The 180 degree line is a standard rule used in every piece of film, TV or moving image. The rule refers to the angle in which cameras can be placed and change to and from but still have characters in the same places e.g. left or right. If a camera goes over this degree or is on the wrong side of the line the characters will switch places and this will confuse the audience.
BELOW: a diagram explanation of the 180 degree rule
The best way to understand the rule is to watch it in context. Below is a a link (due to copyright you cannot embed FRIENDS from youtube) to a scene from the US TV series "Friends" a series which involves many scenes of the characters talking in coffee shops or appartments and the use of the 180 degree line is constant throughout the show.
In this clip it keeps strictly to the 180 degree line rule. The clip would have broken the rule though if there had been a shot from the back of the sofa. This would have changed the perspective of where the audience see the characters.
In our preliminary one of the requirements was to demonstrate our understanding of the 180 degree rule. We kept to this rule and spoitioned ourselves the edges of the line. Below are from our example of the rule.
On the right is the perspective from Chloe our female protagonist.
On the left is an example of the camera being put directly ON the line without going over. This helps to create a POV shot from Chloe.
On the right is the perspective from Aidan our male antagonist.
All these shots are within the 180 degree line or placed on the line. If our shots had gone over the rule would have been broken and would have confused our audience.
I have been appointed to write the script, and to write the synopsis. I hope my experience in performing arts will aid me in writing the script. I have also volunteered to be chief casting director, using my connections with the local performing arts community.
SYNOPSIS
Here is the synopsis for our film titled 'Sunlight'
"The story begins on the one year anniversary of a sixteen year old girls disappearance. In her room, an upset sister talks on the phone to a relative about the missing girl, giving the audience a few facts about the disappearance. After talking the shot cuts to an unknown man, walking through a train station and getting on the train, looking at the picture of the missing girl. The film then unravels the disappearance of the girl, with an unexpected twist at the end."
COSTUME
The following pictures show the ideas for the two characters costumes. Although these items of clothing wont be the final items we used, they are example pictures of the type of clothing we are looking for.
Male:
The suit clothing give the character a sense of power and authority.
However the shoes, ear buds and coat are more fashionable and suggest the character is outside of the law.
Female:
The old jeans and creased jumper will show the characters lack of care in here appearance, on the one year anniversary of her sisters disappearance.
Her ruining make up and scruffy hair also show her upset.
The Script
Here is the script for the first half of the film;
Dialing tone - Phone rings four times.
Hello? Hi it's- It's me
Pause
It's been a year. One year today Mmmmm I- I just... Its ok. I understand
Pause
I miss her. I know but, Tara, its been a yea- Do you want to come over? We could do something, raise awareness or -or go down to London and- She's gone. Face it. Yes, I miss her but she chose to leave. No. No she never chose to leave she was taken! I know it. She would never just go, she- Tara. She's gone. I loved her but we need to move on with our lives. I know I have.
Pause
You may have given up on my sister, but I won't give up on Charlotte until she is home. Tara I- Goodbye
In charge of location imagery, decisions and prop research.
2nd Feb 2011
Before going to Balcombe tomorrow we looked up Balcombe Station on National Rail Enquiries and researched a map of the station.
Below are some pictures of the station from the National Rail Enquiries site which helped us to decide on using the station.
Tomorrow I will go to the station to get our own pictures and video of the locationa nd will also take a letter to the station asking if we can film there
3rd February 2011
Today I went to Balcome Station to get location research and get an idea of what kinds of work we can do with the location. I took photos of the station and also compiled a video of some of the shots of the station so we can gain a better perspective of the location.
ABOVE: A video i put together of some views from the station.
BELOW: These are the pictures I took of the location.
ABOVE: Shots of the station from around the bridge.
