The Jolt of 180 degrees

Knoxworth

Knoxworth

Well-known member
I first learned of the 180 degree rule my freshman year of college. A film professor critiqued my friend's movie saying "you broke this rule a couple times."

We were both like "what the f? Now I gotta do math?"

I respect the rule and its easiest to think of a theatric stage while filming. Most of the time I keep it in mind. But here's a friendly debate: Besides "tradition" why worry about it? Is it true that breaking the 180 rule is jolting to the audience? Here's my proposal. If modern audiences can handle shows like Sopranos and 24 which throw the audience around not only geographically, but through time as well- is the camera angle truly something that will jolt the audience?

I think its a case-by-case situation where the editor can make it work.
 
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Unless crossing the line is serving a purpose in the way you're capturing a scene, I wouldn't break it. I do cringe a bit if I see someone unintentionlly crossing the line and even a regular cinema/tv viewer will probably pick it up, even if it is only subconsciously. You're right though, it is a case-by-case situation.
 
I wouldn't agree that it is a case by case situation. The effect is viewed as your actors have swapped places suddenly, it is confusing.
 
Steve, what if the set is established that there are landmarks such as a railing on one side, and a tree on the other. You switch out the two actors, but those setpieces are there. Your audience has subconciously formed a 3d rendering of the landscape in their heads. Too outlandish still?
 
If you say that you cannot do it because there is a distracting background behind one actor, then you should film them close up from the side. Left actor to the left edge (almost) of the frame, cut ( or 2 frame dissolve), right actor to the right edge of the frame (again almost).
Now if you are filming with 180 rule and want to also film from "the other side" you can cut to a wider shot and then switch sides.
 
Switching between times and locations is easy. The audience knows it's a different scene.

Crossing the line within a single scene IS confusing.
 
Steve, the thing is that on your set, your two actors are typically looking at each other. Character A is looking left, B is looking right. Their eyelines meet. Now change it so that Character A is filmed from the other side of the line, he's looking right. So who's he looking at? Not at B, who is to his left.

I've done it on purpose to confuse, and it works well for that. Lots of people say it doesn't matter but when I show them an example in context, they always feel it. But if you're showing a hectic fight scene or so much, crossing can be done on purpose to give a chaotic feel to it. But you don't want to do it on accident because it always makes the viewer take a step back.

To compare it to the original point, saying if the 180 degree rule is similar to how shows put characters in different times or places, remember that while they can change inbetween scenes, they are always consistent w/in the scene. If you had two characters talking in 1997, then for one shot one of them is in 1969, then in the next shot they are in 1997 again, the audience would also be confused. You need to be consistent in the rules you've set up, which includes maintaining that line of sight.
 
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I didn't quite understand this when I first heard it so I purposely broke the rule and whatched what I had done to evaluate. lesson learned.
 
It's simple: if you were watching a conversation between two people, and you drew an imaginary line between them, you'd be standing on one side of that line, right? I mean, you can't be ON the line, because then you couldn't see both of them. So you'd be on one side of that line. When filming a conversation, you want to simulate that behavior, because that's what matches up in the audience's brain. If you jump to the other side of that line you end up with a confusing jolt that doesn't parallel anyone's experience of observing a conversation.
 
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