Shooting a master shot involves capturing the entire scene's action, encompassing all characters and significant movements from start to finish.
Understanding the Master Shot
A master shot serves as the foundational recording of a scene. It's typically the first shot you film in a sequence and provides the essential geographical layout and context for the audience. It shows where everyone is, how they relate to their environment, and the complete flow of the action.
Common Approach: Going Wide
Often, a master shot is filmed as a wide shot. This approach is popular because it allows viewers to immediately grasp the entire setting and see all key elements within the frame simultaneously.
"Master shots are often shot wide because it lets the audience immediately see everything in the frame. If you have a lot of characters and moving parts in your scene, you'll have to pull back to capture it all." [Reference]
This wide perspective is especially useful when a scene features many characters, complex blocking, or significant movement, ensuring everything is captured in a single take.
Flexibility in Framing
While a wide shot is common, it's not a strict rule that a master shot must be wide. [Reference] The framing should serve the scene's purpose and the story you're telling. Depending on the context, a master shot could be a medium shot or even a close-up if the scene's core action or critical element is best captured that way (though this is less conventional for a typical scene master). The key is that it covers the entire scene's action from beginning to end.
Key Steps for Shooting a Master Shot
To effectively shoot a master shot, consider the following:
- Placement: Position the camera so that it can see all the action, characters, and relevant parts of the location for the entire duration of the scene. This often means choosing an angle that can hold the frame without needing to pan or tilt excessively, although some camera movement is acceptable if it serves the narrative.
- Blocking: Ensure the camera placement works with the actors' blocking (their planned movements). Rehearse the scene to confirm that no crucial action or character is obscured or leaves the frame unexpectedly.
- Capture Everything: Film the scene from start to finish without cuts. This complete take becomes the backbone during editing, providing a continuous record to cut back to from closer shots.
- Consistency: Pay attention to lighting, sound, and performance continuity during the master shot. These elements should ideally remain consistent throughout all subsequent coverage shots (medium shots, close-ups, etc.).
- Plan Your Coverage: Think about how the master shot will complement the other shots you plan to capture (your "coverage"). The master shot provides context, while closer shots add emphasis and detail.
Why Shoot a Master Shot First?
Shooting the master shot before closer coverage offers several benefits:
- Establishes Continuity: It provides a visual reference for actor blocking and timing.
- Editing Foundation: It serves as a safety net, ensuring you have a complete version of the scene to edit from.
- Performs the Scene: Forces actors and crew to run through the entire scene, identifying potential issues before moving to tighter shots.
In essence, shooting a master shot is about finding the best vantage point to record the entire scene's action from beginning to end, understanding that while wide framing is frequent and often effective, the primary goal is comprehensive coverage.
