MobiFilm Academy
Lesson 6 - A Simple Sequence
 
Lesson 6 - Cinematography
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Let me give you a KISS!

Keep It Short and Simple.

That's a phrase that all film students learn. And the question all film students ask is, "How do you shape a film?"

So let's shape one.

Cars, bikes, planes, boats, buses; they're all good filmic material. But they're sometimes troublesome to shoot. So I'm going to pick something that doesn't move – a stationary bicycle!

Here are my pictures in order:

The first shot just introduces the bicycle. Try to keep the first frame simple. Only one subject.
     
  Legs enter frame – somebody sits on bike.
     
  We see who it is. She looks at something.
     
  We see what it is. Very pleasing!
     
  She isn't so pleased, though.
     
  She starts to pedal.
     
  And pedals.
     
  And pedals. Not much variety – but I have to show a long pedalling sequence; the weight is lost slowly. So…
     
  A bit of variety.;
     
  And back to the pedalling.
     
  Any good yet?
     
  Yes!!! But, in reality, the viewer probably won't remember the original weight, so you need:
     
  Her reaction to the good news.

That was a very simple sequence. But please note that it's not THE way to shoot a sequence on an exercise bicycle. It was just one way. What would you have done? Well try it: Not with a bicycle, but anything else that takes your fancy.

Then show your epic video to a colleague.

Your unbiased film critic has one enormous advantage over you; he wasn't on location, and he doesn't know what story you were trying to tell. He'll tell it like it is!

So thank him or her, bite your lip and go and shoot the same story again. Now try it on another helpful critic. Chances are you'll have done much better this time. Want a third try? It's up to you. The more you shoot, the better you'll get.

So off you go. Happy shooting with your Nokia imaging device!

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