All language subtitles for Vol.IV-The.Moving.Camera.(Cont.)

This DVD continues

from a previous volume.

If you haven't watched the previous

volumes, it's highly

recommended that you do so first.

Panning and tracking handoffs are almost

identical moves and are

often interchangeable.

However, the tracking handoff can be

considered the enhanced version.

As we do tracking versions of some of the

handoffs from the panning chapter,

we track with the

characters ending on a sign.

Here we handoff from

one character to another.

Since we're not handing off by panning,

but instead by moving the entire dolly,

we're physically moving to a new area and

have a much easier time separating the

characters and keeping a good angle.

Here we're using a switch to do a

document handover as we

track through the scene,

moving with a red man,

switching to the woman,

and switching to the blue man.

If we did this with a pan, our angle on

the characters would get worse and worse,

but on track we're able to

continuously keep a good angle.

Tracking handoffs also

produce a great deal of parallax.

Here we track with a waiter.

As we handoff to the guests, we get very

pronounced parallax, which a lock camera

could never produce.

Or if we're starting parked on the

restaurant guests, we

pick up on the waiter,

walk with them,

then end on a character in the

foreground, again creating heavy parallax

and a quick and surprising reveal.

The great thing about tracking handoffs

is that with minor consideration,

they can come by as an almost automatic

consequence of

tracking between keyframes.

In this scene, one of the things that

happen is that the man walks over here.

We'll presumably have many different

keyframes in the scene,

but the two we would be interested in are

a shot on the man and

a shot on the woman.

If these keyframes are connected for

tracking with his walk,

we get an automatic handoff as we end in

the second keyframe.

This creates very three-dimensional

blocking and is very easy to do.

Starting in the man's shot,

we pull with him as he walks,

handing off to the woman.

Since both keyframes would probably be

needed for cutting

dialogue before the actual move,

we would likely also shoot a locked

version staying on the woman as well.

Another very everyday use for a tracking

handoff comes as a

byproduct of not having enough track

or wanting to avoid the edge of the set.

In this shot, we're restricted by needing

to keep the studio lamp out of the shot

as well as the length of the track.

So we simply pick up on him as soon as he

steps into the shot.

When we reach the end of the track, we

stop and let him walk out of the shot.

So we're effectively handing off from the

set to the character or vice versa,

which creates the same kind of attention

shift as any handoff.

He steps in.

We track with him.

And just before we go over the edge of

the track, we stop and let

him walk out of the shot.

This move comes from a technical

restriction, but it looks so good that we

ought to do it on purpose.

And the way to do that is simply to start

or stop short of character movement.

In this shot from a previous chapter,

we're tracking with the characters

through a park as they talk.

Instead of just cutting to

another scene when they're done,

we'll stop the track and let them walk

out of the shot, effectively

handing off to the scenery.

In this shot, we're really just supposed

to track with the man

from point A to point B,

but we'll instead pretend that we're

restricted and park on the woman.

So we don't begin tracking with the man

until he passes this point,

again creating an attention shift that

makes the shot just a

little more interesting.

When she walks back to the man, we again

push in to tighten the shot.

We're calling this opening and closing

space because one of the best uses is to

make room for characters as

they enter and exit shots.

Here we're on the man.

We open the space to make

room for the woman entering.

And when she leaves, we

close the space again.

Looking at it from above, we're getting

the camera out of the

way to make room for her.

When she leaves, we close the gap again.

This is useful for several things.

Opening space is helpful as we just saw

to bring more characters in.

Here we're having dialogue between the

two women and the man.

When he walks over to them, we widen

their shot to make room,

and then add a

reverse three shot to match.

Closing the space when a character leaves

gives us a reason to push in on the

remaining character.

If we think about it, any time a

character walks away it makes sense to

identify with the remaining character.

So as the red woman walks to a different

mark, closing the space does double duty.

Another use for closing space is to

simply tighten a shot at a

certain point in a scene.

As the woman sits down, we push in, ready

for the next part of the dialogue.

This move is so simple

it's easy to overlook.

We pan with a woman over to the table.

As she sits down, we push in

and tighten the atmosphere.

An interesting move is to start a scene

by opening the space and then have the

characters fill the frame.

We start on the blue man.

As we pull out, the red man and the woman

step into the frame.

In this variation we'll have the

surrounding characters flood the frame.

We pull out, the red man stands up, and

as he walks to the woman the surrounding

extras spill into the frame.

In this example we start on the

characters and then pull

out slowly as they talk.

What we're doing is making room for the

blue man as he secretly steps in,

certainly a meaningful

character in the story.

A less overt way of opening and closing

space is to offset the dolly based on one

character's movement.

As the man walks away we close the space.

And as he walks back to

her we open the space.

This technique is

subtle but extremely useful.

We can go back and forth any number of

times and cover the

entire scene this way.

Shooting in tight spaces it's very

effective to place the camera in the path

of moving characters and then move it to

the side to make room for them.

We start in the middle of their path.

As the characters come

closer we move out of their way.

In this example the characters pass by

but the move is just as

useful if they move in and stop.

Let's put together a quick scene where we

open and close space to

assist character movement.

As the woman moves to a new

position we open the space.

The red man leaves the scene and we open

the space to cover his movement.

He leaves and we close the space to

identify with the remaining characters.

In the next two chapters we'll look at

the effect of the

track angle on a character.

There are two distinctly different ways

to look at this, the first of which is

that the angle

determines how personal a move is.

With the track angled directly on the

character we're essentially moving along

her eye line making us

emotionally involved with her.

So when we move in we're becoming more

identified with her and

feel what she's feeling.

When we're pulling out

we're detaching from her.

Both moves are about her so we'll call

this a personal angle.

Here the blue man leaves

and we push in on the red man.

The track is directly angled at him so

it's a completely personal move.

When we lay the track side to side we

more or less maintain the distance to the

character making the shot impersonal.

This creates a more disconnected or

indifferent feeling.

So it doesn't mean that the move is

without emotion but simply that we're

keeping our distance.

Here the red man is in the hospital

waiting to hear if his wife will survive.

In this scene staying at a distance is

the best way to show how

alone and helpless he is.

If we angle the track anywhere between

personal and impersonal we get a move

that is a mixture of both.

So if we're in a situation where the

character is in trouble

because of her own doing,

we might be pushing in because the shot

is about her but we're also being

impersonal because she's on her own.

The more we angle the track on the

character the more we connect with her.

This move is more personal

but still slightly detached.

The closer we're moving along the eye

line of a character the more we connect

with her which is a sliding scale that

can be adjusted for the situation.

But another consequence of the track

angle is the amount of parallax.

When we're keeping the character in a

fixed position in the frame we get the

parallax from the passing background

instead of the passing foreground.

We'll call this back parallax.

If we first push directly in on the man

we get virtually no parallax.

But if we angle the track even just a

little bit we get parallax

from the moving background.

This has the very particular effect of

making a character's

world seem unrestful.

Let's angle the track even more and say

that the red man is being told that his

fraud scheme has been

discovered and he could go to prison.

As we push his world

seems suddenly torn up.

What we're seeing is the background

passing by but it's as if we

can see his troubled thoughts.

We're calling this phenomenon unrest

which is a powerful and

accurate way to look at it.

As we push directly in on the dialogue

the scene is completely calm except for

the height and focus

we get from tracking.

The more we angle the track the more

unrest we add to their world.

Usually we'll want to angle all personal

tracks a little bit.

Here the slide angle causes a small

amount of unrest in the

background which elevates the push.

Unrest is again a sliding scale so if we

angle the track a lot we go beyond

unrestful to hectic.

In this reference move we're pushing

directly in on the man.

The lack of parallax makes

it look almost like a zoom.

Here we've angled the track so we get

very heavy back parallax especially at

the end which makes

the scene very hectic.

The effect is amplified

with a longer focal length.

Here we're doing an angled

push with a regular lens.

But with a longer lens keeping him fixed

in the frame causes very pronounced

movement in the background.

Back parallax or unrest is an integral

part of many of the moves we'll look at

in the next chapters so we'll keep working with it as we make choices about how to angle tracks.