I ALSO NOTICED THERE COULD BE A FEW HEALTHA ND SAFETY ISSUES USING THE STATION AND THERE ARE SIGNS POSTED AROUND THE STATION STATING THEIR DANGER
I also spoke to someone working at the station about whether we were able to film there. He was the only man working there and said it needed to be passed onto his station manager but said he would deffinatley reply to our letter wether we can or not.
On the weekend I am going to get some picture sof the other location we may use for our thriller and will get these on the blog ASAP
9th February 2011
We have decided that we are going to use Chloe's house for some of the first scenes in our thriller opening. We are going to get photos and possible footage on friday and it will be posted here by friday evening.
However we have had no response from Balcombe Station from our letter. We have tried to phone them many times but the station doesn't seem to publicaaly show their station phone number. We are planning to overcome this by going to the station in person again.
23rd February 2011
For our thriller we are using two settings, the first being the train stationa dn the second is a girl's bedroom. For this we are going to use Chloe's bedroom. Below are some pictures of the room we may use...
We were originally going to use a creepy room with very lo-key dark lighting but we turned against this idea as it was misleading. In our story this room is owned by the person who has lost their daughter and of this person represents innocence and is not an evil character why would we need to make her room creepy and this would misrepresent the character and might confuse the audience. We can still use dark lighting maybe or a filter to create a sad mood but if the room is made sinister then the character inside is going to be portrayed as sinister as well which not what the character is. Therefore we arer going to use a normal girls bedroom which we can then make darker or lighter.
"A match cut is a cut in film editing between either two different objects, two different spaces, or two different compositions in which an object in the two shots graphically match, often helping to establish a strong continuity of action and linking the two shots metaphorically."
OUR EXAMPLES
We used Match on action twice during our short film; Once to show are actor coming through the door, and once to show him leaning forwards from a shot reverse shot to a POV shot. Both of these worked very well.
ABOVE- First example of match on action, character is seen walking towards door, then opening it, before a cut shows him opening it from the other side.
ABOVE- Second example of match on action, with character leaning forwards. Shown first in a shot reverse shot, it then cuts to a POV, with him finishing off leaning.
We did encounter a few problems while filming,. The most prominent issue was our location being used during the exam period. Because of this we had to change location twice, and as a result, our film has been shot in three different locations. Although we could not for see these problems, we did out best to match continuity. We did this by making sure hair, make up and costume continuity was always correct.
ABOVE- Original location. BELOW- One of the new locations we had to film in.
We also encountered some problems with framing. This was partially due to the difference in levels concerning our actors, but also because we should have taken more shots of that specific shot. This is a learning curve for us, and we will make it a priority to correctly position the camera during our coursework.
ABOVE- An example of our bad framing
Like many of the other groups, lighting was also a problem. We needed more lights to illuminate some parts of the film, but we also needed to work on creating darkness using light. In some of our scenes we where able to do this. With a bit more practice I think we will be able to master using the lights to their full potential.
ABOVE- An example of our bad lighting.
Despite this, I think we managed to use a wide variety of shot sizes, angles and movements. My personal favourite shot is the establishing shot. Using a canted angle, we filmed the stairs from a low angle long shot, and tracked up, to give the feeling of higher status to the person at the top of the stairs.
ABOVE- The low canted angle long shot.
We also managed to demonstrate all of the 3 rules we had to show: match on action, 180 degree rule and a shot reverse shot (an individual evaluation of each to follow).
After watching our preliminary we came out with a few strengths and weaknesses we need to bare in mind for future work.
Even though it was not within our control we need to use the same location throughout the scene and not to change. This would not have occurred in our preliminary if we'd used a more general open location but however this is a learning curve for us and we will take it into consideration when choosing future locations.
We found the pace of our music was out of time with the pace of Aidan walking down the stairs. We could either have slowed down the non diagetic soundtrack we chose or to speed up Aidan's pace as he walks down the stairs. Overall we needed to remember to keep the pace of characters and non diagetic soundtrack the same.
