Camera lesson 2

In my second lesson in using the SONY NX-5 camera, i learnt about the 180 degree rule and the effectiveness of using more than one type of shot in a scene.

Firstly, the 180 degree rule. This is applied when filming two characters in dialogue , or an person/object facing in a certain direction.
  You can film around the object 180 degrees, however if you cross that line, it looks incredibly irregular to the viewer. Characters will end up on  the wrong side of each other, a car will look as if it is going the other way, a footballer will kick a ball into his own goal. Not only does this look weird but it can also create confusion and distract from the film.

After understanding the 180 degree rule, I was shown how effective the use of different camera angles is, I proceeded to film shots of an action between people. The group i was in chose to film a high five. We shot a close up on each persons face, a mid shot including both characters midsection and upwards, a long shot, including all of both people, feet to head, walking into the shot, and finally, a close up of the hands meeting briefly then passing each other for the high five.

What I took from that lesson was that continuity is important, If the action of the character changes in any way then the scene can  look very weird, for instance, if shooting is commenced the next day, and the actor is wearing different clothes, he will appear a shot later wearing different clothes in the feature and the audience will be confused- the make believe world that you are creating is shattered.