AREA OF TALENT INCLUDED

The majority of your television pictures will be of people. Accordingly, it is convenient to identify people shots in terms of the portion of the body to be included in the frame.

To help you recognize image size and to frame your talent effectively, you should use the cutoff line system (fig. 14-42). Cutoff lines are natural dividing lines that will help you produce aesthetically pleasing shots.

Use the cutoff lines in the same manner as the six shot classifications previously covered.

NUMBER OF TALENTS INCLUDED

The shot designations that are easiest for you to remember are the ones that refer to the number of people to be included in the picture. When you shoot only one talent, it is termed a one-shot, two talents is a two-shot, three is a three-shot, and so forth. However, when five

Figure 14-40. - Framing multiple talents with two cameras.

Figure 14-42. - Cutoff lines.

or six people are pictured, it is refereed to as a wide or long shot

MOVEMENT

Good television needs movement - movement in front of the camera, movement of the camera itself and movement of the picture itself (one picture replacing another).

The movements necessary for good television are divided into the following three categories:

Primary movement

Secondary movements

Tertiary movement

Primary Movement

Movement in front of the camera, usually by the talent, is referred to as primary movement. Primary movement toward or away from the camera is stronger than lateral movement, thus creating more emphasis. Exits and entrances are more impressive when they occur toward or away from the camera.

Remember: you should always lead the lateral movement of the talent with your camera. The viewer wants to know where the subject is going, not where he has been.

Figure 14-43. - Secondary movements.

Secondary Movements

Secondary movements (fig. 14-43) may be used to follow primary movements or to change or adjust picture composition. You also may use them to emphasize or dramatize a certain portion of a production.

The secondary movements you will become familiar with are as follows: l Pan l Tilt l Dolly

Zoom l Truck . Pedestal

PAN. - A pan is simply the horizontal movement of the camera on a stationary pedestal used to follow primary action. When panning, you should try to avoid "dead space" between subjects. Do this by positioning the talents diagonally instead of laterally, as shown in figure 14-44. From the point of view of the camera, diagonal staging brings the talents closer together.

When the director wants a pan, he will call for pan left or pan right.

TILT. - Tilting is simply pointing the camera up or down. The reasons for tilting the camera are similar to

Figure 14-44. - Lateral vs. diagonal staging of talent.

those for panning the camera. For example, the height of an object can be shown by gradually tilting up on it, or you could tilt down on something to build suspense.

The director usually indicates to the camera operator the tilt he wants by ordering tilt up or tilt down.

DOLLY. - Dollying is moving the camera toward or away from the subject. You can dolly in to increase gradually the size of an object on the screen, or dolly out to produce an opposite effect. Likewise, dollying decreases or increases the field of view.

The director's orders for dolly are dolly in or dolly out.

ZOOM. - A zoom is made with a zoom lens. It looks like a dolly and is used for the same purpose. During a zoom the camera does not move; therefore, perspective does not change as it does during a dolly.

The director orders zoom in or zoom out.

TRUCK. - Trucking is the lateral movement of the camera. It is used to follow lateral subject movement or to truck the camera parallel to stationary objects. In either case, camera-to-subject distance does not change.

Truck left or truck right are the director's orders to the camera operator.

PEDESTAL. - When the director calls for a pedestal, the entire camera is either raised or lowered on the pedestal. Pedestaling can provide the audience with a high or low perspective of the subject. The pedestal also can be used to compensate for tall or short camera operators or talents.

Pedestal up or pedestal down are the director's commands.

Figure 14-45. - Videotape formats.

Keep in mind that secondary movements must have a valid purpose. Do not make them arbitrarily.

Tertiary Movement

Tertiary movement results from a sequence of shots from two or more cameras. When two or more cameras are used the director can select from a variety of pictures to determine what picture will be telecast and at what time. When more than one camera is used, the director can easily emphasize, de-emphasize or show action and reaction in rapid or slow succession.