Please O PLEASE use creative camera angles!
Please O PLEASE use creative camera angles!- special effects and filmmaking
I'm seeing lots of the movies you guys are posting, and I noticed that in the rush to create a cool effect, or a cool action sequence, most everyone has forgotten to be creative with their camera work. (I can't tell you how many lightsaber movies I've seen where the camera is just sitting on a table, filming the "action".) Granted, some of these movies that are posted are just simple FX tests, but a lot of people are wondering howcome their movies don't have a more professional look, and then they blame it on their camera model. Check out this clip I found in the Trailer Home. http://members.xoom.com/Incline/DeDeal net.mpeg . In my opinion, that's the most professionally filmed film I've seen on these boards. Just think how The Matrix would have been really boring if they just set the camera on a tripod and filmed all the scenes that way, and the camera work in Mission: Impossible II just made the film, even though the stunts were cool. Anyway, I'm rambling, but just keep in mind that the main way to make your videos more professional-looking is to try filming it like it were a professional movie, not using expensive "Cinelook" programs.
I'll get off my pedistal now.
[This message has been edited by Mr. Hutt (edited 05-28-2000).]
I soooo agree. When i film something, i get the best camera angles I can. Even if i have to climb a tree or get on the roof of a house, I do it! I am very interested in cinematography (spelling?) and I hate movies that use the plain old camera tricks over and over.
Seen my trailer? In one of the scenes, I climbed way up in a treehouse sort of thing that our neighbor built for hunting. It's gotta be at least 30 feet. It was a rare opportunity to get a cool angle.
Isaiah
Oh, that thing is called a tree stand. One time my friend Jack and I were playing paintball and he tried to climb up on one to get a better shot at the other team. He grabbed on to it and started to pull himself up. Suddenly the stand crashed down on his head! We were both laughing so hard. It was pretty funny.
Anyway, camerawork is very important for a film and most people don't seem to realize it. But then sometimes lots of static shots can look really good.
That's bizarre.
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[This message has been edited by Sloan (edited 05-29-2000).]
Jack Sloan,
hehe man
your midi file on your website woke up my family, its like 2am here i had my speakers cranked and typed in www.jacksloan.com
next thing i know sounds like a symphony
It appears that link above doesn't work. Try http://www.likeastory.com/boards/Forum25/HTML/000027.html
You should check out my fight scene in the Trailer Home. I use a lot of quick, alternating camera angles. Look for the scenes when I do a flying knee at my friend, and when I slide under his legs. =)
Even if you don't care about the camera angles, just go and see it anyway! It's a neat fight scene, in my opinion.
This post just reminded me of how many movies I did as a 10 yr old setting my camera on the table and fighting my friends . How do you get more creative shots. I know you can shoot the scene more than once but wouldn't the actors timing be a little off? Same goes if you stop the camera am I right? And I only have one camcorder!
[This message has been edited by HoganKing (edited 05-29-2000).]
IMHO, most people start out learning out how to do cool SFX and never spend the time to learn creative film-making. They seem to think that with enough SFX their movies will be good no matter what. Well, even the best SFX cannot hide amateur filming techniques. Your friends might be impressed by your first few lightsaber fights, but if you can't give them any more than that, they won't be coming back for more.
Why not try a few short, non-effects movies? If you forgo the effects, you will be much more aware of the role of camera angles, movement and of effective pacing.
Before I ever tried to do any SFX, I made a ton of shorts (from 30 seconds to 5 minutes), filmed in sequence (i.e. edited-in-camera ). There was a period when I made many of those EVERY DAY. The subjects would go from drama to humour, action and horror, giving me a good handle on the right way to artistically approach these genres. Practice makes perfect.
If you spend too much time making lightsabers and bullet-time effects, you'll never become accomplished film-makers. In low(or no)-budget movie-making, it's often a one-man act: you have to know how to do everything. <rant mode off>
Before I had a computer, I was always playing with the video camera. I made dozens of animated (clay) shorts and commercial spoofs & stuff. I still have trouble finding "the perfect angle" sometimes, but since I started early I have had a lot of time to improve. My computer has made editing a whole lot easier, but I still do a lot of my stuff the old way.
Isaiah
oh man, this brings back memories. a few years back when i got my old tyco video cam. my friends and i would make movies all the time. thats where i got most of my aesthetic talent. most of the time i had to improvise since i was restricted by the cable hooked to the vcr, but we were creative. i remember the first movie we made, AreA 52, was a simple stop motion flick that was about 5 minutes long. it had some cool shots, but most of them were just the camera sitting on the floor since we didnt have a tripod back then. then we made our first crime/drama. our first live action flick we lost that tape though. hey! if i get enough people requesting it, i might put AreA 52 up on my site. what do ya think.
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Storyboarding helps a lot in continuity. If you keep track of everything as a visual setting, it's easier to re-shoot takes from different angles and still get a well-flowing clip.
Yeah, you're right, storyboarding does help. If you think about it, framing the shot and working out the composition is one of the most fun parts of making a movie.
[This message has been edited by Mr. Hutt (edited 05-30-2000).]
Right Infiniti & Mr.Hutt.,
Storyboarding is so useful and fun to do. For my current movie (85% in the can), I've got about 50 pages of storyboards (the damn film's got over 1000 shots in it). I don't spend much time doing them; it's not meant to be art after all. The more I do it, the faster I get at it.
The storyboard really helps take your mind off of trying to find the next shot; you can spend more time framing/lighting it better. It makes for a more relaxed shooting.
While shooting, I tend to follow the storyboard with a 80% accuracy. There's always the possibility of coming up with an amazing shot idea on the spot. But the stuff I film with no storyboarding at all not only takes more time, but the result is always less pleasing to look at. It's like filming without a script.
