The video world differs from the real world in two main aspects. Time and space. That sounds a little sci-fi, but it simply means that we have control over time in the video world and we are not confined by geography or the space of our real three dimensional world.
Video Space
The video world is a 2-dimensional representation of a 3-dimensional world. What this means is, when we watch any kind of video, we are watching it on a flat screen, however the real world exists in three dimensions all around us. The viewer is simply peering through a window (the screen) into the world we create. This window gives us the opportunity to control a lot of things.
First of all, what we decide to display in the window determines what exists and does not exist. We can show an actor playing the part of a high powered executive in a board room giving a presentation. Then we can cut away to an exterior of an office building in Hong Kong. In reality, the actor could be in a studio with a board room set in a small town in southeast Texas and the Hong Kong office building could be stock footage. Since we do not show the rest of the studio, it does not exist. However, since we show the "board room" and then an office building exterior we imply that this office board room does exist in Hong Kong. Simply put;
Only what is shown exists, unless it is implied.
Another powerful tool is the ability to control dimensions. Remember, that the viewer is looking at a 2-dimensional representation of a 3-dimensional world. In the real world we know that vertical dimensions (up and down) are determined by gravity. If something falls, it falls down and we know that the opposite way is up. Also, since we know what is vertical we know that horizontal dimensions are perpendicular to this. When we look out at the horizon we see a line that goes from one side to another. We measure the third dimension, depth, by how close or far something is from us. In the video world, all of these can be manipulated. We can change which direction height and width run just by turning the camera on it's side. Now what would have fallen down, falls to the side of the frame. The viewer can only see one distance in the video world and that is the distance to the screen. This means we have to replicate depth (how far away something is), by simulating it in our composition. Basically the smaller something is, the farther away it is.
Height and width are determined by the orientation of the frame and depth is always a simulation.
Based on the fact that depth is always simulated, viewers of the video world have no real reference to tell how large something is, how far away it is, or where it is in relation to something else. As a viewer your only reference is the sides of the screen. Think about this. If two actors walking through a spaceship and then we cut to a shot of the spaceship flying through space, we believe the actors are on the spaceship. In fact, as we may well know, the spaceship is only really a small model and there are no actors in it. However, as long as we can't make size comparisons, we can't really tell how big it is. Also, distances between locations are not fixed. If I want to show an actor walking from the cafeteria to the high school, but I didn't want to take more than 15 seconds of screen time to do it, I can simply show them leaving the cafeteria and the cut to them taking a few steps up to the high school doors. That distance is fixed in the real world and cannot be changed, but it is what you show it to be in the video world. I can even change the what's inside the school doors. If I decide that's the elementary, I simply need to cut to a shot of the actor inside the elementary hallway after entering through the high school doors.
Size, distance, and locations are flexible in the video world.
Video Time
Just as real world space is replicated in video, so is time. With the only exception being live television anything you watch is not actually happening now. Also, the sequence, speed and amount of time is all variable.
We all seen speed manipulated in the video world. We may see slow motion when directors want to emphasize emotion or show additional detail in a shot, or we may see fast motion where a comic effect is desired or in extreme fast motion many hours may be compressed into seconds to show time passing. Speed can also be manipulated by overlapping and omitting action. If you want to provide multiple angles of the same action, you can overlap the footage which shows the same few seconds of action from different angles. Conversely, if you want to omit some action that might otherwise be boring, such as a person walking a flight of stairs, you can omit some of the steps they take in the middle and just cut straight to the end.
Another way we can manipulate time is by altering the flow. In the real world things happen one right after another. This is called serial time flow. However, we may want to show two things happening at the same time that can't be on screen together. We will show them both separately with the understanding that the time is flowing in parallel. An example might be someone who is late for a meeting:
-We see the actor dashing across the screen trying to get to the meeting.
-then we cut to a group waiting around a table looking at there watches
-we cut back to the actor dealing with obstacles
-cut to the group growing impatient
-cut back to the actor who finally reaches the door
-cut back to the meeting room where the door bursts open and the actor runs in.
In this sequence, the actor who is late and the actors waiting are both acting in the same time, we simply show both actions by using a technique called cross-cutting. This allows us to show the viewer that while one thing is going on, "Meanwhile, across town..."
In the real world time moves forward at a steady pace. We can't go back in time and we can't jump ahead. The video world is different. We have all seen flashbacks in tv and film and we have even seen flash-forwards on occasion. We usually see a flashback when we are shown a nostalgic view of how things used to be or when we are shown the historical view how things came to be. In a flash forward we are usually shown what possibilities might be. It's important to note that whenever you have a flashback or flash-forward the character is not actually moving in time, only the story. When the characters travel in time it is time travel and probably in a science fiction story. One last way you can manipulate the direction of time is to show reverse motion. This often lets you show impossible things, such as water running backward, or a vase un-breaking. You can also shoot action in reverse and then play it forward to provide an eerie effect or show an impossible action.
The video world is a recreation of the real world.
Always remember that the video world is an interpretation of the real world. Just as the actors pretend to be someone else and sets are not the real thing, the reality of time and space can also be altered. Many of the techniques you see here can be used in conjunction and when used well, they can make your story really seem like it's taking place in it's own world.
