The Art of Cinematic Storytelling A Visual Guide to Planning Shots Cuts and Transitions 1st edition by Kelly Gordon Brine 0190054352 9780190054359

1. Seven Film Storytelling Essentials

Adding Meaning through Juxtaposition

Telling the Story in a Series of Beats

Putting the Audience Where the Story Is

Making Cuts Smoother

Using Motivated and Unmotivated Camera Movement

Staying on One Side of the Action

Starting a New Scene

2. Using Storyboards

Shooting on Paper

Aspect Ratios

Indicating Action Using Arrows

Illustrating One Shot in Two Panels

Indicating Camera Movement

Adding Labels, Dialogue, and Notes

Numbering Scenes, Shots, Panels, and Pages

Drawing Maps

3. Shot Composition Basics

Composition Guidelines

Framing People

Some Classic Composition Techniques

Unconventional Framing

4. Camera Angles, Lenses, and Storytelling

Camera Height and Perspective

Depth of Field

Constant Object Size

Normal Lens (50mm) and Storytelling

Wide Lenses (under 50mm) and Storytelling

Long Lenses (over 50mm) and Storytelling

Pans, Tilts, and Lenses

Focus and Storytelling

Zooming and Storytelling

5. Designing Shots for Storytelling

Types of Camera Movement

Motivated and Unmotivated Camera Movement

Deciding Whose Scene It Is

Creating Objective and Subjective Shots

Shot Size and Storytelling

How the Direction of Movement Affects Storytelling

Increasing the Illusion of Depth

Shots That Capture Attention

Designing Shots That Create Moods

6. Continuity Editing Basics

The Importance of Left and Right to Editing

Characters, Settings, and Cuts

The Beta Effect and Shot Contrast

Continuous Time and Space within a Scene

Three Kinds of Jump Cuts

Avoiding Jump Cuts

7. Storytelling Cuts and Film Grammar

Reasons for Cutting

Avoiding Beta Effects When Cutting

How to Create Shot Contrast

The Match Cut

The Punch In

Reverse Angles

Entrances and Exits

Cutting When Traveling with Characters

Cutting between Stationary and Traveling Shots

Motivating and Hiding Cuts

Avoiding Cuts

8. 3D Spatial Continuity and 2D Screen Geography

Juxtaposition Implies a Context in Space and Time

What Is 3D Spatial Continuity?

What Is 2D Screen Geography?

Keeping Things on Their Side of the Screen

Points of View, Eyelines, and Matching

Tie-Up Shots

Opposed Looks and Eyeline Match

Matching Shots for Dialogue

Continuity of Screen Motion

Crossing the Axis but Preserving Continuity

Screen Geography That Spans Scenes

Intentionally Flipping Screen Geography

9. Compressing, Expanding, and Ending Scenes

Compressing Time within a Scene

Expanding Time within a Scene

Signaling the End of a Scene

10. Beginning Scenes and Using Transitions

Cuts to the Past, Present, and Future

A Jump Cut to a New Scene

A Juxtaposition That Links Two Scenes

A Hard Cut to a Character’s Action

An Establishing Shot

A Hard Cut to Close Action

A Hard Cut to a Close-Up of an Object

An Off-Screen Look or a POV

An Entrance

Using Action or Light to Reveal the Scene

An Unmotivated Camera Reveals the Scene

Other Ways to Open a Scene

Editing-Room Effects as Transitions

11. Scenes with Stationary Action

The Setting and the Mood

How to Make a Character Seem Important

A Character Looks at Something Nearby

A Character Looks at Something in the Distance

A Stationary Character Watches Something Pass

Using a False POV

A Character Stands Up or Sits Down

12. Walking and Running Characters

The Camera as an Objective Observer

The Camera Travels with the Character

The Camera Stops or Starts with a Traveling Character

Compressing Travel Time

Passing through a Doorway

A Character Walks in a Park or a Forest

13. Stories about Searching

An Example of a Story about a Search

The Search Storyboard

Making a Shot List and a Map

14. Stories about Following or Chasing

General Considerations

Starting a Pursuit from the Follower’s POV

Starting a Pursuit from the Target’s POV

Tie-Up Shots during a Pursuit

15. Two-Character Dialogue

The Geometry of Two-Character Conversations

Beginning Dialogue

Ending Dialogue

16. Three-Character Dialogue

Three Standing Characters Talk

Three Seated Characters Talk

Three Characters Walk and Talk

17. Group and Crowd Scenes

Four People Seated at a Table

A Boardroom Meeting

Formal Gatherings

Informal Gatherings with a Speaker and a Crowd

A Crowd Watches a Fight

18. Shooting Driving Scenes

A Car Drives Away

A Car Arrives

A Car Travels

A Driver with No Passengers

A Driver and a Front-Seat Passenger

A Driver with One Back-Seat Passenger

A Driver with Passengers in the Front and Back

A Driver with Two Back-Seat Passengers

Four Characters in a Car

19. Blocking for Cinematic Storytelling

An Overall Plan for the Scene

Some Classic Blocking

Examples of Storytelling Approaches