Looking for Story Structure 225
Then, after you’ve gotten a few pairs of shots, shoot a few short cutaways. A
cutaway is a shot that’s not part of your main action but is somehow related.
If you’re shooting a scene at the beach, get a few shots of seagulls or the waves.
That way, if you can’t find a smooth edit between any of your pairs of shots,
you can cut away to the seagulls to cover the transition.
Ultimately, the whole trick to effective filmmaking is to choose each shot to
answer a specific question: Who is this scene about? What are they doing?
Where is it taking place?—and so on. If you don’t know precisely what the sub-
ject of each shot is, chances are your viewers won’t either, and that will leave
them bored or confused.
Looking for Story Structure
Another important aspect of coverage is story structure—that is, finding shots
that represent the beginning, middle, and end of the event you’re shooting.
Your video shouldn’t be a random sequence of shots; it should be a short story.
Fortunately, this is easier than it sounds. Sometimes all you need is a shot of
people walking into the frame for a good beginning or people walking out of
the frame for the ending.
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