How Long Should a Scene or a Shot Be?
- Thread starter satyaos
- Start date
There really is not set "Best" length for either. Watch Russian Ark - the entire movie was shot in one single take or Orson Welles' "Touch of Evil" the opening shot was about 12 mins long...or more recently the opening scene for "La La Land".
As far as scene length...it is the same thing. Make sure you have enough conflict in your scene to support the length. A screenwriting teacher of mine, Corey Mandell would always ask the question, "Does your conflict support your page count?" Longer scenes are always harder to write but it is doable...Watch the bar scene in "Inglourious Basterds", I believe it is about 20+ mins long.
Hope that helps.
As far as scene length...it is the same thing. Make sure you have enough conflict in your scene to support the length. A screenwriting teacher of mine, Corey Mandell would always ask the question, "Does your conflict support your page count?" Longer scenes are always harder to write but it is doable...Watch the bar scene in "Inglourious Basterds", I believe it is about 20+ mins long.
Hope that helps.
Of course, get the coverage you need to tell the story. But I would highly recommend getting the actors to do the scene in its entirety for each set-up/angle/shot. You'll get better performances and it will speed up shooting. If you do one line at a time you will feel it in the edit.
A scene sequence is as follows: 2-shot->Girl OTS -> Girl Single -> Girl OTS -> girl Single -> 2-shot -> Boy OTS -> Boy Single -> Boy OTS -> Girl OTS -> Boy OTS -> Girl OTS -> boy OTS -> girl OTS -> girl Single -> boy Single
Means there are 5-set up/coverage {2-shot, boy OTS, Girl OTS, Boy Single, Girl Single}.
Now how you make it as shot list, according to the coverage or according to the above sequence?
And if a coverage timing is very very less assume 5-sec then why I will shoot whole scene for that coverage? Then how I will shoot that small coverage?
Means there are 5-set up/coverage {2-shot, boy OTS, Girl OTS, Boy Single, Girl Single}.
Now how you make it as shot list, according to the coverage or according to the above sequence?
And if a coverage timing is very very less assume 5-sec then why I will shoot whole scene for that coverage? Then how I will shoot that small coverage?
According to the coverage.
2 shot or WS
OTS on Boy
OTS on Girl
Single on Boy (sometimes I write it as CU or MCU Clean [clean means that nothing else is in the foreground of their shot...an OTS would be considered dirty])
Single on Girl
You don't need to mark edits in your shot list, that you figure out in the edit. Just run the entire scene for each angle or as much of it as possible. I always start in the wide shots to help the actors get a feel for the scene and then move into close ups.
The reason you shoot the entire scene in each angle is you don't know if you will need it until you are in the edit and you always want reaction shots, easier to get them as the scene is going...also, this may seem backwards, but if you run the entire scene for each set up it usually goes faster, not to mention the performances will be WAY better. You just have to get your actors to be as prepared as you are.
Hope that helps.
2 shot or WS
OTS on Boy
OTS on Girl
Single on Boy (sometimes I write it as CU or MCU Clean [clean means that nothing else is in the foreground of their shot...an OTS would be considered dirty])
Single on Girl
You don't need to mark edits in your shot list, that you figure out in the edit. Just run the entire scene for each angle or as much of it as possible. I always start in the wide shots to help the actors get a feel for the scene and then move into close ups.
The reason you shoot the entire scene in each angle is you don't know if you will need it until you are in the edit and you always want reaction shots, easier to get them as the scene is going...also, this may seem backwards, but if you run the entire scene for each set up it usually goes faster, not to mention the performances will be WAY better. You just have to get your actors to be as prepared as you are.
Hope that helps.
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