Table of Contents
Author's Note: How We Got to Here ix
Preface xi
1 Basics 1
The Camera-How it Works 1
Exposure 4
Color Temperature 6
Setting Exposure on a Video Camera 8
Setting Exposure on a Film Camera 9
Lenses 13
Depth of Field 19
2 Composition 25
The Camera-A Tool for Selective Vision 25
Use a Tripod 26
Rule of Thirds 27
Balance-Leading Looks 30
Balance-Masses 32
Balance-Colors 33
Angles 36
Frames within the Frame 38
Leading Lines 40
Backgrounds 41
In Search of a Good Composition 44
3 Basic Sequence 47
How a Basic Sequence Works 47
Shooting a Basic Sequence 52
Cutting on the Action 55
Clean Entrance/Clean Exit 56
Some Final Words on Basic Sequences 60
4 Screen Direction 61
Screen Direction and Crossing the Line 61
Using Screen Direction to Solve Shooting Problems 69
5 Camera Moves 73
Making Camera Moves 75
6 Montages 79
7 Lighting 81
Exterior Lighting 81
Interior Lighting 84
Basic Lighting Setup 87
8 Sound 91
Vibrating Bodies Create Spherical Sound Waves 91
Microphones 94
Sound Waves Bounce 103
Record Clean Sound 104
Wild Effects 105
Recording Voices and Presence 106
Voice-Slate and Keep a Sound Log 108
Remember Your Viewers 109
The Best Sound Recording Advice I Can Give You 110
9 Doing It 111
Planning and Shooting a Sequence 111
Shooting Scripts and Storyboards 113
Shooting Out of Sequence 114
Communicating 116
Working in Uncontrolled Situations 116
10 After the Shoot-Editing 119
The Human Eye as Editor 119
Read the Script. Divorce the Director 123
Good Log = Good Edit 124
Paper Edits 125
Establish Your Program's World, Then Re-Establish It 126
Look for Basic Sequences, Then Use Them 128
The Great Underlying Rule of Editing: Make Sure Each New Shot Is Different 129
Pacing-How Fast Things Change 130
Use an Appropriate Editing Style 131
Sound in Editing 133
Background Music 135
Selecting and Cutting Library Music 136
Sound Mixing-Separate Your Tracks 138
Your Last Step: Divorce the Editor 138
Some Final Words 141
Exercises 143
About the Author 160
Index 161