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Acknowledgments | |
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Introduction | |
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The Shots: What, How and Why? | |
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What to Show Your Audience? | |
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Choosing Your Frame | |
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Aspect Ratio | |
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Further Exploration - A Brief History of Aspect Ratios | |
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Further Exploration - Why We Might Like Widescreen so Much | |
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The Basic Cinematic Building Blocks - An Introduction to Shot Types | |
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Long Shot/Wide Shot | |
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Medium Shot | |
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Close-Up | |
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The Extended Family of Basic Shots - The Powers of Proximity | |
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Extreme Long Shot/Extreme Wide Shot | |
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Very Long Shot/Very Wide Shot | |
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Long Shot/Wide Shot/Full Shot | |
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Medium Long Shot/Knee Shot | |
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Medium Shot/Waist Shot/Mid | |
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Medium Close-Up/Bust Shot | |
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Close-Up | |
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Big Close-Up (UK)/Choker (USA) | |
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Extreme Close-Up | |
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Why Do We Even Have Different Shot Types? | |
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Pulling Images from the Written Page | |
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Scripts and Script Breakdown | |
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Shot Lists | |
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Storyboards | |
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Phases of Film Production | |
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Let's Practice | |
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Chapter One - Review | |
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Chapter One - Exercises & Projects | |
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Chapter One - Quiz Yourself | |
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The Basics of Composition | |
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Simple Guidelines For Framing Human Subjects | |
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Headroom | |
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Subjective Versus Objective Shooting Styles | |
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Look Room/Nose Room | |
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The Rule of Thirds | |
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Camera Angle | |
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Horizontal Camera Angles | |
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Vertical Camera Angles | |
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The Two-Shot: Frame Composition with Two People | |
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The Profile Two-Shot | |
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The Direct-to-Camera Two-Shot | |
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The Over-the-Shoulder Two-Shot | |
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The Dirty Single | |
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The Power Dynamic Two-Shot | |
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The Three-Shot | |
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Wrapping up the Basics of Composition | |
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Chapter Two - Review | |
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Chapter Two - Exercises & Projects | |
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Chapter Two - Quiz Yourself | |
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Composition - Beyond the Basics | |
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The Illusion of the Third Dimension | |
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The Use of Lines | |
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The Horizon Line | |
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Vertical Lines | |
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Dutch Angle | |
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Diagonal Lines | |
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Curved Lines | |
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The Depth of Film Space - Foreground/Middle Ground/Background | |
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Foreground | |
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Middle Ground | |
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Background | |
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Depth Cues | |
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Overlapping | |
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Object Size | |
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Atmosphere | |
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The Camera Lens - The Observer of Your Film World | |
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Primes vs Zooms | |
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The Prime Lens | |
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The Zoom Lens | |
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Lens Perspective | |
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Lens Focus - Directing the Viewer's Attention | |
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Pulling Focus or Following Focus | |
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Chapter Three - Review | |
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Chapter Three - Exercises & Projects | |
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Chapter Three - Quiz Yourself | |
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Lighting Your Shots - Not Just What You See, but How You See It | |
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Light as an Element of Composition | |
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Light as Energy | |
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Color Temperature | |
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Color Balance of Your Camera | |
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Natural and Artificial Light | |
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Correcting or Mixing Colors on Set | |
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Quantity of Light: Sensitivity | |
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Quantity of Light: Exposure | |
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Quality of Light: Hard Versus Soft | |
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Hard Light | |
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Soft Light | |
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Contrast | |
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Low-key Lighting | |
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High-key Lighting | |
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Color | |
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Basic Character Lighting: Three-Point Method | |
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Contrast Ratio or Lighting Ratio | |
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Motivated Lighting - Angle of Incidence | |
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Front Lighting | |
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Side Lighting | |
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Lights from Behind | |
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Lights from Other Places | |
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Set and Location Lighting | |
