reference materialCamera & Editing Techniques

Spring 2006ss

by Christopher Pope

Motion Blur and Camera Movements Relative to Action.
The camera in Layout is able to produce images very similar to those of a real camera. If you recall from Art 255, when you are photographing action, such as a moving car, and you follow the movement of the car with a slow shutter setting, the image of the car will appear in focus while all objects around it will appear to blur in motion. This is also true in Layout. In image_1a, you will see the figure in action and the camera static. With a static camera, the only motions to blur will be those of objects in motion. In image_1b, you can see the results of the camera moving relative to the movements of the figure, creating a directinal blur on the objects at rest.

Camera Movements React to Action
Imagine physicaly holding a video camera. When you are filming action, many times you do not know what is going to happen. When action happens, you usually react and follow what is happening with the camera. It has been observed, that the movements of objects within the frame, shift the emphasis of the frame. In movie_1a, there is a vertical line seperating the frame into halves. Notice how the emphasis of the frame shifts from one side to the next before the camera begins to follow the action. In cases of spontaneous acts, which shift the emphasis out of the frame, it is important to allow the action to leave the frame before reacting. In movie_1b, the action exits the frame, there is a few frames of response time, then the action is followed and once again within the frame.

Simulation of Mechanical Corrections
Once again, imagine physically holding a video camera. After an action is followed by the camera you might want to make adjustments to reestablish the frames composure. Adjustments to the camera's zoom and depth of field settings can reestablish emphasis. Somethings to consider when making these adjustments are mechanical corrections. When physically operating a camera that is capturing action, adjustments are made immediatly and require fine tuning. This is demonstrated in movie_2a. Remember that multiple adjustments may be overlaped for more complex and convincing shots. In movie_2b, zoom and depth of field adjustments overlap and correct in response to one another.

Hand Held Camera Feel in First Person
A way to simulatate a hand held look is to place a camera as a subordinate in the heirarchy (i.e. make the camera a child). This reationship of the parent, in this case the skull bone of the character rig, to the camera can produce skewed and sloppy attributes which characterize the hand held look. Movie_3 shows and example of this simulation.

Form and Motion Overlap
It is possible to create seamless edits, with perfect overlap of form and movement, while still maintaining the fast pased feel of the action. When transitioning from one shot to the next (this may occur as early as the storyboards) imagine the camera moving, the emphasis of the frame and the movements within the frame. Imagine setting up shots witch will allow all of these elements to overlap. When editing these shots together, use abrupt edits and cut during the overlaping action. When viewing movie_4, try to see the two frames of the edit and notice how they seamlessly, almost unnoticably link with one another.

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