Telling Stories with Pictures

Before you get involved with designing individual shots, there are some overall principles of visual storytelling you need to think about.

Don't Forget Establishing Shots

Planning your shots will succeed if you think about how they'll flow together in the edit. Transitions between scenes are particularly important.

For example, when you begin a new scene, the audience must recognize and understand the new setting. You need to provide a shot to establish the new location, usually called an establishing shot. It might simply be a shot of the building a character is about to enter.

ESTABLISHING SHOT: Image that introduces the audience to a new setting in which the next action takes place.

So when you're planning your ...

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