tto compose the lone player, ieaving 'air' In front of him to achieve a pleasing pictorial com posi­ tion. FIGURE 4.25 Bizarre way of framing two players for a pair of reverse master shots. Its shock effect can often heJp to oblafn an alienated mood in the scene. J

!

FIGURE *.26 Here, (ha player's face Is placed close to one side of the screen frame, leaving half the screen empty behind, This unusual way of com posing tw o related internal reverse master shots brlnos a special visual enhancement to the scene.

T hose types o f com position quickly grasp atten tio n and tend to d istract fro m the m ood o f the scene. A nd yet, to certain types o f situations such as intim ate love scenes, they bring a strange im ­ balance th a t can enhance the situation. E xternal reverse angles

FIGURE 4.27 Hera, both external reverse camera positions are directly behind the players, on the line o f Interest Itself. Only high angles permit this alignment.

45

FIGURE 4.28 From (he three points o f the triangular camera placement figure stem axis tines on w hich the camera can be placed at any distance to cover the two central players In a scene.

from different heights located on the line o f interest itself can be applied if you p u t one player low in the fram e an d the o ther in the u p p er half. Y o u can interchange their locations on the screen in the reverse shot (Fig. 4.27). These principles d o n o t apply only to close ups. F ro m the three p o in ts o f the trian g u lar figure, stem axis lines on which the cam era can be placed to o b tain close ups, close shots, m edium shots and full shots (Fig, 4.28). W e will now see this principle applied to dialogue scenes in­ volving tw o o r m ore persons. E ach cam era position in the tri­ ang u lar layout will b e used to produce a m aster shot. T he scene will be covered in full fro m each set-up a n d from a t least two cam era viewpoints. T he intention is to edit these m aster shots to give full visual coverage. Before going on to these form ulas let us exam ine how the triangle principle applies to the coverage o f a single player. Triangle principle: One person In a film, as in life, one person can m onologue o r dialogue with himself. But in a film the internal thoughts can be m ade audible. 46

T he device is used in literature, theatre, and radio transm itted to the present, past, or future tense. But with film the capturing of ou r inner self is most direct, w hether the internal o r external voice o f the player speaks, o r w hether they conduct a dialogue with one another. W hen the internal voice is heard, the perform er has his lips closed. He m ay react facially bu t there is no lip syn­ ch ro n ization.T hcinternalvoice can be replaced by the rem em bered or im agined voices o f the protagonist. At all times tire direction o f his gaze dom inates the visual presentation o f the lone player. A line o f interest extends between his eyes and the object gazed upon. Once this line o f interest has been established, the triangular cam era placem ent principle can be applied. Even if we are no t shown the object he is looking at, or he stares into space. T he subject need no t rem ain static—-he can write, paint, or be engaged in a m anual activity, all w ithout moving from a fixed place. T he direction o f his gaze becom es our line o f interest, even when his head is turned sideways (Fig. 4,29). If the lone player is looking straight ahead, o u r line o f interest runs north-south to his body, W ith his head on one side, it extends along an east-west axis. If the player looks straight ahead, an east-west axis cannot be used to position the cam era. T he sense o f direction is broken if either reverse shot is used consecutively. Exam ine Fig. 4,30,

W R ON G

FIGURE 4.30 When the lone figure is looking straight ahead (north-south) the tri­ angular camera placements cannot be in an east-west direction. The external reverse angles will present conflictino directions of gaze, which is incorrect.

48

Likewise, if the cam era is on a n o rth -so u th axis when o u r lone player is looking sideways it will no t work. The direction o f his gaze m ust be adhered to as the line o f interest, with the triangular cam era deploym ent set parallel.

FIGURE 4.31 When the tone pfayer turns his head in a half circJe this Is covered by east-west camera positton. W ith a rig h t angle turn a north-south camera placement will suffice.

T he direction o f the line o f interest will shift w hen the lone player m oves his head from one side to the o th er an d tw o coverages are possible: 1 2

a h ead tu rn o f alm ost 180° is covered by the cam era using an east-w est a x is : a head tu rn o f 90° is covered by the cam era using a n o rth -so u th axis.

Fig. 4.31 illustrates b o th cases, for which the trian g u lar cam era coverage m ust be shifted.