Regrouping is a very effective way of

directing our attention during a shot.

It comes in three variations including as we add more characters to the shot, isolating as we single out characters, and shifting as we select a different section of the scene.

A typical way of

including is as a start on reveal.

As the red woman talks we slowly add the

other character to the scene.

As the red man has lines we regroup to include him. In the red man we have a red man, a red man, and a red man. We're using a red man to create a red man that is very flexible and very lightweight. We're also using a white man to create a red man. As the Red Man has lines,

we regroup to include him.

With isolating, we again have a

motivation for pushing.

As the dialog centers around the women,

we slowly single them out.

If the Over the Shoulder is our starting

point, we'll slowly

single out the Red Woman.

Shifting works the same way as a Panning

regroup, but gives us more freedom.

As the Blue Man turns to the woman, we

pull back to focus on their dialog.

As he turns back to the Red Man, we again

use him as the common denominator.

When the Red Man leaves, we again offset

the shot back to the

dialog with the woman.

The move works on its own, but a better

time to use it is when the characters in

the scene are also regrouping.

As in the chapter on Panning regroups, it

first of all comes naturally to regroup

on the remaining

characters when a character leaves.

As the Blue Man walks out,

we regroup to the couple.

The move amplifies the effect

of what is already happening.

Characters isolating themselves is again

amplified with a regroup.

Here we single out the women at the same

time as they isolate themselves, bringing

more emphasis to that action.

Here the Red Man turns and takes a step

towards us as we single him out.

We could do this with either a character

or a camera movement, but by doing both

our intention becomes much clearer.

A very expressive way to regroup is to

mix it with Unrest by angling the track.

If we have two characters sitting in a

control panel, we'll first isolate the

Blue Man with the track

angled directly at him.

But if we angle the track, we make their

world seem unrestful.

When we regroup now, the

situation is much more dramatic.

Pulling out from the Blue Man, we're

including the Red Man in the shot.

But if we instead angle the track, the

world seems much more hectic.

With a tracking reframe, we nudge the

camera to accommodate character movement.

As the man walks to the left, if we don't

do anything, the

framing becomes slightly odd.

So we'll put the camera on a track and

adjust the framing as he moves.

As he moves between points on the set, we

nudge the dolly a little to the side.

As he walks back, we nudge the other way.

Similar to how we used a panning reframe

to adjust the framing as

characters moved in and out,

a tracking reframe is all about adjusting

our position to keep a balanced shot.

We wouldn't have been able to cover this

movement with a pan,

at least not as well.

As the men walk to the woman, we reframe

to get the best

framing for both extremes.

Reframing by tracking instead of panning

gives us more control and

a motivated camera move.

Reframing is very effective for creating

a master that stays

useful throughout the scene.

Here we have one wide master on a track

and a few closer cameras for coverage.

As the blue man walks over to the desk,

we reposition the master slightly to

maintain a good framing.

We're only using the

master when it's moving.

Here we're starting in closer coverage

between two lock cameras.

While the red man talks, we cut to the

master to cover the

blue man walking away.

In the second keyframe, we've added one

more lock camera for dialogue.

As he walks over to the woman, we again

cover his move in the reframing master.

This is called an occasional master

because we cut to it for specific moves,

something we'll look at

more in the next chapter.

A timed master move is repositioning a

master at specific times during a scene.

There are two basic ways to do this, the

occasional master and

the continuous master.

Starting with the occasional master, in

this scene the red man walks over to a

control panel and back again.

We're using the master as a backbone and

we've timed the dolly to follow him.

At each mark we've set up

a pair of reverses as well.

However, with the occasional master,

we're only interested in cutting to the

master for the actual move.

Here we're cutting dialogue

between the first reverse pair.

As he walks, we go to the master and

follow him to the second mark,

where we cut between

the second reverse pair.

When he walks back, we again go to the

master just for the move.

This technique is an extremely easy way

to get motivated movement at just the

right time using a

minimum number of cameras.

Here we've designed the master to only

move during major stage business.

We've set several stops along the way and

will only be in the

master for the actual moves.

First we walk with the

characters into the scene.

They stop and we go to two reverse

cameras for dialogue.

As they sit down, we go back in the

master and do a time push to coincide

with their movement.

Between moves we leave the master running

in case we want to cut wide.

We go back into the master as one

character leaves and use the remaining

dolly track for a push.

We've now been back in the master three

times each time to

cover major stage business.

Even though the master is occasional,

it's the silver lining

that binds the scene together.

With a continuous master, the

master is our main coverage.

We time the track to start at an

important beat in the script.

For this to work, it's important that

we've been in the master for a while

prior to the move so that we

notice a beginning to move.

Here we watch the characters through a

window as they discuss a strange issue.

Suddenly some startling information comes

up on the computer screen.

As they talk, we track

to a different angle.

Timing the move to an important

development brings elevated focus to a

certain part of the scene.

That's reason enough to do it, however

it's even better to end somewhere useful.

For instance, ready for a new dialogue.

Here we're again in a parked master.

The conversation is progressing normally

until the red man suddenly begins to

reveal some sensitive information.

It's the fact that we see the beginning

of the move that makes

the time master move work.

As we slowly reposition, we give extra

attention and importance to what he says.

Again we make sure to end somewhere

useful, here and over the shoulder.

It's very effective to open or even

completely cover a scene

by doing a slow master push.

As the characters go about their

business, we float into the scene.

The move adds a level of drama and is

extremely easy to block because the

characters can move freely and even

improvise without

affecting the camera move.

But since we're shooting in the direction

of the track, we need to look out for

shooting the track itself.

So let's look at some ways to avoid that.

First of all, if we're on a crab dolly,

we're tracking directly on the floor, in

which case the track is not a problem.

Secondly, if we're shooting widescreen or

scope, it's easier to get the track

outside the frame because

our aspect is more horizontal.

But regardless of aspect, it's

surprisingly effective to

only lay just enough track.

Here we'll end the track where we are

now, and then pull the dolly back to just

before we see the track.

Our wide push will then

be between these two marks.

Another way to avoid shooting the track

is to put the camera on a jib

and lay the track to the side.

Now we don't have any problems and we can

get very far back without

getting the track and the shot.

A very effective use for the master push

is to slowly track into a scene as the

action envelops the camera.

Here we'll track into a hectic office as

the red man and the women have dialogue.

For the master push camera to not be

isolated, we'll start by deciding on a

useful place to end up, in

this case an over the shoulder.

Here we'll do a lot of

things at once to create movement.

In the beginning we'll walk with two

extras into the office.

As they walk to the left, the blue man

walks across the room to the male extra.

At the end we'll have the red man mirror

the intended over the

shoulder to get even more movement.

Since most of the movement is arbitrary,

we'll just do whatever is easy.

In the beginning we tilt up on the extras

to avoid shooting the track.

The off-camera characters can take their

cue from the dolly position.

The red man is facing away and would need

to take his cue from the dialogue which

can be worked out in a

couple of rehearsals.

From here on out we would just continue

with regular coverage.

Tracking slowly into a scene as the

action happens around us gives us a

unique vantage point as if we're

witnessing the event from a higher plane.

Here we're pushing slowly as police

officers fill the frame from left and

right during a raid.

But the most elegant move comes from

again treating panning and tracking as

completely separate moves.

Here we're doing one

continuous push into the scene.

Then pan with the red

man over to the blue man.

Pan with him over to the desk.

Switch to the red man and

ending in an over the shoulder.

This move is surprisingly easy to do

because all we have to do is pan with the action while pushing.

That allows us to give stage direction

that's based on character

motivation and simply follow.

As the framing becomes tighter we have to

coordinate their movement more,

especially for the ending.

The close push is one of the most useful

and expressive moves we can do and there

are good reasons to

use it in most scenes.

It's tempting to do slow pushes as often

as possible because of the production

value, but it's when we stick to

motivated pushes that

we bring out the story.

Most people choose when to push

intuitively, but we'll try to put words

to that by suggesting that close pushes

are for meaningful moments.

Most of what goes on in this scene is of

course not a meaningful moment.

