Rules of Coverage
Let’s learn some key rules of Coverage that camera people use to help the audience make sense of a Scene. Ignoring these rules can easily confuse the audience.
Video 1 – Stage Line
Video 1 Transcript:
The first rule of Coverage refers to the concept of the Stage Line, or the 180-Degree Rule. Like a proscenium in a theater, an invisible line divides the space, with the “performers” onstage (behind the Line) and the “audience” front-of-stage (in front of the Line).
All the footage that we have previously seen of the two cardplayers, for example, was shot from the audience’s side of the Stage Line. Every Shot maintains the same front-of-stage perspective. Following the 180-Degree Rule means keeping the camera on one side of this Line. For example, I can shoot anywhere from just right of Paul to just left of Anu. Crossing the Stage Line reverses the subjects’ positions. If Shots from both sides of the Line are edited together, the result can be disorienting for the viewer. In contrast, Shots taken from the same side of the Line cut together coherently by maintaining visual continuity.
The 180-Degree or Stage Line rule is especially important for maximizing the editability of the Coverage. In this Scene, two people sit at a cafe table discussing edible plants. The first Extra Long Shot (XLS) establishes the Stage Line running through the space – this is the “front-of-stage.” The following Medium Shot (MS) introduces the Scene’s key people and their activity. To maintain continuity, all subsequent Shots should be taken from this side of the Stage Line – anywhere from over the right shoulder of this subject to over the left shoulder of the other. These Shots cut together coherently because they respect the Stage Line. However, as we’ve seen, cutting to Shots from the opposite side reverses the subjects’ positions and can confuse the viewer.
In this case, the cameraperson deliberately shot the Scene with full Coverage from both sides of the Stage Line. This gave the editor the flexibility to first build the Scene using footage from this side of the subjects. A cut to the interview takes the viewer’s attention away from the Scene. When the Scene resumes, the editor only uses Shots from the other side of the Line.
There are many situations where you’ll want or need to cross the Stage Line. In this Scene, the Stage Line rule suggests staying on either the right or left side of the conservator as she restores a wooden sculpture. However, because she works actively to her right and left, the audience naturally wants to see everything. To address this, the cameraperson covers the Scene from both sides, giving the editor Shots that motivate the viewer to cross the Line.
Let’s study these Shots and edits in slow motion. First, as viewers, we’re on her left side, watching and trying to figure out what she’s doing. Then her shoulder moves across the frame, blocking our view. This interference triggers the viewer’s instinct to move in front of her to continue watching her activity. That instinct motivates the edit that crosses the Line to her right side. Toward the end of this Shot, she turns left and does something out of our view. Again, our curiosity pushes us back across the Line to her left side to see what she’s doing. The continuity of her movement leads naturally to the next Shot: the all-important face Shot, which can only be captured from the left side. One of the strongest motivations for crossing the Line is the subject’s gaze. When the subject looks at something we can’t see, we can’t help but want to see it. The editor obliges by crossing the Line to reveal the activity.
Notice, as we watch this again in real time, how the many detail Shots help the editor cross the Line. Shooting up close effectively masks the wider geography of the Scene, so the viewer is less aware of which side we’re on. Without these detail Shots, crossing the Line becomes much harder. For example, cutting only between wider Shots makes crossing the Line more obvious and interrupts the viewer’s immersion in the Scene. They’re more likely to be confused by the edit.
Here again is this Scene – shot and edited to successfully move back and forth across the Line.
Since you’re just learning to shoot Coverage and edit for fluid continuity, make life easier for yourself by shooting from one side of each Scene’s activity. If you choose to shoot from both sides of the Line, be sure to fully cover your subjects’ activities from each side – capturing all the necessary Shot Types to ensure complete Coverage.
Video 2: Maintaining Spatial Relationships
Video 2 Transcript:
Another key rule of Coverage is maintaining consistent spatial relationships between two or more subjects in a Scene. From one Shot to the next, their relative positions – and their distance from each other – must remain clear and coherent.
To illustrate the way we maintain spatial relationships, let’s analyze this Scene where Annabelle shows her mother, Esther, her artwork. The Scene is first established with Esther on the left and Annabelle on the right. Their left-right relationship, along with their distance from each other, is maintained throughout this series of Shots. If the spatial relationships shift from one Shot to the next, continuity breaks down and the viewer becomes disoriented.
There are a couple of techniques editors use to change the spatial relationship between subjects in the middle of a Scene. One approach is to cut to a Cutaway where the pair’s relationship is not visible, and then return to them in a new position – creating the impression that they moved while we were looking elsewhere. Alternatively, the editor can show the subjects actually moving, which communicates to the viewer that they have changed positions.
To wrap up this module, let’s watch this Scene again, focusing on how the cameraperson and editor maintained spatial relationships and the Stage Line. They maintained the Stage Line by shooting and editing the Scene exclusively from the right side of the subjects. The editor also kept the spatial relationships consistent, even as the subjects naturally moved to either side of one another.
During your next shoot, add Stage Line and spatial relationships to the list of Coverage and Composition issues you’re practicing.
– Video 1: “Barbara Lynch, Museum Inspired Meal” and “Conservation” by Michael Sheridan for Education Department, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum
– Video 2: “She’s an American Child” by Rafael DeLeon for the New Immigrant and Refugee Visions film collection