Moviemaking Techniques180 Degree Rule

[avonsworld]

This is an outdated rule. A great new rule I've been abiding too is to use a camera stabilizer when on the move. The Cam Caddie Scorpion has been working very well for me making independent short films.

[qoaa]

I noticed the 180 degree rule broken in The Adjustment Bureau.. was pretty neatly done I believe to add to the disorientation of the subject matter

[chicho095]

@qoaa Which scene?

[redback3]

Helped with my essay, thank you so much!

[0xshotgunx0]

I remember being taught this at college but I got taught about a more advanced technique of using the 180 degree rule if there are three people in a conversation but I cant remember how to do it. does anyone know any websites where I can find this information?

[2VisionsPhotography]

Perfect!

[Fry3thousand]

Thanks, very helpful video.

[Crimefighter]

The 180' rule does not apply to shooting sports because the action does not always stay on the same side of the camera. Thus "keeping the action in frame" trumps everything else.

[sonnyboo]

@Crimefighter Most sports photography does actually adhere to the 180 degree rule, though. Not always, but when you watch a football or basketball game, the players move in the same direction..... And even Quentin Tarantino has broken the rule, but mostly adheres to it.

[pozitiveguy123]

@sonnyboo Hello sir! i was directing a shortfilm of mine. Now the problem i was facing was that i had two people sitting on a table infront of each other and i wanted to start off the scene with a wide angle shot of one subject sitting cross the imaginary line(or standing on the line). Do you think it was right for me to do that? cause i think the it was important to do and it did not even cause the confusing of disorientation as the places of both characters were well established?? plz reply

[Alxe73191]

OOOOHHHH thanks!!

[likamicah]

So do you stop the scene a bunch of times to get the different angles? Do you film the scene a numerous amount of times using different angles? Or do you have more than one camera filming at different angles and only film the scene once? Sorry if that's confusing.

[sonnyboo]

@likamicah It depends on the shoot. Sometimes I have more than one camera, and other times we start and stop to get the different angles.

[ottoelperro]

Great tip. Thanks for posting.

[darthface]

This is a very efficient explanation of the 180 degree rule. A friend of mine was asking me how conversation scenes work so I did a quick youtube search to see if there were any examples, and sure enough, this is perfect. Good job.

[Snodgers3rdclass]

this is my shop in my school, video technology and my teacher is a famous director and he taught us this :D

[ElijahJNWhite]

Does this apply when the actors move? Like if they walk to a different spot?

[17saturnino]

I didn't Know this before.

[onjoFilms]

I broke the 180 rule and everybody in my family died. I won't do that again.

[8888Eastman]

what if its a long table and I want to get closer to the other people?

[Dorifto007]

Lame rule, many directors break this and it doesn't disorient the viewer, thanks for the tips anyways.

[Skull10]

@Dorifto007 It is possible to break the rule without causing disorientation, but it must be done carefully.

Also, you can cross the line without showing the actual camera movement simply by adding a buffer shot.

[SantaMonicanVampire]

real good stuff. I love watching your vids

[oldblackdawning]

Thanks. This was really helpful; very clearly articulated.

[mackychloe]

For a beginner like me this was a good tip. Thanks.

[UnbornChild]

Dumb question: Does the 180 rule apply when there is only one person in the shot?

[sonnyboo]

@UnbornChild Yes. It's not about the number of people, it's about presenting the subject (person or thing) in the camera so the spatial relations make sense to the audience.

[UnbornChild]

@sonnyboo Ah, makes sense! Thanks!

[Secoutal]

This is a really great video, it clearly illustrates the problem and the solution, thanks!

[Secoutal]

This is a really great video, it clearly illustrates the problem and the solution, thanks!

[BitzCinema]

We could have all the knowledge we desire, but it's what we do with it that will speak to true artistry. Technicality should never be a substitute for creativity BUT if you can collide both, you are a genius. 180 degree rule? Throw it out the window. Use a tripod, no one will know the difference.

[sonnyboo]

@BitzCinema using a TRIPOD and the 180 degree rule are radically different things. One is a physical object used to steady a camera, the other is a concept, one that is clearly something that is a voluntary use, not an absolute.

[BitzCinema]

So your point is....?

[sonnyboo]

@BitzCinema You just said to throw out the 180 degree rule in favor of using a tripod. That makes no sense. I guess I should have asked what your point was since it was not made clear.

[XtinaDeth]

@sonnyboo Yeah... using a tripod to substitute the 180 degree rule... makes NO sense at all.

[Nanovirus5995]

@BitzCinema If you brake the rule more than twice on your camera (if its and SD card its more than 4 times) then the world implodes!

[taam99]

I'm now taking a American Cinema course in college to fulfill the requirement, and I got to say the explanation in the book is vague. Thanks to this clip now I understand the 180 degree rule. Awesome!!!

[killerlipsonrai]

I don't get it! I can understand why there needs to be such a rule but I don't get how the part from 1:12 to 1:15 is particularly disorienting "because their eyelines don't match." I know the rule has been violated but still somehow they(eyelines) look like they match to me. Am I missing something here? Help! Thanks! :)

[EMOsonic1]

that was easy to understand

[Zizrastaen]

By the "eyelines don't match" thing, he means that the direction they seem to be looking in don't seem to match one another.

The viewer knows they're having a conversation, but at first glance it looks like each person is in their own little world.

I may be overexplaining, though... Did that help at all?

[BitzCinema]

Well, technically, eye lines are supposed to be a bit off. We (the audience) has to see some facial expression. Do you think we'd get much from the performance via straight on profile? I don't think so.

[BitzCinema]

Yeah, I think I'm with you on that one. But cutting from one angle to another that loos the same is disorienting. But with the hand held technique, you could probably just toss this rule...obviously. I think this rule is a little outdated if you ask me. This is the 21st century, we could do whatever we want with cameras.