Here the red man is talking about

something that has no meaning at all,

maybe the pizza he had for lunch.

But let's do a close push anyway.

As he talks about the double cheese crust

and the extra layer of pepperoni, the

push assigns meaning to the situation

even if there isn't any.

But a close push is extremely powerful

when we intend to show

that something is meaning.

As we push in on the man, we know that

whatever is happening has special

meaning, something is important or

significant, or that something is going

on even if we don't know what it is.

This by itself is a great use for the

close push because it creates questions

in participation and it tells us we need

to pay extra attention.

But there are many other reasons to do a

close push and in this chapter we want to

create a list of meanings and moments to

look for in the script as motivations.

This list is not meant as a rule book but

is a guide to find reasons for pushing.

We'll look at 11 meaningful moments which

are focus, tension, significance,

consequence, opening up, taking in,

trying to understand, realizing, trying

to decide, resolve, and anticipation.

As with all other lists we've made, none

of these exist in a vacuum

and often overlap or combine.

Focus is the most

generic form of pushing.

As we slowly push in, the attention is

elevated both for the characters and for

us and our senses are sharpened.

Almost regardless of what a scene is

about, focus increases our alertness.

So if we're after a push and we don't

exactly know why,

we're probably after focus.

Focus works well for situations that

demand focus of the characters.

Here the man is a submarine captain in

the middle of a

dangerous strategic battle.

Tension is similar to focus in that it

involves heightened awareness.

Here the characters are trying to shut

down a leaking nuclear reactor.

As we cut between four simultaneous

pushes, we're compressing the space

between us and the characters and we feel

the pressure they're under.

Tension works for any situation where

there's emotional mental struggle.

Here the woman is struggling with

conflicted emotions about a relationship.

As we compress the space, we again create

the feeling of pressure.

Significance shows that something has a

great deal of meaning.

Here the woman is giving a speech about

something that means a lot to her.

As she talks about how many children are

suffering from a certain disease and how

easily we can help them, we feel how

important this is to her.

From a more technical blocking

perspective, significance simply tells us

that something is an

important bit of information.

Here the man leaves and we push in on a

document he's forgotten and since we're

pushing, it must be significant.

Consequences about the seriousness of a

situation or the potential far-reaching

impact something will have.

Here the couple are being informed by

their banker that they have lost their

entire life's savings.

We push in slowly as the gravity of the

situation begins to dawn upon them and

they begin to see how the war looks now.

Here the president informs his cabinet

that the only remaining

option is to go to war.

Obviously, such a situation is serious

and has far-reaching consequences.

With or without characters, consequence

underlines the potential

impact that something can have.

Here we push in on a missile that's

rigged to explode by timer.

Consequence doesn't have to be negative.

Here the character watches children of

different races and religions play and

sees the possibility of peace.

On an equally philosophical level, we

push in as the characters are

watching a monumental event.

Here the consequence is how this will

change the world forever.

Opening up is when a character opens up

emotionally or mentally.

Here the man begins to open

up about his deeper feelings.

As he makes himself

vulnerable, we push in slowly.

Opening up works for any situation where

the characters become more sincere and

really begin to connect with each other,

becoming more sensitive and open.

On a more mental level, opening up works

for situations where characters begin

revealing important information.

Here the blue man is being interrogated.

As he suddenly begins revealing the

information they've been

after, we push in slowly.

Either way, opening up is about thoughts

and feelings coming

out from the character.

Taking in is about thoughts and feelings going into the character.

Here the woman leaves and we push in on

the man as he takes in the conversation.

This is a typical reaction shot.

Here the woman is a senator who learns

that she's lost the election.

We push in as she accepts defeat.

Taking in again works for any situation where a character is not able to be taken into the conversation.

Here the man is in a hospital waiting

room as the doctor informs him that his

wife isn't likely to survive.

The last five motivations are really

steps in the decision-making process.

Starting with trying to understand, a

detective investigating a murder is

trying to piece together a complex case.

On an emotional level, trying to

understand is about trying to find

meaning and sense in a situation.

Returning to the man in the hospital, his

wife might have been run

down by a drunk driver.

We push in as he tries to

understand what the meaning is.

Also, when a character is nostalgically

remembering the past, what she's really

trying to do is make sense of it.

So as the woman is thinking back, trying

to understand the meaning of

past events, we push in slowly.

Again, trying to understand is

excellent for reaction shots.

Here the man has been behaving oddly.

When he walks out, we push in

on her as she stands puzzled.

Trying to understand also works when a

character is trying to find out if

something has meaning.

Here the man hears his colleague say

something that rings a bell.

He walks over to get more information.

Where trying to understand is about

trying to find meaning, realizing is the

moment of breakthrough.

Here the detective is given a casual bit

of information, which happens to be the

last piece he needs to solve the puzzle.

Here the woman is telling the red man

what his friends are

saying behind his back.

He suddenly sees everything

in light of this new meaning.

Here the women say

something to the man and leave.

We push in

as he turns, suddenly realizing the true

meaning of what they said.

Separate from the characters,

we might be the ones realizing.

In the same shot as

before, the man rushes out.

We suddenly hand off and push in on an

important document he's forgotten.

We might also be realizing

something about a character.

In the story, the man in the suit has

been cruel, but as he forecloses his

friend's house and takes joy in it, we realize just how mean he is.

Trying to decide is when a character has

all the facts and needs to make a choice.

Here we push in as the man tries to

decide whether or not to quit

his job and follow his dream.

Here the submarine captain in a standoff with another ship is trying to decide whether or not to fire.

Here the submarine captain in a standoff with another ship is trying to decide whether or not to fire. Resolve is when a decision is made.

The classic use for this is when a

character rises to the occasion.

Here the man talks about how he's going

to stand up to the

fat cats in Washington.

The push shows his conviction.

Here an army captain is preparing his soldiers for war.

The man is trying to get his way back to the ship. The man is trying to get his way back to the ship. He's trying to get his way back to the ship. He's preparing his soldiers for war.

We push in as he motivates them,

reminding them of the reason for the war

and strengthening the resolve.

Finally anticipation is watching him

waiting for what will happen next.

Here the characters have launched a

rocket to destroy an asteroid that's

threatening the planet.

Their senses are alert as they can do

nothing but watch him wait.

Here the parents of a kidnapped child

have decided to give the kidnappers the

money and are waiting for

answers on the exchange.

At this point nothing they

do can change the outcome.

From our perspective anticipation is

probably the most

generic reason for pushing.

If we think about it almost all pushes

create this feeling of

wondering what will happen next

and it's this alertness of the immediate

future that draws us in.

So the next thing we need to look at is

how the track angle affects the push.

A track that is angled directly on the

character brings a sense of clarity.

But even for direct pushes it's best to

angle the track slightly to get parallax

or the move feels like a zoom.

Depending on the meaning of the push

angling the track either makes the world

more unrestful or it makes

the characters more confused.

As the engineers try to shut down the

reactor the situation is now both more

unrestful and confusing.

As the detective has a realization a

direct push makes the

realization appear clear.

But as we angle the track the detective

has a much more vivid eruption of

thoughts becoming clear at the end.

Regardless of the meaning of the push

angled track shows increased

mental or emotional activity.

As we push in on the man opening up the

angled track amplifies the drama.

The most extreme angled push is to have

the character turn in the opposite

direction of the camera which makes the

background seem to rush by twice as fast.

Here the detective realizes that the

killer must be nearby.

We get an enormous twisting effect and an

extreme realization.

But another useful way to look at angled

track in close pushes is to see it as

changing our distance to the eye line

which will make the shot more or less

personal during the move.

So as we're pushing in with the track

pretty much directly angled on him we're

essentially moving along the eye line and

the move is personal throughout.

But if we angle the track we're gradually

moving closer and closer to the eye line

which makes the move more and more

personal which very effectively

emphasizes the push.

The extreme of this is

to track in from the side.

Here we're pushing in from the left and

move very hard towards the eye line

making the shot radically

more personal at the end.

But we could actually go even further and

track around from the back.

So here the move becomes drastically more

personal as we make

it around to the front.

