Nick Willoughby

Article / Updated 04-25-2023

The key to recording dialogue in digital filmmaking is placing the microphone as close as possible to your actor without the microphone appearing in the shot. Also, aiming the microphone in the direction of the sound helps to keep the dialogue clear. Aiming your microphone can help you get a clear sound. If you’re using an external microphone on a boom pole or a handheld, it’s important to keep it as still as possible when recording because this prevents the device from picking up any noises from the boom operator. Microphones are very sensitive and can pick up noises, including from the hands holding them. The best way to detect unwanted noises is through a pair of headphones. Without headphones, any unwanted noise can easily go undetected, noticed only when you’re importing the footage into the editing tool later. You can use closed‐back headphones, which surround the ears and cut out most of the noise coming from the outside, so that the person monitoring sound can mainly hear what is being picked up by the microphone. These can be expensive, but a budget pair starts at only around $10. If you hear a distracting background noise through the headphones when filming, such as from a plane, gust of wind, or passing car, stop filming and wait for the sound to pass, and then retake that shot. If the sound of a plane appears in the background in one shot and not in the next, the sound will be uneven between shots, and this will sound odd for your audience. The following list describes a few ways to avoid recording unwanted noises during filming: Turn off any air-conditioning units or fan heaters while filming. Microphones can pick up noises that sometimes humans can’t even hear when filming. Make sure all cellphones are off or on silent when filming because if they go off, they can bring a shoot to a stop. Also, sometimes a cellphone’s roaming or searching signal can interfere with the camera and can be heard on the recorded audio. Avoid pointing the microphone in the direction of any clear background noise, including roads, waterfalls, or fountains. Again, these sounds can come across clearly in the recording and can make it hard to hear dialogue. Avoid filming in empty rooms because they can create distracting echoes in your recording (unless, of course, you want echoes in your film). To eliminate echoes, place hand blankets on walls to help deaden the sound.

Article / Updated 04-17-2023

You can use colored gels and filters to achieve certain effects in your digital film. There are different colors of light, which is measured in kelvin. This determines how cold or how warm the color of light is. Daylight is in the middle of the scale. If your shot is cold or too blue in color, then you can set your camera’s white balance higher to make the shot look warmer and more natural. If you’re shooting indoors using the lights in your house, your shots may look orange or red, and lowering the white balance setting on your camera will make your shot look more natural. Most cameras have an automatic white balance setting, which measures the color of the light in the room and changes the white balance setting automatically. You can set your white balance manually, however, because sometimes the camera gets it wrong. To find out how to adjust the white balance on your camera, have a look at the camera’s instructions. You can get different types of filters for film lights that can change the color and mood of a shot. These filter gels are specifically designed for use with studio lights, so they can withstand high temperatures. Some homemade options may not cope with high temperatures as well and could be a fire risk. Colored filter gel sheets can be bought from camera stores for around $5 per sheet, or you can save money by buying them in variety packs. Some lights come with colored filters. Colored filters are handy tools to have when shooting. If you want to create a moonlight effect for a nighttime shot, for example, you can use a blue filter or you could lower the white balance on your camera to create a more blue and cold feel. If you want to create a warmer more sunny effect, on the other hand, you could use an orange or yellow filter over your light or increase the white balance setting on your camera. Here are shots of an actor with and without a blue filter. The blue filter throws a blue light that makes the shot look cold. Making your shots look cold can add a special effect to your film. Most lights used for film can be quite harsh and can create strong shadows around the subject or character. To reduce these shadows, use diffusion filter paper (also called a scrim), which, when placed over your lights, spreads the light over a scene. This helps reduce shadows and create a more natural‐looking light. It also softens the light on your actors’ skin. Here is a shot of an actor with and without diffusion paper. Diffusion paper designed for studio lights can be bought from camera stores for around $5 per sheet. Diffusion lights are a good inexpensive option. Light doesn’t always have to be used on a subject. You can use lights to light the background of a scene instead, which adds depth to a shot. You could also add a colored gel to the background light to throw some color on the background. Any light you add to a scene needs to have a reason. For example, adding a blue filtered light onto one side of an actor’s face would look odd to viewers unless there was a good reason for it to be there — such as, say, to represent the moonlight shining through the window onto the actor.

