CHAPTER 16 Shooting Masters

So now you have a generalized idea of the procedure on the set for making a shot. But the big question now is, how do you actually design and choreograph shots, and how is your plan executed? Let's do a “Groundhog Day” and relive that first shot of the first day of shooting.

It's pretty likely that you've decided to shoot the “master” first. Remember that in simplest terms this is the shot that pretty much covers the entire action of a scene. Don't worry—we'll talk about exceptions very soon. The master is invariably the first shot made; no one starts off shooting a scene with a close-up or an insert. There are many reasons for this, but a primary one is that you want to know how the whole set will be used and what ...

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