"I need to tell you something..." are often the first words of a heavy conversation between two people. How will the other react? You do not know. It can go down well or completely go the other way. In this lesson series you will learn how to visualize a dialogue.
Tips and tricks
The rule of thirds
Filmmakers and photographers often use the rule of thirds. In short, this means that your subject is at an intersection of thirds. This may sound a bit vague, but video 1 explains this.
Photos or videos taken according to the rule of thirds often look more pleasant and professional. In this lesson series, we will apply the rule of thirds as much as possible.
Shot reverse shot
A shot reverse shot is a technique that is often used when filming a conversation between two people. The people who are talking to each other are shown in turn. Often an over the shoulder shot is used. The camera positions in a shot reverse shot are always opposite. It is important that the 180 degree line is never crossed.
180 degree rule
As a cameraman you always stay on the same side when filming a conversation. If you suddenly film from the other side during the conversation, the person who was first on the left suddenly appears to be on the right. Viewers find this very confusing. That is why you can rotate a maximum of 180 degrees around a conversation. That equates to a semicircle. When crossing the 180 degree line, you have rotated more than 180 degrees around the people and the people seem to have switched places. In figure 1 you can see an example of this.
Video 1: The rule of thirds
Figure 1: 180 degree rule
What do you do?
When filming a dialogue, you work in a number of steps.
- First, film the entire dialogue from a distance (full-shot or mid-shot). Make sure the actors have practiced the scene well and can play it in one sitting. This will be our base shot. See Figure 2.
- Then you film one player's face (over-the-shoulder) and replay the entire scene. See Figure 3.
- Repeat step 2 for the other player. See Figure 4.
- Experiment with other shots and points of view, but always keep the 180 degree rule and the rule of thirds in mind.
This way you have at least 3 angles to choose from before editing, so you can depict the scene in an interesting way.
Figure 2: Basic shot of a dialogue (full shot)
Figure 3: Actor 1 (medium close-up, rule of thirds)
Figure 4: Actor 2 (medium close-up, rule of thirds)
Example dialogues
Video 2: Example dialogue from 'Goede Tijden, Slechte tijden'
In this video you can see a scene from 'Goede tijden, Slechte tijden'. In this example, a grid has been superimposed over the image, so you can see how they use the rule of thirds on television. The shot names are also listed below the video.
Video 3: Example episode of 'Goede tijden, Slechte tijden'
Hierboven is een volledige aflevering van Goede Tijden, Slechte Tijden te zien. Ook hier zie je een raster over het beeld. Bekijk enkele fragmenten terwijl je door de video skipt. Wat valt je op?
Video 4: Dialogue from Harry Potter with status difference
Video 3 is an excerpt from Harry Potter. The rule of thirds and over the shoulder shots are also applied here. To reinforce that Harry is a student and Dumbledore a teacher, they pulled another trick. Can you discover which one?
I need to tell you something...
Your teacher will make groups of 3 people. With your group, choose one of the dialogues below and visualize it using the new techniques you have learned.
Assemble your video in iMovie into a logical whole. Do not use image transitions.
Assessment criteria
- You have performed the dialogue convincingly
- You used the shot reverse shot
- You took the rule of thirds into account when filming
- You have not crossed the 180 degree line
- The story is clearly traceable and understandable
- You have worked according to the steps