The Psychology of the Camera
The “psychology of the camera” are the visual meanings of a particular shot or camera angle. In other words, where you put the camera, what lens you use and your framing can help to increase the audience’s understanding of what the scene is really about and what the characters are feeling.
Audiences will assume that every shot or word of dialogue in a film is there to further the story, therefore each shot you use should contribute to the story and the theme you are trying to convey.
So when you are planning your shots, ask yourself: “What do I want the audience to see, hear and feel at this particular moment?”
Here are six basic “camera options” a director can use to help heighten viewer understanding (text) and emotion (subtext) of the story:
1. Lens
The lens is a powerful storytelling tool. Lenses expand or compress space so when you choose a lens you are also choosing the “visual space” a shot takes place in. Before you choose a lens for a shot, ask yourself: “How intimate do I want to be with the character and how do I represent that visually?”
2. Depth
The illusion of depth is a big part of visual storytelling. To achieve this “illusion” of depth in a 2-dimensional medium you need to block your scenes with an eye for depth by composing your shots within these three distinct depth planes: foreground, midground and background.
3. Focus
One of the main jobs of a director is to direct the attention of the audience to certain areas within the frame. So when you are composing a shot, where you place the focus is determined primarily by what is important in the “plot story” or the “thematic story” at that particular time.
4. Frame
Visual composition should make an emotional statement to the audience, so the meaning, emotion and framing of each shot needs to come from detailed script analysis, so before framing any shot you need to know “What is the story objective of the scene?” “What do I want the audience to know about this scene?”
5. Angle
The distance the camera is from a character affects the identification of the character with the audience. Here are three “angles of view” for the camera:
Objective: The audience point of view. The camera is placed outside (away from) the action. Example: a wide shot of any action.
Subjective: The camera acts as the viewer’s eyes. (The camera is placed inside (close to) the action. Example: a MS of a person.
Point of View: What the character is seeing. (The camera is the action.) Example: when characters look directly into the lens.
6. Motion
We don’t call a film a “motion picture” (or “moving pictures” or “movies”) for nothing. In the truest sense of the word, “motion” is about camera movement. It’s about moving the camera in some way that progresses the audience’s understanding of the story – as well as keeping the scene visually interesting.
So as you design your blocking plan and create your shot list, ask yourself: “Why do I want the camera to move here?” Is it to follow a specific action; to reveal an important piece of information; to re-position the camera for a better frame?
Motion also applies to screen direction which helps viewer orientation. For example: every world map is drawn with north at the top and south at the bottom so if a character is traveling from Los Angeles to New York they will “visually” be traveling on-screen from left to right.
Copyright (c) 2021 Peter D. Marshall / All Rights Reserved
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