Camera Terms-Scale and Singles

Scale or Framing Height refers to how much of the character/subject that can be seen in the shot and be any angle like frontal, 3/4 or profile etc. 

Full Shot
 A full shows the whole subject in the shot. From "House of Flying Daggers" (2004).

 Medium Full Shot (MFS)
 Generally tends to show character from knees up. "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?" (1988)

Medium Shot (MS)
Portrays the character from the waist up."Room on the Broom" (2012)

Medium Close Up (MCU)
Describes subject(s) from mid-chest up.  Also know as the 2 T shot."Ghostbusters" (1984)

Close Up (CU)
Generally just off the shoulder up. "Dumbo" (1941)

Extreme Close Up (ECU)
Camera is usually framed on specific details of the face to heighten intensity whether to make something more scary as in "Coraline" (2009). Or to signify a waking moment, from reality to dream or vise-versa. As from "Lost" (2004).

Number of subjects in a shot is a simple of subtractive addition, or additive subtraction or...er...it comes down to this:

A shot with one subject (typically a character) in the frame is called a Single. Like the Framing Heights mentioned above, the camera can be positioned on the subject in any way; LA, HA, ERL, Frontal. Profile, 3/4 etc. What the below images cover are the number of subjects in shot at one time.
Here are two singles, one from "Ninja Scroll" (1993) and the other from "Master and Commander; Far Side of the World" (2003)

What do you think a shot framing two characters is called? A double? Nah, those are hits where you get two bases or a delicious hamburger. The term you are looking for is "2-Shot" as shown in These examples from "Lord of the Rings; The Two Towers" (2002), "Ghost in the Shell" (1995) and  "Mark of Zorro" (1940)

2-shots can also be used to give weight to a character or characters.  Below, two shots (two 2-shots?) which separate characters but give them equal weight. From "Akira" (1988) and "Moon" (2009).

2-Shots also are used to give one character power over another. From "The Mark Of Zorro" (1940), Captain Esteban gains a momentary advantage over Diego.

Shots composed around three characters are not called triples, what are you a baseball freak or something? These are known as "3-Shots" Here are three, from "Anastasia" (1997), "Princess Bride" (1987) and "Batman; The Movie" (1966) Holy Threesomes, Batman!

If you have four folks framed in a shot you are looking at a "4-Shot" but these tend to be referred to as Crowd shots because that's a lot of folks huddled in one shot.  "The Lord of the Ring; Fellowship of the Ring" (2001) and "Ghostbusters" (1984).

After a while, everything just gets called a crowd unless it's really specific in the script...Adding characters requires special attention to composition so the the shots don't get muddled. Mantis is a little hard to read below from "Kung Fu Panda" (2008). Five characters.

Six characters in a triangular pattern from "Big Hero Six" (2014).

A seven character set up interestingly composed from "Usual Suspects" (1995). 

 The more subjects, the more you loose track and all the characters just become texture. "Star Wars" (1977-Special Edition 1997).

Camera Terms-Frontal

FRONTAL

Positioning the camera to portray a character looking directly at the camera (typically in MCU or CU).

These are extreme camera choices and not ones that should not be used lightly.  In visual storytelling, the use of a frontal is the equivalent of sitting someone down and looking them right in the face to tell them something very important.  "I have terminal cancer", "I want to talk with you about alcoholism", "We can no longer afford our house and need to move."  It doesn't have to be bad news, just important enough to demand every ounce of attention. "I love you, I have always loved you and each day that I get to spend with you makes my heart happy, so there is something that I have to ask you. Will you marry me?" A frontal elicits great power in visual media. A villain  may be shown in frontal when they have have beaten or manipulated the protagonist, know some vital piece of information that the hero desperately needs, or is just so passionately evil that he/she will scare the crap out of the protagonist (and viewers) and a mere glare will make everyone cower.

The film "Silence of the Lambs" sets up a situation where a FBI cadet, Clarice Starling, must work quickly to save the life of a kidnapped woman from a serial killer to do so must ask another convicted killer for help. This man, Hannibal Lecter, has the answers but demands personal information from Clarice. Finally, in powerful scene, Lecter owns the shot and the audience and the frontal is the obvious choice as Clarice gives in and talks about her past to gain information to make the rescue.

