180 Degree Rule

The 180 degree rule is when two characters or objects in the same scene should always remain on the same side of the frame in each camera shot. The most common example of this is when two characters are having a conversation. If a shot shows character 1 on the left and character 2 on the right the next shot should still show character 1 on the left and character 2 on the right as shifting the characters to the other side so that character 1 is on the right and character 2 is on the left may confuse the audience and the scene will not flow.

When we made our film clip using the 180 degree rule we made sure we stayed on one side of the imaginary horizontal line to the camera’s viewpoint. This meant that the audience can concentrate on the characters faces and not get mixed up between them.  We made sure that the camera stayed on one side of the table to concentrate on the characters in which we were filming.

We use this technique when shooting so the audiences doesn’t become confused or lose focus as they keep getting the characters mixed up. It is a particularly useful technique in situations where two characters look very similar, either because of age, hair colour or costume. If a constantly changing camera view Is used the audience may quickly become disorientated as the characters or objects are changing places frequently.