BELOW: a successful example of our dark lighting
A strength was our use of dark lighting helped to create atmosphere and we kept within the constraints of the 180 degree line and also successfully showed match on action and shot/reverse shot.
Hi bloggers
This is my very own edited version of our group film!
During my editing I noticed a few problems with filming.The lighting does not match some frames as we came across some problems during filming.We had finished filming the stair shots we were no longer able to use the same location so we moved into another room this caused the lighting not to match as in the other location it was smaller and brighter as shown in these two screen grabs.
No 180 degree rule was broken and in my opinion the continuety was very good. The music I added made the film seem eerie but dramatic with the sound of footsteps over the top.I added the sound of a door slamming using garagband as during filming we had missed that out. I also took out some of the sound withing some frames to create a quite and dramatic atmosphere.
SOUND
Very little digetic sound is used in this opening. Most of the sound is non digetic, music sound track, The non digetic track is orchestral, with a sinister tone and fades out gently at the end of the credits [2:17], creating tension in the audience. The only diegtic, Foley sounds are heard after the music fade. The Foley consists of blood dropping onto the sheets, and the enhanced sound of an unknown person scrubbing to remove it. The enhanced Foley and unseen owner of the hand make the audience ask questions like who is this person? All digetic and non digetic sound is parallel to the images on screen.
CAMERA
Two very distinctive types of shots are used in this opening. One is a the use of an extreme close up of fabric being soaked in blood. This generates a sense of unease amongst the audience as they don't know where the blood is coming from. The shot also changes its depth of field, a common thriller trait. Once its fades to black a new shot appears. This is a extreme long shot, filmed on a crane tracking over the Alaskan landscape, giving the audience a sense of location, and foreboding, as the Alaskan landscape is a desolate and isolated place. This shot too fades, another thriller feature. The only other shots are both extreme close ups of blood droplets and a person scrubbing them away. the extreme close up allows intricate detail and emotions to come through. It also uses a zoom, uncommon in many films.
ABOVE- ECU of blood soaked fabric
ABOVE- ELS of Alaskan glaciers
ABOVE- ECU Blood drops. BELOW- ECU Hand cleaning
MISE EN SCENE
The setting is both bleak and eerie, although rural, which is odd for a thriller. The dark naturalistic lighting works will with the three base colours of white, black and red. We cant tell from what little we see of the person what their physical appal is.
EDITING
Most of the cuts are slow, because of the use of the fade, a very typical thriller trait. One quick straight cut is used to quicken the pace. It also raises the question, what has happened?
SOUND
Interestingly, most of thesound heard in this opening is non digetic. The soundtrack is highly percussive and climaxes at 1:25, before quieting down so that some enhanced digetic Foley can be heard. However, very little Foley is heard throughout this opening, apart form a cats meow and some birds. The music is parallel to the images, not threatening. There is no dialogue, which is very typical of a thriller.
CAMERA
The opening starts with a mid shot of three blinds opening. This creates a sense of mystery for the viewer, and raises the question, who's blinds are these? As the blinds rise we can see other buildings, birds and people walking in the street. The mid shot allows us to see this, setting the location for the rest of the film. Following this is a tracking shot in, to enhance the outside setting. From here, there follows a 38 second pan and tilt shot across the opposite building and courtyards. the panning shot pauses occasionally on specific windows, for grounding in the audiences minds that they will be of some importance. The pan ends on a big close up of protagonist Jeff's [James Stewart] face. The audience know know the answer to the question, who's apartment are we in? It is also at eye level, giving the impression of normal human viewpoint.
ABOVE- Blinds [and credits] in Rear Window
ABOVE- Tracking shot out of window, POV.
ABOVE- Big close up of Jeff
MISE EN SCENE
The naturalistic setting is typical of that of 1950's New York City.High rise buildings, close together with small courtyards for a rural feel. The proximity of the buildings suggests that the neighbours are close, or even friends. Yet the abundance of windows creates a sense of doubt in the audience, and they begin to wonder who is behind the curtains. The urban setting is typical of a thriller, but as for the lighting and colouring, although naturalistic, aren't as connected with thrillers. During the opening, we don't see any physical appearances.