Article / Updated 04-12-2023

Interviewing someone on camera can be tricky; this video gives you some tips on how to position and frame your interview subjects and how to direct them. It’s a good idea to plan your film before beginning the interview. Knowing how to frame your interview subject will help improve your digital film. First, you need to decide on the type of shot you're going to use for your interview subject. Mid shots and close-ups tend to look best when someone is just talking. You want to see their expressions and possibly their hand movements. You might want to do mostly mid shots but zoom in for a close-up shot when the interview subject is expressing a lot of emotion. Next, you need to decide whether you want the interview subject to look at the camera or to look off camera. If the interview subject is speaking directly to the audience, like Nick is in the video, have them speak to the camera. If they are answering interview questions, have them look to the right of the camera or to the left of the camera and place them in the opposite third of the frame using the rule of thirds. You can even position the interviewer there so that the interview seems more natural. You also want to give your interviewer some direction in how they answer questions. It's important that they repeat or paraphrase the question back when answering on the film. This helps you avoid yes and no answers to questions that the audience is not hearing. Filming documentaries: Tips for filming interviews If your documentary film will include interviews, you may wish to shoot them first, because your subjects’ answers may help you choose what to include in the rest of the documentary. The subjects that you are filming for the interview are unlikely to be actors or people used to being on camera, so it’s very likely that they’ll be nervous, and they may make mistakes. It’s your job as a filmmaker and director to make them feel as comfortable as possible. You can do this by introducing yourself and your role within the documentary film and by explaining to them what will happen during filming and what you would like them to do. Many interview subjects think that they only have one chance to get their answers right, which may make them feel more nervous. Try to keep them calm. Explain that you’re there to help them, and that they can retake the interview if necessary. Allow the subjects to practice their answers in front of the camera: This may help them feel more comfortable and allow them to think about what they’re going to say in the documentary interview. Framing the subject in your documentary interview You will want to frame your subject as you might want to frame him in your documentary film. If you have extra lights you can use, consider using the three‐point lighting technique for the interviews. Make sure you set up the lighting and equipment before your subject arrives. You want to be sure both you and your subject are as comfortable as possible. If you’re still setting up when the subject arrives, you’ll be under pressure to get started quickly. This is how mistakes often happen when filming documentaries. It’s also important to think in advance about how you’ll record sound. Do you have an external microphone you can use or will you be using the onboard microphone? Remember to check for background noises and any other distractions while filming the interviews. Mid shots and close-up shots give the most natural look to a documentary interview. You could use both. You might start with a mid shot for the first question, change to a close‐up for the second question, and then back to a mid shot for the third. This means you can cut out the questions from the interviewer when editing, leaving just the answers. When these pieces are assembled together, this can look like one long answer from the interview subject and you can change the camera angle as he or she moves from one answer to the next. Make sure the interviewer stays quiet while the interview subject is answering the questions because you don’t want any interruptions in your documentary film from off‐camera noises or laughter. Removing background noises during editing can be difficult and sometimes impossible. Remember to use the rule of thirds. Looking off‐camera during the documentary interview Many filmmakers film documentary interviews with the subject looking away from the camera because this can be more comfortable for the audience to watch. Your subjects should look at the camera only when they’re talking directly to the audience. This technique is mainly used when filming TV presenters. To get this effect, have the person asking the questions to sit to one side of the camera, then ask your subject to look at that person when answering. Remind subjects that they can retake the answer if they make a mistake. You can also ask your interviewer to smile, nod, and keep eye contact with the subjects while they’re answering questions. This can help them feel more comfortable. Question in the answer when filming your documentary interview Before you start filming your interview, ask your subject or character to answer the question fully, and to include the question in the answer. For example, one crew asked their subjects what their role was in the film. If the subject just said “camera operator,” this may not make any sense to the audience when the question was cut out later. If instead the answer was “I’m one of the camera operators in this film,” then viewers would have no trouble understanding. Your subjects may forget to do this for every question, however, so you may have to remind them from time to time as you film your documentary. Check here to find additional tips for filming a good documentary.

