Choosing the Shot
Why do we need to bother about ‘shots’? Why not present an overall view of the scene, and let the audience choose what they want to look at?
Why change the shot?
There are several very practical reasons why we need to vary the shots.
• Onlycloser shots will show details clearly. Wider shots are necessary to show. broader action.
• A single sustained viewpoint becomes boring; especially on a small screen.
• Changes in camera viewpoint strengthen interest, and show us fresh aspects of the action and the scene.
• By changing the shot, we can redirect the audience’s attention from one feature to another.
• Changes in shot allow the viewer to relate and compare.
• Intercutting can create strong dramatic effects.
Viewing conditions
How clearly your audience can see information in your pictures will depend on such factors as:
• The inherent limitations of the TV system (resolution of detail and tonal subtlety).
• The size of their TV screen, and how close they are to it. (When group viewing standard TV receivers, the effective image size can be surprisingly small.)
• The performance of their TV receiver (its design and adjustment, light falling onto the screen, etc.).
• How sharply the transmitted picture is focused.
• Contrast and color relationships in the picture.
So we see that there is a definite limit to how much detail the TV system can transmit, and how much the audience can discern. A close screen in a study carrel can include details that will be indiscernible in the home.
The picture’s purpose
Whether a particular shot is effective will largely depend on its purpose, What is very suitable for one occasion may be disastrous for another. An atmospheric soft-focus shot will be useless if the viewer is expected to read details on a map. A wide shot will show how extensive a crowd is, but not reveal individual excitement.
Pictorial variations
The smaller the screen, the more important it is to create visual variety. While closer shots help us to concentrate on detail, longer shots reveal the surroundings, establish a mood, and allow us to follow action.
If closeups are overdone, the viewer will feel thrust at the subject, and prevented from seeing whatever else is going on. Long shots can have your audience feeling frustrated that they cannot see details in the subject, especially if these are being discussed.
The kinds of shots that predominate will usually depend on the type of subject you are presenting; e.g. while dance mainly requires longer shots, demonstrations make extensive use of closeups.
Viewing distance
Ideally, a photograph should be viewed so that the image subtends a similar angle to that of the original camera lens. • The perspective (relative distances, sizes, depths, proportions) will then appear natural. Viewing distance, therefore, should really be adjusted to suit the screen size.