The Video World
The video world differs from the real world in two main aspects. Time and space. That sounds a little sci-fi, but it simply means that we have control over time in the video world and we are not confined by geography or the space of our real three dimensional world.
Video Space
The video world is a 2-dimensional representation of a 3-dimensional world. What this means is, when we watch any kind of video, we are watching it on a flat screen, however the real world exists in three dimensions all around us. The viewer is simply peering through a window (the screen) into the world we create. This window gives us the opportunity to control a lot of things.
First of all, what we decide to display in the window determines what exists and does not exist. We can show an actor playing the part of a high powered executive in a board room giving a presentation. Then we can cut away to an exterior of an office building in Hong Kong. In reality, the actor could be in a studio with a board room set in a small town in southeast Texas and the Hong Kong office building could be stock footage. Since we do not show the rest of the studio, it does not exist. However, since we show the "board room" and then an office building exterior we imply that this office board room does exist in Hong Kong. Simply put;
Only what is shown exists, unless it is implied.
Another powerful tool is the ability to control dimensions. Remember, that the viewer is looking at a 2-dimensional representation of a 3-dimensional world. In the real world we know that vertical dimensions (up and down) are determined by gravity. If something falls, it falls down and we know that the opposite way is up. Also, since we know what is vertical we know that horizontal dimensions are perpendicular to this. When we look out at the horizon we see a line that goes from one side to another. We measure the third dimension, depth, by how close or far something is from us. In the video world, all of these can be manipulated. We can change which direction height and width run just by turning the camera on it's side. Now what would have fallen down, falls to the side of the frame. The viewer can only see one distance in the video world and that is the distance to the screen. This means we have to replicate depth (how far away something is), by simulating it in our composition. Basically the smaller something is, the farther away it is.
Height and width are determined by the orientation of the frame and depth is always a simulation.
Based on the fact that depth is always simulated, viewers of the video world have no real reference to tell how large something is, how far away it is, or where it is in relation to something else. As a viewer your only reference is the sides of the screen. Think about this. If two actors walking through a spaceship and then we cut to a shot of the spaceship flying through space, we believe the actors are on the spaceship. In fact, as we may well know, the spaceship is only really a small model and there are no actors in it. However, as long as we can't make size comparisons, we can't really tell how big it is. Also, distances between locations are not fixed. If I want to show an actor walking from the cafeteria to the high school, but I didn't want to take more than 15 seconds of screen time to do it, I can simply show them leaving the cafeteria and the cut to them taking a few steps up to the high school doors. That distance is fixed in the real world and cannot be changed, but it is what you show it to be in the video world. I can even change the what's inside the school doors. If I decide that's the elementary, I simply need to cut to a shot of the actor inside the elementary hallway after entering through the high school doors.
Size, distance, and locations are flexible in the video world.
Video Time
Just as real world space is replicated in video, so is time. With the only exception being live television anything you watch is not actually happening now. Also, the sequence, speed and amount of time is all variable.
We all seen speed manipulated in the video world. We may see slow motion when directors want to emphasize emotion or show additional detail in a shot, or we may see fast motion where a comic effect is desired or in extreme fast motion many hours may be compressed into seconds to show time passing. Speed can also be manipulated by overlapping and omitting action. If you want to provide multiple angles of the same action, you can overlap the footage which shows the same few seconds of action from different angles. Conversely, if you want to omit some action that might otherwise be boring, such as a person walking a flight of stairs, you can omit some of the steps they take in the middle and just cut straight to the end.
Another way we can manipulate time is by altering the flow. In the real world things happen one right after another. This is called serial time flow. However, we may want to show two things happening at the same time that can't be on screen together. We will show them both separately with the understanding that the time is flowing in parallel. An example might be someone who is late for a meeting:
-We see the actor dashing across the screen trying to get to the meeting.
-then we cut to a group waiting around a table looking at there watches
-we cut back to the actor dealing with obstacles
-cut to the group growing impatient
-cut back to the actor who finally reaches the door
-cut back to the meeting room where the door bursts open and the actor runs in.
In this sequence, the actor who is late and the actors waiting are both acting in the same time, we simply show both actions by using a technique called cross-cutting. This allows us to show the viewer that while one thing is going on, "Meanwhile, across town..."
In the real world time moves forward at a steady pace. We can't go back in time and we can't jump ahead. The video world is different. We have all seen flashbacks in tv and film and we have even seen flash-forwards on occasion. We usually see a flashback when we are shown a nostalgic view of how things used to be or when we are shown the historical view how things came to be. In a flash forward we are usually shown what possibilities might be. It's important to note that whenever you have a flashback or flash-forward the character is not actually moving in time, only the story. When the characters travel in time it is time travel and probably in a science fiction story. One last way you can manipulate the direction of time is to show reverse motion. This often lets you show impossible things, such as water running backward, or a vase un-breaking. You can also shoot action in reverse and then play it forward to provide an eerie effect or show an impossible action.
The video world is a recreation of the real world.
Always remember that the video world is an interpretation of the real world. Just as the actors pretend to be someone else and sets are not the real thing, the reality of time and space can also be altered. Many of the techniques you see here can be used in conjunction and when used well, they can make your story really seem like it's taking place in it's own world.