Video / Updated 11-17-2022

In this video, you learn about the rule of thirds for framing digital video shots and gain a better understanding of the types of shots in filmmaking you can take from extreme wide shots to extreme close-ups. The rule of thirds, although not a rule that can't be broken in filmmaking, is all about how to frame a shot or where to place the subject in the scene. To understand the rule of thirds, visualize imaginary lines crossing your viewing area. When placing your subject in the scene, you place them on one of the intersecting lines. For a vertical shot like the one shown in the video, you place the subject on one of the vertical lines. For a horizontal shot, you would place the subject on one of the horizontal lines, making sure that the focal point (what your audience is looking at the most) is where the lines intersect. When taking shots in filmmaking, you have several types to choose from, depending on how far away or close you want the subject to appear in your digital film. A wide shot, also known as a long shot, shows more of the surrounding scenery or a wider view. A mid shot or medium shot is commonly used for television shows and is good for showing hand movements and facial expressions. A close-up is great for capturing facial expressions and emotions in your digital film. Close-ups, like the one in the video, often show just a subject's face. Extreme close-ups in filmmaking show strong emotions and fine details (like wrinkles or skin flaws). How to use the rule of thirds in digital filmmaking Framing shots for your digital film is not just about pointing a camera at a subject and pressing a button. You should take time to consider the best way to frame your shot — every shot — because doing so will always pay off in the final edit. The rule of thirds is one of the most basic and important rules to remember when shooting your film. It’s not really a “rule” in the strict sense, and you won’t be arrested for not using it, but it does make your shots look better. The rule of thirds was first used in paintings and photography and then later in film and TV. Instead of placing subjects in the middle of the frame, artists, photographers, and filmmakers use the rule of thirds to position their subjects and actors to make the shot look more interesting. Here’s how the rule of thirds works. Each of the images below is an identical shot of one of our actors. The second frame has been divided into thirds, horizontally and vertically: three sections across and three sections down. This is where you get rule of thirds from. The goal in this shot was to draw attention to the actor’s eyes, so the shot was framed with the eyes two‐thirds of the way up the frame and two‐thirds of the way across the frame. This leaves the actor positioned more to the right of the frame. You could move her more to the left instead, but because the actor is already looking to the left of the frame, positioning to the right is the preferred choice. It’s better to leave some open space for the actor to look into. As you can see, moving the actor over to the left of the frame looks odd and crowded, and may distract the audience from the point of this filmmaking shot. Using the rule of thirds is like riding a bike: It takes practice. If you use the rule of thirds often enough, framing shots this way will become natural to you, and you’ll be able to do it easily in your filmmaking without thinking about it. Next time you watch a movie, look out for the ways the director uses the rule of thirds. Sometimes you can spot moments in films where the director intentionally breaks the rule of thirds to make the shot feel awkward. (Just make sure you spot these moments quietly. Constantly pointing out awkward shots may annoy your family or friends.) Types of shots in filmmaking The beauty of digital filmmaking is that you can move your camera around and change your shot types throughout a scene. Choosing the right type of shots for your film can enhance a scene’s look and build emotions and mood. Be sure to take time in choosing your shots. A wide shot, also known as a long shot, shows your audience more of the scene you are filming. You do this by zooming out on your camera or by simply moving your camera farther away from your subject or character. Here is a wide shot; next to it is the same shot with a grid superimposed on it so you can see how it was framed using the rule of thirds. As you can see, the actor’s head is framed in the top left. Some filmmakers like