Ownership, power and importance are what sells the use of a frontal.  The frontal loses its power by the sudden cutting to a shot that doesn't fit reason. I really enjoyed Martin Scorsese's Hugo,especially because it covers film history but (spoilers) when Georges Melies, played by Ben Kingsley, agrees to talk about his past, the film switches uncomfortably to a frontal to allow for a graphic match/flashback. This is a speed bump in the storytelling for me, because I have to stop and calculate who he's talking to. Hugo? Am I first person Hugo now? Or am I the professor guy? It is attention grabbing but distracting at the same time. I mean the whole story is told from Hugo's point of view, but the the only moment where the camera looses its reference point. Does this effect my opinion of the film so much that I want to hate it? No! But a cut like this is a little jarring, making me want to write a whole paragraph about it instead of writing next semester's syllabi or, more importantly, watching hockey.

What needs to be asked when planning any shot, is what effect it have on story and the viewer as well as how it works with the shots prior to it and those that proceed it. The heart of this post is frontals are used too much, especially in student work. I cannot tell you how many times I have seen  a student use a frontal when a host of other possibilities could have worked so much better for the story. Why? Because they are easy. They don't require much commitment and allow for rapid completion of a project. "Yeah, it's mediocre, but at least it's finished." Besides, one would say that we see frontals all the time; in selfies, school portraits and just about any photographic application that doesn't involve storytelling. We see news casters all the time, reading us the news complete with expensive looking title graphics and dramatic music so frontals are okay, right?   

Wrong!  The above screen shot from Despicable Me does it's best to make fun of the news caster approach.  Even going over the top by having the character look into every "camera" hovering around him.

Sadly, when frontals get over used I tend to think two things.  This student uses an awful lot of frontals and frontals remind me of...mug shots, that's right, mug shots.  Making me wonder if the characters represented in the works should be interpreted with criminal intent.

Aw, a sweet housewife from the sixties, right? NOPE!

That nice guy who helped put in your security system, right? NOPE!

That kid......That kid who....NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE and NOPE!!!

But what's worse, what I really derive from student who relies of frontals just to get their projects done, is...that they can't draw anything else.  It's not a question of ease or meeting a deadline, it's that the student is actually hiding from choosing more difficult shots and is sticking with frontals because drawing anything else that could lead to a better story even after having the suggestion of a upshot 3/4 is too hard.  To that I have to say, "look below"

This picture of a 'space ship that landed at the park while we were having a picnic, remember daddy?' was drawn by my son (apparently after a aliens landed - wow I thought I was paying attention...we didn't even have a picnic) who is currently six. Here's detail:

Look it's a frontal.  As drawn by a six year old. Okay technically, he is standing 3/4 because his (or her or its) arms are both on the right side, but the face is frontal.  Gentle readers, are you six? If so, well um, good! If you're not, perhaps you can enhance your skills and work on other views of the head rather than limiting your drawings to just frontals.  Surely you have a friend that can pose for you for a moment to get a drawing down or, barring that, a mirror? A book with heads in it?

Wow this little post of frontals turned into a rant it looks like.  To sum things up, Frontals demand your attention and should be used sparingly so they mean something.

TRY THIS...

To really gain an idea of how powerful frontals are, go up to roommate or even better, that special someone (you know, the one you've been lusting after for weeks) and look them directly in the eye so you know you'll have their full attention. Be sure not to run up like a wild boar or else you'll ruin the illusion.  Walk up slowly but deliberately, fix your eyes on theirs, they will stop whatever they are doing and give you complete attention and then you say..."Fuzzy mouse nipples!", "Underpants"  or some other completely stupid thing and then notice that they will never take you seriously again.

Finals and the "Reverse Star Wars Effect"

 After giving many finals, here is an observation with regards to the beginning and end of a typical semester. Each one has a predictable reverse Star Wars effect.

A semester begins with loads of smiling students who all clap with eagerness, just like the end of Star Wars.  "Golly," says every instructor, "look at all of these shiny young people, this will be a great semester."

 

Class meetings pass, and just before midterms, everyone seems to buckle down, paying close attention to lecture and demos. Notes are taken, attendance is good.

 Shortly after midterm grades, A limited number of students stay focused while others start to goof off or focus attention on games or other stuff, attendance drops off, assignments are missed and at least one guy gets sick...for three weeks.

The end of the semester arrives. Project due dates pass, assignments are missed. Notes? What notes? Computers crash, files explode and the bodies of once smiling and clapping students lay strewn under tables, at desks, and the final brings out the war zone of time management, just like The beginning of Star Wars.

