how to: Film People Having a Conversation

Although filming two people having a conversation is much more simple than filming someone walking, there are still a definite set of rules and techniques it is important to follow during filming.

In order to set up there scene there needs to be an establishing shot - this is usually the simplest of the shots. If, for example the two people are sitting down at a table then the establishing shot would generally be of the table side on, showing the two subjects sitting at it. For example, as the picture to the right demonstrates, this would become the master shot which the camera returned to every so often. These shots would be filmed on the first camera.

While this is going on the second camera will be capturing what are known as pick up shots. Generally speaking these are the irregular camera angles which are returned to at least twice in one scene. The nature of pick up shots can vary massively, but good examples are birds eye shots (e.g. over the table) and close ups. Both of these give new outlook on the scene and keep the conversation as interesting to watch as it is to listen to.

Often also there are separate cameras on each charachter. Though this is not a rule set in stone it definitely is very common in films. The way to do this is normally to have a camera set up at an angle to the actor/actress in an over the shoulder shot of the opposite charachter.