How to shoot people walking

When shooting people walking we use a number of different techniques/shots. The one rule involved with this procedure is something called the 180 degree rule. 



It's a basic rule that means that two characters will always have the left to right relationship with each other. When a camera crosses the 'axis' connecting to two subjects it is called 'crossing the line'. The new shot would be the reverse angle.

Here is a diagram to visually show the rule. When the camera goes beyond the green arc onto the red arc, the characters switch and are now standing in reverse.





Different types of camera movement
Tracking shot: camera is on a set of tracks and therefore can go back and forth, below is an example I have found to show this:

Crab: Circular motion around things. Below, is an example of this being shown:

Pan: when the camera only goes side to side (panning the room). Here is an example to show this:

Tilting: when the camera tilts up and down, here is an example to show this:

boom/move up/ move down: the whole camera moves up and down and never goes from side to side, here is a video to show an example of this:

Jib: on a crane and can move up to the ceiling, here is a video to show an example of this:

Dolly: can go anywhere, meaning it can go side to side, up and down, vertical, horizontal etc. Here is an example of the camera moving forward on a dolly:

Example in a movie situation-video used in class

At the start of the clip, a tracking shot is used. This creates the smooth effect of seeing all of the men enter the scene: interacting with each other, smoking, acting in a 'boyish behavior.' Accompanied along with a extra long shot and slow motion technique we  can see the full profile of the characters, and from this make a judgement on what sort of character they may be. As a first impression, we see that they are of some sort of 'gangsters' with the choice of costume (suits and hats) and from the structure and care free way in which they're walking we can see that they're all associated with one another and aren't necessarily of the menacing type.

After this, the camera goes into mid shots of each character individually to introduce them to the movie, an examples of these shots is shown below:

From these shots we can establish many things, one of which that the men in suits are some sort of a gang. The men in glasses seem to be the young 'hot shots' and in the movie the characters that will be most involved in whatever business they may be up to. From here we can assume that the older man in the suit may have been just like one of the younger ones before and may be the leader (so to speak). The man in the sky blue shirt we can guess from his mid shot that he may be a joker among the other men, as he's pulling a comical face, lightning the mood between the other men. The last man (shown on the bottom far right) seems to be an odd ball in association with the others, from this we get the sense that maybe he's less important in contrast with the others?

The last shot that they use to leave the characters with is another extreme wide shot, however this time filming them from behind. This rounds the scene off nicely, as the characters have been shot by: the side, front and back. However, they are careful not to cross the oh so important 180 degree line so that they're always walking in the same direction. Also, by using this shot, we can see a lot of their surroundings and where they're walking too. In this case they seem to be walking to the car, but we can see that they're not surrounded by many people and the place seems quite deserted. 

Example in a different movie situation 



Compared to the reservoir dogs, we see a more complex way of filming someone walking. In this video they use a number of different techniques not just focusing on the movement of the people walking, but also the reactions of the people around them too. This clip has a lot more in the surroundings and background and therefore aesthetically creates a pleasing effect.


We first see the characters enter through a door, the camera starts at a high angle and uses a jip shot (where the camera is on a crane and can go up to the ceiling) to almost a semi circle in front of the characters so that it finishes at eye level with the characters. It finishes on a mid shot so that we can see the emotional responses on their faces more clearly, whilst also taking in a first impression of what they all look like. The situation of the clip is that these girls are being presented to the school of Hogwartz as competitors for the Tri-Wizard cup. Their emotional responses in this shot is that of almost snobbery. They're putting across the image that they aren't afraid and the mid shot compliments this quite well.

Here is a flow chart of the shots used within the walking sequence.

In comparison to the Reservoir Dogs, the shot varieties in this sequence vary a lot more. By doing this, it keeps the viewer more interested in what's going on however the amount that is going on in the shot is quite overwhelming.

We start with a shot behind the characters, also a mid shot so when they make the transition of seeing the girls from the front, to seeing them from the back, it seems smoother as they're both mid shots. Next, we see the girls from both sides (first the right and then the left), as they dance along the side greeting themselves to the passing students at the table. And again, just like with the mid shots of them entering the hall, they shoot these from the front and behind, getting both perspectives of the students sitting on the tables as well as adding interest to the whole sequence as we aren't constantly seeing the same view point in every shot. The next shot we see is another mid shot but of the characters bottom half's from behind, this goes with the the characters over voice adding humour to the extract and therefore keeping the viewers interested in what's going on around them as well as with them.

From this, we then get a view of the girls all in a different structure from the front. The constant changing of shapes that they're positioned in and angles in which the image is shot almost to disorientate the viewers into what the girls are doing, making the whole sequence more surreal and fitting into the them of the movie (fantasy). This is a mid shot and from this we can also see the reactions on the faces of the girls, as they're trying to be graceful whilst birds are fluttering around them making a nice effect.

Almost like the Reservoir Dogs, we finish with a wide shot. Although this sequence is shot from the front whereas in contrast Reservoir dogs was shot from behind. From this we get a final look at the room surrounding them, with all of the students cramped into this one hall. This echoes in the rest of the shots as everything seems very full, with tight shots fitting in all the different characters.