Becoming less personal during a move is

considerably less useful

but let's quickly look at it.

Here we're starting out personal but as

we move closer we become less personal.

This has more the effect of keeping our

distance as if there's an invisible

barrier we can't move closer then.

A better use for this is to reveal other

characters which we'll

look at a little later.

So the last thing we'll look at is a

technical

consideration when shooting pushes.

Very often we're using a camera for the

push that's already set up for a certain

shot size here and over the shoulder.

But the problem is that as soon as we

push that camera into a close shot we no

longer have an over the shoulder.

Unless we're completely sure of not only

the timing but also which shot sizes we

need when we have to

shoot three versions.

First we shoot a full take that remains

an over the shoulder.

Repositioning the dolly for a new take we

shoot a locked close up.

Finally we shoot a take where we do the

push at the right time.

With these three options we don't paint

ourselves into a corner and we can always

cut wide again or close again.

When we're pushing in on a character we

need to look out for what happens if

we're not at eye level.

As we push in normally the shot is

balanced from start to finish.

But while we're in the over the shoulder

it's not as clear what our level is.

So lowering the camera

the level seems fine.

But as we push in we suddenly have to

tilt upwards to keep her in the frame

which can look

unpleasant if we get close.

Back in the over the shoulder we'll go up

to what is still an acceptable level.

As we push in we now have to tilt

downwards which can get a little unusual.

A practical use for being below the

characters that is eye

line goes out over us.

As we push in he appears to be dreaming

or visualizing which

can be very effective.

When we start to get a lot lower the

beginning of the push seems normal but at

the end of the push the character can

become extremely imposing.

This is usually not what

we want for a character.

But for scenes that are supposed to be

impressive this works very well.

As we push in on the palace the closer we

get the more we have to tilt up.

Towards the end this causes us to look

hard up on both the palace and the robots

and is great for establishing shots that

need to be imposing.

With an angled low push it's worth

noticing that we get both vertical and

horizontal parallax.

An angled track at eye level causes

horizontal movement in the background

especially at the end.

And a directly angled low push causes

vertical movement in the background.

When we both angle the track and lower

the camera we get both at the same time

which makes for a very dynamic move.

When we need to push in on objects it

works well to come in at a higher

elevation and simply pan and tilt to keep

the object in the frame.

Here we're pushing in on a tape recorder.

Our height doesn't change only pan tilt.

Especially towards the end we get heavy

vertical parallax and

a bit of horizontal.

When objects are on the floor we either

have to be on a crab dolly or a crane so

we don't shoot the track.

As we push in the height stays the same

and we're still only panning and tilting.

A lot of the moves we've already done

involve some form of pulling for instance

starting on and revealing

or opening and closing space.

Additionally we can naturally pull ahead

of a character as he

moves through a location.

The only thing to note about this is that

it's very hard to do on a track because

people actually walk quite fast and the

track would soon be revealed.

So if we want to pull ahead of someone

steady camera crab dolly is the better

choice unless of

course we shoot at an angle.

In this chapter we'll simply look at two

motivations for pulling

that can be less obvious.

The first is detaching.

In this scene we're with a man in the

hospital as his wife has died.

At this point he's terribly alone and no

one can help him or comfort him.

So detaching from him is the most

impactful way to show the sudden

emptiness in his life.

In this scene the woman was supposed to

meet an old love at a train station.

The meeting had been

arranged for many years.

But he never shows up.

As we detach from her we again show the

emptiness and aloneness in her life as

she becomes smaller

and smaller in the frame.

If relevant to the story we could turn

this meeting upside down by pulling to in

fact open the space for him to step in.

Detaching almost always results in the

aloneness or emptiness and less worth the

end of his story at which point we'll be

naturally detaching from the characters.

At the end of this last scene we've

enjoyed a couple of hours in the company

of the characters. They got each other

and we're now letting go.

The second reason for pulling is relaxing

which serves to release the

pressure created by pushing.

This move doesn't have a lot of everyday

uses but can be very effective at the

right point in the story.

Returning to the leaking nuclear reactor

scenario we're pushing in on the

characters as the tension peaks.

The problem is unfixable and

the plant is about to explode.

Until suddenly the problem fixes itself.

We pull out from the engineer as he looks

over his panels puzzled.

All meters are suddenly returning to

normal and the danger is averted.

Next we'll look at two basic moves that

we really should have looked at earlier

but have placed here because they lead us

into the next chapters.

Converging is the action of opposing

characters movement by moving closer to

them as they move closer to us which

effectively doubles the perceived speed.

As the characters rush in looking for

someone both the characters in the story

converge to create a crucial moment.

The primary thing converging does is

create extra tension.

As the man rolls from terminal to

terminal we oppose his move making the

situation appear twice as hectic.

There are really only two

ways to create a converge.

Here the character was already moving and

we decided to oppose that movement.

The other way is to move the character

when we're already moving.

Here we're already doing a push for

whatever reason the story provides.

But to create more tension and emphasize

the push let's have the character step

forwards at the same time.

This compressing feeling is useful

anytime we want a moment to have a higher

level of focus and concentration.

Here the woman will step closer to the

man to say something very important.

As she does we tighten the shot by

opposing her movement and

thereby sharpen the attention.

Converging is a very general action and

all we're after is the overall feeling of

everything

compressing into a single point.

So a converge doesn't

necessarily need to be head on.

Here the blue man walks to the terminal.

We're not necessarily pushing in directly

but the general direction

still gives us the same feeling.

This makes converging an extremely useful

move that can be applied

to a host of situations.

Here we're doing an angled or diagonal

converge where both us and the character

approach each other at an angle.

This is useful for any situation where we

already want to track to

another part of the set.

By angling the track inwards we

simultaneously get

the converging feeling.

Or as in this shot where we already want

to track with the character

to the side to isolate him.

By angling the track inwards and his move

outwards we simultaneously get the

feeling of converging which enhances our

original choice to single him out.

This kind of converging is effective for

any scene that needs a

higher level of action.

Here an army sergeant rushes out with

important new information

needed for a critical mission.

We could of course just track with him to

where he needs to go but we've

deliberately angled both his walk and the

track to compress the attention and make

the situation more crucial.

A different kind of converges that lends

itself very well to long and calm

tracking in a scene as

a right angle converge.

With this converge we track at a right

angle into the path

of walking characters.

This kind of move can go on for a long

time and the effect is that the framing

starts out slightly off key.

And then slowly becomes clearer and more

focused as we approach a clean angle,

which makes the dialog become more

focused at this point.

Doing the same move at a different angle

with both characters and track, a right

angle converge makes it very easy to get

subtle and relaxed

parallax in the foreground.

If we were tracking on the side of the

characters any foreground would pass

through the shot very fast.

But here we're almost tracking in

parallel which means that we're not

traveling very far compared to the

distance the characters are traveling so

the foreground moves much slower.

Again as we approach a clean angle on the

characters path the shot

becomes clearer and clearer.

So it can be a good idea at a time a

right angle converges to end in a

motivated stop for the characters.

Like converging, countering doubles the

apparent speed of a move but where with

converging the goal is to meet up with

the characters in a single point,

countering is opposing

their movement from the side.

The result is again the perception that

everything is moving much faster so

anytime a scene needs more action it

makes sense to lean

towards countering moves.

Here the man walks in to

find that something is wrong.

By countering we again

bring more action to the scene.

Here the blue man becomes

displeased with the red man.

By countering as he walks over we add

intensity to whatever

is already happening.

Additionally since countering moves

opposite the character it's very

effective for getting the

maximum use of a small location.

As here where the man walks in and we

move to keep the widest possible shot.

As the man walks in we

start in this part of the room.

The countering again adds more action but

the main purpose is to create more space.

So as we end up over here we're still

getting a wide shot which makes the room

appear more spacious.

Pivoting with track is a move that shares

a number of technical similarities with

pivoting and editing which

is why it has the same name.

In pivoting we would create overlapping

groups by placing cameras that each have

a particular character visible in both

shots preferably in the

same part of the frame.

Which would smooth out the cut

and create spatial continuity.

