Screen Direction (page 2)

Final Direction

To maintain screen direction, talent movement and camera blocking; moving at an angle toward or away from the camera is much better than moving from side to side in front of the camera. Television is a two-dimensional medium, and it is always your job as a director to help create the feeling of a three-dimensional space by moving onto and out of the screen.

Your stories will flow much better and make significantly more sense to your audience when you control and maintain screen direction.

Robert G. Nulph, Ph.D., is an independent video/film producer/director and teaches video production courses at the college level.

Side Bar: Go west, young man!

This mantra was often repeated in the days of the expansion west towards California. When you set up your shots and the action is supposed to go in a very specific direction, such as the movement west, make sure you keep in mind the screen direction of your subjects. If you want them to move towards the west, you have to tape them so that they are moving from the right to left side of the screen. All the maps in the world have the west on the left side. Think of the screen as a map. If the subject says they have to go west, they move to the left; east, they move to the right side of the screen. If they are watching a sunset, they should be looking off to screen left; sunrise, screen right.