You’ve just learned a series of basic shots, each of which is an example of what the camera sees. When you decide the angle of each shot, you determine the viewpoint from which the camera shows the scene to the audience. Each camera angle, or viewpoint, is part of your visual language that tells the audience about the characters, their story, and the emotion of the scene. Following are the 10 most important shots associated with specific camera angles:
LOW-angle shot in Slumdog Millionaire (2008)
Bird’s-eye view (overhead) shot in Goodfellas (1990)
Dutch angle in The Third Man (1949)
Low-Budget Dutch Angle Trick
You don’t need fancy equipment to get a professional-looking Dutch angle—you just need the camera and your tripod.
USE POV CORRECTLY
Point-of-view shots must be taken from the perspective of the character whose point of view it is. If you start with a character’s POV shot at a wider angle and then move in closer, it tells the audience that the character is observing a detail or noticing something important, or that the filmmaker is emphasizing something.
FIGURE 7.1Diagram of a reverse shot
OBJECTIVE AND SUBJECTIVE SCENE WORK
Using a one- to two-page, two-person scene as material, shoot it two ways: first, in a single shot in which both actors are in the frame; second, with POV shots from the position of each of the actors. The first version is an objective view of the scene, whereas the second version is a subjective view of the scene. Play back the footage and observe how the scene’s meaning is altered. What does each variation convey? Decide which angle (objective or subjective) best tells the story and emotion of the scene you’ve selected.
Dirty vs. Clean
A medium or close-up shot that includes a foreground actor, such as an over-the-shoulder, is called dirty. A shot that does not include any other actor in the frame is called a clean shot. How do you shoot them, and when would you want the shot to be dirty or clean?