Esteban Favela's Lounge Discussions

Basically. Picture a line strait ahead of your actors point of view. You should keep all your shots on one side or the other of this line. If you "cross the line" it will appear like the actor has flipped directions once edited.

Here is an exerpt from my filmmaking book, "Just Shoot It!" I could not add the diagrams, but hope this helps. 180 Degree Rule of Continuity The Golden Rule of Continuity is the 180 Degree Rule! Using this rule allows you to keep continuity between all shots within a scene. The best way to describe the 180 Degree Rule is this: what is on the right side of the frame stays on the right and what is on the left stays on the left for every shot within a scene unless camera or subject movement causes repositioning. Draw an imaginary circle around the area you are shooting in your shot. Then draw an imaginary line dissecting the circle. This line is called the line of action, because it runs directly through the action in the scene. To keep continuity in a particular scene you want to shoot all of your shots from one side of the line or the other. If you remember a circle has 360 degrees and so half a circle has 180. Essentially, you position the camera within the 180 degrees on one side of the line. So remember where subjects were positioned from one shot to the next. To follow the 180 Degree Rule, you first have to determine where the line of action is located. The best way to determine the line of action is by the direction of subject movement or the line of sight of a subject or subjects. For two football or soccer teams at opposite ends of a field the line is drawn from one team to the opposing team. During the game the cameras stay on one side of the field for all shots. If a subject is moving then the line is the drawn from the subject in the direction they are moving. If two subjects are talking then the line of action is drawn from one subject to the next. Once you have established the side of the line you will be shooting from there are ways of shooting from the opposite side. You can shoot from the opposite side of the line of action if you follow a subject crossing the line. A subject can also change the line of action by looking in another direction. If one of the subjects in the above example were to look to the left or right you can draw a new line of action in that direction. You can also move the camera across the line during the shot so that the audience sees the crossing of the line. During the edit the entire shot and camera movement need to be used in order to show the line crossing. This moves the view of the subjects from one side to the other. Another way to change the line of action is to shoot the subject straight on or from behind. This is called a Neutral Shot because it is neutral as far as the line of action and direction of movement. A neutral shot has no screen direction other than towards or away from the camera and allows you to then shoot/edit the subject going in any direction after the neutral shot. A neutral shot allows you to change screen direction whenever you need to and allows you to shoot shots from the opposite side of the line of action. Always shoot a few neutral shots so you can correct any shooting errors during editing. These neutral shots are considered coverage. The shots would be labeled as tail-away or head-on neutral shots on your shot list. Maybe your goal is to confuse/disorient the audience. Using shots from both sides of the line of action without neutral shots or line crossing movement will confuse your audience. The 180 Degree Rule maintains screen direction when followed properly. Moving subjects must move the same direction between shots within the same scene or you lose continuity. Here again the line of action is in the direction they are moving and you have to shoot all shots from one side. Stay on one side of the moving object and you will maintain continuity. Shooting a neutral shot or crossing the line during a shot allows you to change the screen direction in just about any direction you want. Best wishes! Keep making films!

Yes, perhaps an easy way to explain it is a game of football (as I am from England) or soccer if you are from North America..The goals are at either end of the pitch, and the red team ( lets say) tries to score a goal by playing left to right, and getting the ball in the goal to the right. The blue team does the opposite, and kicks from right to left. The line of action or the 180 degree rule is between the goals at either end. This means if you put the cameras on the opposite side of the pitch the players will apparently be kicking in the opposite direction! Its the same with dialogue in a movie, if the camera is put on the other side of the line it appears the person is talking to themselves.. It CAN be used to jar the audience, and Stanley Kubrick did it a few times very effectively, but he knew exactly what effect it would have and did it intentionally. Normally it leaves the viewer confused if done by mistake. I teach this principle in my EPICS Academy, as it is a clear rule that is often broken by mistake. Look me up if you want to know more... John Keedwell GBCT

Edge of Darkness, the Mel Gibson film, has a great example of breaking the 180 rule to great effect. It is when the daughter gets sick and her nose starts to bleed at Mel's kitchen table. Crossing the 180 heightens this scene so that you absolutely know this is a crucial scene.

The toughest scenes to shoot and trying to keep eye lines is when you have multiple people sitting at a table...you can really get confused when shooting. The same goes for a room full of people. So draw diagrams for your shots and keep track of them knowing who is looking at who when they speak. Plan it out and it removes the confusion.