[Suspicious atmosphere Music]
Why do we move the camera around?
You know, it sure does look more dynamic, but...
...that's not the only purpose.
[Music]
Every movement tells a visual story.
And that's why we're taking a look today at the story behind the camera.
[Music level and rhythm increases]
[Cinecom's Intro music]
Hey folks, it's Jordy here for cinecom.net and welcome to Creative Tuesday.
A weekly series where we share some creative filmmaking tips.
And the only thing that you're going to need for this video is a camera and your hands.
There're various ways to add movement to your camera.
You can have a subtle handheld motion, a heavy motion,
push the camera forward or to the sides and...
...that list continues.
So, expensive equipment is not always needed.
When you wanna tell a visual story,
it's important that you first think about that story
and then about the shot you wanna take.
Don't just make a movement because it looks cool.
You know, let's just kick it off with the first one: the normal state.
Right here we have a shot of Yannick just sitting at the table.
Nothing much is happening,
there's not much emotion.
However, we do like to set a certain tone.
The normal state, is a great way to transition your audience
into the feeling that you would like to create.
And since Yannick is going to do something bad,
we're starting our first shot with a gentle handheld motion.
I'm pressing the camera against my hip
and breath rapidly to get a subtle camera shake.
Next up Yannick takes out his bag of flour.
And he looks around whether or not the coast is clear.
So, he's doing something suspicious.
To tell that into a visual story, I'm going to take distance from Yannick,
zoom in and use a foreground object.
Now it feels like the audience looks from a distance to Yannick
as he does something sneaky.
I also retain that same handheld motion
as long as nothing goes wrong.
We could have also gone closer to Yannick
and make the audience feel part of his actions.
So there's no real answer to which camera movement
or stand-point that you have to choose.
Important is that you think about it.
Next up Yannick hears something outside.
There's someone else around and of course we don't want to get caught.
So, visualize that tension.
I'm going to push the camera slowly closer to Yannick.
I'm gonna try to reduce the shake as much as I can,
because Yannick is focussed.
He's trying to get control over the situation.
And because he's focussing, trying to hear where the sounds are coming from,
I'm going closer to him. Focussing on Yannick.
But then he panics.
He loses his focus and tries to make a rapid choice.
So, we're going to visualize that panic as well,
by suddenly adding more camera shake.
And because we also want the audience to feel what Yannick feels,
we bring the audience to him.
Stand with your camera close to your subject and film wide angle.
And because we're so close to Yannick,
we're also trapping him in the frame.
He has no where to go, visually and in the story.
And suddenly the dog comes in, which is a relief for Yannick.
It aren't the cops or his wife, so he's relieved.
And I'm choosing a pulsation handheld movement here,
together with a pull out.
And here's why:
the handheld movement is very gentle, because everything is okay,
nothing bad has happened.
The sudden shakes or pulsation is because something bad almost happened.
It's kinda like the aftershock of the tension.
Then the pull out, stepping away from the subject,
gives him space.
Where we first trapped him in the framing,
we're now giving him back that space.
This is also nice to introduce the dog who's running towards Yannick.
So, these where five simple camera movements with a story.
If you would like to learn a whole bunch more,
I invite you to follow me on Skillshare
where we have an in-depth DSLR cinematography class.
You'll get the entire foundation of professional filmmaking,
plus you're in direct contact with me over there, so that I can help you further
with your filmmaking career.
And by clicking the first link in the description below
you can actually join me at Skillshare for 2 months for free.
Thank you all so much for watching
and like always:
stay creative!
-Now, this right here...
...is a wide monitor!
Whoop!
[Metallic object hitting the ground]
-That was something important.
Oh! that's the monitor. Almost threw that in the air as well!
Ha, ha, ha!