30-degree rule
The 30-degree rule is a basic film editing guideline that states the camera should
move at least 30 degrees between shots of the same subject occurring in
succession. If this rule isn't followed a jump cut occurs and there is a risk that the
audience starts focusing on the filming technique instead of the story that is being
narrated.[1]
The 30 degree change of perspective makes the shots different enough to avoid
a jump cut. Too much movement around the subject may violate the 180-degree
rule.
Following this rule may soften the effect of changing shot distance, such as
changing from a medium shot to a close-up or extreme close-up.
The 30 degree rule has its origin from the beginning of the 20th century. The
legendary French filmmaker George Mlis, producer of silent black-and-white film,
inspired succeeding filmmakers to heed this rule of angle when cutting between
similar or nearly identical clips. When Mlis himself made his famous A Trip to the
Moon in 1902 he tried to edit together film clips of the same framing and with the
same angle, after changing the scene between the shots, to make it look like there
was no cut at all. It was the world's first attempt to make special effects. [2]
As Timothy Corrigan and Patricia White suggest in The Film Experience, "The rule
aims to emphasize the motivation for the cut by giving a substantially different view
of the action. The transition between two shots less than 30 degrees apart might be
perceived as unnecessary or discontinuous--in short, visible." (2004, 130)
The rule is actually a special case of a more general dictum that states that the cut
will be jarring if the two shots being cut are so similar that there appears to be a lack
of motivation for the cut. In his book In The Blink of an Eye, editor Walter
Murch states:
[We] have difficulty accepting the kind of displacements that are neither subtle nor
total: Cutting from a full-figure master shot, for instance, to a slightly tighter shot that
frames the actors from the ankles up. The new shot in this case is different enough
to signal that something has changed, but not different enough to make us reevaluate its context.(2006, 6)
The axial cut is a striking violation of this rule to obtain a certain effect.
180-degree rule
In film making, the 180-degree rule[1] is a
basic guideline regarding the on-screen spatial relationship between a character and
another character or object within a scene. An imaginary line called
the axis connects the characters and by keeping the camera on one side of this axis
for every shot in the scene, the first character will always be frame right of the
second character, who is then always frame left of the first. If the camera passes
over the axis, it is called jumping the line or crossing the line.
Example
In a dialogue scene between two characters, Matthew (orange shirt, frame left in the
diagram) and James (blue shirt, frame right), the camera may be placed anywhere
on the green 180 arc and the spatial relationship between the two characters will be
consistent from shot to shot, even when one of the characters is not on screen.
Shifting to the other side of the characters on a cut, so that James is now on the left
side and Matthew is on the right, may disorient the audience.
The rule also applies to the movement of a character as the line is created by the
"line" created by the path of the character. If a character is walking in one direction
and is picked up by another camera they must, for example, exit the frame on the
left and enter the next shot on the right. A jump cut can be used to denote time. If a
character leaves the frame on the left side and enters the frame on the left in a
different location, it can give the illusion of a extended amount of time passing.
Another example could be a car chase; if a vehicle leaves the right side of the frame
in one shot, it should enter from the left side of the frame in the next shot. Leaving
from the right and entering from the right will create a similar sense of disorientation
as in the dialogue example.
Common usage, pitfalls and solutions
Usage
The 180-degree rule enables the audience to visually connect with unseen
movement happening around and behind the immediate subject and is important in
the narration of battle scenes.
Pitfalls
he imaginary line allows viewers to orient themselves with the position and direction
of action in a scene. If a shot after the original shot in a sequence is located on the
opposite side of the 180-degree line, then it is called a "reverse cut." Reverse cuts
disorient the viewer by presenting an opposing viewpoint of the action in a scene
and consequently altering the perspective of the action and the spatial orientation
established in the original shot
Solutions
There are a variety of ways to avoid confusion related to crossing the line due to
particular situations caused by actions or situations in a scene that would
necessitate breaking the 180-degree line.
Prevention
Either alter the movement in a scene, or set up the cameras on one side of the
scene so that all the shots will reflect the view from that side of the 180-degree line.
Camera Arch move
ne way to allow for crossing the line is to have several shots with the camera arching
from one side of the line to the other during the scene. That shot can be used to
orient the audience to the fact that we are looking at the scene from another angle.
In the case of movement, if a character is seen walking into frame from behind on
the left side walking towards a building corner on the right, as they walk around the
corner of the building, the camera can catch them coming towards the camera on
the other side of the building entering the frame from the left side and then walk
straight at the camera and then exit the left side of the frame.
