5 Elements of Cinematic Filmmaking
What makes a shot "cinematic"? How can you create cinematic shots, whether you're making movies or content for social media? Here are the 5 key ingredients to cinematic filmmaking.
The Magic of Film
I don’t know about you but when I watch a film that’s well made, I completely immerse myself in that world, forgetting that I’m seated on a couch with a cup of tea that’s slowly turning cold.
At the end of it, I suddenly snap out of it and exhale cathartically. This could, in turn, be accompanied with laughter, tears or existential dread… Depending on the film.
Perfect Days, Wim Wenders (2023)
What Does “Cinematic” Mean?
We know when a film deeply touches us. When know what we feel when we feel it. We call it “cinematic”.
But what does that really mean, when you think about it?
It’s a difficult task to solve, yet we’d like to solve it so we can recreate it in our own work. Because let’s be honest, pretty much everyone would be able to tell the difference between a film made by a first grade film student vs an established artist who’s got a track record of good art.
Reconstructing a term like “cinematic”, which is based on a feeling, is vague. We can’t always pin point which parts of a film, in combination, are causing the film to be classed as cinematic.
Yet it’s a term that has been used more frequently in the last few years as YouTubers and TikTokers are creating content that heavily recreates that “look” and “feeling”.
So if they can do it, why can’t you?
Even though cinematic is not one thing, we can still break down some elements of filmmaking that certainly help us reach the goal of creating cinematic content.
Here are five of those elements.
1. Story & Character
Eventually, everything boils down to story and character. You could honestly have bad quality gear with bad filming and yet create a cinematic, authentic feel to your videos.
Don’t believe me? Here is one of the most classic examples from film history. The production value is low (purposefully) but the story is strong. Result? The film was highly praised in film festivals and by cinephiles.
Stories typically lead us from point A to B, with some ups and downs in the middle. They don’t always have to be exciting or tragic or intense. A story could be as simple as filming your morning routine. Your start of the day. Anybody’s start of the day.
Something as mundane as that works because it’s relatable to pretty much anyone and everyone.
There’s a reason that “morning routine” videos are so popular. We get a glimpse into the life of others. What time they wake up, what type of coffee they drink, whether they exercise or not, when their work starts, etc.
It’s cozy.
The character aspect of this is the same. It doesn’t have to be a wonky character, or a villain, or a hero. It can just be you. Anybody. It’s the relationship between the character and the story that’s interesting. How they fit into that world.
Now that you have your story and character planned out, it’s time to shoot…
2. Camera Placement
A painter has their brush and colors. A writer their pen and paper. Filmmakers have cameras. And we use that camera, in combination with editing, to lead the audience from point A to point B.
Therefore, make sure to place the camera with variation and don’t just film everything from the same position.
Let’s say you’re filming yourself sitting by the living room table, working on your laptop.
Plan your shoot in such a way that if you want 3 shots, make those 3 shots unique.
First shot could be a wide shot of the whole room and you in it. Then, move in closer. Perhaps a close up of your eyes as you look at the screen, scratch your beard and consider what to write next. Final shot, a detail shot of your fingers typing on the keyboard.
And if you’re unsure about what makes a wide shot, medium shot, close up etc, check out this quick illustration:
Variation keeps the audience engaged and intrigued about the story. They want to see what happens next.
3. Composition
Besides variation in the type of shots you take, the placement of the subject within the frame matters, too. What you see is what you get, so make sure you compose in a non-distracting way (unless inteded so).
One way to do this is to compose according to the classic Rule of Thirds.
The quick rundown of this is: Place your subject within one of the cross sections of the three blocks (marked with circles) that you see below.
Here are a few images for inspiration.
These aren’t rules you have to follow. It’s just what is taught at academies all over the world as a golden standard for composition. Once you know the rules, you can play around with various compositions of your liking. The reason it’s good to know the rules though, is because then you’ll be able to shoot with intent.
Breaking the rules is way easier if you know what you’re doing.
4. Angles
Now that you have that down, it’s time to consider the various angles you can play around with.
The keyword is still “variation”.
Don’t just shoot everything from one single angle all throughout (unless it works for the story).
Instead, play around with low angles, high angles and eye-level angles.
The Master, Paul Thomas Anderson (2012)
By creating this variety in shots, composition and angles, you keep the interest level high and are opening up a whole new world of filmmaking.
5. Lighting
Finally, we got the crème de la crème - lighting. This is what will give you the strongest mood of all elements.
When done right, the audience are going to feel they’re watching cinema and not a TV commercial.
So what’s the difference?
Commercial lighting works a lot with pure, even lighting that evenly lights up everything in the scene (typically). Whereas cinematic lighting works a lot with creating contrast.
See below.
The Clean Look - Commercial Lighting
Cinematic Lighting - Filmmaking
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, Andrew Dominick (2007)
See how cinematic lighting deliberately uses contrast (in this case by backlighting) to create mood?
NOTE: This doesn’t mean that natural-looking lighting is not cinematic. It just comes to show the stark differences between “typical” commercial lighting and “typical” cinematic lighting.
Here are a few more examples.
Now You’re Ready
Imagine the difference it will make the next time you film something, now that you can use all these five pointers as guidelines for cinematic filmmaking.
If you ever get stuck, just pull out the list of these five elements and take a look at your scene.
Think to yourself:
How can I switch up the shot?
How can I tell a story?
What about the lighting?
The angle?
The composition?
There’s alway something you can do, whether you have a budget or not. All you need for starters is just one light source. Either an artificial light or natural light, it doesn’t matter.
There’s so much you can achieve by just switching up your approach to whatever you’re filming.
And the best part? All of this applies to you whether you are shooting a movie, a YouTube video or a TikTok.
And remember: Rules are not rules. They’re vague guidelines that can (and should) be broken when the story you’re telling requires it.
Now go out there and shoot!
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