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Do you dream of shooting your own music videos or feature films for a living? There are many important things that you’ll need to know and equip yourself with in order to get started in the field. But to really become a cinematographer, you’ll need more than just the gear and technical know-how. Cinematography is all about the art of visual storytelling. Aside from skillfully operating a camera and setting up the lighting for every scene, it involves controlling what the viewer sees and how the image is presented to them — by choosing the right shooting techniques that best tell the story. Below we’ve listed down some of the most widely-used cinematography techniques that can help dictate how your audience should feel about your scene, as well as how they will interpret it. These should help both aspiring and professional cinematographers create the most impactful and engaging films and music videos.

1. Over-the-shoulder shot

As the name suggests, the over-the-shoulder shot shows an out-of-focus shoulder and head in the foreground while another person, object, or the background is in focus. It’s one of the most essential cinematography techniques for use in narrative filmmaking as it not only adds that much-needed depth to a shot but also aids in making conversational scenes look as natural to the viewer as possible.

2. Tilt shot

The tilt shot is as easy as it sounds, but the best way to turn this simple technique into an elegant shot is to carefully coordinate the careful upward or downward camera movement with some action within the scene. It can be used as an establishing shot of a wide-angle view or for slowly revealing something at the end of the shot.

What is a short film

While there’s no Hollywood rulebook that says how long a short film must be, generally speaking, a short film is a motion picture up to 50 minutes long. That said, 20 minutes tends to be the average length. A short film can be live-action, animated, or computer generated. Like feature films, short films tell closed-ended stories with a distinct beginning, middle, and end. The best short films have a clear focus and are economical with their storytelling, utilizing only one or two locations and few characters.

How Long Should a Short Film Screenplay Be?

When writing any screenplay, keep in mind that one page equals roughly one minute of screentime. If short films are typically under 50 minutes long, you’ll want a script that’s 50 pages or less. A good rule of thumb: aim to write a 15-page short film and see where that takes you.