Buffer shot usage
n order to minimize the "jolt" between shots in a sequence on either sides of the
180-degree line, shoot a "buffer shot" along the 180-degree line separating each
side. This will allow the viewer to visually comprehend the change in viewpoint that
is being expressed in the sequence
Style
In professional productions, the applied 180-degree rule is an essential element for
a style of film editing called continuity editing. The rule is not always obeyed.
Sometimes a filmmaker will purposely break the line of action in order to create
disorientation. Stanley Kubrick was known to do this, an example being the
bathroom scene in The Shining.[4] The Wachowskis and directors Tinto
Brass, Yasujiro Ozu,Wong Kar-wai, and Jacques Tati sometimes ignored this rule
also,[5] as has Lars von Trier in Antichrist.[6] In the seminal film of the French New
Wave, bout de souffle ("Breathless"), Jean-Luc Godard breaks the rule in the first
five minutes in a car scene that jumps between the front and back seats, improvising
an "aesthetic rebellion" for which the New Wave would become known.
Some styles used with the 180-degree rule can elicit an emotion or create a visual
rhythm. By moving the camera closer to the axis for a close-up shot, it can intensify
a scene when paired with a long shot.When the camera is moved further away from
the axis for a long shot after a close-up shot, it may provide a break in the action of
the scene.
In the Japanese animated picture Paprika, two of the main characters discuss
crossing the line and demonstrate the disorienting effect of actually performing the
action.
In Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, Gollum has a
conversation with himself or with his other personality. Because the filmmakers use
the 180-degree rule, and have the "good" Gollum looking left as he speaks while the
"evil" Gollum looking right, the audience perceives Gollum as two different
characters talking to each other. This effect builds gradually during the scene: the
first few times Gollum shifts between personalities, he is shown starting to turn his
head, though the camera changes angles mid-turn. As the argument between the
split-personalities intensifies, the editing gradually changes to using jump cuts, not
showing Gollum turning his head.
Multi-Format Live Video Switcher
The V-1600HD Live Video Switcher is ideal for any live event or installation that
requires a high channel count and the ability to accept a variety of video input formats
out of the box.
The V-1600HD switcher features a built-in preview monitor that provides a convenient
monitoring solution when external monitors are not available or ideal. The sixteen
inputs provide connectivity to HD/SD-SDI, DVI-D/HDMI, RGB, Component, S-video, and
composite formats as well as still images assignable via USB memory. The 14 mixing
channels provide built-in scalers and frame syncs for worry-free seamless mixing
regardless of the resolution or format.
The V-1600HD supports an incredible variety of system design and creative production
options for live or fixed installation applications. Dual independent multi-format outputs
provide a number of innovative multi-screen output options including the ability to
SPAN the mixer output to two projectors with the ability to edge-blend the center. In
AUX mode, the outputs can be set to different resolutions which is ideal for sending the
program out to a record feed.
The V-1600HD Video Mixer brings high quality video production to live event, corporate,
educational, and house of worship applications.
Teleprompter
Teleprompter
A teleprompter, or autocue, is a display device that prompts the person speaking
with an electronic visual text of a speech or script. Using a teleprompter is similar to
using cue cards. The screen is in front of, and usually below, the lens of
a professional video camera, and the words on the screen are reflected to the eyes
of the presenter using a sheet of clear glass or a specially prepared beam splitter.
Light from the performer passes through the front side of the glass into the lens,
while a shroud surrounding the lens and the back side of the glass prevents
unwanted light from entering the lens.
Because the speaker does not need to look down to consult written notes, he
appears to have memorized the speech or to be speaking spontaneously, looking
directly into the camera lens. Cue cards, on the other hand, are always placed away
from the lens axis, making the speaker look at a point beside the camera, which
leaves an impression of distraction.
Television
Modern teleprompters for news programs consist of a personal computer, connected
to video monitors on each professional video camera. The monitors are often blackand-white monochrome and have the scanning reversed to compensate for the
reflection of the mirror. A peripheral device attached to the serial port has a knob
that can be turned to speed up, slow down, or even reverse the scrolling of the text.
The text is usually displayed in white letters on a black background for the best
readability, while cues are in inverse video (black on white). Difficult words (mainly
international names) are spelled out phonetically,[8] as are other particulars like
"Nine-eleven" (to specify that the event 9/11 should not be pronounced "nine-oneone", for example).