Pivoting on track can do the same by

replacing those two lock

cameras with one on a track.

And actually tracking

between the two positions.

The effect is that we keep the man locked

in the same part of the frame during the

move while the

background is being replaced.

But while the end result in this case is

the same as with pivot editing this is

where the similarities end because

pivoting would track as such an essential

move that it deserves to stand on its own.

The key distinction in pivoting is that

we're locking onto something as we move

and keep it fixed in the frame.

This is an effective way to reveal

something which we'll

look at in the next chapter.

But in this chapter we'll look at using

it to follow a second character while

pivoting around the first.

As the woman walks we pivot on the man to

keep her in the frame.

We're essentially countering around the

man and the result is that we keep both

characters in the frame almost no matter

where the woman moves as

long as the man is stationary.

So a pivot is really able to cover an

entire scene between two characters and

it can be useful to base the whole

coverage on one pivoting camera as a

backbone and then add locked reverses to

fill in at each stop.

So let's create three stops for the woman

starting at the door.

Then in front of the man, then over here,

and add two locked reverses.

As the woman walks from the door into the

scene we then pivot around the man.

And as she comes to a stop we cut to the

first locked reverse.

Back in the pivot the woman walks to her

second mark and we keep

countering around the man.

Until she arrives and we cut

to the other locked reverse.

As the scene goes on we've covered almost

180 degrees of movement, the pivot camera

works throughout the scene and the two

easy locked reverses

fill in the coverage.

So this is one useful move.

The range of movement a pivot can cover

is actually even wider.

Here the woman walks to stand in front of

the man which is the same as we just did.

As she walks in and out of the depth of

the shot we of course don't need to move.

But we do again as she moves over here.

So the woman can in fact move around the

whole area in the top of the screen which

makes basing an entire scene on a pivot

as a backbone very flexible.

But pivots are also great problem solvers

on a much smaller scale if we add pivots

to tracks that are already laid in order

to cover extra character movement.

Here we track with the

man between two key frames.

As the man now walks to the table we

reuse the track to

cover him with a pivot.

And back again.

This can be done almost as soon as we

have a track in the scene and

regardless of how it's laid.

As we arrive by the red woman the move

would ordinarily have ended here.

But because the man needs to walk to the

table we simply tack on a pivot.

This move can be easily added to most

tracks and often be put in at the last

minute because the

track is already there.

An even simpler version of this that does

need to be planned is to pivot what would

otherwise have been a locked reverse.

Here we'll put this locked reverse on a

track and pivot as the red man leaves.

He stops on the way out which the pivot

covers easily and as he leaves we pivot

around to the front of the blue man.

Putting the locked reverse on a track is

naturally better than doing two separate

shots because we only

have one shot to do.

So as the camera has now been locked

throughout the scene we pivot with the

red man as he leaves.

Stopping here.

When he leaves completely we use the

remaining track to pivot around to the

front of the blue man which creates the

same kind of reaction shot

feeling that a close push would.

If we set this up differently we could of

course capture both a reaction and the

other character leaving.

Here we're again in half of a reverse

pair although this camera is on a track.

As the red man leaves we pivot around to

the front of the blue man getting both a

reaction and covering

the red man leaving.

Since pivoting is so close to converging

and countering most of

the same logic applies.

Here we want the woman's entry to be more

hectic and as we oppose her movement

we're really doing a converged pivot

counter and it's hard to tell which one

because they're so similar.

What makes a move a pivot is simply that

we lock onto something

and counter around it.

But to extend this idea we can really

lock onto anything we want.

So let's pivot around the woman instead.

As the man walks she's now the fix.

So for these bits of movement the scene

revolves around her.

A converge also easily turns into a pivot

if the track is angled.

A straight converge by itself compresses

the attention of the scene.

But if we angle the track the move

becomes a pivot converge.

As we converge we're now moving more to

the right as the woman moves more to the

left keeping the man fixed in

the right side of the frame.

Angling the track like this adds even

more to the energy of the converge

because the passing

background creates unrest.

Needless to say we don't have to be

pivoting around people.

If a character is moving we can pick a

foreground object to pivot around.

Here we've picked an

arbitrary foreground object.

We can just leave it at that but we might

as well pick an object that has

significance in the scene later on.

In this scene we're really just

countering on the man as he walks to the

woman but by starting on the pumpkin

which is a completely arbitrary object

the first half of the

move becomes a pivot.

Because these moves are so similar it's

extremely easy to go

from one to the other.

Even with a red man not visible yet it's

still a pivot which

then becomes a counter.

Combinations like

these can be quite elegant.

Another interesting way to pivot around

objects is to pivot

around a gap in the foreground.

Here we counter the man's movement by

pivoting around the hole in the wall.

If he walks back we simply

pivot in the opposite direction.

The other half of pivoting is its ability

to reveal which is a move that's so

effective it can be used in most scenes.

Here we're opening a scene on a man as

he's contemplating something.

As we share in his experience and reflect

with him we do a calm and slow track,

angle just enough to get a bit of

movement in the background.

But while it seems like we're only doing the move to create a movement in the background, we can just move it around. We can just move it around and move it around and move it around and move it around and move it around. Here we're opening a scene on a man as he's contemplating something. But while it seems like we're only doing

the move to create this feeling, the more

important purpose is to end here and

bring the woman into the scene.

So this is again an extremely useful move

considering how many scenes start on one

character and bring in another.

Here we're doing a similar

move but from the other side.

Again the slow tracking creates a

reflective mood and it's fine to let a

move like this go on for even half a

minute because it gives us

a moment to think and feel.

In this scene we've timed the other

character's arrival to

coincide with the end of the move.

But it works just as

well if we do it faster.

Here we're essentially doing it as a

start on reveal but it still gives us a

moment to identify with a

man before the woman steps in.

Surprisingly many scenes

can be opened this way.

To do an even faster one we start on the

woman, then quickly

pivot reveal the others.

But beyond that with the track already

laid we might as well use the same track

to pull back into the scene

as the new character walks in.

Here we're ending up by

pivot revealing the woman.

As she starts walking closer we then

continue pivoting to

bring her into the scene.

Altogether this can easily give us a

whole minute of coverage from just one

camera that never gets boring.

Pivot revealing isn't limited to the

beginning of a scene.

Here we're doing the first half of the

scene in reverse dialogue

between the man and the woman.

But halfway through we pull this camera

over here to pivot reveal

another character entering.

From a blocking perspective this comes

about automatically if we simply connect

the over the shoulder

keyframe with one frame like this.

And again if the woman leaves we might as

well reuse the track to pivot the blue

man the rest of the way into the scene.

Over to the woman's mark which means that

the locked reverse still works.

Again in this shot we're coming from a

close up which is part

of a previous dialogue.

We pivot reveal the red woman as she

enters, time to the end of her walk.

Here the man is being interrogated and as

we slowly pivot reveal we constantly know

that there's something

outside the frame that's important.

At the end we reveal the panel of inquiry

and in the meanwhile we've covered half a

page in a single shot.

Pivot reveals work especially well when a

reveal is supposed to

be scary or surprising.

If we think he's alone suddenly pivot

revealing the murderer

can be very unsettling.

Also in many fantasy or science fiction

stories characters appear out of nowhere.

Pivot revealing is a very effective way

to cover this without

a single visual effect.

Here we just seem to be pushing in.

To both a man's surprise and ours the

woman has appeared in the background.

And again we might as well pivot back to

walker into the scene.

Finally covering a walking character in a

regular pivot can cause other characters

to be revealed simply by the

fact that he walks over to them.

So as we cover the man's walk normally

the other characters are forced in and

out of the frame based

on his interest in them.

As he walks to the red woman she's again

brought in by default.

As soon as he's no longer focused on her

she's out of the shot.

Tracking around is not about using

circular track as one would think but

about tracking slowly from one side of a

character to the other.

Here we're covering a whole scene in one

long shot that starts by

pushing in on the woman.

Halfway through the shot we'll accelerate

the pan over to the man and stay on him

for the rest of the dialogue.

