Trick Film Shots - 9 Tricks Filmmakers Do to Make Shots More Interesting
By Elliot B. Grove
So you know the basics of cinematography, but you're having a hard time thinking of ways to give your shot a little more stylistic punch. What can you do? Well, next time you're watching a favorite film, start thinking about the different camera angles you're seeing. Unlike your eyes, a camera isn't fixed in a certain position at a certain height off the ground. Developments in technology have made it possible for a camera to go just about anywhere. Here are just a few ways to start getting a little more adventurous with your cinematography.
1. High Angles
Get up on a ladder; shoot out a window, from a helicopter, anything. A birds-eye view allows a perspective that is completely new and different from what we are used to seeing. High angles can also be used to make the subject of a shot look smaller and more diminutive, enabling you to influence how the viewer perceives the subject.
2. Low Angles
Orson Welles once dug a hole in the floor on the set of Citizen Kane so that he could shoot Leland and Kane from floor level in a scene. Low angle shots, like a high angle, can provide a brand new perspective on a scene. Low angle shots also make the subject look like its towering over you, gigantic and intimidating.
3. Canted Angles
Who says your horizon has to be perfectly level? Directors like Terry Gilliam and Tim Burton use canted angles frequently in their films, and even the 2008 Oscar winner Slumdog Millionaire makes extensive use of canted angle shots. Canted angles, in addition to being visually striking, can also emphasize a sense of disorientation or alienation in the subject of the shot.
4. Use a Steadicam
Steadicams are a brand name of stabilizer, which uses counterweights to make handheld camera movements smooth. Using a steadicam as opposed to a dolly allows for much greater mobility, and makes it easy for the camera to follow a character around tight corners or through narrow spaces.
5. Rack Focus
By changing the focal length on the camera and adjusting it mid-shot, you can move the focus of the shot from one subject to another without editing. This technique shouldn't be overused but is effective for an occasional dramatic effect.
6. Crane Shots
Intimidating as this may sound, not all crane shots have to be ridiculously expensive. Some cranes cost as little as a few hundred dollars, and there is always the opportunity to get creative in making your own.
7. Shoot Inside or Through Something
Shots that show the subject of the shot filtered or reflected through a medium, such as a rearview mirror or a pair of glasses can be visually striking and can both deepen or break the illusory reality of the film.
In the end, the aspiring filmmaker has to break the habit of seeing the world from a set point of view, and once that is done the possibilities for artistic and stylistic expression in cinematography become practically endless.
8. Pan or Tilt Shot
A pan is a good way to break the cycle of shot/ reverse-shot of conventional editing. You can use a pan to go from one character to another in a dialogue scene, but again the method should not be overused in this way as you run the risk of making the audience queasy with too much panning back and forth. A tilt upwards is also an effective way of showing something tall, and inversely a tilt down will emphasize how small something is.
9. Point of View Shots
Point of view shots can be a very effective method for creating tension. Horror and suspense films in particular use this method frequently to show the perspective of the killer approaching its unsuspecting victim. One film, the 1947 film noir Lady in the Lake, even went so far as to shoot the entire film from the point of view of the main character.
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