Don’t use the camera to watch a scene — use it to help play the scene. The camera is not a passive recording device — it’s an active, full partner in creating an emotional experience for the audience. It’s easy, as a beginner, to put the camera in a place where we can see the …
Read more “Using Camera Placement to Tell the Story, Not Just Record It”
Blocking a scene feels daunting until you realize it’s just deciding who moves where and why. Rather than trying to create something “interesting,” begin by reading the scene out loud and treat the space as an obstacle course of intentions. Who needs to leave, who needs to stay, who needs to control the space? These …
Read more “How to Block a Scene When You Have No Experience”
If a scene feels flat, the problem may not be with the dialogue but with a lack of physical purpose. If your characters are rooted to the spot, reciting their lines as if their feet were nailed to the floorboards, your scene will fall flat, no matter how charged the dialogue is. Start by asking …
Read more “Why Your Scenes Feel Static and How to Bring Them to Life”
When facing a script, and trying to envision how to bring it to life, it’s easy to get overwhelmed. The solution to this is to make the problem smaller. Rather than trying to figure out the whole story, work with a small chunk of the script, say a few lines exchanged between two characters. Then, …
Read more “How to Shoot Your First Scene Without Losing Your Mind”