DFID GUIDELINES FOR SHOOTING

1. DIRECTING FOR DUMMIES We are looking for video material which can be re-edited and voiced over in the London office. To do that we need footage which obeys certain rules. The following text gives a brief introduction to principles of directing. First, The fundamental principle of shooting. Although finished footage switches shots every few seconds, it is edited from shots which are held for maybe minutes at a time. The most important rule is not to seek to edit or create the film in the camera but frame shots well and then hold them. Dont attempt fancy shots or moving shots. Try and capture the action in one steady shot. Whether a person is being interviewed or giving a speech or performing an action, frame the shot to contain everything that is going to happen then HOLD IT for the entire duration of the action / speech / interview. If its an action this might involve a few rehearsals to be sure you can capture everything which is going to happen without moving the camera all over the place. This is the Master Shot. In order to edit it we will then need a variety of other shots. Close-ups: If possible try to shoot the action again in close up. If its an action, reframe the shot closer in to the action & ask the person to do it again exactly the same. If its an interview reframe the shot closer into their face, then re-ask key questions. Even if its a speech, consider reframing the shot close up on the face and asking the minister to repeat what are agreed to be the key points, in close up. Variety of shots of the same subject is a basic requirement. Cut-aways. Speeches and actions generally take a long time. In order to edit them shorter we need not only Close-ups but Cutaways. For a speech this is nicely-framed shots of the audience listening. Choose a shot of the audience and then hold it for 30 seconds. Get a wide shot of a lot of the audience first. Then do close-ups of 2 or 3 peoples faces. Once youve selected them, hold them for 30 seconds. If its people in a village watching an action, get cutaways of all the people watching; then select close ups of some of the people watching. ALWAYS GET CUTAWAYS. Without cutaways we cannot edit the main sequence and it will be unusable. When you see a shot of an interviewees hands in an interview its been used as a cutaway while a big chunk of their words has been edited out.

Think of a checklist of shots 1. Master shot of the entire action 2. Close up of the entire action. 3. Cut-aways visually linked to the main action but not of it. Examples: a wide shot of a speech takes in the whole body of the person speaking, the lectern etc; a mid-shot is from their waist and above; a close up

is just of the talking head. A wide shot of an action includes the whole of the action without having to move the camera; a close up is a close up of the details of the action a mid-shot is something in the middle to be decided at the directors discretion. Next on the list is another type of cutaway - General Views or GVs. These are shots of the wider context. If the subject is outside, say in a village, you could get shots of the main street, of people in a market etc. These are shots which are obviously linked to the general location of the action but not directly linked to it. GVs can not only be useful as cutaways from an action, they can also be used as Establishing Shots, to establish the location of an action, interview etc. 3 or 4 well chosen and well framed GVs of a village, with some music and a voiceover, is all we need to establish the mood and subject of a film. Here in northern Uganda the problem of AIDS etc

2. SPECIAL RULES FOR INTERVIEWS Interviewee must look & feel comfortable. Must not look at the camera but to the side, as if looking at someone standing a foot or two to one side of the lens. As always, we need CUTAWAYS to edit the interview. Set up an interview so the interviewee feels comfortable and it looks good. Make sure there isnt a tree or a pot plant or a power cable growing out of their head. If youre doing the interview, get the interviewee to look at you when you ask them questions not into the camera. If you have an interviewer doing the interview, imagine a line between interviewer and interviewee. Do the complete interview filming the interviewee from over the interviewers shoulder or right next to it. When the interview is complete, keep both people in the same positions and move round to next to the interviewees shoulder. Imagine a line between interviewer and interviewee. Stay the same side of the line as you shot the interview.

GENERAL CHECKLIST Hold the camera as still and as straight as possible. Always use a tripod if one is available. If not put it on a briefcase, a pile of books, anything with a steady base. Hold shots for as long as possible. It can always be cut shorter. Never zoom in and out. You and the camera move around instead. Film the Whole of the Action in one framing (wide shot). Then try, if possible, to film it again in a closer framing (close up). Always get cutaways: of audiences, people watching an action, hands, feet, doors, animals, anything that can be used to cutaway from a shot or can be used to cover a cut in the edit. Get as many General views (GVs) as possible. Frame them wide to take in panoramic views of the location. Think postcards.

INTERVIEW CHECKLIST Nice setting. Make sure when you are filming that there isnt a plant or other object coming out of the interviewees head and the interviewee looks comfortable and natural. Angles Avoid shooting from a low angle it makes the subject look like a giant. Similarly avoid shooting from above. Try and make the camera at eye level, as youd see someone. Powder puff. Have a powder compact in your bag. If its in a formal setting or inside people look shifty if theyre sweating. Dry their face with tissues and, if necessary, use powder to keep them dry. Keep rolling even when your subject has finished their piece to camera. This gives the viewer a sense of really being intimate with the subject and a sense of seeing something special. It is impossible to edit interviews unless you have plenty of useful cutaways. You need to be able to cut to something to give the viewer a break and hold their interest visually. Change shot size If possible get the interviewee to repeat answers to key questions, in exactly the same set-up, but with a different shot size. Start with a Wide or Master Shot. Then ask to repeat questions & answers in close up. A common technique is to shoot the interviewee from the side, 90 degrees, in wide shot. Dont try anything too fancy. Simple, straight, strong footage is brilliant.