A good resource for people who need inspiration for intresting camera angles is Japanese Animation. Most of those movies have good camera angles during action sequences (not the best plots though). I believe that it was said that a key influence in the camera angles of the matrix were Japanese Animation movies.
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Beatles or Elvis man?
hmm...creative...like on nash bridges when the camera flips around when cheech and don go driving by?
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What is purple and hums?
An electric grape.
I agree totally with opperman. Manga rules when it comes to inspiration, and not only camera angles - check out the colors, fx, action etc. in manga movies. You all know how matrix was made...
Now, there's another great resource for camera angles and composition. Cartoon magazines, belive it or not. Just try it out - read some Donald episode, and take a close look at how the pictures are composed, from which angle they are painted, and how they follow each others.
Filming is an art. Just like drawing a picture. Composition is EVERYTHING. Pick up a comic book and look at how everything flows together in the panels. And how dramatic they look.
Always try to get dramatic angles. And avoid straight on shots. Don't have the center of focus in the center of the screen. And change angles, don't keep a static angle on everything. Film is suppos to dyanmic and alive!!
Storyboards are great. Get a good idea of what you WANT a scene looks like. Don't limit yourself in any way. After you decide what you WANT to do, then come up with a way to do it. Don't even start by saying "I WANT do do this, but I can't so I'll PLAN on doing this."
I agree that camera angles and the shot flow are some of the most important things for a director. I use storyboards everytime and they help a lot, so i think everyone shot use them. They are also a lot of fun to work with and i think most of the trailers would be more interesting if people would care more about the angles they are using. But in spite of this i think only going out and film a movie without any preparation for the shots can be very useful, because you can discover completely new angles. If you plan everything there is no discovering, because you only use your "old" experience.
[This message has been edited by MarcArts (edited 05-30-2000).]
This is true MarcArts, I see where your coming from. But I would still suggest you plan before you go film, once you get there you might say "Hey, I have a better idea."
If you ever get a script for a movie then compair it to what actaully happens in the movie you'll notice differences. This goes back to film being dynamic and alive. Feel free to take artistic liberty with your scrip/storyboard but making the script and storybard is important.
But all rules are ment to be broken. If the Balir Witch Project had storyboards for everything it would have been worse than it was. So, just realize what you WANT to do, and depending on that, detimine how to do it.
I guess another thing I didn't mention is creative framing. You don't need to keep the subject in the dead center of the frame, just see what's more dramatic or appropriate.
Actually I believe that haveing the subject matter in the dead center hactually makes for a pretty bad video, how many great pieces of art have you seen where the focal point it dead center?
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Of all the things I've lost I miss my mind the most.
-Ozzy Osborne
(via Hackers)
My ....errrr....'gentleman's excuse me / trouser snake' is dead centre and its a work of art!
Chimp (Who else!)
I wish words could explain how hard I am laughing.
Yes we should talk more about Camera,lights,story borad and not just Super effects.The best thing about MI-2 was that great opening scene with Tom climbing,The Camera made me feel like I was climb up there.
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Brenda The Producer,BDS Co.,Di4465,35mm or Bust.You can do anything
Yeah, I agree. The stunts in M:I-2 were only OKAY, it was the camera work that made the movie look so cool.
I'm working on a new fake movie trailer. It'll have lots of fun camera angles, CGI, an all original sound track and more! I'll post it when it's done.
Isaiah
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Hilarem datorem diligit Deus
Agree with the general concensus regarding camera and moving and angles and POV. But there is one important point that hasn't been raised. Camera moves, and angles, to be effective, must be motivated. That is, there has to be a REASON for the camera to move, or the frame to be non-standard. Dutch angle is interesting and effective used once, as the great shot in Citizen Kane. But a whole movie shot Dutch angle would have people getting headaches.
Blair Witch's use of shaky cam gets old fast. One of the most effective use of camera moves is in Reservoir Dogs, when the ear-cutting is underway. The camera actually moves OFF the shot, giving more power and emphasis to the image than any graphic or FX could have.
Just as we have to learn the alphabet in order to read and write, we have to learn basic camera shots - masters, two shots, close ups, etc. - before we can string them together to make a scene. And camera moves, composition and scene structure are all parts of the conversation that we have with the audience, too.
Shoot as much as you can, trying everything that you can think if, but understand why you are doing a particular shot or move. It really does make a difference.
Sarge
Ya know what has good angles? The Resident Evil series (aka Biohazard). Crazy camera angles in that game.
Hey, checkout my trailer for the HIT
)))http://mx8.xoom.com/bigkidmovies/index1.htmSarge, you're so right. There are lots of cool camera angles or movements one can do to spice up a video, but too much can be overkill. One has to understand how each angle can affect the emotions/conflicts in the scene.
Movie-making is essentially visual storytelling, and the way you present your story affects its impact upon the viewer. You wouldn't tell a joke the same way you would tell a crazy story; it's all in the presentation. What happens is really not so much important as how you present it.
Another pet-peeve of mine: the same way an unusual camera angle or movement must be motivated, so it must be with cuts. There is often a tendency to cut-cut-cut MTV style. Each cut is a potential break in the scene's pace, so you should be careful.
Hey, pmorgan,
I just checked your clips. It's pretty good stuff. I like "TrueLove" especially And "Dirty Dishes". Actually I liked them all! All short and sweet! Very well filmed and paced. I recommend that everyone check them out!
[This message has been edited by admiral (edited 06-02-2000).]
thanks admiral
)))))Hopefully I will have some new stuff up soon )))))))
take care
p
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