PREVISUALIZATION + SHOT PLANS + FRAMING/CAMERA ANGLES/PERSPECTIVE/POV/ETC.

1. Shot plan:
   a checklist of shots to capture during film production. This list should include what is being shot and how it will be shot to help you prepare for the shoot
   
   
2. Storyboards (you may download storyboard templates here):
   Visual boards take it one step further. They tell us what the action/dialog is and how to get from one shot to the next:
   
   
   • The Type of Shot
   • Camera Motion
   • Dialogue/Action
   • Transitions
   
   
   

• The discipline of making lighting and camera choices when recording photographic images for the cinema. The cinematographic qualities of a film are not only what is filmed but how it is filmed.
  
  Qualities of the "shot plan" include:
  
  
  • (1) the photographic aspects of the shot (ie. lighting, depth of field, color)
  • (2) the framing of the shot (for dramatic effect- everything is purposeful)
  • (3) the duration of the shot (psychological effects of speed)
    
    

• "camera position":
  
  
  • Whose POV is being expressed?
  • Where is the camera?
    
    
    
• "camera angle / HEIGHTS":
  
  
  • What is our relationship to the subject?
    
    
    
  • High angle / "birds eye view" – belittling, leaving a scene, godlike perspective
    
    
    • Example: High Angle shots in Alfred Hitchcock films
      
      
      
  • Direct – intimate, we're in the scene, in the conversation, in the action
    
    
    • Example: Metropolitan by Whit Stillman
      
      
      
  • Low angle / "worms eye view" – empowering, frightening, cowarding
    
    
    • Example: Tarantino (he loves them)
    • Example: Citizen Kane by Orson Welles
      
      
      
  • OTS / "Over The Shoulder" - camera is positioned behind one subject's shoulder, usually during a conversation. Implies connection between the speakers as opposed to the single shot that suggests distance.
    
    
    • Example: The Godfather by Francis Ford Coppola
      
      
      
  • POV ("Point of View")
    
    "Inventory POV" Examples:
    
    
    • Example: Raising Arizona (on DVD) by Joel Cohen / Establishing + POV shot
    • Example: Halloween by John Carpenter
    • Example: Jaws by Steven Spielberg
    • Example: Spellbound by Alfred Hitchcock
    • Example: Diving Bell and the Butterfly by Julien Schnabel / Focus + POV

    "Object POV" Examples:

    • Example: Robin Hood Prince of Thieves by Kevin Reynolds
    • Example: The Color of Money by Martin Scorsese
      
      
      
      
• "shot size":
  
  
  • What distance are we from the subject, psychologically?
    
    
  • Extreme Close Up (face takes up entire screen or closer)
  • Close up (bust and up)
  • Medium Shot (Waist & Up)
  • Medium Full Shot (Knees & Up)
  • Full Shot (Entire Body)
    
    > Here are some screen shot examples of various shot types
    
    
    
• "line of action":
  

• 180º degree rule:
  Imaginary line running in front of camera to make sure that if
  multiple angles are shot, they can be cut together without a confusing reversal
  of left and right screen space.
  
  
  
• "MASTER" / "ESTABLISHING SHOT":
  
  
• Establishes the context for a scene by showing the relationship between its important figures and objects. It is generally a long or extreme long shot at the beginning of a scene indicating where, and sometimes when, the remainder of the scene takes place.
  
  
  • Example: Lord of the Rings by Peter Jackson
  • Example: Various compilation
    
    
    
• "camera movement" / "DISCOVERY":
  
  
  • Panning (camera remains stationary and follows subject matter)
    
    
    • Example: Shawshank Redemption (at 1:23) by Frank Darabont
    • Example: Blow Out by Brian DePalma
    • Example of "Whip Pan": Hot Fuzz by Edgar Wright (Same as a pan but so fast the picture blurs beyond recognition, usually accompanied by a 'whoosh' sound.)
      
      
      
  • Tracking / Dolly / Follow Shot (camera moves with subject)
    
    
    • Example: The Shining by Stanley Kubrick
    • Example: True Detective, HBO, 2014
      
      
      
  • Tilt (lens moves up or down while keeping its horizontal axis constant. Nod your head up and down - this is tilting / Staring...).
    
    
    • Example: Nashville by Robert Altman
    • Example: Dark Passage by Delmer Daves
    • Example of "Search Up": Ferris Bueler's Day Off by John Hughes
      
      
      
  • Zoom in, zoom out (fast or slow has different effects)
    
    
    • Example: A Clockwork Orange by Stanley Kubrick
    • Example: Limitless by Neil Burger
    • Example: The Quick and The Dead by Sam Raimi
      
      
      
  • Focus in, focus out (dream, loss of consciousness)
    
    
    • Example: Diving Bell and the Butterfly by Julien Schnabel / Focus + POV
      
      
      
  • Crane shot (most fluid, "god like")
    
    
    • Example: Touch of Evil by Orson Welles, 1958 — opening crane shot
    • Example: Boogie Nights by Paul Thomas Anderson — crane/establishing shot
    • Example: Shawshank Redemption by Frank Darabont — crane/establishing shot
      
      
      
  • Handheld, "Shaky Cam" / following footage
    
    
    • Example: Blair Witch Project by Eduardo Sánchez, Daniel Myrick
    • Example: Mean Streets by Martin Scorsese
    • Example: Sympathy For the Underdog by Kinji Fukasaku
      
      
      
  • Vertigo / Dolly Zoom (Exaggerates perspective — dizziness, confusion, surprise, boredom, ecstasy)
    
    
    • Example: Vertigo by Alfred Hitchcock
    • Example: Jaws by Steven Spielberg
      
      
      
  • Spin Around / 360º Tracking Shot (A subject around whom the camera circles to provide a rotating view from all sides. Can give the impression the subject is spinning).
    
    
    • Example: Martha by Rainer Werner Fassbinder
    • Example: Swamp People Season 2 Trailer
      
      
      
  • Mirror Shot (shot of mirror reflection with no disruption when it reveals reality)
    
    
    • Example: Contact by Robert Zemeckis
    • Example: Black Swan by Darren Aronofsky
      
      
      
  • Slow Motion (When time appears to be slowed down)
    
    
    • Example: Raging Bull by Martin Scorsese
    • Example: Zombieland by Ruben Fleischer
    • Example: Thelma And Louise by Ridley Scott
    • Example: Wes Anderson (compilation; he loves slow motion sequences)