Learning Event 2:
SHOOT RE-ESTABLISHING SHOTS (RS) AND CAMERA ANGLES
1.
Re-establishing shots.
a. An audience usually has difficulty remembering more than one scene back.
The experienced cameraman reorients his audience from time to time by furnishing
scenes for this purpose. These scenes are called re-establishing shots (RS).
(1) A series of related shots make a sequence and sequences joined together
make a story.
Sequences should be joined together with an RS.
This makes the
story clear, unbroken, and results in a smooth flow of action.
(2) The RS usually is a medium or long shot. It often follows a close-up
and is used to re-establish the general scene.
In other words, it reminds the
audience of where they are.
(3) The RS is used to tie sequences together and to keep the audience from
getting confused or lost since it can rarely keep in mind more than one scene at a
time.
The RS will help keep audiences oriented, reminding audiences how a small
scene fits into the larger scene that includes it.
b. Re-establish the scene when the subject is moved from an old to a new
location. Use the RS to end a sequence.
(1) In the RS, the camera is moved back from the closeup position and a
scene is made in which the spectators once again will see where the close-ups were
taking place in relation to the surroundings.
Usually a medium or medium-close
shot will serve very well for re-establishing, after which it is perfectly
permissible to move in again for more close-ups.
Not only does the RS keep the
audience oriented at all times, but it lends variety in camera positions, which is
always a desirable factor.
(2) Instead of ending a sequence with a closeup, use an RS.
This leaves
the spectator with the satisfied feeling that he has seen all the important details
as the sequence ends, and is not left "hanging in midair" on a close-up while
expecting a continuation of the action.
(3) Re-establishing is also used to tie two sequences together.
(a) one way of accomplishing this is to re-establish at the end of one
sequence and have the person walk out of the scene.
Now, by showing the person
entering in the establishing scene of the second sequence, a definite relationship
has been achieved between the two separate actions even though there may be some
distance between the locations of the two sequences; the audience accepting the
fact that the story has continued uninterrupted up to this point. This technique
is called "moving out and in the frame."
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