Original subtitles

An important thing to remember

is that not every location needs to be established.

Your story may include scenes that only include minor actions,

and the location itself does not contextualize

the narrative, context or develop your character.

In these cases,

showing an image simply to establish the location would be unnecessary

and might even interrupt the flow of the story.

Let's take a look at a quick example

in this clip.

The action is quite clear.

We're seeing a montage of a man's morning routine.

Unless we plan on surprise in The View an unexpected context,

we don't need to show a wide shot of the room

or the facade of the house to inform the viewer where we are.

But in many cases, the location can truly function

as an additional character in our films.

It is often just as important as the protagonist and should be treated as such.

When thinking about composition, the rule of thirds can be very helpful

as a starting point when framing landscapes or buildings, for example.

This simple rule can make a

big difference in creating more dynamic landscape compositions.

When shooting white, establishing shots to reveal location,

it can be very frustrating, as we don't have

as much control of the lighting in action.

It is essential to do extensive scouting on different days

and at different times so that you can pick the proper time

to portray the location in a way that will enhance your story.

One thing to remember is that in the minds of the audience, a scene

that immediately follows an establishing shot takes place in that location.

Regardless of where it was actually filmed.

So instead of killing yourself, trying

to get everything done in a very difficult or expensive location,

you can get some establishing shots and pick another location that is better

logistically and economically to shoot everything else.