What this does is create movement out of

a scene that would otherwise be standing

still and it's a very economical way to

cover a scene that has lots of production value.

Since we're tracking from one over the

shoulder to another moving the dolly back

here for a lock take allows us to

continue cutting dialogue and this may be

enough coverage for some scenes.

Tracking around allows us to do some

unusually long takes that stay

interesting and give

subtle movement to the dialogue.

In this scene in a cafe the man begins to

open up about his deeper feelings.

Starting in and over the shoulder the man

begins opening up and we slowly begin

tracking around to his front

simultaneously both

regrouping and pushing in.

Doing a long move allows us to avoid

cutting which works

well for a sensitive scene.

And even if the move is a

minute long it never gets dull.

If the scene continues after the push we

find ourselves without the

previous over the shoulder.

So we'll again move back for a locked

version of the starting position.

Here we're again doing a slow track to

bring subtle movement to a scene, in this

case a long and slow line cross.

It's sometimes much more elegant to cover

a scene in a single slow moving camera

than it is to put in tons of cameras.

But unless the move covers the entire

scene it's best to make sure the camera

and some were useful so the camera can be

part of the subsequent coverage.

The previous moves were done mostly for

the sake of luxury but tracking around

becomes a more practical need when a

character turns his

attention from side to side.

As he shifts his attention to a panel on

the other side we'll move

over on the other side as well.

Finally, tracking around can work very

well as a counter to

cover character movement.

Here the two blue characters are a young

couple and the man in the suit, the

girl's father, is trying

to end their relationship.

As the girl walks over to stand by the

boy we counter her movement,

effectively tracking around.

In keeping with having focus be one of

the last decisions we make before

shooting, let's now go back over the last

two volumes and pick some shots to make

focus decisions for.

Obviously the vast majority of moves only

require follow focus, as here where we

converge at an angle is

the blue man steps forwards.

The only difference between this and the

locked follow focus from volume 1 and 2

is that there are more elements that need

to hit their marks exactly.

So let's pick some moves that

specifically have action on several

planes and require racking focus.

In this shot from the chapter on tracking

between deep staging shots we'll start

with focus on the foreground layer.

As the man in the suit enters the room

racking focus to him very effectively

emphasizes the attention

shift that's already happening.

After that we simply

follow focus as he walks over.

When he walks out we nudge focus over on

the blue man until we reveal the woman in

the background and rack focus to her.

Again as she walks over we follow focus.

For this shot from opening and closing

space we start with focus on the blue man

and then rack focus on the red man as he

steps up into the shot and keep it on him

until the red woman steps

in slightly further back.

In this shot from the chapter on pivoting

this camera spend the over the shoulder

on the red man throughout the scene so

naturally focus is on him.

As we pivot or converge on his way out

we'll keep the focus on him and then rack

focus out to the blue man for reaction.

In this shot from pivot reveal we're

naturally keeping focus on the foreground

character for the first part of the move

and then rack to the woman as she enters.

For this scene where we were deciding who

to stay on during a move the camera

starts out as a locked over the shoulder

so focus is on the woman.

As we move to the other key frame we're

following focus

because we're moving closer.

And towards the end we rack focus to the

man since we're again

and over the shoulder.

When he walks back we

likewise follow focus on him.

And at the end rack focus to the woman

because we're once more

and over the shoulder.

In this shot the woman is walking into

her apartment and will

ultimately reveal the man up front.

As he slides into the

frame we rack focus out on him.

And back to the woman as the shot becomes

irregular over the shoulder.

In this shot from panning from key frame

to key frame we're again dealing with

irregular deep staging

shot towards the end.

As the man walks we're simply following

focus which can be a little tricky

because his change in depth isn't linear.

Nearing the end we'll lean the focus

towards the red woman since she's the new

character in the shot.

And as the blue woman in the background

turns her attention we're naturally

racking focus to her which brings a lot

more attention to her than if we had a

wider depth of field.

By the same token in this shot from

blocking transitions the woman sits down

and will again use focus to bring in a

character deeper into the scene.

As she turns to the

man we rack focus to him.

Finally here from pan start on reveal

we're following focus with a man and end

up racking focus to the woman in the

foreground when she suddenly becomes the

most important character in the shot.

As we now begin to look at boom and crane

moves we'll spend this first chapter

looking at some essentials of craning.

The primary reason for doing crane moves

is the obvious production value and the

ability to do these soaring and majestic

shots that give us an elevated feeling as

if we're watching the

story from a higher plane.

The main difference between a boom or a

jib and a crane is again really just the

length of the arm so we'll go back and

forth between them at random and

collectively call them cranes.

Cranes are usually mounted on a track or

some form of transportation and by moving

the base while booming we can vastly

increase the range of motion.

This can create some impressive shots

even with very small cranes.

Here we're using a simple jib.

By tracking and using the boom to

essentially only control elevation we're

covering an enormous range of motion.

The end result is a move that creates a

sweep that is very close to what a 100

foot crane would produce except there's

of course a limit to how high we can go.

This is an effective way to get a lot of

production value from

even very basic equipment.

It's also possible to move the base of a

very large crane which can create a

staggering range of motion.

But a note of caution is that large

cranes are extremely heavy especially if

camera operators are sitting on a

platform at the end of the crane balanced

with counterweights.

Just swinging the boom can sometimes take

several people and if we're moving the

base at the same time it can be hard to

do precise movements like

ending in very specific places.

So moving the base of large cranes works

better for moves where we intend to cut

in and out of the middle of the move.

A certain type of crane called the

telescopic crane allows total freedom of

movement because the length of the boom

itself can be changed on the fly.

This is great if we need more precision

or if we want to do dolly shots in places

where we can't lay track.

However these types of cranes can be both

expensive and noisy and we're able to

produce the vast majority of shots

without them so we won't cover them here.

But of course the most normal move is

booming with a crane standing still.

An inherent issue with cranes is that the

motion is circular and not straight which

means that if we keep booming in a

direction the crane will

ultimately begin to move backwards.

The first part of the move seems fairly

straight but as we reach the top of the

circle we gradually

begin to move backwards.

So we usually want to avoid the parts of

a move where the circular

motion is most apparent.

In the beginning the move is fine but as

we make it towards the top we're suddenly

moving backwards which

produces a strange experience.

This artifact looks a little bit better

when we're moving forwards because it

creates the feeling of

pushing while craning.

But it still brings

attention to the equipment itself.

Again as we swing the arm to the side the

first part of the move seems straight.

But as we get over on the

side we're now moving backwards.

The morale is that it's better to get a

longer crane and avoid using the extreme

positions because the motion in these

areas is usually undesirable.

Two things are essential to do to really

get the effect of a crane move.

The first is to be sure to get as many

moving perspective lines as possible.

Here we're craning down on an empty scene

and without objects to create clear

perspective lines we get

almost nothing from the move.

But if we do the same move with crates in

the shot we have tons of moving

perspective lines at different elevations

which makes the change

of height much clearer.

We get the maximum effect by swinging

sideways as well as up and down which

makes the perspective lines move both

right to left as well as down to up

creating a much more

vivid perspective change.

This is an extremely useful

distinction that many forget.

It's also useful to notice that the

better choice for focal length is usually

a wide angle lens because we get to see

more perspective lines which are what

give us the feeling of motion.

With a long lens we get to see many fewer

perspective lines, the perspective of the

shot seems much flatter and the move

could in bad cases be mistaken for a pan.

The best reason for using long focal

lengths on a crane is that we get much

faster parallax from passing foreground

and can also do more sudden surprise

reveals at the end of a move.

Secondly, as with tracking shots it's of

course crucial to either utilize the

foreground already there or to

deliberately put

something in there for parallax.

Here the branches are fake but we've

placed the crane so we would

move behind the water tower.

Everything else we looked at in the

chapters on foreground applies equally

well to crane only on

a much larger scale.

Here we're doing a partially obscured

move as we listen to the walking

characters which creates the same type of

elegant shot and makes the characters

blend better into the environment.

As with pivoting on track as soon as

we've locked on a foreground object or a

character the parallax comes

from the background instead.