ABOVE- Setting for Rear Window.
EDITING
Even though editing is minimal, it is just as effective in creating mood. The slow pace created by so few cuts and the length in duration of individual shots is very poewerful There is only one cut, a fast straight cut, at 1:38. But after that the opening is just one smooth pan.
Hitchcocks Rear Window is completely contrapuntal to the stereotypical thriller film structure.
Diegetic: The Foley is kept to a minimum except for an explosion which is made as loud as possible (this is done in slow motion).
Dissolves are used throughout
Non-diegetic: Slow music from the beginning and sound bridged through the opening scene. Slow up until the build up of the introduction of main character. Narration by main character.
When narration explains new drugs, the filter changes to sepia (light brown) this is to match the drugs colour.
Present day: no filters, bright natural colours. Until lab where white is the dominant colour to match the cocaine.
The music decreases in volume leaving the narration loud.
Clothing: main character wears black, expensive clothes. When in lab they wear white to match the drug. Although in this scene the room is left shadowed to keep the mystery of the characters and there business
Camera: It opens with an extreme long shot showing the main character on the edge of a cliff. reminiscent of the last scene in the film (foreshadowing).
Mice en scene: The lighting of this shot (silhouette) shot hides the main characters face and identity. Orange filter is used to make it seem like a sunset and link it to the end.
Diegetic sound: there is no dialogue during this scene; the Foley of the waves of the sea is very loud.
Non-diegetic : “reign over me” by the who is played quietly in the background
Editing: there are no cuts during the first 1:20 seconds: creating a slow pace. At 1:20 there is a straight cut to the next scene and opening credits.
The construction of this scene is foregrounding the end
In the opening sequence a jump cut is used, these were used often in the French new wave movies of the 50’s, many of these movies inspired the look of the “mods” this use of cut could be a reference.
Editing: there are 12 cuts during this part of the opening.
Non-diegetic: another the Who track with a faster tempo to match the speed of cuts.
Diegetic: is minimal with only a few lines of dialogue.
Bullitt
Non-diegetic: Begins with slow percussion and high pitch strings creating suspense. Jazz instruments are used after the initial build up. This builds until the breaking of a window and a smoke grenade where the percussion becomes heavier and faster.
Diegetic: there is no dialogue until the very end of the introduction and this gives the audience very little information. The Foley of smashing windows the smoke grenade hitting the floor has been made very loud.
Mice en scene: the lighting is low key and keeps the characters half covered. The characters are dressed in dark suits.
Camera: the first part of the introduction the camera tracks across the room showing details of the “office”. A close-up is used on the pulling of the pin.
Hurt locker
Opens with a quote on screen. a fade is used Leaving “war is a drug” making the audience focus on this specific part of the quote.
The camera is hand held throughout making it seem realistic and like the audience is participating.
Non-diegetic: the non diegetic is kept to a minimum and with low level music during the slow motion.
Camera: slow motion is used to get full effect of the explosion along with a close up of a rusting car
Mice en scene: hard light is used to recreate the harsh sun light of the location.
The girl with a dragon tattoo
Diegetic: Foley is very loud, specifically the opening of the package. There is no dialogue in this scene.
Non-diegetic: there is a sound bridge through out the sequence.
Camera: there are many close ups on the package to show its importance. Long shots are used to show the man’s loneliness. Tracking of the female character I done to conceal her identity. Shallow depths of field are used. De-saturated.
Mice en scene: she wears a hooded top to conceal her identity. The man wears immaculately smart clothing showing him to be wealthy; this also matches the décor of the room he is in.
Editing: parallel editing is used as they don’t meet in this scene. Straight cuts are most common. Slow paced cuts.