49

DIALOGUE BETWEEN TWO PLAYERS

Visual form ulae to cover dialogue are few in num ber— though v ariations can be achieved through dress, background, lighting, etc. T h e two strong cam era positions parallel to the line o f interest are those from which m aster shots are m ade to cover the static dialogue. T he scene is first covered partially or in full from one cam era position, an d then repeated from the o th er to be edited in parallel later. W orking from the two dom inant cam era positions, the following analysis uses as a basis the five trian g u lar variations for cam era deploym ent exam ined in the preceding chapter.

Face to fa ce T he m ost sim ple ap p ro ach w ith face to face dialogue is to use a set o f external reverse angles. W ith the perform er appearing in foreground (with his back to us) in external reverse shots the tip o f the nose should not extend beyond the line o f his cheek—we do n o t see his nose a t all from such a n angle. T he one third/tw oth ird s screen space distribution is basic, although the variants already discussed in the exam ination o f the triangle principle can be used if desired. Fig. 5.1 shows the classic arrangem ent, which is the one more widely favoured by film m akers all over the world. An internal reverse angle can be com bined with an external reverse cam era position. T he perform er singled ou t is the more prom inent. Two solutions are available (Fig. 5.2). 50

FIGURE 5.1 Dialogue between two players. This is the m ost common framing for external reverse master shots of two players who face one another,

FIGURE 5.2 Two com binations of an external reverse angle and an Internal camera positron are possible. *

51

T he next possibility is to cover b o th subjects individually by using internal reverse shots. Only one o f the actors is shown in each m aster shot (Fig. 5.3).

o

FIGURE 5.3

2,

Two Internal reverse master shots cover the players Individually.

Number contrast The com bination o f an external reverse and an internal reverse position creates number contrast o n the screen. External reverse shots include both players, while internal reverse shots feature only one actor. T hus we have the following three positions: 2 perform ers to 2—b o th m aster shots are external reverse cam era positio n ; 2 perform ers to 1— one m aster shot is external, and the other is internal; 1 perform er to 1— bo th m aster shots are internal reverse angles. Performers side by side Two players placed side-by-side on a linear arrangem ent, have a com m on sense o f direction—b o th look forw ard. Yet, this is not the direction o f our line o f interest—th a t runs across the heads o f the perform ers— the direction o f their gaze w hen they look a t each other, and o f psychological ra p p o rt betw een them . Even if they do not look at each other at all during the whole scene, if they are in a w ithdraw n m ood, their heads lowered, eyes shut perhaps, 52

with their voices occasionally breaking a long silence—even then, it is no deterrent to the subjacent link betw een them . One possibility is w ith external reverse angles (Fig. 5.4).

FIGURE 5.4 External shots applied to a linear arrangement fo r the actors, where both are looking in the same direction.

A n o th er m ight em ploy internal reverse angles as seen in Fig. 5.5.

FIGURE 5.5 Internal reverse shots applied to a coupfe of performers sitting on the front seat of a car,

A third possibility is the use o f parallel cam era positions for a frontal coverage as Fig. 5.6 shows. W hen tw o persons are show n in the fro n t seat o f a vehicle m oving along a road, those three side-by-side coverage form ulae find an im m ediate and natural application. 53

Several varian ts can be obtained with side-by-side positions where b o th players a d o p t a right angle body rap p o rt. T he first is the m ost simple, see Fig. 5.7.

n

FIGURE 5.7 formation.

Right angle camera arrangement to cover two actors who assume an L

T he next variant is achieved by advancing along one o f the cam era axes, so th at only one o f the players is featured. Two solutions are available, seen in Fig. 5.8. In the foregoing exam ples, the players’ bodies face the inside of the angle form ed by their figures. Positioned to face outw ards, the three previous solutions w ould ap p e ar as in Fig. 5.9. In all these right angle, side-by-side exam ples, the players are covered from the front. A re ar cam era coverage is also possible. Fig. 5.10 shows three approaches. 54

FIGURE 5.8 Two possibilities for an advancement along one of the camera axes; a close shot of one of the players is obtained.

