- You know,

my ma always told me to file my nails.

Otherwise, I might just end up scratching somebody.

[dramatic music]

But me ma ain't around no more, ain't she?

- Pause.

This is what a film might look like

if cameras were set up, someone hit record,

and then just walked away.

There's no thought behind the framing or perspective,

and it lacks any stylistic choices.

It's what might happen if someone like me isn't on set.

My name is Oliver, and I'm a camera operator.

Let's go in and see all the different ways

a camera operator might film a scene.

Rewind.

[tape squeaking]

Before we do anything else,

let's get a camera operator in here.

That's more like it.

Now, let's get to it.

Before, the camera was completely stationary.

By utilizing pans, which are left and right movements,

and tilts, which are up and down movements,

we can let our actors naturally move in the scene

without running into weird cropped frames.

Let's see this scene again with those in action.

[dramatic music] [file scratching]

- You know, my ma always told me to file my nails.

Otherwise I might just end up scratching somebody.

[dramatic music]

But me ma ain't around no more, ain't she?

- [Oliver] In addition to panning,

you can also physically move the camera

to reveal scenes, characters or objects in dramatic ways.

By putting the camera on a wheeled platform called a dolly,

you can connect two shots into one

with a single swift movement.

Let's see what that looks like in action.

[dramatic music]

- But me ma ain't around no more, ain't she?

- [Oliver] Each method provides its own stylized way

of revealing different aspects of the scene.

- You mind telling her to get over here?

- Have you no respect?

She's sleeping with the moles!

- Sorry, no disrespect to your ma, or Meemaw,

or Mamma Mia, whatever, but I'm not really the

getting kidnapped type.

- [Oliver] Notice the camera angles here.

Filming up at someone can make them seem more intimidating,

while filming down on someone can make them seem weaker.

Since the hit man has the upper hand right now,

we should probably swap these angles.

There, that's better.

This really helps put the hit man in a position of power.

- Sorry, no disrespect to your ma,

or Meemaw, or Mamma Mia or whatever,

but I'm not really the getting kidnapped type.

- Shut the hell up and tell me what you know

about JoAnn's Fabrics.

- Listen, I don't want nothing to do with this.

- [Oliver] Close-up shots on a single person,

like the ones we just saw, can be good

when trying to emphasize a moment

or get a character's reaction.

However, let's switch to an over-the shoulder shot.

When two people are talking,

these kinds of shots place them in a scene together,

highlighting their relationship.

Sometimes we call it dirtying up the frame.

- Look, I don't even want Beatrice's money.

Just take it!

Take me out of this.

- I said do yourself a favor

and shut up when I'm talking to you.

- Sorry, but when there's no AC

I got a little bit mucked up.

- [Oliver] So far, we have been using a tripod

to film this scene.

Tripods provide a more grounded, static feeling.

Watch how smooth and stable everything is in the next shot.

- You know, Ma used to say,

"Don't speak until you're finished chewing your Cheerios.

If you keep your mouth shut, you stay out of trouble."

Well, maybe I didn't listen enough to that last one.

- [Oliver] However, filming handheld

can add a dramatic realism.

It feels more spontaneous

and can follow the actors' movement at any moment.

Let's see that line again shot handheld.

- You know, Ma used to say,

"Don't speak until you're finished chewing your Cheerios.

If you keep your mouth shut, you stay out of trouble."

Well, maybe I didn't listen enough to that last one.

- [Oliver] While camera moves on the tripod

keep the film alive,

adding handheld moves can keep the viewer engaged.

Sometimes the uneasiness of the camera

can add tension to the scene.

- Listen.

I'm trying to help you before a guy a lot less nicer than me

fits you with a pair of cement shoes.

I'm talking a huge, nasty, tiny little big boy.

- So is he big or is he tiny?

- What did Meemaw say about-- [phone ringing]

- [Oliver] Hold up.

That cut to the phone right there wasn't very dynamic.

When there's a dramatic action,

you can stir up the scene

and inject a sudden burst of energy with a whip pan.

A whip pan is a pan that happens so quickly

that motion becomes blurred, like this.

Whip pans can also be used as a transition

between two separate shots, creating an effect

both jarring and surprising.

Let's try adding one in as a transition

to the ringing phone.

[tape squeaking]

- What did Meemaw say about-- [phone ringing]

- [Oliver] See how much more exciting that felt

with a whip pan?

It really added some urgency to the moment.

- Ah, [speaking foreign language].

Forgive me, kind sir, but I gotta get this.

[phone ringing]

How you doing?

Wonderful.

Yeah.

Yeah I'm looking at his big, beautiful head right now.

His kind eyes are staring right at me.

He's like a sweetheart.

I almost feel bad about all this.

[dramatic music]

- [Oliver] So far, the camera has been focused

on the hit man for the whole phone call.

Because of this, we miss something vital.

Let's rewind.

[tape squeaking]

- Yeah, I'm looking at his big, beautiful head right now.

- [Oliver] By doing what we call a rack focus,

we can draw the viewer's attention to new things,

forming a connection between two items on screen

that have a physical space between them.

Watch how this technique can shift the focus

from the hit man to the lawyer.

- His kind eyes are staring right at me.

He looks like a sweetheart.

Almost feel bad about all this.

[dramatic music]

- [Oliver] Before, this shot

of the nail file seemed arbitrary.

Now, the rack focus makes it clear

that it's an item that has caught the lawyer's attention.

- Nah, he can't hear a word I'm saying.

Can't say you made settling this easy on us, Mrs. F.

[dramatic music]

- [Oliver] This is an important shot,

but if we want it to seem even more important,

there are different ways we can zoom or dolly in

to emphasize objects or emotions.

[tape squeaking]

You could do a very quick snap zoom.

This immediately shoves whatever it's focusing on

into the audience's faces,

but it has more of a documentary feel.

It might not be the best thing to do in this instance.

[tape squeaking]

Instead, let's try doing a slow zoom.

By doing a slow zoom,

the background around the nail file fades away,

and we focus more intensely on the object itself.

This adds importance to it in a way a stationary shot can't.