Filmmaking Knowledge: the 180 Degree Rule

I want to tell you about my favourite scene where the director deliberately broke the 180 degree rule. But I’ll get to that later. First, let’s look at what this rule is and how it works…

As soon as you step foot on a film set, you will somehow become aware of a rule you’d never heard of before. That rule is known as the ‘180 degree’ rule. Film crew of all varieties will talk like old sages about “breaking the line”.

But you, you naive young filmmaker you, will simply listen in awe, and wonder what this filmmaking dark art entails. You will attempt to nod wisely or simply stay out of this conversation altogether. But one day, you will have to find the courage to ask someone, like a kid nervously stammering, “W.. what… is the 180 degree… rule?”

At least, that’s how it used to happen. Until someone invented the internet. Now kids just wait for a private moment and Google. Perhaps that’s why you’re reading this now.

Well, no need to feel embarrassed. We’ve all been there, at some point in our lives. I mean, I had to get my younger brother to go into the chemist and buy my first condoms for me. But now you’re here, probably with your browser in incognito mode…

Placing the Audience in the Scene

Unlike any other art form, film and video has complete control over how the audience sees the image. Where you place your camera is where you place the audience in the scene. As we cut from one shot to the next, and sometimes back again, the camera is the audience’s eyes.

This control gives your a certain responsibility, which you will neglect a your peril. If your entire movie is made up of anarchic, shaky, handheld footage which places the audience randomly in the scene, your audience will rebel. The audience will have such an uncomfortable experience, most will probably click stop or get up and leave the theatre.

So, to help filmmakers keep their audience happy, a rule was devised which keeps the camera grounded. Essentially, in every scene, filmmakers draw a line through it. And now the filmmakers must choose one side of the line to keep the camera on for the rest of the scene.

Therefore, supposing the camera is always pointed towards one object in the scene, the camera now only has 180 degrees (out of 360) to operate in.

Dialogue Scenes

This 180 degree rule is especially important when shooting a dialogue scene between 2 people. To achieve this, draw a line through the 2 actors. Now make sure the camera stays on one side of the line, as you cut back and forth between the 2 actors.

This creates a feeling in the audience closer to them being “in the scene” with the actors, than if you cut from different sides of the line. Or “breaking the line” as it’s called.

In a dialogue scene using the 180 rule, each actor should appear in their own side of the screen. So, for example, when shooting Actor 1 he will be on the left of the screen looking right. Meanwhile, Actor 2 will be on the right side of the screen looking left.

As an audience member, having each actor on their own side of the screen feels more comfortable. The audience are sitting at the side of the conversation, turning their head left and right as the conversation takes place. In other words, the combination of shot selection plus editing choices mimics the experience of eavesdropping on the conversation.

Especially with Close Ups

How close the camera is during the conversation creates a more or less involved experience. Imagine the camera is at a distance and never chooses to move to close up. Now, we the audience are like nosy neighbours overhearing a conversation from over the fence or at a nearby table in a restaurant.

But cutting to close ups means we the audience are now sitting at the table with the actors. Therefore, being in close up makes the 180 degree rule much more important. Because cutting across the line in close up is like teleporting the audience into a new chair at the table, with each cut.

Think about it. If you were sitting at a table with your friends, listening to them talk, and each time you blink you find yourself sitting on the opposite side of the table… well, you wouldn’t be paying too much attention to the conversation. You’d be too confused. Although, maybe having fun with your new superpower, as well.

Be Careful With Your Audience

What the 180 degree rule teaches us is a lesson which reaches further than a simple dialogue scene rule. When we think about this rule, we start to think about where we are placing the audience in a scene.

So, with each cut in a movie, a filmmaker has to consider how the audience got from one position to the next. If the cut puts us somewhere dramatically different from where we were before, we the audience can feel shocked or taken out of the story.

For example, now that drones have become affordable to low budget filmmakers, we see a lot more of these overhead shots. These shots used to be the reserve of filmmakers with the funds to hire a helicopter, which meant a lot of consideration went into choosing to use one. But it should be remembered that hovering 30 meters above the scene is a strange place to put the audience.

Of course, it will detach us completely from the scene. We become like gods, looking down on tiny characters walking along like ants. A drone shot gives the audience a sense of great power over the characters. But I guess that’s a subject for another post…

A 360 Degree Conversation

Can you think of a conversation scene in a movie which ignores the 180 degree rule? I can think of one famous one. The opening scene of Reservoir Dogs has a number of characters are at a table, chatting about trivia.

The camera places the audience outside of the conversation, circling the table. But notice we are at the same level as the characters, not looking down at them. Also, notice when the shot cuts it does so in an almost invisible way. At the same time, we only catch glimpses of the actor who is speaking.

In this moment, we are neither eavesdropping from another table or invited to sit at the table. But once Tarantino has finished his monologue, the editing and camera style change. Now we’re invited to the table and the camera simply chooses a stationary close up of an actor to cut to. Then, the camera sets off again in a circling motion.

Once the conversation changes to the subject of waitress tipping, the shots now become a series of still close ups. The line is broken continuously, so why do we feel comfortable watching? I think it’s because nearly all the shots are centred on the faces of the actors talking. Only one shot views an actor from the side.

Also, the first circling shots established the idea we are seeing this conversation from all sides of the table.

Deliberately Crossing the Line

So that’s a scene where the filmmakers had to cross the line due to the number of cast and their position in the location. But what about deliberately crossing the line? Doing so would be for the purpose of making the audience feel uncomfortable.

There’s one scene which always comes to my mind. The scene is from Kubrick’s The Shining. Jack Torrance is in the bathroom having his clothes cleaned by Delbert Grady.

In the scene, Torrance turns detective as he recognises Grady from news reports which describe the caretaker murdering his wife and daughters.

Kubrick chooses to switch the camera from one side to the next, so we the audience teleport from one side of the bathroom to the other. Kubrick always loved to use symmetry in his movies, as they are very pleasing (and comforting) on the eye. But in this scene he combines 2 perfectly symmetric shots to create unsease in the audience.

Notice that the cuts between the shots are slow. Kubrick gives us time to get comfortable, before suddenly throwing us to the other side. Often, conversations in movies are edited to create a natural flow and rhythm. But in this scene the editing deliberately prevents us feeling too settled. Just settled enough that when the cut comes it’s a shock.

But there’s more…

In this scene, Torrance thinks he’s being clever by revealing Grady to be a murderer. However, Grady reverses the situation when he insists Torrance is in fact the caretaker (and therefore the murderer). So the reversal of the shot reflects the reversal of the direction of the scene.

And there’s even more… In this scene, we (and Torrance) are eventually confused about who exactly is the caretaker (and therefore the murderer). The identity of Grady and Torrance become blurred – are they the same person?

And so the logic of these shooting and editing choices becomes clearer. This breaking of the line is not just to create unease in the audience. Because, while Grady and Torrance occupy both sides of the screen during the scene, it adds to the confusion in our minds about who is who.

In conclusion, then, the purpose of the 180 degree rule is to establish in the audience’s mind the position and identity of each character. Therefore, if we wish to confuse the position and identity of characters in the audience’s mind, we might think about breaking the rule.

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