Film Blocking (It's easier than you think)

BLOCK

LIGHT

REHEARSE

TWEAK

SHOOT

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00:00 Intro
00:53 Blocking and Staging
04:55 Simple Staging Tips
05:47 Common Mistakes
07:25 The Process

[anthonymelendez]

I would love more videos like this one I'm sharing this.

[stephencolor]

"Not boring is better than boring."

Stupid simple, but a great reminder.

[teidenzero]

Really well explained! I'm rediscovering my love for shooting, after 10 years of working on soul-less Hollywood movies (except maybe 1 or 2 movies I'm proud of) I have dropped it all and I'm back to the basics with my 8mm camera and pure story telling. I know the topics you are discussing, but it feels really good to go back to the "juice". Also your exposition is very clear and structured.

[mahzi_productions]

The cold confusion that washed over me in those last few seconds, I've never been more compelled yet divided on subscribing to a youtuber

[alex]

Any time people talk about blocking, i think of when Soderbergh “retired”
he was so tired of normcore coverage that he said
“if i see another over the shoulder shot, im going to blow my brains out”
I think about that a lot.

[Mr_Kenneth]

MASTERFULLY EXPLAINED. Ive never seen a more simple amd brilliantly explanation and example of the 180 degree rule. Youve delivered a month of film school delivered in moments.

[abeeeshen]

Whether you filmed a movie or not this is golden information at a high level. I appreciate you sharing this! :)

[saiganesh]

First time watching this channel ...the video is informative, easily understandable and interesting. And I was genuinely worrying why this channel didn't has a lot of subscribers ...only at the last I realised .

[DaveUnreally]

Also, In film it's ok to cross the line if you actually have the action of crossing the 180-degree line filmed as part of the shot. If you need to change the scene to where it makes sense that the characters switch places, film them switching places in a creative way.

[PurposedLensPhotoMedia]

This is an EXCELLENT video! You certainly have a gift for teaching and making complex things EASY! Keep up the great work! 👍

[claywilson]

I must've worked on over a thousand of TV commercials in my 20 year film career . Maybe only a handful of features but i considered myself a professional film maker, even though i have no showreel or director credits . These techniques came naturally to me and I was a gifted Assistant Director / PA, blessed with many great experiences and stories to tell . However ... I have never edited in my life before and since I'm older, and maybe not so much wiser, a whole new learning curve is before me where I either need to adapt or die. Maybe, while doors close around me others open . Running into this little video has influenced a decision to start producing my own content and push harder in writing scripts. Subscribing and thanking you !
(PS: I'm Subscribing ...deal with it! LOL)

[JacobVossFilms]

Very insightful with some fantastic tips. The tip regarding triangles in the frame as well as shooting the action from behind are really invaluable.

[GorilieVR]

the Back To The Future example was excellent. Dinner scenes with more than 3 people are when coverage becomes tricky depending on what happens during the scenes. I'd usually do a wide master, then OTS triangle 2x between people across from each other if that makes sense. When you're in a tricky blocking/staging situation it's helpful to reference similar scene(s) i.e. a dinner scene, and see what works best to avoid disorienting the audience. For lighting, I'll nearly always 'cheat' the lighting for each OTS close-up. I'll also cheat the talent's position if needed. Great video as always!

[MikaHeiskanen]

Perfect timing. I have a short film coming up where there's a lot of talking. Didn't really think much of it until now.

[JianLiangg]

This is so good. Just to piss you off, I subscribed and smashed the damn bell

[NicoEss]

This was the most helpful video I've seen on youtube about blocking and staging. Thank you

[DopelyTV]

back to the future is one of my fav movies too... my grandma introduced it to me and i was hooked ever since

[BrianSellers]

Back to the Future is one of my favorite movies, too, and it's so interesting to see your breakdown of that scene in 1955 Doc's house.

[teacherofteachers]

Not boring > boring. It is great to hear someone say this explicitly. I have noticed that a hallmark of the uninteresting sort of low budget movies is that for too much of their running time they do not qualify as *motion* pictures in that they use neither the motion of acting talent nor the motion of the camera to express story dynamics. I hope to avoid this myself but it does demand attention.

[DamienOMalley]

A fun tip - for the mini-characters in the diorama, use a tiny camera like the 360 GO 3 to preview what the angles actually look like…