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Hey I’m Stephen Schweickart back with another episode of Reel Rebel and today we’re going
to start dropping all kinds of knowledge on you about how to shoot for the edit, starting
with getting good coverage.
When I say the word coverage, I absolutely do not mean your cell reception. Put your
phone away and pay attention to the star here for a minute. Coverage here refers to the
amount of footage you shoot of your scene, and trust me, if you don’t get enough coverage
during production you’re going to be throwing clumps of your hair around your editing bay
when you get into post.
If you’ve done proper preproduction on your script (we have a vlog about that too), you
should have a pretty good idea of how it’s going to edit together. If not, don’t go
out shooting and hope for the best. Prepro prepro prepro! But if you’re ready, go start
shooting. Coverage means having multiple angles of the same action in a scene. For example,
let’s look at a really simple scene of two people sitting at a table having a conversation.
Generally, you start with what would be called a Master Shot, or a wide angle shot that covers
everything in the scene from start to finish. No, that doesn’t mean you need to have your
amateur actors memorize the entire script word for word and spout it off in one amazing
take. (Only I can do that) Just make sure you get decent sized chunks of the script
covered in each take that can be used in conjunction with your other shots to complete the edit.
One of the most common shots you’ll see during dialog scenes in film is the OTS, or
over the shoulder. In our example, two OTS shots will be essential for the edit, but
don’t film just each of their sets of lines. Just let the film roll even while the person
off camera is talking. This is a huge factor in shooting for the edit because it gives
the editor the opportunity to cut away to a reaction shot of the off-camera listener,
giving him the opportunity to stitch two different takes of the speaker’s lines together allowing
for the best edit possible. Because let’s be honest, you’re not going to get Brad
Pitt and Tom Cruise to act for you, so your actors will probably need all the help they
can get (Again, I’ll reiterate, only I can do it in one take).
So you’ve got a master shot, and two complete OTS shots of your actors, but shooting for
the edit doesn’t stop there. Ask yourself what else is important in the scene. Do the
actors reference something that can be seen in the shots? Remember line of sight. Utilize
all the time you have on set. Sure, you may over shoot but it’s always better to be
safe than sorry.
Don’t believe me? Try it for yourself. I personally guarantee that you will overdose
on coffee and cigarettes by the time you cobble something together worth watching.
Any editors out there who have been plagued by directors who get BAD coverage leave a
comment below, and everyone else be warned. Like this video and subscribe or the army
of evil editors will be coming for you!