Anatomy of a Shot: Week 1 - By Nate Haustein

I said last week that I’d start a new sort of series on my favorite shots over my years of production. Basically, the idea is to take a screen grab of a great-looking shot and talk about some of the aspects in it that make it stand out. Though there are many aspects that make up a particular shot, I’ll try to focus on one or two of them each post. Today’s topic is framing.

The above shot was taken outside a retirement community in Minnesota. I needed some cover shots for an informational video and headed to the grounds around sunset to try to get some good-looking footage. Sunrise and sunset are known to filmmakers as the “magic” or “golden hour,” where sunlight creates an aesthetic look just about impossible to duplicate otherwise. But that’s another post altogether.

Framing deals with the way a shot is put together. It defines what space an object or character takes up, and how it relates to the other parts of the frame. The specifics of framing can vary according to the aspect ratio of the screen (4:3, 16:9, etc.) but generally, a way of dividing the frame called “the rule of thirds” is used to decide where to place objects as to be the most visually appealing to audiences. For this said convention, the frame is split into nine sections, broken into thirds both vertically and horizontally. There are a number of ways this helps to set up a shot, the horizon, for example is usually placed on one of the horizontal lines, one-third or two-thirds of the way down, rather than smack in the middle. Why? It gives precedence to either the sky or the foreground. Just like depth of field, framing can help to draw the viewer’s attention to focus on particular elements. Much in the same way, the vertical lines create areas of interest, most notably on the intersections of these lines. Often objects or faces are placed on the intersections.

In my shot, you can see that the sun shining through the tree lies on the left vertical division. The brightness of the sun makes it the most prominent object in the shot, and making sure that this “character” lies in a particular part of the frame creates balance. How uninteresting would it be if every character of a film occupied only the very middle of the frame? The V shape of the tree also creates another frame within the larger frame. By placing objects within such natural frames, the shot can again draw attention and create interest. It can sometimes even create an emotional response, for instance if a character seemed to be entrapped within a frame, symbolic or otherwise.

Many variables are active in making this shot, including contrast, color, depth, lens effects, movement and more, but framing makes up the very base of everything, defining what the camera is looking at. Under no circumstances should the rule of thirds or any other “rules” be applied all of the time, or used without exception. Much of what is new, interesting and original comes from the negligence of such standards. The conventions seen in this post are simply a proven way to set up a shot that most people would find pleasant to look at.

Getting Ripped-Off in NYC - by Nate Haustein

I’ve been a little lacking in the posting department, but being sick last week made this week even busier than usual. I’ll make it up for you though, with a little traveler’s tip.

The photograph above depicts a camera store, but not just any camera store: behold, it’s a camera store in the heart of Times Square, smack dab in the Middle of Manhattan. You might ask why this is so interesting, or why I should care at all about this hole-in-the-wall place of business. Here’s my tip: don’t buy things, especially electronics from any of the shops you see in downtown NYC, you’ll pay double the price for half the item.

There are likely hundreds of such stores on the streets of New York, I know I saw at least 30 during my last trip to the city. All seem to be selling nearly the same things: iPods, digital cameras and other “traveler’s goods.” The doors are flung wide open, inviting you into the cool, air-conditioned interiors where in a split second a salesman will size you up and decide just how expensive a camera you can afford. Apart from the large number of knock-off goods like fake watches or mp3 players, these stores sport outrageously overpriced DSLR cameras, which will be the basis of our discussion.

While waiting at the counter, I saw an older man, perhaps of Japanese origin, looking for a camera while he was likely vacationing in the US. After selling him the $500 Canon Rebel for $800, the salesman became incredibly aggressive, making sure the customer knew he “can’t take good pictures without a zoom lens.” The lens, a 75-300mm which goes for about $175 in most camera shops was being pushed for an outrageous $750. I felt bad standing there, but the last thing I needed was a manager on my back for losing him a sale. I kept my mouth shut and exited the store.

Now there’s nothing inherently wrong with this type of salesmanship. It’s perfectly legal, and it even makes sense in New York City, where everything seems to be twice the price you would pay anywhere else. It just seems to me that these places make a significant percentage of their profits from under-informed, un-equipped consumers. It’s funny though, how unknowledgeable the salespeople can be. I asked about two 50mm Nikon lenses on the shelf–forgive me, yes I was testing them. One basic F1.8, and one high-end F1.4 (or something like that). Interestingly enough, the sales rep quickly looked at the lenses, looked at me, then said “$399.” Really? While thats about 4-5 times the price of the cheap lens, it’s actually a pretty good deal for the much faster one. As long as they’re making a profit, everything seems to be ok. I never tried to haggle...

On the other end of the spectrum is the online camera retailer business. If you look online, you’ll see the camera you want for thousands less than you’d pay normally. What usually happens here is the seller uses a “bait and switch” technique. That is, get you to commit to the item you want, then call you up and try to get you to change your order. This can take several forms, from saying an item is indefinitely out of stock to not including any of the standard accessories and charging $400 for the battery charger. It can get pretty nasty, and when someone is holding onto that $3000 charge on your credit card, it’s not a situation you want to be in. There are a whole bunch of horror stories on the web if you look around. When picking a retailer, one great resource to check is www.resellerratings.com. Simply type in the name of the seller you wish to check out and you’ll get the truth in seconds with real reviews from past customers. Remember, if you see a deal on the internet that seems too good to be true, it probably is.

I do want to add that not all New York camera stores are bad news. In fact, the city is the home of a number of top names in the photo business, including Adorama and my personal favorite, B&H Photo. Supporting a video business with equipment nearly exclusively purchased form their online store has sold me on their quality, and I’m usually hard-pressed to find a legitimate seller with prices any lower, so they’re a good place to start when looking for a fair price on the item you’re interested in. There is a light at the end of the tunnel, or more like ten blocks north and three blocks west.

So here’s the take home lesson: be informed about your purchases, especially if you plan on buying from sketchy NYC store keepers. Do your homework, or if you feel like you’re altogether clueless, head to a trusted camera shop, or your local big box electronics retailer–where the hired help doesn’t get paid commission and doesn’t get to make up the prices on the spot. Trust your gut: if you think someone is trying to deceive you, get another opinion.