[PulkitMogha]

That was great .I too have started making small documentaries. Check this out -" Pulkit's movie at cambridge" on youtube.

[BitzCinema]

nice shots in your film at Cambridge, Pulkit.

[upload]

omg i paid $20,000 and ur giving this info out for free? NO!!!!!!!!

[peacepearlkashmir]

i was not able to understand the 180 degree rule.now i can say confidently what the rule is alabout....sure.thanks for posting

.......waitinng for few more related posts

[jacksite2007]

i didnt have a clue in my media lesson today. eventually i understand- its easy now. ta.

[FilmMiracle]

nice, this made it clear.

[thewingsofthekings]

thanks man

[simonwidmark]

the Wachowski brothers broke the rule too, most appearant in Matrix Revolutions, when Neo and Smith fights in the street.

They broke the rule for a specific purpose, ofcourse - "the purpuse that defines us". ;)

[Hateblade]

Damn. Directing is COOL!

[News4usall]

Excellent. One down 8,223 more to go.

Thanks for posting this.

[RAMEentertainment]

you explained it very good. thanks man.

[bluebettle]

What I've been told is that you have to obey the line with CU, MS, etc., but if you re-establish the shot, then you can break the line.

Like;

WS: Dave is on left, Jim on the right

CU: Dave on left to Jim

CU: Jim on right of Dave

WS: Dave is on right , Jim on the left

CU: Dave on right of Jim

CU: Jim on left of Dave

would work without the viewer being jarred at all.

And that line-breaking should be used mostly for instances where you want to emphasis something (like, emotionally)

[sonnyboo]

Line breaking has no real rules. You break them when you feel you should or can or even when you have no other choice. To call this a "rule" is inaccurate. It's more of a reliable method to establish the geography in a scene.

Use it or don't to your own effect.

[bluebettle]

Well, although it's not a rule, but not being conscious of it would elicit a certain reaction from the audience filmmaker probably wouldn't want.

[KarlBunker]

Like most "rules" (whether you use that word for it or not), this is one of those that you should learn so that if and when you break it, you do so deliberately for a desired effect. My favorite, wicked-obscure example of this rule being deliberately broken is in "Ramparts of Clay". It beautifully gives the viewer a sense of the protagonist's inner turmoil as her face remains expressionless.

[cannoir]

beautiful. thx for the tip yo.

[wmotionpictureslive]

Such great advice! I will be sure to use these tips!

[XAngel228]

this is great for film making...but when you do a live event...you get no second chances. (i.e. a wedding or something similar.)

[spoddie]

You are a great teacher. You've explained this very well in less than 2 minutes.

[Teenybooper21]

Stanley Kubrick deliberately crosses the line, violating the 180- Degree Rule in The Shining(1980)during the great "bathroom scene." I'm sure he knew what he was doing!

[Teenybooper21]

Kubrick delibarately crosses the line violating the 180- degree rule in The Shining(1980)/(bathroom scene), I noticed it but I couldn't understand why.Your video has made me see that when the line is crossed it produces a confusing image and the eyelines don't match, and that's the point because Jack Torrance is speaking to his own reflection in the mirror not to another person. Thanks!

[marcelofilmmaker]

I am a big fan. You have the gift of teaching. Thanks for Your Text Comment in my Channel.

[collegeme2006]

very helpful, some of the other videos were very confusing but this one was clear, and also explain ways of crossing the line without confusing the viewer, so yeah thanks a bunch

[TSMD]

wow, thanks!

and to think...i currently paid $700 this semester to learn what i just saw for FREE in this video

[seanmaj]

Great informational videos Sonny. I would have added that the movement of one of the actors into new space can establish a new line. Also, a new actor entering the scene will establish a new line with the person he interacts with.

[Themba88]

great tip

[FomBBKs]

Useful video. Most of it would seem common sense, but I found it helpful too. Keep the tips coming! :D

[illestkb]

great video was very helpful

[maorilebbraz]

thank you so much for that

i have a test tommorrow and that was the one thing that i couldn't understand

now all the other terminology makes sense!

[wolfangdigital]

Universal rule, but thanks for sharing and making a clear statement about it. The books don't illustrate this rule as clear as your video.

[spliffsly]

Wow thanks for sharing these videos sunnyboo. I don't make movies (yet), but I watch a lot of them. Seeing this was quite a break through, since it's been invisible to me until now.

Thanks again for insight and inspiration in a nice 1:49 package.

[sonnyboo]

Glad you liked it. It's "Sonnyboo", not like the Sun.

[username5215]

I see, I see...a light, I'm walking toward the light, it's getting brighter...

[Beckmen]

Sideways crosses the line in-camera in almost the exact same way.

The imaginary line thing seems like a useful thing to remember. I end up breaking the rule on accident ALL the time, I will have to remember the imaginary line in the future. And also work out a shot-list instead of winging it all the time, heh.

[neonknights]

Godard and all those New Wave filmmakers broke the rule ALL the time, probably because they didn't learn it in the first place (they never attended film school). And this revolutionized the style of filmmaking! :-)

Although in the US and in commercial filmmaking you should follow the rule if you don't want to be laughed at. And it is a useful guide to filmmaking and continuity.

[sonnyboo]

Actually the French New Wave guys were all published film critics. They were very aware of the line and broke it intentionally.

All they really did was throw out the rules... but made new ones. There are still rules and continuity within the French New Wave styles.

[filmsbynick]

exactly, its not that they didnt know the rule, they intentionally broke it, people who know nothing shouldnt ignore the rule, but people who know what theyre doing can break it, IMO

[ZafKha]

Superb, just bought sonyhandcam 755e handycam. found your lesson very informative. thanks for such a useful video. Zafar