The 180-Degree Rule (Teaching Film Through Mini-Lessons)

(To have a better idea of what I'm on about here, check out my previous post about teaching film through mini-lessons.)

The 180-Degree Rule in film-making is something that is taken for granted so much now that modern audiences are aware of it in only a subconscious sort of way. Basically, it refers to the fact that when two actors are conversing on the screen, the camera angles and editing used reflect the idea that they are facing one another. Even when the actors don't physically share the screen together, the shots of them should imply that they are still facing one another for their conversation. Therefore, the camera should never film them facing the same way as the person they're speaking to.

The best way to explain it is to see it, so here is a clip from Mark Cousins' The Story of Film that comes in handy as a teaching resource with my classes. It does a wonderful job of demonstrating how this rule came about and why it's used:

I have also included a diagram of the rule (seen at the top of the blog but also included as a resource below) so that students can better visualise the spatial relationship between the cameras and their subjects.

After spending a short amount of time demonstrating it to a class, I then do the best possible thing that can be done when you want to teach film - get the students to employ the technique themselves by filming a short narrative with iPads (or some other device).

I did this in conjunction with the previous mini-lesson I taught on close-ups (see link at top of article) and told the students to incorporate this rule into a part of their video. The result was a short but effective narrative that incorporated film literacy in an authentic fashion, demonstrating student knowledge of film techniques. 

Plus my class had a lot of fun with it, which is something we should never underestimate when it comes to English!

Resource: The 180-Degree Rule (PDF) 

Resource: The 180-Degree Rule (Video)