to start their scenes with a wide shot. When a wide shot is used this way, it’s called an establishing shot, and is used to show more of the location surrounding the subject or characters in your scene. Imagine you’re filming a scene, and you want your audience to know that your characters are on a beach. One way to do this in your filmmaking is to begin the scene with a wide shot showing your characters, the sky, the sea, and the sand. Instantly your audience knows the characters are on a beach. When framing a shot, look out for any straight lines you can find, either horizontally or vertically across the shot. Use these lines to keep your framing straight. For instance, the shot above is framed so that the horizontal line of the shot follows the line where the grass meets the trees. An extreme wide shot is filmed even farther away from your subject or character — in fact, sometimes they’re not even visible in the shot. This shot is great was for filmmakers to introduce the location of your scene. Often blockbuster movies establish the location of a scene by using an extreme wide shot that includes landmarks, buildings, or sights that the audience will recognize. Shooting a mid shot in your film The mid shot or medium shot frames the characters from a space above their heads to a point roughly midway down their bodies. This shot is the most commonly used shot on TV and film because it’s great for capturing hand movements, gestures, and facial expressions. Here’s a mid shot taken from a DVD series. The mid shot is used a lot in news reports because it focuses the audience’s attention on the upper‐half of the bodies of your characters. Because the viewpoint of a mid shot is similar to your own viewpoint when you’re having a conversation with someone, it’s also the most natural‐looking shot for an audience to watch. It’s a great shot to use for conversations and dialogue with small groups of people. A two shot is a mid shot used to film two characters together. A two shot is often used in TV when two presenters host a show. It can be used when you have two characters side by side sitting together or walking, or when they’re face to face at a dinner table or having coffee. Over-the-shoulder shots are great for conversations between characters who are facing each other. With an over-the-shoulder shot, you see both characters at the same time but only one character faces the camera as you film the shot. Over-the-shoulder shots are fun because they allow you to see the expressions on a character’s face. Because the character faces the viewer, over-the-shoulder shots can make the audience feel like they’re in the conversation. Over-the-shoulder shots also can be used within close‐up shots to capture more expression from your character and to build emotion. With over-the-shoulder shots, it’s common for actors to look at the camera during filming because the camera is very close to the shoulder of the second actor. Actors looking at the camera can be distracting to the audience. One way to keep your actors from looking at the lens of the camera during filmmaking is to move the camera farther back away from the actor and then zoom in. See what happens when an actor looks at the camera? Shooting a close‐up shot in your film Bringing the camera closer or zooming into your subject or character creates a close‐up shot. A close‐up shot is a great way to show a character’s facial expressions, which can help build emotions in your film. Directors normally use close‐ups in scenes to show how a character is feeling. This degree of detail is hard to get with a wide shot or mid shot. Because close‐up shots convey so much detail on the actor’s face, these shots can allow actors to express subtle emotions. An extreme close‐up shot comes in even closer to your character or subject to show an even greater degree of strong emotions or fine detail on a subject. If you want your audience to know that your character is really angry, say, you could use an extreme close‐up of the actor’s face to show the anger in her eyes. You can use an extreme close‐up for any shot in your film that requires a lot of detail. For example, if you want to show the object that your character has in his hand, you could use a cut‐in to an extreme close‐up shot of that object. A cut‐in is a close‐up shot used to show detail on an object or on a part of the subject already visible in the main scene. In this scene, it is important that the audience see the key being passed from one character to another.

