Cinematography-Theory-And-Practice

Figure 6.17. Early films, such as theGreat Train Robbery, which treatedcinema as a “filmed play,” maintaineda static frame and constant,unchanging left/right relationshipsas viewed by the audience. Sincethe camera never moves, it neverchanges the directional relationshipsof the actors or the set.Figure 6.18. (below, top) An exampleof a true reverse from Seven Samurai.The camera jumps cleanly andcompletely to the other side of theline (Figure 6.19, bottom).Directional ConventionsThe classic example of this is in low-budget cowboy movies of thefifties. In these films it was always well established that one directionon screen was towards town and the opposite direction was away fromtown (Figures 6.15 and 6.16). Once we knew that we could tell ifthe good guys or the bad guys were heading toward town or away,any deviation from this would have been very confusing.Another convention applies to trains, planes, and automobiles.If someone is leaving the east and going to the west, the plane orvehicle should be traveling left in the frame and vice versa. This isderived from the fact that nearly all maps have north at the top, sowest is left and east is right.Deliberately Breaking the RulesOne of the aims of editing is to not confuse the audience. If a characteris walking towards the left of the screen in one shot and withoutexplanation in the next shot he is walking toward the right, theaudience will (even if only subconsciously) wonder why he changed.Their attention will be momentarily drawn away from the story asthey try to sort it out.This is the basic principle of all continuity in film shooting andediting. For example, she was just wearing a red dress outside therestaurant, but once she stepped through the door she is wearinga blue dress. Is this a different day? A dream sequence? What happened?Of course, a filmmaker can use this as a storytelling device.Citizen Kane. Inthree seamlessly cut together shots we see Charles Foster Kane andhis wife at the same dining table in the same room. We only knowthat time is progressing because they are wearing different clothesand makeup in each shot. Through this simple device the deteriorationof their marriage is told with great efficiency. Most famously,in the payoff shot she is reading a newspaper put out by a rival publisher:we know the marriage is doomed. Similar devices can indicatewe’ve gone into a fantasy sequence or flashback. They can bequite subtle (a small change in makeup or hair) or dramatic: the littlematch girl on the street is suddenly in a gorgeous ball gown.Exceptions to the RuleThere are several important exceptions to the 180° rule and the line. in the shot, then we understandthat things have changed position. If a car is moving right inthe shot, and then we see it turn around so that it’s going left,then there’s no problem (Figure 6.16). during the shot. cut back, you can change the line. tralaxis shot, then go back to either side of the line.A neutral shot is one where the movement is either directly towardsor away from the camera (Figures 6.20). In cases where the cameramoves during the shot, in essence, the line itself has moved. Somepeople tend to think of the line as very rigid and static, that oncethe line is established it can never move the whole rest of the timeyou are shooting the scene, but actually it is fluid and can changethroughout the scene, as we will see later.There is another exception, although it must be applied with caution.Remember, the whole point of the rule is to not confuse thecinematography84