Just grasp the concept of 180 degree rule (need Help)

[theNetwork]

Alright, I have been going on here for a while. I don't post much because most of the time I can find it in a post already created. Thank you dvxuser members!
Let me give you a little bit about me before I get into the rule first. I have been shooting bmx content for about 8 years nows. I have never gone to school for it I just read stuff online and talk to fellow filmers in my sport. I am really into films and want to try new things and am always learning. I would like to go more in the direction of making short films or Tv shows for action sports.
The reason I am posting now is because I have heard of the 180 degree for a while now but I never could grasp the concept behind it. I watched videos, read books but they never helped. Until this:http://vimeo.com/2690589
So with me always trying to better my work, I started watching old videos that I created in the past. Which I was scared to watch, due to me thinking i'm not perfect. Then again understanding your own flaws will naturally create you to be a better person. So it brought me to this video: http://vimeo.com/18970309. I created this with my buddy (Pro bike rider). We wanted to get out of the norm and do something fun that allowed a little bit of fiction meets fact. So we came up with the concept of making a "dream" day in the life. This was shot all in one day with a run and gun technique. He had the ideas and I worked with him to make the story and shots come together. I really enjoyed how this came out, but I think I made some mistakes.
I noticed I flip from his right side to left at 0:54 again at 1:32. The question I have is does the rule only apply when there are two or more characters? Also if you could give me any tips or critique my work so I can make my videos more enjoyable to the viewer. I know the compression is bad, which i fixed in my newer videos so please excuse that.
Thanks for having me here.
-LA-

 

[nosys70]

the rule apply enven more when there are more characters , because this rule was done for dialogues when people are supposed to look at each other.
Just imagine a tennis match shot with the 180 deg rule constantly broken. After few minutes you would get headaches if you can not identify who is on left and who is on right because
it is constantly changing.
if the characters is alone, it is less important, excpet if he is moving, then the 180 deg rule is here to keep the movement logical.
But all that is sometime "old school" and there is nothing greater than smartly breaking the rules.
So if you can find an usefull way to break the rule , just do it !

 

[theNetwork]

Thanks! Like in a scary movie when a character is looking for a friend, the shot is from behind and the shot jumps to a shot of their front with the killer behind them? The shot creates discomfort when you break the rule. Correct?

 

[vcassel]

The question I have is does the rule only apply when there are two or more characters?

Yes. Other standards apply to a single subject depending on what you're trying to accomplish or convey. However many multiple subjects who interact you may have for a given scene, an eyeline that you don't want to cross exists between each of them. The only ways to cross over that eyeline, that I'm aware of, are to travel the talent, travel the camera, or, usually in the case of 3 or more subjects, have a camera act as a hinge.

 

[vcassel]

Thanks! Like in a scary movie when a character is looking for a friend, the shot is from behind and the shot jumps to a shot of their front with the killer behind them? The shot creates discomfort when you break the rule. Correct?

It depends on where their eyeline is and the placement of the camera. It sounds like your lining up the talent and camera in parallel in that shot, which doesn't cause a problem but is unusual staging. Though that wouldn't work because one of the characters would be able to see the antagonist. You can do something unconventional like film a subject reacting to a noise and looking screen left, cut to the killer walking from screen left towards screen right, cut back to the subject looking screen left and have the killer come from behind her/him from screen right. That's an example of effective line crossing and surprising the audience.

 

[vcassel]

The reason I am posting now is because I have heard of the 180 degree for a while now but I never could grasp the concept behind it.

It's easier to grasp if you don't call it the '180 degree rule'. I just call it the 'eyeline rule' or the 'stick to one side of the eyeline rule' if I ever even refer to it at all.