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Keep the camera still ...
The biggest single mistake in amateur movies is a moving camera. Keep
it still! The exceptions are when following a moving subject, even
then do so slowly and as steadily as possible. It sounds tedious but
using a tripod pays off in MUCH better movies. Yes, there are ways to use
camera movement to great effect but they are very, very much the exception
not the rule. |
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Edit out garbage, tighten shots and add emphasis.
Movie time is faster than real time. Condense the action and show only
scenes which are essential to the story being told (fiction or documentary).
The rule to remember is keep it on a "need to know" basis. If a shot
does not help the audience follow the plot or understand the characters ...
cut it out. |
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Script, script, script! If that's not right nothing else
is.
Make sure your movie is thoroughly planned. Work out sequences of short
scenes that move the story forward. Always plan to show rather than tell.
Dialogue is in some ways the least part of a script! If you can draw
make up a storyboard - like a comic strip - showing the scenes you want. |
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Keep scenes short and change POV
Each scene should be just long enough to get its point over. Keep changing
the camera set-up so that the audience gets a different POV (point of view)
every two to three seconds for most scenes.
The human eye is restless and likes to be presented with fresh views, pretty
often. |
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Act with the eyes and do not pantomime as for a huge
theatre.
Movies are an intimate medium, video even more so than film. The camera
will usually be close, sometimes extremely close. Large gestures seem
over the top and subtlety is the order of the day. The rule to remember is:
think it, don't play it. (This also has an advantage in making the most of
performers who are not particularly good at speaking dialogue.)
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Jean Horseman studied at Loughborough College of Art, graduating
with a B.A. Honours in Three Dimensional Design. She has taught at
Sunderland Art College and Cleveland College of Art. Her exhibitions
include The Arnolfini Gallery in Bristol and Goldsmiths Hall in London.
After several years of cultural research in Las Cruces, New Mexico
she returned to her native Northumberland and developed her illustrative
skills. Her delightful cartoons have graced publications by public
bodies such as Northumberland Health Authority and international companies
such as Factory Mutual Insurance. She has also written two novels.
She currently lives and works in Marlborough, Wiltshire.
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