Players behind one another This situation occurs only in very special circum stances: two persons ride the same horse, o r bicycle, a m otor scooter o r a canoe, and they are conversing from th at forced position. The person in front usually tu rn s his head to look a t the o th er from the corner of his eye. The m ost used cinem atic variations, em ployed to record dialogues in such sccnes, are the external triangular cam era deploym ent and the parallel cam era positioning. The situations covered involve the use o f a moving vehicle. This com plicates the scene because we m ust theoretically put the camera on an o th er vehicle m oving a t the same speed. Establishing shots (the num ber 2 position in the apex o f the triangle principle) are usually from a m oving cam era platform . But closer shots o f the perform ers riding in the m oving vehicle, are m ore difficult to 55

FIGURE 5.9 The players look outside their angular formation. The three approaches shown all have a rioht angle relationship.

obtain with precision and safety for those involved. So, for close shots a t speed a static vehicle is filmed in the studio, with either back projection o r travelling m atte, to provide a m oving back­ ground. Some obstructions rotated in front o f the actors com plete the illusion. By resorting to this visual sleight o f hand, the shots are obtained u n d er controlled conditions. The vehicle is placed upon a base th a t can be ro tated in fro n t o f the projection screen or blue-backing em ployed for travelling m atte, so th a t by pointing the players tow ards o r aw ay from the cam era, Positions 1 and 3 of the triangle cam era coverage can be achieved. Positions 1 an d 3 as seen in Fig. 5.11 cover external reverse positions.

FIGURE 5.11

External earners coverage for (wo players aligned one behind the other.

The second ap p ro ach is a parallel cam era coverage. Positions 1 and 3 individually cover each one o f the players, while Position 2 fram es both players on the screen (Fig. 5.12). An advance on a com m on visual axis can be applied by using positions 1 and 2 o r 3 and 2 o f the parallel cam era arrangem ent. By cutting from shot to shot, not only is there num ber contrast, but one o f the players is em phasized as well. On other occasions this type o f dialogued scene is covered in a single shot from a single cam era position, and this position is usually the num ber 2 (apex) in the triangular cam era arrangem ent. 58

FIGURE 5.12 the other.

A parallel camera deployment lo cover two player* placed one behind

Word o f caution When filming individual shots o f two or m ore players, m istakes may occur. W hen the cam era is repositioned on the set, an d lens and lights changed and adjusted, frequently the direction in which the player was looking is forgotten, especially if the new shot is a head-on close shot. A n acto r who was previously looking to the left, m ay now unconciously deliver his lines looking to the right, thus ruining the sequence. W hen m aking individual shots o f a player engaged in con­ versation, it is a good idea to keep the second actor in his form er place, b u t o u t o f cam era range, for tw o reasons: 1 it will ensure th at the cam era is n o t placed on the other side of the line o f in te re st; 2 the acting o f the player on cam era will be m ore natural, since he has som eone to whom his lines can be delivered, instead o f addressing them into em pty space. If for any reason, the second player is n o t available when the single shots are recorded on film, a reference point beside the cam era hood (sun-shade) m ust be given to the perform er. Either a technician stands there substituting the m issing player, or an object is selected for th at purpose. Some technicians prefer to put their clenched fist against the hood as a reference point. Fig. 5.13 shows the situation. 59

FIGURE 3.13 The om itted player Is kept out o f camera ranfle to ensure proper placement of the camera position. The actor o r substitute 6 Is positioned out o f shot to provide the correct reference point for actress A whose attention Is supposed to be fixed on a definite object or person who might have been seen In the previous shot.

Perform ers m ust avoid looking into the cam era lens. It violates the direction o f the line o f interest a n d the audience feels th at the player is looking at them directly and no t at the o th er players. In a fiction film players m ay look into the cam era lens only for a special purpose. 1 T he perform er m onologues w ith the audience, as Laurcnce Olivier did in his film Richard III. It is a recourse derived from the theatre, where players break the flow o f the scene an d address the audience to give their own personal view o f the events. I t is an accepted convention b u t can destroy the flow o f a staged event. 2 A m ore legitim ate use is w hen the player addresses the audience as a radio o r TV announcer. In the first case, the player relates directly with the audience. We suddenly becom e participants and n o t spectators o f a staged story. It shocks o u r feeling o f security in the darkness o f the m ovie theatre, while in the second instance the p erform er relates with an other player (show n or no t in the preceding o r follow ing shots). 60

