Book that explains how to shoot shots that will make editing easier/better?

F

Filmfanatic

Active member
I'm very new to editing and except for watching zillions of movies (that I think I've learned from) I don't know how to shoot shots and angles that will make editing easier.

There used to be a general rule to shoot the master then medium shots then close ups, then cut them together. I know this is a bit of an old rule that I'm sure is broken all the time now but it is a foundation of sorts. A bit like the 3 act structure in screenwriting.

I was acting in a friends short and he was telling me about the 'Line' that shouldn't be crossed as far as which side of the lens the subject is on also that if an actor exits a room on the right of frame and they enter a different room in the next shot the entrance should be on a specific side. (I forgot if its right or left).

I am looking for a book with that kind of general shooting and editing rules/ideas/theory.

Thanks
 
The best thing I can tell you to do is when your shooting, "Shoot to Edit" which means shoot in a way where your sort of editing in camera. Do this to get used to setting up various kinds of shots. Start with a wide shot then record that shot for a few seconds then go to standyby mode then set up your next shot which might be a medium or tight shot of something and press record again for a few seconds and just repeat the process. Change your angles, maybe do a zoom in or zoom out. The more creativity you use on a shoot the more options you may have in the editing room. Of course with NLE's you can take "stale" video and jazz it up but you want to shoot things with editing in mind. That line you are referring to in terms of editing is concerned is called a JUMP CUT where the shot jumps from one axis to the other and its jarring to see. Always cut to a close up or tight shot to get yourself out of editing situation like that.
 
Do you storyboard? If you don't you really need to. You can preplan all of your shots and have a template both for shooting and for editing. Still, if you're looking for an actual book title, I got nothin'.

Good luck,
Jared
 
I've done two small films where I did full storyboards but on another project I let the actors rehearse the scene and from there moving, sitting, standing ect. I got a physical shape of the scene and then add or remove or adjust things so we all have this kind of comfort zone as far as the flow of the scene. I make sure what we do adds to the emotional core of the scene and not compromize it. Both ways work for me but I like the second way of working more. I'm even thinking about trying the Mike Leigh's way of film making. You give actors only what there character would know in the story, improvise a ton and distill the diologue from the improvs. But even doing that I want to learn to shoot in the most effective way.

Having said that, I'm new at this and always looking for techniques to get a solid foundation for editing and telling the story thru 'shots and cuts' that are smooth and don't bring attention to themselves.

Maybe what I'm after comes from trial and error. I don't have the time or money for film school so I figured there must be a book on shooting.

In the directors commentary ( iI think thats where I saw it) of 'Americam Beauty' DVD, Sam Mendes said he showed his rough uncut footage to Speilberg who said the footage won't cut together well.
It was Mendes first film. Speilberg then showed him how to correct the problem and from there on he was okay.

This is what I'm looking for.
 
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