Happens every semester...it defies logic, I tell ya! So, the reverse Star Wars Effect repeats and repeats and repeats and ....

Emails I get.

"If you were an evil villain...

"Hi Jef, 

I was wondering, If you were an evil villain, what would you be? I kind of lean towards demon from hell. And lets face it, a demon from hell can fly, breathe fire and still fit in your house. So you have the cool factors of dragon with the convince of sleeping on the couch or a normal bed... Anyway, I realize that not everyone wants to be compared to that  and I'm sorry if being called a demon from hell offends you. I can also see you as a bear that uses a burrito bazooka or a sith lord. But I figured I'd ask you. Also people still ask about that semester and  what happened. So I figured if I was going to talk about what its like to see you mad I'd ask you. 

(Name removed to protect dignity)

I like orc warlord as a villainous position. But again ... Sith Lords shoot lightning"

----

"Office Appt. 

Mr. Jeff, 

It has been quite some time since our paths have crossed. (I emailed your school email already last week, but I really hope I didn’t receive a reply because you didn’t check it and not because reasons.)

This is unacceptable.

Fill out the proceeding form with a black pen (not blue) in triplicate (by hand each, do not use that triple page thingy with the yellow and pink pages that fade all the information, I mean, who can read that):

Official Office Questionnaire

1. What times and dates are you available for a meeting of utmost importance?

[END OF QUESTIONNAIRE - THIS PAGE LEFT INTENTIONALLY BLANK]

Please respond in a timely fashion,

Mdme. (Another name removed to protect dignity) IV, Esq., PhD."

Pushing your figures: Leading OR Head Shoulders Knees and Toes...

We discussed leading the other day, and by that I mean using a part of the body to be the main part or start of the action. There are lots of ways to lead and all these ways say something more or push the character but NOT doing so leaves your figures feeling stiff.  So I drew these in class requiring some class participation below:

Seeing as the head is at the top of the body (usually) we started with that.

 

All poses may not be as active so here is 'leading with the head' a little more naturally.

 

Just like the song, "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes", shoulders are next.  Shoulders tend to be pretty aggressive if you think of breaking a tackle in football or body checking in hockey or a space warrior babe alien thing. 

 

But shoulders also act as shields to try to protect feelings or the spirit inside as in the case of a shy person as suggested.

Next most logical body part to lead with is the chest.  This may be considered the "being on display" pose, the look-at-me walk etc.  Leading with the chest can express confidence, superiority, heroism, confrontation etc.

Working our way down, we get to the stomach. I going to digress for just a moment and say, I had a room mate, a well fed room mate, back in college who lead with his tummy.  If you were having a conversation (or doing any sort of activity) The tummy would arrive first, leading the 'mouth' which would drop whatever opinion the room mate had at the time. Below are just two examples of stomach lead.

 

Which brings us to the pelvis. All of us, at some time place our weight on one foot shifting our bodies into a contrapposto position.  This is a form or leading with the pelvis and there are lots of methods to this type of leading, four are below:

"What about twerking?" "Ahem...yes that is form of leading with the pelvis...but I'm not going to draw that." "Ahh." "...Um try this."

Leading with the knees tends to push the body backward awkwardly, this is great for describing a lanky or under-exercised figure.  But, if you look at people taking a photo on their cell phones, they tend to lead with the knees to try to angle the body back to get more into the shot.  If you look at "the Lovers" from Commedia del'arte, you will find that these characters (who usually lead with the chest) may fall back to lead with their knees when they stand still and let the warm emotions of love and happiness wash over them.  Same is true of people who are experiencing a true emotion.

Leading with the toes lightens the character's movements.  A sneak, sashay, or sexy walk (though a sexy walk also is a lead with the chest and shoulders as well) are examples of leading with the toes.

"Can you lead with your arms?" they ask.  Of course!  Leading with the arms of hands gives purpose to the intended action of the appendages and they really to have a reason to up.  It's very hard to sneak with the arms up as it places you off balance, in this case, arms are better positioned near the core of the body to act as ballast.  A high dive is an obvious lead with the arms/hands, entering a dark or smokey room would be cause to lead with the arms/hands to prevent collisions with unseen objects is also a good use of the arms leading.

More on leading later, for now think about what your character would lead with and continue to push your posing and animation. Thanks for stopping by!

Animal Drawing: Comparitive Anatomy Quick Reference

 Human

Gorilla