T h at is why in the second case the audience accepts the actor looking straight into the cam era lens as m ore natural. These scenes m u st be used sparingly, and w ith strong dram atic m otivating. The player need n o t continually look into the cam era lens, H e m ay look elsewhere, with a detached gaze no t particularly fixed o n a given p oint, an d suddenly tu rn to the cam era a n d look in to it as he delivers the im p o rtan t lines o f his m onologue, thus stressing th a t passage. Camera distance L ooking back a t the exam ples given for the coverage o f con­ versations betw een tw o players in a film scene, we notice three lim itations: 1 All the takes were close shots; 2 T he two players had the sam e body level; 3 T he cam era had the sam e level in b o th shots. F u rth er variatio n s are available. The three points o f the triangle principle generate axis lines on which the cam era can be m oved. D ifferent cam era distances can em phasize a dialogue visually, and afford a livelier presentation o f the scene. In an exam ple involving external reverse angles, P osition 3 can be a m edium shot, while Position I is a close shot. Fig, 5.14 illustrates such a case.

FIGURE 5.14 Different camera to subject distances on a sat of external reverse camera positions.

61

Likewise, when covering tw o actors placed wide a p a rt, this difference in distances is useful to concentrate atten tio n on the m ost im p o rtan t o f the two. Let us say for exam ple, th at in a bare prison cel! a lawyer questions a prisoner, and the lawyer dom inates the scene. His questions a n d th e way he w aits for the answ ers are vital to the story, b u t th e prisoner’s attitu d e is passively uncooperative. C hanges o f cam era to subject distance w ould stress this situa­ tion by alloting a close shot to the lawyer, a n d a full shot to the prisoner (Fig. 5.15).

FIGURE 5.15 Different camera to subject distances on a set of internet reverse camera positions.

These distances should be exploited in pairs. N o m ore th a n four different distances (two pairs) are needed to obtain good results. F o r exam ple, h a lf the dialogue scene can be covered with a m edium shot from P osition 1, a n d a close shot from Position 3. T he o th er h alf o f the scene is then covered with a close shot from P osition 1, and a m edium sh o t from P osition 3. By reversing the play o f distances in the second p a ir o f m aster shots, an effective and sim ple th o u g h dynam ic presen tatio n is obtained. Camera and actor height C am era height influences presentation. In conversation, the lens is usually a t the same height as the actors, sitting o r standing. 62

I f an acto r stands and the other is sitting, the cam era height can vary for the reverse shot (Fig. 5.17).

FIGURE 5.17 Suitable heights must be selected for each camera position to ac­ commodate the differing heights of the players themselves.

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The previous examples used external reverse angles. If internal reverse positions are used to cover the sam e situation (one actor stands, the other sits) for single shots o f each player the cam era is alternately high and low, as if seeing the scene from each player’s view point (Fig. 5.18),

FIGURE 5.18

D ifferent camera heioht* are applied to a pair of Internal reverie ahot*.

I f the cam era tilt is to o acute the effect will be unreal, since we norm ally do n o t look at o th er people from such extrem e low or high viewpoints. Such angles should be reserved as shockers to stress im portant story points o r special events. O n o ther occasions when both players are standing, we can obtain a contrast in heights by merely placing the cam era low in bo th external reverse m aster shots (Fig. 5.19). One player can be stressed with a different cam era height on the external reverse shot coverage o f two players who are standing up (Fig. 5.20). A line o f interest is no t necessarily horizontal. W hen one player lies flat while the o th er stands o r kneels, an d using the triangular cam era disposition, Positions 1 a n d 3 (those close to the line o f interest) are near the heads o f the perform ers, an d therefore have different heights. A vertical line o f interest is also possible (Fig. 5.21). The head o f each player is covered by vertical cam era positions shown in the diagram . 64

FIGURE 5.19

W hen both camera positions are low they create an interplay of h e ifih tt

b etw een th e players.

FIGURE 5.20 This com bination o f a high and a low camera position serves to throw emphasis on to one of the players.

