CAMERA COVERAGE
FOR VIDEO AND FILM
WHEN YOUR MIND
GOES BLANK
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By Sareesh Sudhakaran wolfcrow.com
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Weve all been there. The pressure of the situation
gets to us, and we forget how to cover a scene, an
interview or a piece of action.
But dont worry; theres help. This guide contains
three bulletproof formulas you can carry on your
mobile phones to get those juices flowing.
I have 15 years of filmmaking experience in all
genres - feature films and short films, corporate
video, commercials and documentaries. Whenever
my mind goes blank, I fall back on this blueprint.
Now its yours!
Lets get started!
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The BBC System + 1
The BBC developed a system to train its video crew
quickly on how to cover a story. They proposed five
shots, but Ill add one more, so youll need a total of
six kinds of shots to cover any scene.
The objective of coverage is to get enough shots
to give you choices in the editing room to tell a story
properly. The last thing you want to do is find out
you dont have enough shots.
Here are the six shots:
1. Close-up
2. Over the shoulder
3. Focus on Action
4. Wide shot
5. Another perspective
6. Inserts
Its best to illustrate with an example of a vignette I
made of metal workers in Ladakh, India. I
interviewed three workers still practicing a dying art
form. They all had their small work place, and they
talked to me and did a bit of work as well.
The close-ups
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The over-the-shoulder (OTS) shots
All of them were sitting with their backs to the wall
so I wasnt able to get a proper OTS shot. I couldnt
stand behind them because I would be entering their
personal space, which is not a good idea.
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Focus on Action shots
These can be close ups or mid shots, but you need
to isolate the action, thats the goal. Try to get
multiple angles if you can, like this shot, two angles
of the same action:
More action:
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The wide shot
This is the shot that shows the person, the action
and their surroundings together. Make them as wide
as you can go while still keeping them relevant:
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Inserts
Ive also found you need a few cutaway shots or
inserts that you can throw in during a dialogue or
interview. These enrich and add depth to the story
being told:
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Another perspective
Step back and shoot in a totally different way. One
wide-angle shot would give you one perspective;
this one will give you a totally different angle. Make
sure the shot is at least 90o away from the other
wide-angle shot, or maybe in a different location:
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The goal of this shot is to provide another
perspective. In this case the old metal workers are
put in perspectives we didnt have of them before.
Get creative here!
The Hollywood System
Who doesnt know this system? Its simple and
elegant, and designed to cover dialogue scenes and
action scenes with enough coverage.
Here are the five shots:
1. The master (wide-shot, everybodys in the
frame)
2. The mid shots (one person or more in the
frame)
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3. Close ups
4. Over the shoulder shots
5. Inserts
While shooting, you tend to preserve the order of
these shots as listed above. The most important
shot (which could also be the hardest and most time
consuming to light, setup and perform) is done first.
Usually this is the master shot.
The master
A shot is called a master when the entire action is
covered, otherwise its just a wide shot. In editing
you can break up a master, but at least youll have
your entire scene. Hollywood films with good
budgets break up the master and shoot from
multiple angles. An indie filmmaker cannot afford
that.
For a master shot, ask yourself: Whats the best
place and angle to see the action clearly in its
entirety?
Here are a few examples from Hangover, directed
by Todd Phillips, from the scene where Mike Tyson
shows up. These are not necessarily masters, but
just examples of a wide shot:
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Another example that pops up midway through the
scene (note the shots can be edited in any order):
The mid shots
Once the master is shot you move in to the mid
shot. A mid shot can be of two people (Two-shot)
or three people (Three-shot), or just one person (a
Solo):
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The actors repeat the entire scene again in a mid
shot. Those not in the frame will stand at their
positions off screen and feed the actor lines so it will
flow naturally. You need good actors to repeat the
dialogues every single time. Also, the emotional
performance intensifies from master to the final
close up, so actors get a chance to warm up as well.
Here are more mid shot from the same scene:
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Of course, a mid shot might need a reverse (called a
reverse shot) to see who someone is talking to:
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Close-ups
Close-ups are used to eliminate distractions so the
audience is only focused on what the character is
saying at that point. The entire scene need not be
repeated, though some directors insist on it. Heres
a close up of Mike Tyson:
Typically you might have a reverse as well of the
other character, but in this scene the director chose
only one close up, and this scene was all about
Mike Tyson.
Over the shoulder (OTS) shots
Over the shoulder shots are used for confrontations.
The back of one actor is always in the frame, so the
audience is always aware of his or her presence.
Also, the other character cant get away from this
person either!
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When you have an OTS and its reverse, it becomes
a direct confrontation:
Inserts
Finally, we have inserts (also called cutaways),
just like in the BBC System. Sometimes you need
information on a detail or just need some cutaway
shot to smooth over a jump cut. In this particular
scene there arent any, but the shot right after it is
one type of cutaway:
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A reaction shot can also be a cutaway:
The disadvantage of the Hollywood system is that
you need to repeat the action multiple times, and
youll be shooting a lot of footage. A simple typical
two-person dialogue can involve between seven to
ten shots. The advantage is the director gets a lot of
choices in the edit. One shot cannot make or break
your scene, thats the idea.
However, what if youre totally out of time to shoot
coverage? Theres only one solution for that:
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The one-take shot
This is my favorite type of shot, and also the hardest
to pull off. You shoot the entire scene or action in
one shot (one take). To make things more dynamic
you could include movement of the actors (blocking)
and/or the camera. Whatever works for the scene.
You really need a good crew and actors to nail a
one-take shot. The longer the scene is, the harder
this gets. The best way to learn how its done is to
study the master himself, Orson Welles, in this video
I put together on his 12-minute long take in Touch of
Evil:
Well, thats it. Three surefire techniques to get you
through the coverage block. Now go film something!
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