AV News 197 - August 2014
1. KEEP THE CAMERA STILL. While you may break this rule a lot (and for
good reason) later on it is good to begin this way as it helps you to grasp what
are the essentials of movie. As you look at the world most of the time you
perceive it from a fixed standpoint. You stand or sit and take in some action:
a gymnast performing, a person talking, a man working, a baby taking its first
steps, a dramatic encounter. In all these cases there is movement within the
scene. For you (also) to move serves only to confuse the action. Let their
movement be the thing that counts.
How to keep still? Ideally, by using a tripod. This has the additional
advantage that you can compose your 'frame' and then, during the shooting,
concentrate on the action. (Historical note: This is how the first movies were
made.) Failing a tripod, lean against something solid: a wall, a fence, or a
lamppost. With practice you should be able to hold the camera fairly still,
though the smaller the camera the harder this is. Stand feet apart and relax
into a comfortable hand grip with fingers in reach of all necessary buttons.
2. CHOOSE YOUR FRAME. The zoom lens is a wonderful invention which
can save you a lot of walking about. But that lens is primarily intended to
allow you to choose how you frame your picture. In movie it also enables you
go quite mad. There is a strong temptation to become zoom-happy and to
feel that you are not doing justice to your kit unless you zoom in and out
during every other shot. Don't! You have no need to become a latter-day
Superman swooping in and out on all that goes on. Having got the picture
you want to then remember Rule One, stay where you are and let the action
tell the story. (We will say more about zooming in later notes, on shot types.)
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