On a track we would have to pan harder

and harder to keep the

subjects in the frame.

On a crane we instead have to tilt harder

and harder causing the maximum amount of

parallax at the end of the move.

This hard cranking at the end can

effectively be used for revealing.

But another way to look at vertical back

parallax is as vertical unrest.

Like regular unrest vertical unrest again

shows increased mental activity as if

something is moving in his world and

usually takes the form of a realization.

In order to find out what the direction

of the craning means whether upwards or

downwards we can take our cue from the

discussion on

placement of the horizon line.

When we placed the horizon line above the

eyes the woman appeared

submersed or suppressed.

When we placed it lower than the eyes she

appeared freer and more in command.

So applying that to the crane move as we

crane up the man has a realization.

But the gradual upward movement of the

horizon line creates the feeling that he

is being submersed in thoughts as if his

world is becoming more confusing.

If we crane down the downward movement of

the horizon line causes less and less

clutter around his head.

Which gives his realization more clarity.

We can of course mix both horizontal and

vertical unrest creating

some very dynamic shots.

Here we are again submersing the man but

the added horizontal unrest makes the

situation more hectic.

Maximizing back parallax is another good

reason to use a long

focal length on a crane.

This produces much more extreme movement

in the background and the compressed

space also makes the

shot more disorienting.

Meanwhile the foreground change is very

little which creates an

interesting mix of calm and action.

This works great for aerials too.

Many of the techniques we will look at in

these chapters on craning mere concepts

we have already looked at such as

pivoting or start on revealing only we

are using them vertically

instead of horizontally.

Here we might have done

a close push on a track.

Using the same logic with a crane we can

do a vertical push instead.

Whatever the motivation was for doing the

push we are simply turning it on its side

which creates great production value and

can be the right move at the right time.

Here we are opening and closing space

except with a crane.

As the characters pass by we are instead

moving up to get the

camera out of the way.

Creating an unusual move that might also

be the right move at the right time.

Additionally a great way to integrate big

crane moves into regular coverage is to

treat the crane as a

dolly for part of the move.

Here we are starting out craning down but

as we get closer to the characters we

continue booming ahead of them having

adjusted their path to be slightly

circular to follow the boom action.

A use for being on a crane that is less

obvious is to simply use a crane to place

locked cameras in places that would be

hard to get to otherwise.

Here we want to shoot straight down on

the knocked out character

which is easier to do with a crane.

But since we are on a crane we might as

well do a slow vertical push

and roll the camera as well.

With the addition of the trees we get

parallax on our way down as well which

creates a very dynamic shot.

In order to achieve a straight downward

path we have to pull back the base of the

crane slightly to

compensate for the circular motion.

In the beginning we

are pulling back faster.

Then slower is the

boom's arc straightens out.

This is obviously great for creating

shots where there is

literally nothing under the camera.

Here the blue man is threatening to jump

from the water tower and we want a crane

out over the edge to create

a dizzying feeling of height.

These types of moves work best if we plan

the shots that we are shooting almost

directly downwards before we go over the

edge because it is a sliding out over the

edge that makes us want

to hang on to something.

Cranes are also a great and simple aid in

getting the camera very low.

Here we are basically doing a dolly shot

but we have put it on a

crane to get the camera lower.

This could of course be done with a mount

directly on the dolly but it can

sometimes be easier to do on a small jib,

especially if we

already have one lined up.

Before we get started on building a small

crane language, the most basic language

is that of expanding or narrowing

perspective, which means that if we are

craning up we are increasing our overview

and taking in more of the scene.

And if we are craning down we are going

from a wide overview to singling out

something of importance.

This creates a very powerful change of

scale from the small to

the large or vice versa.

As we have moved with the characters,

they walk towards the farmhouse and we

crane up, expanding our perspective to a

much higher level of the story.

So where before we were focused on just

two characters, we are now focused on the

much larger world around them.

By the same token, craning down narrows

the perspective from the large and

objective to the small and personal.

Here we are craning down over a busy

scenario and we will end by focusing on

just a few characters.

It is common in writing to tell a story

on several levels, both a personal story

for one character, a group story for

several characters, and an objective

story that includes everybody.

Using a crane to expand or narrow the

perspective is very effective for

changing story levels

within a single shot.

A common mistake is to plan too much

coverage for scenes that

have big crane moves in them.

As we are doing a long move like this, it

would be very sad to have to cut away.

It is much better to simply decide to

cover this entire part of the scene in a

crane move alone so we

get to see the whole thing.

And then have the continuing coverage

take over when the move is done.

By adding crane to the logic of thinking

in keyframes, we have a way to create

some very elegant camera moves that are

completely integrated into the blocking

and come by almost automatically.

All we have to do is pick keyframes at

any height and angle and then connect

them indiscriminately.

In this scene the woman will start here,

and then move over here.

So to set up two keyframes we will start

with one here, with the blue man slightly

in the background, and a lower one over

here is a stagger deep staging shot.

Combining the keyframes on a track, the

change in height is very minute, so

chances are we can simply shoot this with

a dolly and go lower for the second

keyframe using the hydraulic arm.

Starting on the blue characters the woman

walks, and we easily end up

in the second lower keyframe.

As usual with keyframes, the blocking is

continuously tight, and we get an elegant

change in height as

an automatic byproduct.

The great thing about this approach is

that we can block without

any care about camera height.

Here we are doing a deep handoff from the

blue man to the red woman, and from above

the camera plot looks virtually the same

as if both characters were standing.

But as a consequence of one character

sitting, we get a classy move where we

boom down as we handoff to the woman.

By the same token, craning between

keyframes is effective for covering

character movement, is here where we pull

into and over the shoulder, and crane

down as he sits down.

This could easily be done with tilting or

with more cameras, but craning just has

more production value.

If we simply pick the keyframes we need

to be in, connecting them with a crane

and track is very straight forward.

A less obvious use for craning is as a

substitute for shots we would

traditionally do with tilting or separate

cameras like inserts.

Here we have one shot on the woman, and

we want an insert on the computer screen

which would work fine as separate shots.

But starting back on the woman will

instead crane down which creates a very

elegant perspective change.

Although maybe a lot of

panning towards the end.

In this scene from shifting we would

start on the man, and then shift down on

the gun which could just as

easily be done as an insert.

Again replacing that with booming will

instead boom down creating pronounced

parallax from the foreground and a very

expensive looking shot.

Finally here, the men will shake hands on

a business deal that troubles the woman.

So we want to do an insert on them

shaking hands while we keep

the woman in the background.

These keyframes again easily combine in a

one shot that pushes in

while booming down, ending here.

On a larger scale it's useful to have

crane moves and in an actual keyframe

instead of just craning down arbitrarily

and cutting close to

another set of cameras.

Here we're covering an

entire scene in one long move.

For the first part the foreground is

heavily obscured and the characters are

far enough away that

we can only hear them.

Ending in a keyframe gives purpose to the

move, but a thing to look out for is that

while a wide angle lens works best for

the upper part of the move, it

may be too wide for dialogue.

Craning directly up or down into dialogue

is also an excellent

way to get into a scene.

Here we're craning directly down as the

characters are trying to locate the

source of a strange sound.

In addition to functioning as a vertical

push, the move is disorienting in the

beginning because we can't see the

location, which is revealed by the heavy

back parallax towards the end, again

ending ready for dialogue.

Here we're craning up into a keyframe but

on a smaller scale, and again the move

functions as a vertical push.

When we're pushing vertically we're

essentially moving closer and closer to

the eye line, which makes the move seem

more and more personal towards the end.

Changing topics and moving on to craning

in parallel, this works the same as

tracking in parallel.

Here we would match the characters'

horizontal positions wherever they moved,

and moving closer to or further away from

the camera had no bearing on the move.

Craning in parallel works the same,

except we're mainly

matching their vertical position.

As we play this reference scene fast, the

fact that the characters are moving in

and out doesn't

result in any need to boom.

Only when their vertical position changes

do we need to boom down.

This is extremely useful for covering

characters walking through a large

location with several levels.

