Shooting the picture

With the rehearsal period coming to a close, preproduction ends and shooting begins. At this point, the director of photography usually works in close collaboration with the director to set up how each scene is to be shot. This collaboration could make or break the film. 

The first and most important question is where the camera should be placed. Before selecting the final placement of the camera, it is natural for the director to run through the basic actions of the actors, called blocking. It is rare that the movements of the actors are precisely set, rather, a general sense of the action is determined which helps to facilitate the camera actions.  The director has a number of options as to where to place the camera. It can pan back and forth, up and down. It can move (through the use of a hand-help or steadycam) or can even follow the actor, or dolly. Directors usually begin with a master shot, in which everyone in that particular scene is included in one take. 

Next, the same scene will be shot several times over, but now the camera moves in and focuses on medium shots, over-the-shoulder shots, two-shots, or close-ups. It is important to get several shots (at different angles) of the same scene so there are a number of shots to choose from.  A director’s ability to select and control visual images begins with an understanding of specific types of shots. Long shots orient the audience to subjects, objects and settings by viewing tem from a distance. An establishing shot generally locates the camera at a sufficient distance to establish the setting, while a full shot provides a head to toe view of a particular person or persons. Medium shots provide a ѕ view of a person, while a close shot (or close-up) refers to isolation of elements in the shot, normally the head and shoulders of a person. Camera angles are frequently used to establish a specific viewpoint, such as the involvement of the audience in a particular characters perspective and or action. By placing the camera in the approximate spatial position of a character, a point-of-view (POV) shot can be established. This type of shot often follows a shot of a character looking in a particular direction, which establishes the spatial POV in the scene. 

A variation on the POV shot is a subjective shot, which shows the audience what the person is looking at or thinking about. Other shots include reverse angle, low or high angle and overhead shots. Once the editing process of the picture begins, which shot to use will be determined. Along with this, one of the director's key jobs (which is shared by the editor during post-production) is to determine the precise duration of each shot. A director can only coordinate the production effectively if he or she can communicate with everyone effectively. Because of this, directors have developed a relatively precise terminology with which to communicate with their crew. During multiple camera recordings, this may be crucial. 

The director generally begins each command with the specific number of the camera to which the command is directed (i.e. if there are 3 cameras used, they will simply be called cameras 1, 2 and 3). When the commands are given the director is specific and brief. For example, commands such as “ready camera 1” or “camera 1 zoom in to close-up” are very common, rather than saying something like “camera 1, if you’re ready we’re going to zoom in a little closer on the subject”. Some directors, such as Curtis Harrington (What’s the Matter with Helen) say they are very dependent on the cameraman. Suggestions are welcome, although generally he has an idea of where he wants the camera to be placed and what lighting he wants present. 

James Bridges (The Paper Chase) admits that he still doesn’t know that much about the camera. “I hire the best people, and I work with them and tell them what I want.” Franklin Schaffer (Planet of the Apes, Patton) agrees, “Talk to a cameraman and tell him what you want, what conceptually you see the picture as. He will then come back technically and say, “I can get it this way…”

To take pressure off of a director, camera operators must anticipate what camera positions, lens types and positions, and framing they are to use for the segments they are to shoot. This must all be worked out in advance, in collaboration with the director. While it is possible for the director to make instantaneous changes during the final filming, the risk of making major mistakes is greatly increased with each major change that is made. This is especially relevant while filming on location, where substitutions of cameras and other materials may not be readily available or even accessible. “I divide in my imagination the directors I know in two big categories,” Jean Renoir once stated, “One category is the directors from whom the work starts from the camera. I am the opposite. I like to start with the actors.” The actor is the most vulnerable person on the set, and it is up to the director to bring out a great performance in the midst of the actors uncertainties and insecurities. Unfortunately, knowing what exactly it is that each individual actor needs to accomplish their goals is not an easy accomplishment.  There are those actors who are willing to listen to whatever the director says and try and comply with them. On the other hand, there are actors who are very strong-willed and have their own ideas set in stone. Sometimes the director must be willing to give in a little in order to reach the desired result. The best and most creative directors will constantly be in search of solutions, and will usually find them. Some directors are willing to change everything possible in order to appease their actors. Other directors, like as Brian De Palma, have been known to be very strict on their set and inform actors from the very beginning that they run the show. A director can make or break the entire experience for an actor. Good directors can create great experiences, while poor directors can create unworkable situations. Actors are looking for directors to protect them on the set. By this I mean that they want the set to be a place where they are able to transform themselves into the character they are supposed to be, without any reservations or distractions. Actors become dependent on directors and vice versa. One last item of importance for the director-actor relationship is that of keeping the “thread” of the story on track. This means that the director must sometimes step in and inform the actor if their emotional line is off track or if they are getting out of sequence with the shot.  Many directors end up using the same actors, picture after picture. Once a good working relationship becomes established it is only natural that the collaboration continues. The director and actor will know each other’s idiosyncrasies, their style of filming and their approach to a picture. Once they have worked together and established a good working relationship, it is much easier to collaborate together again rather than moving on to someone new. A perfect example of this is the relationship between director Martin Scorsese and actor Robert DeNiro. To date the two have worked on eight different pictures together. Scorsese and actor Harvey Keitel have also collaborated on numerous films.