If the line o f interest runs horizontally, obliquely o r vertically, the triangle principle for cam era coverage can be ad ap ted to it. 65

FIGURE 5,21

A vertical line of interest Is covered by a triangular camera deployment.

Subjects lying side by side Tw o players lying on the ground, face to face, o r bo th o n their backs, can be covered by a right angle placem ent to feature each acto r alternately on the screen. T he cam era is level w ith the actors on the ground, or fram ing the players from above, either from a slanted angle or from a vertical p osition (Fig. 5.22). The players heads are kept in the sam e sectors o f the screen. There is, perhaps, an altern atio n in heights within the screen. Fig, 5,22 shows (in the illu stration corresponding to Position 1 o f the cam era) the head o f the m an on the left placed iow on the screen, while cam era P osition 2 his head is high on the left. T he same happens to the w om an on the right, w ho w ithout abandoning her area o f the fram e, shifts up and dow n from shot to shot. The higher position in each shot is occupied by the dom inant player. W ith one cam era placed low er th an the p erfo rm er’s position, there is a reverse play o f m aster shots. F o r this purpose the players m ust be placed in such a way th a t the cam era has full scope for changing position above o r below the Ievei o f the artists where the ground 66

FIGURE 5.22 by side.

A right ancle camera deployment used to cover (wo players lying side

slopes aw ay sharply below and in fro n t o f them . In a studio set up this is quite easily arranged, but even on location if the shot is vital the perform ers can lie on a platform or over a hole dug in the ground so th at the cam era can be placed com fortably below their level fo r one o f the reverse shots, especially if an im m ovable background object is to be included (Fig. 5.23). M any film m akers prefer to shoot such establishing shots on location with surroundings and closer shots under studio co n ­ ditions subject, o f course, to budget. 67

RGURE 5.23 A n external reverse camera set-up to cover two players lying side by side: a platform may be used to aid the shooting o f one by a Jow level shot.

Telephone conversations Tw o players talking to each o ther on the phone, are seen in single takes, an d edited alternately to cover the length o f their conversa­ tion. But to obtain the feeling o f a norm al conversation the actors should look in opposite directions especially with split screen sequences. F o r the perform ers are filmed separately and com bined in printing with m attes (Fig. 5.24). 68

FIGURE 5.24 Opposed glances are usually maintained between shots o f Iw o people talking on the phone.

Opposed diagonals W hen people talk to each o th er they do n o t necessarily keep th eir bodies erect. Som etim es the head is unconsciously tilted to a side to express a m ood o f ease o r intim acy—a n o p p o rtu n ity fo r interplay o f opposed diagonals in com posing close shots (Fig. 5.25). This can b e achieved with any one o f th e trian g u lar cam era set­ ups already discussed. W ide screen com positions can also benefit from this treatm en t. Fig. 5.26 gives an exam ple. People have p artic u la r ways o f standing w hen facing each o th er and in a conversation. T heir bodies are seldom perfectly aligned. Standing a little to one side o f the o th er is psychologically a m ore com fortable position. So, from the tw o external reverse cam era positions the players m ay be aligned o r there m ight be a small o r large lateral gap betw een them . I f the players are perfectly aligned the reverse cam era positions m ust be close to the axis line form ed by th eir line o f interest, n o t parallel to the line itself which w ould give a m uddled view o f the d o m in an t player. A good result will register a diagonal com posi­ tion o f b o th bodies on the screen. T he tip o f the nearby a c to r’s nose 69

FIGURE 5.25 A n Interplay of opposed diaaonats in the com position of the shots can be obtained with any one of the triangular camera set-ups.

FIGURE 5.26 W ide screen com positions can also benefit from diagonal pictorial arrangements.

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should rem ain within the profile. W hen one sm all lateral gap exists between b oth players, the external reverse cam era positions assume th e relationship shown in Fig. 5.27.

FIGURE 5.27

External reverse angles featuring a small gap In the alignment of the

players.

In one o f the shots the diagonal com position is m aintained, bu t in the o th er the cam era shoots over the shoulder o f the player with his back to the cam era. If the lateral gap between them is w ider (such cases occur when an object o r piece o f fu rniture is placed between the players), the external reverse cam era positions assum e a right angle relationship as seen in Fig. 5.28.

m Vi

3

FIGURE 5.28 players.

