Camera Workshop - 180 Degree Rule, Continuity and Camera Angles

To prepare ourselves to film the dancers, for our Image Factory music video project, Anne did a workshop detailing the importance of continuity, the 180 degree rule and camera angles when filming a sequence. Using these techniques from shot to shot will help the video flow and fit nicely together. We was set some tasks to practice these techniques. For the first task we tested the 180 degree rule by filming two conversations, the first between 2 people and the second between three. Then we tried keeping to the rule while someone is walking. The 180 degree rule is when you only film from one side of the character or characters. The reason for doing this is to make sure the viewer understands the surroundings in the scene and where each person is in the setting. Without this the viewer could become confused as to where the characters are. It could also give a wrong impression of the mise-en-scene of the scene. For example, to stick to the 180 degree rule you have to draw an imaginary line, called the line of action, between two characters and chose one side that you will film from. In the case of three people you put a line of action between each character and again chose one side to film from. If the character is walking through different shots its a good idea to keep to the rule as it will make the shot of the walking continuous and flow together. In my group we demonstrated this by creating short scenes in which there are 2 people talking, 3 people talking and a person walking. I edited the scenes into a short video below: 

For the third we were tasked to test out different camera angles and ensure the continuity in a video of Luke making an origami crane. In my group we each took it in turns to film certain actions one after the other. We used different camera angles each time and towards the end of the video we started testing out different camera movements such as: zooms, panning and tilts. To begin we used a shot showing the entirety of the scene (the table, chair and paper on the table) and had Luke walk in sit down and show the origami instructions to the camera, this was to show what the video was going to be about. I then chose to use a close up of his hands folding the paper. Close ups are generally used to show something important in the scene and relevant to the story. I regularly used close ups as the focus of the video was on Luke's hands folding the paper to make the crane. We also used close ups of Lukes face to display his confused expressions and to create some sort of story showing his struggle while making the crane. We filmed a variety of different shots such as overhead shots to show what's happening on the table, medium shots, and viewed the scene from different angles, this is what helps tell a story and makes the scene more interesting to watch. At the end of the video we filmed the same long shot showing the scene but this time had Luke get up and leave, the opposite of the opening. I used this to conclude the story.