CS Weekly Archive > Weekend Read > 04/13/07

Looking at Film From All Angles

By nancy hendrickson

One of the greatest dangers a first-time director faces is being superseded by his more experienced cinematographer, but Joseph Mascelli's The Five C's of Cinematography can help take the mystery out of decisions like where to place the camera and what to include in the frame. It's your film after all, and, whether you can tell a lens from an eye piece, if you are the one calling "Action!" you should also be the one calling the shots.

The Five C's of Cinematography: Motion Picture Filming Techniques

Joseph V. Mascelli

The Five C's of Cinematography is a rarity among books on filmmaking, which tend to have their day in the sun and then go out of fashion and, hence, out of print. Five C's, however, is a classic. First published in 1965, it is still being recommended by cinematography and directing teachers today. American Cinematographer magazine calls it "one of the three most important books on cinematic technique ever published." Rather than being a technical manual, The Five C's focuses on how to choose the shots that will best tell your story. It starts with an explanation of exactly what choices are at a filmmaker's disposal, considers those choices from the standpoint of editing and continuity, and goes into depth on the elements of composition.

Author Joseph V. Mascelli (1917-1961) started his career as a cinematographer while serving in the Army during World War II, shooting training films, newsreels and technical films. After the war, he went to Hollywood, where he shot non-theatrical films, commercials, television series and a handful of long- forgotten features. He also wrote for photography journals, was one of the editors of the American Cinematographer Manual and lectured at Loyola University. But what made Mascelli famous was his book.

The Five C's referred to in the title are "Camera angles," "Continuity," "Cutting," "Close-ups," and "Composition" and each has its own chapter. The first chapter, "Camera Angles," explains the many types and classifications of shots—from extreme long shots to choker close-ups, high angle and low angle shots, objective and subjective shots, two-shots, three- shots, and group shots. But better than just teaching us the names, Mascelli teaches us how and when to employ each shot and what result it will have on the viewer. For example: "An image that slants to the right is active, forceful, while one that slants to the left is weak, static." Or: "Low angles should be used when desirable to inspire awe, or excitement."

Continuity. Mascelli uses the term "continuity" to mean a shooting plan. "The better the plan—or continuity—the stronger the chances for success," he says, adding, "A continuity, or shooting script, is a preliminary motion picture on paper—a continuous plan for photographing and editing the production." This chapter deals mainly with cinematic time (present-time continuity, prologues, flashbacks, flashforwards, real time, dream time, and conditional time) and space (location, directional continuity, speeding or slowing travel, creating illusions of space, the impact of focal length on distance and the relationship between objects, etc.). It also explores the pros and cons of the "master scene" and "triple take" shooting techniques.

Cutting. If you think cutting is a topic that doesn't belong in a cinematography book, think again. An editor is only as good as the material he has to work with, and it is the cinematographer who provides that material. The chapter covers topics like "cutting and composition," "cutting and continuity," "moving and static shots," "cover shots," and "narrative factors," and gives practical advice such as "The film editor should always be provided with as much overlapped movement as possible in consecutive shots, so that he can study the action and make the most effective cut."

Close-ups. Covered briefly in the chapter on "Camera Angles," close-ups are deemed so important by Mascelli as to merit a chapter of their own. In fact, he says they are "among the most powerful storytelling devices available to the filmmaker," and they come in variety of image sizes and varieties. There are extreme close-ups, over-the-shoulder close-ups, cut-in close ups, cut-away close-ups, and point-of-view close-ups, to name a few. Mascelli tells us how and when to use each along with discussing "player movement into and out of close-ups," "close-up tempo," "close-up camera set-ups," and "backgrounds for close-ups."

And finally, composition. Here Mascelli warns: "Because composition involves artistic taste, emotional awareness, personal likes, dislikes, experience and background…strict rules cannot be applied. While composing a scene is not a mechanical process, certain mathematical and geometrical factors may help insure success." He then goes on to explore, in detail, still vs. motion picture composition, compositional language (lines, forms, masses movements), balance (formal and informal), positioning and/or shifting the center of interest, image placement, perspective, and much, much more.

Primarily written for those behind the lens, The Five C's of Cinematography is a great primer for budding directors as it gives you all the whys and wherefores of choosing your shots without ever getting into the technical areas of camera work. With clear verbal explanations accompanied by hundreds of photographs and diagrams, this classic text makes its points just as clearly today as it did when first published in 1965 and there is nothing dated about its message.

The Five C's of Cinematography: Motion Picture Filming Techniques
Silman-James Press
251 pages
$29.95

Buy it now

Nancy Hendrickson has won two screenwriting awards and currently teaches at LA Film School. Her first short film, The Healing, premiered at the Reel Women International Film Festival in March of 2007.

The Five C's of Cinematography: Motion Picture Filming Techniques courtesy Silman-James Press

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