Laughed my ass off after watching that. Funniest part is it is pretty much what acting is. Learn the lines and pretend to be the character.

With film cameras there is a rotating shutter that lets light in during part of the rotation and blocks it out for the rest. If a circle is divided up into arcs, the Shutter angle is the part of the circle that lets the light in. For example if the shutter angle is 90 then only one forth of the circle is letting in light. If the angle is 180 then it is letting in light half of the time. This is the normal set up for cameras and anything wider open or smaller can be used for different effects. The wider open angles create more motion blur, while the tighter angles make for sharper motion for high speed stuff.

Most people coming from still photography are used to setting the exposure with shutter speeds. In photography the shutter is usually a gate that opens up for a specific time and then closes. Since it is one picture at a time, the shutter speed can be any length of time that you want, from thousandths of a second to many minutes. In cinema that isn’t possible since the camera is shooting at a specific frame rate (normally 24 frames per second). If the shutter angle is 360 degrees then the light is hitting the film for the entire 1/24th of a second. If the shutter angle is 180 then it is only half that time – so it would be 1/48th of a second.

Both shutter speed and shutter angle control the time that an image is being exposed; they just get there with different ways. This is one of the primary adjustments that you can make when setting proper exposure.

Digital cameras use an electronic shutter to achieve their shutter speeds. The camera just records for a certain amount of time for each frame. The exposure come out to the same result, but there are subtle differences when it comes to the look of the finished product. The one good thing about electronic shutters is that they can be set up to compensate for changing frame rates when you are ramping the frame rate in a shot. For example, this allows you to go from a normal 24 fps to a slow mo of 60 fps without the change in exposure that you would expect if there was no compensation.

Wikipedia has all of the details of shutter angle and shutter speed.

There is a good recap of a REDuser thread on the ProVideo Coalition Website that talks about how to convert from shutter angle to shutter speed.

First you have to get good audio. This means not using the on camera microphone on your new camcorder. If you want good audio you have to use a separate microphone to capture the audio. Lavaliere (or lavs) are small microphones that are attached close to the speaker so that they pick up the dialog with out the distracting background noise. Usually these are tucked beneath a collar or under a shirt and usually pick up pretty good audio as long as there isn’t a lot of movement going on. These mics need to be pretty small in order to be hidden (or at least less obvious). The bad part about making a small microphone is that they usually don’t produce the best audio. You always miss something with a lav. The alternative is the shotgun mic. This is a microphone that is super directional (in that it only picks up audio in one direction). The microphone is usually mounted on a long pole (boom or fish pole). The boom is either attached to a stand to keep the microphone near the actor, but just out of the shot, or it is held by an operator who follows the action keeping the microphone pointed at the person who is talking. If there is a lot of moving this can be a very difficult job. One of the hardest parts is holding this pole above your head for a long day of work. You really have to be in shape to be a boom operator.

Even with the best of crew and equipment you sometimes need to re-record some of your dialog after you are done with your primary shoot. Creative Cow has a good article on ADR, the process of replacing the live recorded audio with new audio recorded later in a studio.

The dialog is only one part of the equation. You also need good sound effects and music to set the mood of the movie. The best filmmakers always think about this through the whole process of production. Here is a good article by Randy Thom on the art of sound design.

Here is a clip of Walter Murch, one of the pioneers of sound design, talking about making your sound seem like it is coming from the real world. He talks about getting sound in a location to get the echo of the surroundings. This is something that can be done easily with audio effects now a days, but there is something interesting about the old school methods.

And just for the hell of it here is a clip of Jim Jarmusch ranting about the bad music in movies.

Every director is different. Some are very technical and have a lot of say in the shooting, lighting, production design of the film (some even shoot their own pictures), others really play a big role in producing or editing, still others just want to work with the actors and let the tech people do the tech stuff. There is no one correct way of doing it as long as you find a team of people who can compliment your skills and style.

Some go to school to learn the skills nessacary to become a filmmaker, but if you don’t have time for that check out Robert Rodriguez’s 10 Minute Film School:

This seems like a good time to pose a question. Who is your favorite director? Post a comment and let us know why.

Additional Information: Wikipedia: Film Director

The documentary Visions of Light is a great program detailing the history of the profession. Here is the beginning clip to the show:

If you ever get a chance, you should take time to watch the whole program.

If you want to be a DP, what do you have to do? Well first you have to realize that this is not an entry level position. It takes years to get good at camera and lighting technique. I would suggest learning about the field either through formal training or teaching yourself and then getting involved in productions. The best way to learn about shooting is to get on a set and see how it is done. Going to film school is a good thing in that you get an introduction to the field and make some contacts with others, but you don’t really start your education until you are actually doing the work. Start at the bottom, work as hard as you can, learn from everyone you meet, and keep doing it. It is a life long education that only a handful have mastered.

Additional Information: Wikipedia Cinematographer, The American Society of Cinematographers, Cinematography.com

Doesn’t seem like a big deal, but when you consider that some shots only have a depth of field of a few inches, it is very important to have someone who can consistently do the job. There is nothing worse than pulling off the greatest shot with a great performance from the actor and then have it out of focus. It is one of those jobs were you don’t get talked about much when things are going well, but people get pretty angry when things go wrong.

If you really want to see what a 1st AC does, you should check out this interview on the FreshDV Film School Website. They shoot an interview with Bob Sanchez, a guy who has been doing it for 30 years. He talks a lot about his job, and gives some good tricks of the trade.

Another good site for information and forms useful to camera assistants is the Camera Assistant’s Manual site. It is the companion website to the book of the same name.

Additional Info: Wikipedia – Focus Puller