Step by Step / Updated 11-14-2022

Sharing your digital film with your family and friends is great, but you may want to reach a wider audience. Sharing the film on a video‐hosting site like YouTube is a way to do that. The library of videos on YouTube gets billions of views every day, and some videos there have been viewed hundreds of millions of times. Uploading your film to YouTube allows you to share a link to your film with friends and family around the world and get comments and reviews. Before uploading your films to YouTube, however, make sure you have permission from a parent to do so. To upload your film to YouTube through iMovie, follow these steps:

Article / Updated 11-14-2022

You just press Record, right? Making your digital film is not quite as simple as that. Take your time. It’s important not to rush when setting up your camera. Rushing can lead to mistakes. It’s a good idea to make sure everything is set up before you call the actors in. If they arrive early, get them to read through their lines while you prepare for the shot. Directors often give instructions to cast and crew as part of the filming routine. If you watch behind-the-scenes footage from films, you can sometimes hear the directors calling out instructions to the team. These may seem like code if you don’t know what they mean. The following list describes some of the most common: The director gives instructions to the team. “Quiet on set”: This grabs the attention of the crew and actors around and warns them you are filming and that everyone should stop talking. If people continue to talk, you may need to shout louder. “Roll sound”: This is a cue for the sound operator to start the sound recording (if you’re capturing sound separately). It’s also an opportunity for him or her to warn you of any unwanted noises. If all is clear and your sound operator has set the sound recording, he will respond with “Sound rolling” or just give you a thumbs‐up. Ready to capture sound for your film. “Roll camera”: This is a cue for the camera operator to start the camera recording. When she’s done this, she’ll respond with “Camera rolling.” Remember to keep your finger away from the Record button while filming — you may accidentally press it again and stop recording. The camera operator is ready to capture footage. If you watch behind‐the‐scenes documentaries about the making of films you see the camera operator shout out “speed” instead of “rolling.” This is a leftover from the days when the cameras recorded onto reels of tape. On those cameras, the motors inside the cameras would need a few seconds to get the reel of tape rolling at the right speed. Back then, the camera operator would wait until the camera was rolling at the right speed and would shout “speed” to let the director know it was okay to record. This term may be out‐of‐fashion, but some camera operators still use it. You can use either “speed” or “rolling”; it’s up to you. “Slates”: This is the cue for the person with the clapperboard to introduce the scene and take number. Take one! “Action”: This is the last instruction to be called before the scene begins. It instructs the actors to start acting. Time to shoot some action. “Cut”: This instructs the camera and sound operator to stop recording after the actors have finished the scene. It’s important not to shout this too early: You may need the extra video footage later, when you’re editing your film. After many of the instructions called by the director, the crew is expected to respond — to confirm, for instance, that the sound and camera are rolling. Even if you’re filming on your own, it’s good to call out the instructions as a reminder to yourself and also to let people around you know that you are filming. It’s good to get into this habit for when you work with a larger film crew. Importing your footage from your camera can be done in two ways, as explained below: Importing directly from the camera: This involves connecting your digital video camera to the computer directly via a USB or FireWire cable. Your camera instructions will be able to show you where the USB or FireWire connection is on your camera. Your editing tool should recognize when the camera is connected and you can import your footage from the camera. Editing is a very important part of filmmaking. Importing from the media card: This involves removing the media card from the camera and inserting it into a media card reader connected to your computer. Your editing tool should recognize the media card when it’s inserted and you will be able to import the video clips from your media card. Using a media card makes transporting your footage easy.

Cheat Sheet / Updated 04-12-2022

Digital filmmaking is the process of creating and telling a story or presenting information through the art of film using digital video cameras. Basically, it’s a way creative people like you can turn the ideas in your heads into films audiences can watch on movie screens, TVs, or computers. You can assemble a team to create your film, audition and hire actors, and then shoot your film. Afterward, you can edit your film using commonly available editing software.

Step by Step / Updated 03-27-2016

Filming from different angles and levels can affect the mood or feel of a shot. Filmmakers use levels all the time to help tell their story and to effect the way the audience should feel about a character. Adding different levels to your scenes means changing the height of the camera in relation to your subject. For example, setting the camera lower than the subject to film from below or setting the camera higher than the subject to film from above. There are many angles and levels to choose from. Here are some popular ones and why they are used within a scene.