With the development of inexpensive teleprompter software applications as well as
free Web-based teleprompter applets, many different disciplines are now using
teleprompters to help them deliver sermons, deliver speeches, and to create quality
audio recordings. Unlike their big bretheren, these entry level products work on
desktop computers, laptop computers, and even tablet computers to enable the
speaker to control the rate and flow of their speech. They are also used by many
different organizations and schools to deliver prewritten information by relative
novices. They are usually called "personal teleprompters."
DIGITAL VIDEO EDITING: THE
GRAMMAR OF EDITING
Bad Grammar can lead to a bad impression. Learn the
grammar of editing to avoid common mistakes.
Grammar, which knows how to control even kings. - -Jean Baptiste
Moliere
In verbal communication, the same words can yield different
statements because their meanings depend on the punctuation
used in each sentence. The rules governing punctuation and
sentence structure are of course called grammar, and if you didn't
know them you couldn't figure out a pause from a paragraph.
Similar rules are equally important in visual communication. Where
verbal grammar covers exciting stuff like predicates and subjects,
visual grammar addresses three kinds of pictorial transitions: cuts,
fades and effects.
Traditionally, a cut joins two shots in a continuing action, a fade
signals a change from one action to another and an effect makes
either type of transition purposely calling attention to itself.
Today, television commercials, music videos and trendy movies
routinely ignore any rules they please; but in order to tell when the
rules are broken we need to know what they are. So let's summarize
visual grammar in its classic form, starting with the most common
transition: the straight cut.
Kind and Unkind Cuts
In a cut, the first frame of a new shot directly follows the last frame
of the previous one. Grammatically, a cut is like the space between
two words: a division between units of meaning that signals no
change at all.
In classic editing, a cut should be nearly invisible because the action
on screen moves across the division between shots in an
uninterrupted flow. This enhances the illusion that the viewer is
watching a continuous process instead of a bunch of discrete
images.
Creating this illusion is easy when the shots show different subjects,
such as close-ups of two different actors, because the viewer
expects the image to change completely from shot to shot. But when
two shots cover successive views of the same subject you must
spackle the seam with two crucial editing techniques: matching
action and changing camera angle.
In matching action you set the edit points so that the incoming shot
picks up precisely where the outgoing shot leaves off. There are
three ways to do this: continue movement, cut between movements,
and start or end off-screen, as you can see from Figure 1.
Cutting in the middle of an ongoing movement is the hardest
method but it delivers the most convincing illusion. In the outgoing
shot of Figure 1a, the cup descends part-way to its saucer. Then the
incoming shot starts with the cup on-screen and continues on its
path toward the table. With precision matching, the two arcs seem
like different views of the same continuous action. You can match
continuous action with consumer-level editing decks if you're willing
to practice with the deck's accuracy.
An easier way is to make the cut during a pause in the action, as
shown in Figure 1b. Here, the performer completes the whole setdown in medium shot and the close-up starts with the hand and the
cup at rest. With no movement to match, the edit is easier.
Simpler yet is the old off screen ploy (Figure 1c). The incoming shot
starts before the cup enters the frame, so the viewer cannot
compare its end position with its start position. With this method,
you don't have to match action at all.
The method works equally well if you reverse it so that the outgoing
cup ends on-screen and the incoming cup starts off-screen. And
when you have a really difficult edit, try both at once: finish the
outgoing and start the incoming shots with empty screens.
Whichever method you use, matching action does only half the job
of concealing the cut. To perfect the illusion you must also shift the
camera position. By moving the point of view, you change the
subject's background and deprive the viewer of reference points for
matching action.
As we've often noted, you can change three aspects of camera
setup: vertical angle (from bird's-eye down to worm's-eye),
horizontal angle (from front through 3/4 and profile to rear) and
image size (from long shot to close-up). Figure 2 shows why it's
tough to conceal a cut without changing at least one of these
aspects and preferably two.
Figure 2a shows no angle change between the two shots and the
obvious jump cut that results. Figure 2b changes one aspect: image
size. If you're a slick editor you can make this cut work, but it's
easier if you can change a second aspect as well. In Figure 2c the
edit changes vertical angle as well as image size for a smoother
transition.
Should you change all three aspects of a camera position? Maybe,
but not necessarily. It doesn't add to the illusion and it can actually
call attention to the edit because the viewpoint change is so great.
On the other hand, an extreme angle change can be effective in
building suspense precisely because it produces an effect of
uneasiness or even disorientation.
