I’m an aspiring cinematographer and have been attending film school for about a year. I’m still confused about what people refer to when mentioning the 180-degree rule. I have searched for what it refers to, but nothing gets me to comprehend it. Sorry for the stupid question, eli5?
In: 6
You might also hear this rule applied to setting up the camera before filming. You have frame rate, which is how many pictures or frames are captured in a second. Also shutter speed, which is how long the shutter is open and affects the light exposure to the sensor or the film. Most common frame rate is 24 frames per second as this mimics natural movement. It fools your brain basically. Any slower and your brain can tell it sees a series of pictures. At 24, your brain thinks it sees real movement. You want your shutter speed set to twice your frame rate. At 24 fps your frame rate is 1/48. Most digital cameras have a setting for 1/50, not 1/48. So with a 4K like we used in my intro course, you’d make sure you had everything set to 24fps and 1/48. Breaking this rule alters how the video looks. Faster shutter speed looks darker and there is very little motion blur. Slower shutter speed is lighter and makes the video look hazy or “dreamlike”.
Imagine you are making a video about someone high on drugs. From their point of view, everything is bright and lovely and kind of silly. From the point of view of someone watching them, they are deranged and maniacal. Best advice I was given was that if you have access to a camera then try out faster and slower speeds and faster and slower frame rates. See how they look at think about how they could be used to tell a story.
Latest Answers