180 degree rule

180-degree rule:

In this lesson Adam focused on making sure we understand the 180 and 30-degree rule as it's an important factor in filming. The 180-degree rule is a basic guideline regarding the on-screen spatial relationship between a character and another character/characters or object within a scene. An imaginary axis connects the characters and by keeping the camera on one side of this axis for every shot in the scene, the first character will always be frame right of the second character, who is then always frame left of the first. If the camera passes over the axis, it is called jumping the line or crossing the line. 

 

 

This picture is a basic illustration of how the 180 degree rule works and how it would look if we went pass the 180 line, if we break the rule it can look confusing to the audience. Sometimes it is broken for dramatic effect and it can work as long as the audience is taken with the camera so they understand.

 

30-degree rule:

The 30-degree rule is a basic film editing guideline that states the camera should move at least 30 degrees between shots of the same subject occurring in succession. If this rule isn't followed a jump cut occurs and there is a risk that the audience starts focusing on the filming technique instead of the story that is being narrated.

 

This is a great example of terrible editing as there are numerous jump cuts and it's very distracting for the audience: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OwLH6-bDhuE