Right angle camera deployments applied to a wide gap between the '

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FIGURE 5,29 Three example# where the positioning o f the actor’s bodies or their direction of travel appears to violate the triangular camera placement principle. Yet all these examples are correct because they adhere to the line of Interest.

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O ften, the op p osition o f an internal an d external reverse shot violates the sense o f direction o f one o f the players portrayed. N evertheless their use is correct, since the line o f interest is always d o m in an t (Fig. 5.29). In these cases the cam era rem ains on the sam e side o f the line of interest. It is the direction in w hich the bodies p o in t fro m shot to shot th a t m akes it ap p e ar as a blunt reverse. In the first exam ple for instance, the legs o f one player extend to the left on the external reverse shot, a n d to the rig h t on the internal reverse. B ut bodies do n o t count, only the line o f interest flowing betw een b o th heads m atters, an d all these exam ples adhere to this rule. If b o th reverse takes are tracking shots, such as in the third exam ple, the directions o f travel ap p e ar opposed on the screen. Translucent density m asks T he Jap anese d irec to r K ihachi O k am o to in his film A nkokugai no Taiketsu (The L ast Gunfight), starring T oshiro M ifune, successfully em ployed this d arin g technique. T he process is no t new. D irectors o f p h o to g rap h y have repeatedly em ployed filters th a t fade g ra d u ­ ally from d ark to clear, using them to m ask out clear skies as seen in ex terior long shots to give them a night effect. In co lo u r films som etim es a blue, green o r red filter o f th a t type is used for the same purpose. B ut the m asks used by K ihachi O k am o to and p h o to g rap h er K azuo Y am ad a o n A gfacolor film and T ohoscope screen size, were translucent density m asks o f a consistent shade, with a definite edge to them th at p h o to g rap h ed in a b iu rr due to the o u t o f focus position o f the m ask. These m asks were placed obliquely on th e screen and seldom placed vertically o r h o rizo n t­ ally, they were used singly o r in pairs. T he success o f the technique was based on the wise criterion w ith w hich it was applied. Basically they were used to en h an ce som bre com positions in gun fight scenes. T h e d irector seldom used these m asks on scenes shot under broad daylight o r w here the lighting was bright. H e k ept m asks o f different sizes, changing from place to place o n the screen as sh o t followed shot, w ithout diverting from the usual p attern s o f m aster shot editing. The m asks were changed on an o pposition principle sim ilar to those p o rtra y ed in Figs. 5.25 and 5.26. In several instances he kept the sam e m ask for tw o shots in a row, before shifting to an o th er m ask position. U nm asked shots were intercut into the sequence along with the m asked shots. H e 73

FIGURE 5.30 In a mirror,

A simple case of a reverse shot where one of the players Is reflected

even panned the cam era keeping the m ask on, a n d did forw ard tracking shots to which the m ask conferred a rare m ethod of isolation as darkness crept aro u n d the m ain subject as it was approached. Players reflected on mirrors M irro rs have alw ays fascinated film m akers. One, two o r more m irro rs have been em ployed in a surprising gallery o f effects designed to be used w ith tw o m aster shots edited in parallel. T he m ost favoured effects use only one m irror, in one o f three key positions in relation to the tw o players involved: behind, betw een, o r sideways to the perform ers. F o r exam ple, if the m irror is behind the players, in the first shot one o f the perform ers is placed in the foreground, his back to the m irror, while the second player is reflected in its surface, but is o u t o f shot (Fig. 5.30).

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6

THREE-PLAYER DIALOGUE

Several different visual approaches have been evolved for covering three-player dialogue in a film. T here are three basic linear dispositions; 1 a straight line, I a right angle o r ‘L’ shaped form ation, 3 a triangle. Each arrangem ent requires different solutions to bring ou t its best possibilities.

