Cinematography-Theory-And-Practice

Look Establishes New LineIn a related issue, let’s focus on the couple at the table. In our sceneof a couple in a restaurant, the conversation between the couple hasits own line. When she turns to look at the gangster, that establishesa new line that must be respected in all shots that involve the coupleat the table and the gangster (Figures 6.35 through 6.37). It does notreplace the line established by the couple's conversation, which muststill be used for any coverage at their table.Eyelines in Over-the-Shoulder CoverageWhen shooting over-the-shoulder coverage, the camera height willgenerally be at eye level for the characters. If the two performers areof unequal height, some modification is usually necessary. In thiscase, the camera height will approximately match that of the characterover whose shoulder you are shooting.Eyelines for a Seated CharacterThe same principle applies when one or more of the characters isseated or on the floor, but with an important exception. Since shootingover the shoulder of the standing character might be an extremeangle, it also works to keep the camera at the eye-level of the seatedperformer, which makes it sort of a past the hips shot, (not an officialterm, by the way, but maybe it should be).In situations like this, for the clean singles, when there is a differencein height or level of the characters in coverage, the eyelines mayalso need some adjustment. This does not apply to over-the-shoulders,as we can see the off-screen performer’s head and thus we knowthe actual eye-level. In this case the eyeline of the seated charactersshould be slightly above the lens, and the eyeline of the standingcharacter should be slightly below the lens. Be careful not to overdothis. As with all eyelines and cheats, the final judgment should bemade while looking through the lens. How it looks and how it willwork in editing always trumps a rote rule: the goal is workable editing,not merely formal technique.Figure 6.33. (left) This master establishesthe background group andthat the man with the mustache islooking to the left of the camera.Figure 6.34. (right) In the cutawayto the background group, the directionalrelationships are maintainedand most importantly the manwith the mustache is still looking tocamera left. There can be no questionbut that he is looking towardthe foreground group.Figure 6.35 (left) Two people at atable establishes a strong action line.Figure 6.36. (middle) If one of themlooks off-screen to something else,this establishes a new line beweenthe two, as in Figure 6.37 (right).cinematic continuity93