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Controlling Light-Basic Tools and Techniques | |
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Light…and the Light Years of Learning | |
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Chapter Four - Review | |
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Chapter Four - Exercises & Projects | |
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Chapter Four - Quiz Yourself | |
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Will it Cut? Shooting for Editing | |
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The Chronology of Production | |
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Matching Your Shots in a Scene | |
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Continuity of Performance | |
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Continuity of Screen Direction | |
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The Line - Basis for Screen Direction | |
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The Imaginary Line - The 180 Degree Rule | |
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"Jumping the Line" | |
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The 30 Degree Rule | |
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Reciprocating Imagery | |
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Eye-Line Match | |
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Chapter Five - Review | |
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Chapter Five - Exercises & Projects | |
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Chapter Five - Quiz Yourself | |
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Dynamic Shots-Subjects and Camera in Motion | |
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Subjects in Motion - Blocking Talent | |
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Presentation Speed - Slow Motion and Fast Motion | |
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Slow Motion - or Overcranking | |
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Fast Motion - Undercranking | |
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Camera in Motion | |
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Handheld | |
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Pan and Tilt | |
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Shooting the Pan and the Tilt | |
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Equipment Used to Move the Camera | |
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Tripod | |
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Dolly | |
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Steadicam | |
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Cranes and Such | |
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Chapter Six - Review | |
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Chapter Six - Exercises & Projects | |
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Chapter Six - Quiz Yourself | |
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Working Practices and General Guidelines | |
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Slate the Head of Your Shots | |
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Communicating with Talent | |
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Safe Action/Safe Title Areas | |
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How to Manually Focus a Zoom Lens | |
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Always Have Something in Focus | |
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Control Your Depth of Field | |
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Be Aware of Headroom | |
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Shooting Tight Close-Ups | |
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Ensure an Eye Light | |
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Try to Show Both Eyes of Your Subject | |
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Be Aware of Eye-Line Directions in Closer Shots | |
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Follow Action with Loose Pan and Tilt Tripod Head | |
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Shooting Overlapping Action for the Edit | |
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Continuity of Action | |
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Matching Speed of Action | |
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Overlapping Too Much Action | |
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Storyboards and Shot Lists | |
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Aim for a Low Shooting Ratio | |
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Frame for Correct "Look Room" on Shots that Will Edit Together | |
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Shoot Matching Camera Angles when Covering a Dialogue Scene | |
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Ways to Cross the 180 Degree Line Safely | |
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Place Important Objects in the Top Half of Your Frame | |
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Be Aware of the Color Choices Made Throughout Your Project | |
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Keep Distracting Objects out of the Shot | |
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Beware of Continuity Traps While Shooting a Scene | |
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Use the Depth of Your Film Space to Stage Shots with Several People | |
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In a Three-Person Dialogue Scene, Matching Two-Shots can be Problematic for the Editor | |
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Zooming During a Shot | |
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Motivate Your Truck-In and Truck-Out Dolly Moves | |
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Allow the Camera More Time to Record Each Shot | |
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Allow Actions to Complete Before Cutting Camera | |
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Use Short Focal Length Lenses to Reduce Handheld Camera Shake | |
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Beware of Wide Lenses when Shooting Close-Up Shots | |
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Shooting a Chromakey | |
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Shooting B-Roll, 2<sup>nd</sup> Unit, and Stock Footage | |
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Shooting a Talking Head Interview | |
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During Documentary Filming, Be as Discreet as Possible | |
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Chapter Seven - Review | |
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Chapter Seven - Exercises & Projects | |
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Chapter Seven - Quiz Yourself | |
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A Few Words of Advice | |
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Know the Rules Before You Break the Rules | |
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The Reason for Shooting is Editing | |
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Your Shots Should Enhance the Entire Story | |
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Involve the Viewer as Much as Possible | |
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Take Pride in the Quality of your Work and your Set Etiquette | |
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Know Your Equipment | |
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Be Familiar with Your Subject | |
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Understand Lighting - Both Natural and Artificial | |
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Study What Has Already Been Done | |
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In Conclusion | |
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Helpful Resources for the New Filmmaker | |
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Essential Crew Positions for Motion Picture Production | |
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Glossary | |
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Index | |