The beauty of the Digital Age is that if we don’t know something, the answer is always a few thumb taps away. From learning how to tie a tie to the best red velvet cupcakes recipe, watching how-to videos has long been the go-to practice for this generation. Whether your go-to platform is YouTube, TikTok or any other social media platform, anyone has the power to learn or teach through video about virtually any topic.
In an effort to dig deeper into the world of How-To videos this week, I worked to create one about French Press coffee. Yes, it does take longer than brewing a basic pot, but the results are completely worth it! When done correctly, you get a rich and smooth tasting brew you won’t regret taking the time to achieve.
READING
Before getting started, I first read two chapters out of Tom Schroeppel’s “The Bare Bones Camera Course for Film and Video.”
In Chapter three, Schroeppel’s shares insight on basic sequences. At its core, a sequence is a way to break up a long scene into several shorter scenes. Editors can do this by cutting from wide to medium shots, a medium to close-up, over-the-shoulder shots, cutaways, two-person shots and any other shot combination that will make the scene more enjoyable for viewers.
When shooting a sequence, Schroeppel emphasizes that each new shot should involve a change in both the image size and the camera angle. Doing this will make it easier to cut to and from shots. One should aim to change the angle at least 45 degrees for a more interesting sequence.
Of the most interesting topics in this chapter was cutting on the action, in which one shot ends at a certain point and the next shot completes the action. This is a simple way to ensure smooth transitions between shots. An example of cutting on the action would be if there was a wide shot of someone opening a door and the scene cut as the person touched the doorknob. The next shot would be a close-up of the hand turning the doorknob. For this to work properly, the editor would need to remember to change the angle and cut the shot exactly on the action. Sequences are vital to video. It’s not enough to shoot well-composed shots and call it a day. Video should be easy for the audience to follow, and sequences help ensure that.
To learn about screen direction and crossing the line we turn to chapter four. Here, Schroeppel dives into the axis of action, an imaginary line that determine the direction the subject is facing when viewed through the camera. Crossing the line can abruptly disrupt the viewer’s attention and make the scene hard to follow.
What’s important to keep in mind about screen direction is that nothing exists for viewers except what is shown to them. This means that as long as the screen direction stays the same and everything else matches it, then it’s smooth sailing for the viewers.
RESEARCH
When you Google search “movie continuity” you will get thousands of pages of “worst continuity mistakes” and “the worst continuity errors in films.” Continuity is crucial in media, but with limited budgets and time, it’s very easy to overlook or disregard. This makes finding examples of smooth continuity a bit more rare, but when it’s done correctly, it’s tough to point out because the goal is for the viewer not to notice cuts or edits. The following are a few examples of some of my favorite editing and execution of match shots in video form.
Dance scenes are always great indicators of great (or poor) match shots because in order for the viewer to remain immersed in the dance sequence, each shot must match the one before it exactly in order to preserve the continuity. In the recently released season two of the Netflix series Bridgerton, there were several dance sequences, both as couples or in groups where every shot perfectly matched the one before it, allowing the scene to flow smoothly until the end. The following are two separate dances from this season that kept continuity intact from beginning to end.
Another example of a choreographed scene that’s tough to keep looking smooth are fight scenes. Unlike dance scenes that should have steady shots, fight scenes have the benefit of being able to look shaky to take away from any noticeable continuity errors. I loved this fight in Captain America: The Winter Soldier between Steve Rogers and the Winter Soldier because though it kept the shots tight and each shot looked perfectly synced from the previous shot, which meant the choreographed fight scene was probably recorded dozens of times to ensure it was smooth for post-production.
This final scene in the film Blade Runner 2049 is another example of using sequence shots to keep the scene engaging. The scene is about four minutes long and takes place in one location, but the use of a wide/establishing shot, followed by medium, a close up, then back to medium, followed by an aerial shot all match the shot before allowing the scene to look continuous.
Bonus example!
I binge watched the Hulu miniseries The Dropout last week and there was a scene in episode four that stood out because it broke the 180 degree rule. I was not able to find a clip of it on YouTube as the show was recently released, but in the scene, six people are sitting on a rectangular table at a sushi restaurant. What threw me off about this scene was that they never established a wide shot of the seating arrangement so the first time one of the men turns to speak to the other characters, I did not initially know who he was speaking to because the 180 degree rule was broken. It’s definitely worth a watch if you have Hulu and you want to see a preventable continuity error!
CREATE
Following my research, it was time to record and produce my How-to video! I chose the topic “How to: Make French Press Coffee” and worked to incorporate continuity, the 180-degree rule and match on action shots. When planning for this tutorial video, I knew I had to record at least four difference angles to ensure I covered the shots I needed, and even then I felt like I could have recorded one more angle.
As Schroeppel notes, the funny thing about video is the audience only sees what you want them to see, so while viewers will only see this quick tutorial on how to make the best French Press coffee, they don’t know that behind me was someone from Spectrum installing our wifi, two movers coming in and out of our new place with hundreds of boxes and furniture and my parents who were helping us unpack. But all we needed was a tiny corner of our new kitchen and we were set.
The following is how my How to: Make French Press Coffee video turned out. Let me know what you think!