Regular cases As before, for the m aster shots the cam era is positioned close to the line o f interest. It is an easy situation if the three players are in istra ig h t line— each player m aintains his screen area from shot to shot {Fig. 6.1). Here, tw o players are placed one behind the other, an d face the third. But they could be placed o n the extrem es o f the line, facing in tow ards the central perform er (Fig. 6.2). All the players are standing. F u rth er variations are possible by having one or two players seated, o r a t different heights o n a multi-level stage. These subtle variations, including different spacing between the figures, will help disguise the too form al pictorial com position th at a straight line arrangem ent on a plane setting is a p t to give. A n ‘L’ shaped form ation covered by right angle cam era positions, will also m aintain the same regular order of the players in b o th m aster shots as in Fig. 6,3. 75

FIGURE 8.1 Players arranged In a straloht line and covered by two external ravers* camera positions; all the players retain their screen area in both shots.

Irregular cases W hen the players are arranged in a triangle, tw o lines o f interest converge on the d o m in an t perform er, and one line prevails. The centre o f atten tio n for the audience, and for the group on the screen, can be shifted by any subordinate player. He becom es the arbiter o f attention. By turning his head from the dom inant perform er to the other, the second person becom es the im p o rtan t character in the scene. This recourse can be applied in two w ays: 1 the centre o f atten tio n m oves back and fo rth betw een two players. T he third has only a passive role, deciding w ith the m ove­ m ent o f his head which o f his tw o com panions predom inates. 2 the centre o f atten tio n moves in a full circle aro u n d the tri­ angle o f players, each successively becom ing the centre o f attention. 76

FIGURE 6.2 The throe players standing in a C formation are covered by two external reverse camera positions. They all maintain the same screen area in both shots.

T here are three basic form ulas fo r external reverse cam era shots. They provide irregular variants bccause this geom etric arran g e­ m ent o f players does no t give each player a steady screen area. T he cam era sites fo r these form ulas are obtained by selecting two o f the six positions depicted in Fig. 6.3A. In the illustration each player, acting as the apex o f their trian g u lar arrangem ent, is given tw o external reverse cam era shots.

FIGURE 6.3a

Player3 arranged In a W angle with si* possible external camera sites.

Formula A The d o m in an t player, in the centre o f the group, rem ains in his place in b o th m aster shots, while the players a t either side ex­ change positions from shot to shot. In this form ula the three players (placed on a neutral line of interest) are located precisely betw een bo th reverse cam era points, which give alternately a rear an d a frontal view (Fig. 6.4.) This solution is best applied to closely knit groups, where the intim acy or bluntness o f the situation requires scrutiny o f the action an d reaction o f the players, divided into tw o sections and featured alternately. 78

Formula B Here the perform er acting as arb iter o f attention (as a silent spectator) is placed at one side o f the screen. In the next shot she appears on the opposite side. T he o th er tw o players, conversing (along a diagonal line of interest) m aintain their relative positions and occupy the screen area shown in Fig. 6,5. C om binations o f seated and standing players and different shooting distances add variety.

Formula C The d om inant player, placed o n one side o f the screen, stays in that area in b o th shots, while the o th er two perform ers exchange their positions from take to take. In F orm ula B, the d om inant line o f attention flowed diagonally to the background, an d the arbiting acto r was close to the side of the screen. In F orm ula C the dom inant line flows horizontally betw een the two players in the foreground, and the arbiting ac to r is placed beyond (Fig. 6.6.). N otice th at in all three figs. the order o f players (show n above) rem ains A, B, C. T he shift in o rd er (shown below) dem onstrates the effect o f the different form ulas.

External!internal reverse camera positions O pposing external/internal reverse cam era positions provide what one m ight call ‘num ber co n tra st’ on the screen, because the external position covers the whole group, while the internal placem ent fram es only a segment. This can provide variety in presentation. Tw o approaches are possible. Fig. 6.7 shows a 3 to 1 number contrast. The second variation, a 3 to 2 num ber relationship from shot to shot, is illustrated in Fig. 6.8. 80

FIGURE 6.5

Formula B

FIGURE 6.6

F o rm u la e

FIGURE 6.7 A 3to 1 number contrast obtained by juxtaposing an external reverse *hot with an Internal one.

FIGURE 6,8 A 3 to 2 number contrast obtained by luxtaposing an external rever»o shot w ith an internal one.

