I'm directing my first short film and I'm curious as to where I should have the actors look during shot-countershot dialogues. Do they look at the camera? Right above it? Into the distance? The conversation in particular is between two people sitting in the front seat of a car, though they will be shot one at a a time and say their lines while they're facing the camera.
Where to look?
- Thread starter SDBenassi
- Start date
It depends on where the camera is in relation to the actors, but I would suggest giving them a specific eyeline other than directly into the lens, otherwise you'll be "breaking the 4th wall" which is generally best not done, though it can be used to good effect if properly motivated. (A good example of that is in the Truffaut film 400 blows)
Two things you can do.
Where you YOU look when you are sitting in the front seat
of a car having a conversation with someone? Where does
the other person look? Do you look straight ahead? Do you
look into the distance? Then take this observation from your
own experience and adapt it to the characters and the scene.
A person sitting in the front seat of a car staring off into the
distance will have a different "vibe" than a person looking at
the person they are talking with, or staring straight ahead.
Watch movies and TV shows. Pay close attention to how scenes
like this are shot. Pay attention to how the actors look as they
have the conversation and the feeling it give you as a viewer.
This has much more to to do with artistic choice and the needs
of the scenes and the characters than it does with the technical
aspects of making a movie. I suggest you try it several different
ways. Then when the scene is cut you can see the emotional
difference the way the actors look makes.
Where you YOU look when you are sitting in the front seat
of a car having a conversation with someone? Where does
the other person look? Do you look straight ahead? Do you
look into the distance? Then take this observation from your
own experience and adapt it to the characters and the scene.
A person sitting in the front seat of a car staring off into the
distance will have a different "vibe" than a person looking at
the person they are talking with, or staring straight ahead.
Watch movies and TV shows. Pay close attention to how scenes
like this are shot. Pay attention to how the actors look as they
have the conversation and the feeling it give you as a viewer.
This has much more to to do with artistic choice and the needs
of the scenes and the characters than it does with the technical
aspects of making a movie. I suggest you try it several different
ways. Then when the scene is cut you can see the emotional
difference the way the actors look makes.