There’s a saying, rules were made to be broken. There’s another saying, help, help please help me enter key is happening, everything is chaos, I’m going to die, if you don’t stop breaking the rule against stubbing me in belly. I prefer the third saying. Follow rule and you will be cool. What really I am talking about? Follow me and I tell you.
The 180-degree rule, the 180 rule is invented thousands and thousands of years ago by contortion of lights filmmakers. Who wanted to help people understands where to put the camera when they are making movies. What says simply is this if you have -- and where a bird looking down on his case. There are there shoulders; you draw an imaginary line between the two of them. This lines cleverly his known as the line. Then for your scene do not look like crap when you edited together. You can put your camera anywhere in 180-degrees on either side of the line but not both. How simple is that? Really, simple dude but why does it matter let me show you.
So the illustrate the importance of the 180-degree rule, but I thought we do is recreate a scene from Sylvester Stallone’s newest masterpiece Rambo. Except we are going to do an alternate universe version, where Sylvester Stallone is never heard of 180-degree rule, knows nothing about making movies and just puts the camera where ever is damn sweaty head he want. I will be playing elsewhere super soldier John Rambo and my good friend Ryle Return of the Mack Sly will be playing Sally missionary who wants to hire me to take her up the river to save some Christian Missionaries. Ready?
So much likes slice face that was a terrible and off putting but thankfully for the movie going public sly is at least is a semi component filmmaker and he is at least turn that in 180-degree rule. So let’s do that all over again except let’s keep the cameras on one side of that imaginary line of powerful sexual attention between our two characters and then let see how it that goes.
So better, a little bit probably still weird, still often but better. When your own set or when your planning how to shoot do it whatever you can to keep the 180-degree rule in line. Imagine between your two characters that one of them fine and the other is jog head and she is shooting as a little dagger at him with her eyes like an Archie comic. Or imagine his Cyclops and he is row constantly rows in his face with ocular laser are blasts but whatever it takes just stick that line there in your mind and keep your camera on one side or the other for the whole time. Because your film won’t look a garbage, if you do that.