Shooting and Editing Movies
- michalawoodruff
- Apr 8, 2024
- 5 min read
Updated: May 3, 2024
Before the “action!” call on the set when making a movie, so many things must happen. Sometimes it feels overwhelming and as if you could never grasp all that is going on. Don’t lose hope! This post is to help familiarize you with some of the things before and after filming a scene.
Cameras.
Cameras are probably the most important items on the set, because no one can make a movie without shooting it. The way the shots are taken, and the quality of the pictures are vital.
There are several major shots or angles of the camera for a scene:
o Long shots (also known as wide shots) capture a big range. It reveals the surroundings and details of the set the characters will be in. This is why it is also called establishing shots. Furthermore, extreme long shots (extreme wide shots) are the same thing just zoomed even farther out.
o Master shots capture everything. It allows the audience to have a break.
o Full shots capture the full body of the subject, expressing the movements of the subject.
o A cowboy or American shot captures a subject’s knees and up. According to “Types of Shots in Flim: A Comprehensive Guide” by Abode with contributors—Ruckus Skye, Lane Skye, Neal Holman, David Andrew, and Kevin Mellon, “Modern films use cowboy shots to show a subject’s body language and some background while still capturing their facial expressions” (para. 9). In short, cowboy or American shots are great for capturing a little bit of everything about your subject.
o Medium shots usually capture subjects from the waist up. However, Abode explains that there are “a medium-long shot (3/4 shot) . . . [and] a medium close-up (from the shoulders up)” (para. 8, https://www.adobe.com/creativecloud/video/discover/types-of-shots-in-films.html). Medium shots are great for showing the expressions of your subjects.
o Dutch-angle shots capture the mood of a scene—anxious, something is going wrong, and so on.
o Over-the-shoulder shots capture the shoulder of someone as if the audience was peeking over the subject’s shoulder to see what the subject is looking at. This lets the audience feel involved and allows them to see the expressions of others in a conversation. Therefore, over-the-shoulder shots can also be reaction shots.
o Point-of-view shots capture what the subject is seeing from the subject’s position and movements. It brings the audience in for intense scenes.
o Close-up shots capture the whole face of the subject. Choker and extreme close-up are forms of the close-ups shots. The difference is that the choker and extreme close-up are even closer to the subject’s face. This captures emotions.
Seeing a theme? The closer the camera gets to the subject results in more empathy from the audience. This move is called push-in shots. Push-out shots do the opposite, zooming out leaves a lonely vibe.
In addition, the higher the camera is, the subject looks smaller and more helpless. On the other hand, the lower the camera is, the subject looks bigger and more powerful.
Now, we talked a lot about a subject with camera shots and though I would love to cover more, I am going to save the topic for another post.
You may be saying, “Yes! This is so cool! But I want to start doing it and I need a camera. What cameras work well for cinematography?”
Here are some links that will tell you the pros and cons of different movie cameras:
Effects.
So, now that we have touched on cameras, consider what happens to the footage after the shooting. Effects, filters, animation, and so much more goes into scenes during the editing process.
We often see green screens in the behind-the-scenes of our favorite superhero movie or almost any genre nowadays.
Why are green screens so popular? Well, they can add animation in place of the screen so they do not have to have the real thing. For example, instead of making a dragon from materials on set or ordering a live dragon from Amazon, filmmakers can animate a dragon by using the green screen.
Green-painted walls are the best. However, the awesome thing about green screens is that they are easy to set up and start the action.
To set it up, you can buy a stand (if the screen does not come with one) or you can make a stand. Some green screens are even installed on your wall! However, that means you probably are not going to be moving it a lot.
When setting it up, try to keep it as wrinkle-free as possible. Wrinkles in green screens can cause a skewwhiff appearance when animating.
Tip: roll the screen instead of folding it. Also, according to Logan Baker—author of “What to Buy for a Green Screen Kit (and Where to Buy It), screens made of nylon or spandex have less wrinkles; however, they reflect light (https://www.premiumbeat.com/blog/gear-guide-buy-green-screen-kit/, para. 9).
Next, the screen must be evenly lit. Avoid extra light. If there are not enough lights, shoot the light downward from the middle top of the screen (“How to Light a Green Screen in 4 Minutes” by Apture, video time 2:50-2:57, https://www.premiumbeat.com/blog/tips-shooting-blue-green-screen/).
Some cameras can check the lighting for you by showing the light spots.
Most of all, remember who the star is—the actor(s) or actress(es). Think always keep in mind what the scene will look like when it is animated and edited; you are not trying to have your subjects match the screen but match the scene (“How to Light a Green Screen in 4 Minutes” by Apture, video time 1:33-2:34, https://www.premiumbeat.com/blog/tips-shooting-blue-green-screen/).
In addition, the subjects should not wear the same shade of green as the screen. Otherwise, they might blend in and such. It is best if the subjects are far from the screen and stick out.
If the subjects must wear green, there are different shades of green screens. Also, there are blue and red screens too.
Once the shot is taken, at times, filmmakers use LUT—sets of numbers that explain what shade of colors the image is. If they want to make the whole shot brighter or darker, more or less saturated, contrast or flatter, and even if they want to make the shot tinted, they can change the combination of LUT’s numbers to filter the shot.
Also, to make it easier and see what the shot looks like before editing, LUT can be loaded to a camera.
What about AI? I would be amiss if I did not address the hot topic of OpenAI and its new software Sora.
Some software uses AI to write movie scripts. AI can change your text or images into video footage. It can make music to add to the shot, and AI can even edit it. In his article “How AI Could Disrupt Hollywood” for Vanity Fair, Nick Bilton defines Wonder Studio as “an AI special effects company that uses drag-and-drop to change an actor into, say, a robot or an alien” (para. 4, https://www.vanityfair.com/news/ai-hollywood-letter-from-la). In short, AI (even in different softwares) has formed a new side of filmmaking.
It is extraordinary, but also disastrous. Further on in his report, Bilton explains the views on AI making movies. He claims that one hand does not want this tool because it threatens their jobs as filmmakers. The other side is excited to see AI explode the entertainment industry (para 6, https://www.vanityfair.com/news/ai-hollywood-letter-from-la). I would love to hear your thoughts below!
Should AI make movies?
All for AI-made movies
Sure, if people do too
I don't know
No way
