Camera shots

The 180 degree rule shot

The main idea of the 180 degree rule is to maintain the continuity of the shot but also to establish and maintain the scene direction of actors or action. The most important element in using this type of rule is to follow the line of action rule. The line of action is an imaginary straight line between the subject and the item or person they are interacting with or it can be an imaginary straight line drawn a long a path that the subject is moving on.

An establishing shot allows the audience to see the setting or location of where the scene is taking place and enables the 180 degree rule to be used as it shows the scene direction of the item or actors.

If the shot is not used successfully or isn’t used properly it would cause the audience to become confused and unable to follow the scene due to going across the line of action.

Example

As you can see in this example from ‘Leon’, the 180 degree rule is used frequently and many times in this scene. When she comes out of the room it is as though the audience is looking at her behind the man’s shoulder (over the shoulder shot also). The camera then is facing the man, and allows the audience to see his reaction to the lady. The camera is on the left shoulder of the lady whereas the shot before is on the right shoulder of the man, which tells us that this scene has successfully used the 180 degree rule as they have not crossed the line of action. This would allow the audience to follow and understand the scene much more clearer and allows them to see the relationship between these two characters.

Shot reverse shot

A shot reverse shot is a shot that views the action from the opposite side of the previous shot, for example from over the shoulder shot to over the shoulder shot in the opposite side. This can be used during a conversation between two characters as it gives the effect of looking from one actor to the other.

Example 

As you can see in this clip you can automatically see that the directors of this scene used the reverse shot as the camera is on reverse shoulders of these characters. This, like the 180 degree rule shot, shows the relationship the two people in the scene.

Match cutting

A match cut is metaphorically linking two shots together which is between two different people, objects or settings. This editing term allows there to be continuity in the scene and if used in our preliminary task, would be very effective. This technique can be done by film the same scene over and over again from different angles, which then can be edited to make the whole scene flow in continuity. Here is an example of this…