Once m ore we stress the fact th at all players need no t stand in the scene. One o r two o f them can be seated, reclining o r lying down. This will add variety to the pictorial com positions chosen for the scene. 83

Internal reverse camera positions W ith a group o f three hum an figures divided in two, th e 2 to 1 num ber contrast is added to the range o f possibilities for covering a trio o f players (Fig. 6.9).

FIGURE 8.9

A i to I number contrast obtained by using two internal reverie s h o ti.

Three internal reverse shots can be used to cover, individually three players arranged in a roughly triangular form . A n external cam era position fram es the whole group and m ight serve as an establishing shot—and could be re-inserted from time to time to rem ind the audience o f the group as a whole. Observe Fig. 6.10. It is im p o rtan t to retain the correct interplay o f directions of interest betw een the actors where one holds the atten tio n o f the o th er two.

Parallel camera positions If a group o f three, seen from dom inant parallel cam era positions, is divided into two units, the players present profiles to the camera positions. There is no arbiter o f attention, since two players face the third who dom inates. N um ber contrast is obtained by this m ethod (Fig. 6.11). 84

FIGURE 6.10 Individual Internal reverse camera positions cover each of the players In the group separately; an establishing shot reminds the audience of the ensemble of the whole oroup.

A n establishing shot encom passes the w hole group, and is traditionally used a t the beginning, m iddle o r end o f the scene. If the cen tral player acts as a n arb ite r o f atten tio n , the group can be divided into th ree—those at the extrem es o f the group are in profile a n d the centre player faces the cam era (Fig. 6.12). C am eras on a com m on visual axis show the w hole group from the first p o sitio n a n d only the d o m in an t ac to r in a closer view. He m ay be a t th e centre o r side o f the group (Fig. 6.13). Placing actors a t different levels and distances ap a rt, as in the other ap p ro ach es, provides new screen com positions. Pivoting p o in t Three players can be show n in a filmed scene by including only two in each m aster shot. The person appearing in b o th can occupy 85

T

FIGURE 6.11 Parallel camera positions applied to a group of three persons, Number contrast, 2 to 1, is obtained in this way.

FIGURE 6.12 Individual coverage of each player in a Qroup o f three performers achieved by using parallel camera positions.

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FIGURE 113 Two camera sites on a common visual line cover a trianQufar group of three performers. One of the shots emphasises the central player in the scene.

the same place on the screen for bo th shots or he can be shifted from one side o f the screen fram e to the other as the shot is changed. The first possibility applies when covering a n approxim ately triangular arrangem ent o f actors, the other is useful where actors are placed m ore o r less in a straight line. In both cases one acto r provides a pivoting p oint for the two dom inant cam era positions. Fig. 6 .14 shows a triangular com position where the centre actor acts as pivot. In the exam ple exam ined, the scene is established a t position 1. Positions 2 and 3 are m aster shots. As in this case, the establishing shot is som etimes positioned on one o f the axis lines stem m ing from the tw o strong cam era positions o f the triangle principle. Notice th at the dom inant cam era sites are a right angles to each other, and b o th include the centre acto r (B) on the same side of the screen. In the preceding exam ple the pivoting actor was kept in the foreground in b oth m aster shots. A shift in distance from shot to shot (in one m aster take the pivoting player is near the cam era and in the reverse shot he is in the background) will w ork sm oothly if the pivoting perform er is kept on the same side o f the screen in both takes (Fig, 6.15).

FIGURE 6.14 One o f the players In the group is used as a pivot to relate two master •hots placed at right angles. This pivoting actor Is placed on the same side of the screen in both takes.

FIGURE 0.15 In this example the pivoting player shifts from foreground to back­ ground as each master shot is edited In parallel with the other while keeping a con­ stant screen area.

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T he ac to r used as a pivot m u st m ove his head to vary the centre o f in terest th a t shifts fro m player B to player C in reverse shots. In o u r next exam ple the tw o cam era positions are external re­ verse angles aro u n d the player used as pivot in the scene (Fig. 6.16).

F1GURE6.15 A set of external reverse camera positions around aside player use him as a pivot to cover the group o f three players.

If three acto rs are in a line a n d two o f them face the third person, the centre pivoting player is included in b o th takes, but he shifts from one side o f the screen to the other, as show n in Fig. 6.17.

FIGURE 6.17 Irregular coverage of a straight line arrangement of players, wh