Article / Updated 03-26-2016

There are so many different roles in filmmaking. You can see this when you watch the credits at the end of a mainstream film: The credits seem to go on for ages at the end of a film as they thank all the people involved, from the actors to the costume designers. Here some of the main roles in making a film: Writer The person who writes the story and script for filming. The writer is really involved at the start of the filmmaking process, but occasionally he or she can be invited to be on set when filming Executive producer The person who provides the money and support to make the film. Films cost a lot of money, so without executive producers, many films wouldn’t be made. Producer The person responsible for organizing the production and filming from start to finish. Some of the duties of a Producer include working with writers, director and cast to prepare the script ready for shooting, organizing and managing the film crew, planning and scheduling the shoot, reviewing the edits with the director and organizing the distribution of the final film. Production manager The person who works with the executive producer to organize the people needed to make the film. Director Directors work with the actors and crew during filming to tell the story and to get the best result for the audience. They also help to refine the story and script before filming and review the edits during post production. Assistant director The person who works with the director to organize the crew and actors and to make sure everything is running smoothly during filming. Director of photography The person who works with the camera and lighting crew to make the shots look great. They also work with the director to decide on what types of shots to use. Sometimes the Director of Photography can be the camera operator on smaller productions. Location scout The person who decides on the locations to use for each scene before filming. They spend a lot of time travelling around looking at potential locations for films. Casting director The person who auditions the actors to play the characters in the film. They have to sit through a lot of auditions to make sure that the person they choose for a role in a film is the right one. Camera operator The camera operator is responsible for filming and setting up the camera shots for each scene. Boom operator/sound mixer The person responsible for holding the microphone and recording sound on set. The boom operator also monitors the sound during filming to check for volume levels and any sound issues or background noises. Gaffer Gaffers work with the director of photography or camera operator to set up lighting for each scene. Key grip Key grips are responsible for much of the equipment used in filming, including tripods, dollies, cranes, lighting, and so on. Props master The person responsible for finding props needed for each scene. Some props need to be designed and built for a scene and others can be bought. Makeup and hair The person responsible for actors’ makeup and hair on the set. Often simple makeup is needed to stop shine on the face from the lights, but sometimes more complicated makeup is needed to create an effect. Costume designer The person responsible for the clothes worn by actors on set. The costume designer will have to obtain clothes based on the character played by the actor and sometimes will have to create costumes for a character. Actors These are the people who play the characters in the film. They take advice from the directors to bring the character to life using the dialogue written in the script. Editor Editors are responsible for placing the footage together in the editing tool to tell the story. They often work to make sure the director is happy with the final result. Craft service This is the department responsible for providing food and drinks for the cast and crew. This is an import role as this can easily be forgotten when organizing a film shoot.

Article / Updated 03-26-2016

There are a number of different editing applications that will help you edit your digital film. Although these applications have a number of differences, the keyboard shortcuts are generally the same across all applications. Here are some keyboard shortcuts that can help with the editing process. Keyboard Shortcut What It Does Command-I Import footage into an event Command-N Creates new movie project Command-E Export a timeline to the iMovie Theatre Spacebar This plays the video in the timeline from where the play head is positioned Right arrow key Moves the play head one frame forward, which can be very useful for precise editing Left arrow key Moves the play head one frame backward, which can be very useful for precise editing Down arrow key Jumps play head forward to the beginning of the next clip in the event browser or timeline Up arrow key Jumps play head back to beginning of current clip or previous clip in event browser or timeline Forward slash (/) This plays the selected area of clip in event browser or timeline Backslash () This plays from the beginning of the clip, event or timeline Shift-Command-F This plays clip from play head position in full screen Esc This exits full screen view Command-Z To undo last action or change Shift-Command-Z To redo last action or change Command-C This copies the selected clip or text Command-X This cuts the selected clip or text Command-V To paste the copied clip or text