AS Media
Progress tracker of AS Media project by Matthew Facer
Candidate Number: 7547
The 180 Degree Rule:
We were taught what the 180 degree rule was before we began our preliminary task but, due to our lack of experience to begin with, we struggled somewhat. It was one of the skills we learned in the vital preliminary task which then helped with our final production. It entails keeping the filming camera on one side of an imaginary line for every shot in a scene; if this was not kept to then the audience would be somewhat confused as the spatial orientation is then changed along with the perspective of any action. If the line is crossed at any point, it is known as "crossing the line" and, if the rule is broken on all sides then it is known as "shooting in the round". It is also important to consider that, if an object is being filmed, it remains in the centre at all times and the camera is always focused on it else the scene loses focus as a whole or the action plot is lost.
This is an example of how the 180 degree rule works with actor placement taken into consideration and 3 different camera shot examples. There's also a demonstration of a "crossing the line" camera placement.
This is just another example essentially of the same thing but in more of a diagramed format.
The Rule of Thirds:
The Rule of Thirds is a concept in filming where every image is divided into 9 imaginery sections that act as reference points which then act as a guide to frame the image. The grid that is created is a basic guideline that can be broken but the idea is to ensure that the subject focus of the picture isn't directly in the centre. When people are the focus of the image, the eyes are usually placed in the centre of one of the meeting lines around a 1/3 of the way down.
If the setting is the focus, then it's more than likely the sky will be the focus of the picture thus taking up 2 of the rows of the grid. Whether it be a setting or character that are the focus, it is pivotal that the centre square be mostly empty in order to direct any audience attention onto the intersectional points which are far more pleasing to the eye.
