Filming for the Cut

Penguin August 21st, 2008

filming-for-the-cut

David Bordwell has an article about production shoots. The article covers 3 kinds of shooting techniques.

Shooting for Coverage
Usually, this is one camera. First, you shoot a master shot that will cover the entire scene and its geography. Then you move to medium shots, medium close (if necessary), close ups, and any other crazy angles you can think of.

This was the way I was taught, mainly because I didn’t know any better at the time. I didn’t know anything about editing, so I wanted to give myself options.

Multi-camera
This grows out of the coverage mentality. But instead of using one camera, you use several and roll them all at the same time. This essentially accomplishes the same thing as shooting coverage, it just doesn’t take up as much time. This method is generally used for TV shows and expensive one time action scenes.

Some of the problems of this technique is lighting. It forces the DP to make compromises on how to light the subjects so it’ll be easier to cut. Another problem is you now limit where you can place the camera as to not get them in other shots.

One compromise that I’ve seen people do is to combine multi-camera with shooting for coverage. You still shoot the master, but when you move to mediums and close ups, you use a mult-cam set up. You would still light it the same way, but you would also get a lot more coverage faster.

Shoot for the Cut
This is a technique that I learned about a few months ago. Usually, when you shoot coverage, you’ll shoot the entire scene over again. This gives you a lot of options in the editing room. Shooting for the cut is similar to editing in camera. Instead of shooting coverage, you just shoot the parts you need to cut together. For example, if you have a close up of just one line, instead of doing the whole scene as a close up, you would just shoot that one line.

I don’t think there’s a best way to run your shoots. Depending on your resources, each has its place. But it’s good to know the different tools that are in your box.

-Penguin

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Viewing 2 Comments

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    I did the same thing you did at first... shooting for coverage. But more and more I switched to shooting for the cut. I haven't done it in awhile, but that's still my preferred technique, and I sometimes use shot lists or story boards to make sure I get what I want for the editing room. The more you do it the easier it gets to cut the thing together in your head as you shoot.

    I also agree with you. If you have a single camera, a mix of shooting for the cut and shooting coverage is probably best. Shoot with a plan for what you'll need and get all those shots. If there's extra time, shoot a bit of coverage for some extra options incase things don't look the way you had originally envisioned when you get to editting.
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    I've found that storyboarding is so important. It's a quick way to make your film without having to commit that many resources.

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