(c) The cameraman could then film close-ups of any "extras" (actors) as
cutaways, providing they had concerned looks on their faces.
5.
Because a cut-in must have been clearly brought to the attention of the
audience, as well as having appeared in the immediately preceding scene, the
cameraman cannot be satisfied with merely having the cut-in material included in
the first scene. The camera angle, image size, and action must be such that where
the cut-in is screened, the audience will immediately recognize and understand it.
Being part of the immediate action and having been included in the preceding scene,
the cut-in is usually a medium shot or close-up.
6.
Cutaways, not part of the immediate action, but pertaining to the story, do
not necessarily appear in the preceding scene, but must have been established,
either visually or by suggestion at any earlier point in the story. Therefore, a
cutaway may be anything from an extreme long shot to an extreme close-up.
Learning Event 4:
MAINTAIN SCREEN DIRECTION
1.
What screen direction is.
a. In motion pictures, your subject spends considerable time moving about.
When the subject is seen on the screen going from one place to another, the
direction it takes is known as screen direction. It seems obvious that once your
subject establishes the direction he is going to take, the audience should see him
move in that direction until there is some logical reason for him going in another
direction.
The audience should then be made aware that the subject is changing
direction.
b. To illustrate, suppose you are making a training film that starts with a
parade and your camera is set up as shown in Figure 2-5.
The troops are moving
from left to right in front of your camera and will move from left to right across
the screen. If you cross the street and pick up the same subjects (fig 2-6), you
reverse their screen direction. Even though the parade is still going in the same
direction down the street, it is crossing in front of the camera from right to
left, and will take that same screen direction.
To the viewer, it will look as
though the parade is returning to its starting point.
He may be completely
confused. Thus, you owe it to your viewer to keep him oriented.
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