Camera Coverage

Description

Camera Coverage is the architecture of breaking down a script into the shots that will allow the scene to be cut together. Basic coverage would then be considered the minimum number of shots needed to cover everything happening in the scene. Although coverage addresses the bare-bones question of getting shots that will cut together smoothly, it is important not to be too distracted from bigger aesthetic question of getting the right shots for the scene to work.

The coverage is worked out by the film director in collaboration with the director of photography in the preparatory phase. To do this, they imagine the positions of the actors in the room and how they want to behave with the camera. The coverage is communicated either as a shot list, as a floor plan with the drawn positions of the actors and the camera and in the form of blocking drawings or as a storyboard. Especially for the preparation of technically complicated sequences such as stunts or digital effects, the storyboard is an important basis. In the shooting phase, the coverage is checked after the staging test and adapted to the actual conditions of the shoot.

In the coverage, there are a number of formal rules to consider, which have evolved from film history and today correspond to the visual expectation of the audience. In a dialogue scene with two characters, shots of each character are intercut with each other so that the cut does not attract any attention. The so-called axis of action ensures that the perspectives of the characters are coherent. It's important that each figure within a scene faces the right direction in relation to the other character at all times, based on the 180-degree rule (which imagines a straight line running directly through the heads of two characters, on one side of which the actors should be filmed). A violation of this is called jumping the line, because the camera leaves the 180-degree range on one side of the actors which makes things look noticeably off.

“Coverage” refers to the order and method of shooting a scene. V Coverage — so-called due to the layout of the cameras from a top-down perspective — means shooting a wide or master shot of the scene, then getting close-up shot on each character for their lines. This method is used in probably 80 percent of two-person dialogue scenes.

Coverage, Blocking, and Complexity

If you’re shooting two people facing each other, blocking is relatively simple. Once those people move around the room or the space of the scene, things become a lot harder. Take, for example, a scene where one-character answers the door, then goes back to the couch while the new arrival unloads groceries. You no longer have one master shot that works for the whole scene. Instead, you’ll have to shoot several master shots, relighting each one. Within those sub-scenes, you’ll need to get close-ups of each character, as well as inserts of props or objects they handle — being careful each time not to break the 180-degree rule

If two characters occupy the same space at any time within the scene, it makes sense to light and shoot those close-ups sequentially, rather than lighting it twice. This means shooting the scene out of order, and opening up all kinds of continuity issues that may come back to haunt you in the edit.

Advanced Coverage

Once you have multiple characters doing complex blocking, you can see how coverage quickly becomes complicated — perhaps overwhelming. Even in a simple scenario, it makes sense to plan out your coverage, before you even step on set. This can be done with your DP as the tech scout, or even far in advance on paper. This way, you have an idea for how much complexity your scene presents, and — if you’re short on time or crew — how to mitigate that by simplifying the blocking.