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Author Topic: The Heads are "Cut Off" Dave Bird Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 777 From: Perth, Ontario, Canada Registered: Jun 2000 posted 07-15-2017 06:56 PM                        Wondering if anyone knows the technical term the Director uses for scenes shot where the tops of heads aren't all visible. We occasionally have people convinced we aren't projecting properly and I'm just wondering if there's a term for that.  |  IP: Logged Jim Cassedy Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1661 From: San Francisco, CA Registered: Dec 2006 posted 07-15-2017 07:50 PM                     quote: Dave Bird We occasionally have people convinced we aren't projecting properly and I'm just wondering if there's a term for that. Yes- - "stupid people" . . but seriously, it's been many years since film school but I think it's sometimes called an ECU or ETS. ("Extreme Close-Up" or "Extreme Tight-Shot" )I've heard both used, but I think the first one is more common here in the USA. It might be called something different in other countries. (But stupid people are pretty much the same everywhere! )  |  IP: Logged Dave Bird Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 777 From: Perth, Ontario, Canada Registered: Jun 2000 posted 07-15-2017 08:09 PM                        Thanks Jim! We play our 'Scope films at the very top of our (drive-in) screen as a way of allowing people to see better over the cars and because we're not "filling the screen" people think we're up to something. I don't think they realize how little we actually do anymore. Once or twice I haven't even unlocked the (upstairs) booth door..... That said, I'm not all that sure why Directors cut off heads, I just know they do.  |  IP: Logged Brad Miller Administrator Posts: 17775 From: Plano, TX (36.2 miles NW of Rockwall) Registered: May 99 posted 07-15-2017 08:13 PM                     In almost every shot the "eyeline" should be between 1/4 to 1/3 of the way down the image. If you were to take a 1.85 or 2.40 rectangle and draw these two lines on it and then watch a professionally shot movie (not some amateur thing), you will see rarely does the actor's eyes go higher or lower. It's called proper composition.  |  IP: Logged Marcel Birgelen Film God Posts: 3357 From: Maastricht, Limburg, Netherlands Registered: Feb 2012 posted 07-17-2017 02:05 AM                     quote: Dave Bird Wondering if anyone knows the technical term the Director uses for scenes shot where the tops of heads aren't all visible. We occasionally have people convinced we aren't projecting properly and I'm just wondering if there's a term for that. I think the right word you're looking for is "incompetence". Well, just "kidding". But I think there are very few legitimate reasons to cut off heads during a normal shot. Only for extreme close-ups and dramatic reasons it makes sense. Bad cinematography should be punishable. Everyone guilty should be punished to watch their own creations all over again.  |  IP: Logged Jarod Reddig Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 513 From: Hays, Ks Registered: Jun 2011 posted 07-17-2017 03:24 AM                     Well put Brad.  |  IP: Logged David Stambaugh Film God Posts: 4021 From: Eugene, Oregon Registered: Jan 2002 posted 07-17-2017 06:12 PM                        Rule of Thirds? https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rule_of_thirds The rule of thirds is a "rule of thumb" or guideline which applies to the process of composing visual images such as designs, films, paintings, and photographs.[1] The guideline proposes that an image should be imagined as divided into nine equal parts by two equally spaced horizontal lines and two equally spaced vertical lines, and that important compositional elements should be placed along these lines or their intersections.[2] Proponents of the technique claim that aligning a subject with these points creates more tension, energy and interest in the composition than simply centering the subject.[citation needed] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Headroom_(photographic_framing) One rule of thumb taken from classic portrait painting techniques,[2] called the "rule of thirds",[3][4] suggests that the subject's eyes, as a center of interest, are ideally positioned one-third of the way down from the top of the frame.[5][unreliable source?]  |  IP: Logged Mike Schulz Expert Film Handler Posts: 122 From: Los Angeles, CA Registered: May 2007 posted 07-17-2017 07:07 PM                     quote: Jim Cassedy ("Extreme Close-Up" or "Extreme Tight-Shot" )I've heard both used, but I think the first one is more common here in the USA. Canadians also use Extreme Close-Up  |  IP: Logged Martin McCaffery Film God Posts: 2481 From: Montgomery, AL Registered: Jun 99 posted 07-17-2017 08:43 PM                        Warner Bros Haircut [URL=https://books.google.com/books?id=RB4eqdcgPbsC&pg=PA190&lpg=PA190&dq=Warner+Bros+Haircut&source=bl&ots=w2PpJI4TB4&sig=WUZH5jTgmFYulATD8SjNvYol2UY&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiZ1p7k2ZHVAhUJbiYKHex1AaoQ6AEIUTAM#v=onepage&q=Warner%20Bros%20Haircut&f=fals e]Movie Speak[/URL]  |  IP: Logged

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