In one grand sweeping move we're able to

capture a wide range of motions simply by

placing the crane to the side and booming

down softly as they change levels.

Starting back at the top and playing at

regular speed we're using a long enough

crane that we don't

feel the circular motion.

So we're really using the crane as a

dolly, except we're changing

height with the characters.

However, this move could have been just

as easily done with a smaller crane if we

moved the base during the shot, which

would create enormous

production value at a very low cost.

Using crane to start on and reveal is

first of all useful for enhancing moves

we might as well have

done with panning or tilting.

Here we're instead craning down from the

store sign to reveal the characters, and

we've of course made sure to get behind a

tree and a lamppost to get parallax.

We're also making sure to move both down

and sideways to get

parallax in both directions.

Here we're craning up from the ground,

past the grill of a large truck,

and up to reveal the

characters sitting in the compartment.

This could easily have been done with a

tilt, but the vertical parallax creates a

much more impressive move.

The problem with this shot though is that

because we're shooting the truck head on,

we have very few leaning perspective

lines, making the shot sort of flat.

So in this version we're doing a similar

move from the side, this time also

pushing the base as

well to cover more ground.

Here the foreground is much closer,

creating a sense of disorientation, which

cleans up as we get

above the hood of the truck.

Whether we use these moves just to make a

scene opening more interesting, or to

deliberately withhold information, they

can stay on screen far longer than

simpler moves, as here where a man steps

out of a car, puts out a

cigarette, then begins walking.

Of course we're really starting to miss a

walk cycle in the animation, but instead

of putting this together out of separate

shots, we get one long

move that keeps delivering.

Almost every other technique for starting

on and revealing we've previously worked

with applies equally well to Crane.

Here we're starting with the characters

off camera, and as we hear them talk, we

slowly Crane into the scene.

The move follows the same logic as it

would have on a track,

but on a much larger scale.

Here we're moving out from behind an

arbitrary foreground object to get

parallax in the beginning,

in this case a chandelier.

As we follow the characters, the

chandelier creates a

great sense of movement.

But towards the end we could actually use

some more foreground objects to get a

better sense of movement.

But it's really the parallax itself

that's most effective for creating

reveals with a crane, because the plane

that's closest to the camera is the one

that slides in and out

of the frame the fastest.

Here we crane down, and the background

stays virtually the same.

But the foreground changes much more

dramatically, which makes it perfect for

revealing characters or objects.

Here we're again back with the truck, and

as we crane down the

background changes very little.

But the foreground almost

slides in like a separate layer.

This is one of the times where a longer

focal length can be a better choice for a

crane move, because as we single out a

smaller part of the scene, the foreground

also moves much faster

and reveals more suddenly.

If we'd done this with a regular lens,

the reveal would be much more gradual,

and might not even have come across as a

reveal, but just a crane down.

By the same token, sliding obstructing

foreground out of the frame to reveal the

grander vista behind it also works great.

Here the foreground layer is a hill.

As we crane up, the background stays

virtually the same, and we're sliding the

foreground layer out

the bottom to reveal it.

Spectacularly expanding the perspective.

Moving on to converging, this again

mirrors what we did with track, except

we're converging vertically.

Many of the types of crane moves we've

already done automatically converge, as

here where we crane down

while the woman arrives.

We're really converging at a

right angle, but vertically.

The reason we're looking at this in the

same breath as "Start On" reveals is that

it's very easy to do

both at the same time.

Here we start behind

an unknown character.

As she walks closer we converge upwards,

simultaneously revealing the character.

We might also simply start a move behind

an arbitrary foreground object to get

parallax, and again converge up as the character steps closer.

Since people are usually standing on the

ground, doing a clean reveal of a

character is much easier

when coming from above.

Here we're converging down as the woman

walks to someone, and towards the end of

the move the parallax causes the other

character to be revealed.

This is great on a larger scale as well,

because we can bring in

things when they're needed.

Here a hijacked truck drives towards us.

At just the right moment the fence enters

the frame, and the

truck crashes through it.

Pivoting on crane again follows the same

logic as pivoting on

track, except vertically.

But where pivoting on track is for

keeping one character static as the other

one moves side to side, pivoting on crane

is for reframing as a

character steps closer.

As the woman steps closer we keep the man

locked vertically and

adjust for the woman's movement.

Set up like this the move is a tiny nudge

and can easily be

accomplished on a dolly.

We could of course just tilt up, but that

would force one of the characters to be

slightly oddly framed.

As the woman walks back

we pivot upwards again.

This is an extremely useful move, because

when characters who are not at the same

level get closer to each other, we need

to change the vertical angle quite a bit

to keep them both in the frame.

Here the woman walks closer, and we pivot

hard to maintain the framing.

We could just see it as a vertical

reframe, but it's technically a pivot

because the move rotates

around one of the characters.

This of course mixes very well with

horizontal pivoting.

Here the blue man is a doctor, and for

his walk to the patient we'll set the

first stop by the desk,

and the second stop here.

For this we'll need to do both horizontal

and vertical pivoting, so as the doctor

walks over we pivot sideways to capture

that axis of his move, and downwards to

continuously reframe vertically.

The shot then starts out as a deep staging shot.

As the doctor walks we're really just

moving between two arbitrarily placed

keyframes, but the

result is a pivot on two axes.

On a larger scale this is useful when

characters' angle of motion changes.

Here we're pivoting around a fictitious

point at the top of the hill, so as he

moves upwards we get a

straight angle on that.

And as his path levels out we get a

straight angle on that.

There's really no telling if this move is

a pivot, a reframe, or a converge.

We're pivoting on a virtual point at the

top, causing the shot to continuously

reframe to get the best possible angle,

but the downward movement also causes us

to meet up with him at the top.

This is additionally where we get the

heaviest reveal of the background,

because the angle

suddenly and quickly levels out.

Again, as when we were on a track,

pivoting creates the entire parallax from

the background, which makes it excellent

for revealing, and this

is the same on a crane.

Here we're starting on the patient, and

as we crane down even just a little bit

we get almost 45 degrees of movement in

the background, which is

enough for a complete reveal.

This is the same if

we're coming from below.

Even just a slightly different angle

causes an almost complete

replacement of the background.

And we again end by revealing the doctor.

This is naturally useful

for bringing characters in.

Here we're over the shoulder on the man

as he's reading a document.

The red woman is entering off camera, and

we pivot down to bring her in.

If we had tried to do something similar

with a tilt, at least one of the

characters would have ended up with an

extremely odd framing.

Pivot revealing with crane makes it very

easy to reveal objects or characters at

different altitudes, because it's simply

a matter of which height we

start and end the move at.

Here the woman is trying to escape a

colony of overgrown bugs.

As she rushes into a room to find safety,

we seem to just be craning down.

Until we reveal a giant

bug sitting on the ceiling.

In this final short chapter, let's look

at changing our

elevation while we push in.

This is first of all effective for

pushing in on objects that

are only visible from above.

As we push in and elevate, we're creating

a great deal of mystery at the beginning,

and not revealing what we're

pushing in on until the end.

Here we're pushing in on a piano that has

suddenly begun playing by itself.

As we're coming in from below, we really

can't see what's going on, which again

creates a sense of mystery.

As we elevate, we get better and better

access, and our curiosity

is more and more satisfied.

When we crane up while pushing in on a

character, the effect is that we're

moving closer and closer to the eye line,

which allows us to get deeper and deeper

insight into his thoughts and feelings.

When we're craning down while pushing in,

we get more and more of whatever the

effect is of shooting upwards.

This usually makes a character seem more

imposing, which then

increases as we push in and down.

But an interesting thing about shooting

characters from below is that even if

their eye line is level,

it goes out over us and can make it seem

like they're looking upwards.

In the right situation, the same push can

therefore be used to make the character

seem more and more dwarfed as they look

up on something much bigger.

If we know that the characters aren't

looking up on something,

pushing in and going below the eye line

can instead make a character appear

dreamy or imaginative.

The way that I feel feeling their presence in this game is far from Dixon - this is all I'm thinking of! I appreciate this point, Bourne. If things don't change, just watch back to the ibn's tracing stuff.