Visual Storytelling: What is Shot Blocking in Film & How Does it Tell Your Story?
Have you ever noticed that some of your most favorite movies are the result of a combination of amazing dialogue between characters? Sophisticated action sequences and cinematic experiences like nothing you’ve ever visualized before? So much goes into producing a film. Specifically when it comes to shot blocking or blocking the scene. But what is shot blocking in film? And what does it mean when a Director is “blocking the scene?”
Blocking, such as when a Director uses shot blocking or blocks a scene, can be used to visually tell the story. Like other forms of visual storytelling techniques which are employed by filmmakers throughout the production process.
Shot blocking represents a unique form of choreography between the camera and the character. To create shots that deliver powerful emotional connections between your character and the audience.
What is Shot Blocking in Film?
The term “blocking” comes from the 19 Century Victorian-era. When play directors would use blocks as part of their miniature stage models. Which would be crafted ahead of a theatrical production. To help them determine the placement of actors and other elements on the stage.
The term shot blocking in today’s film industry refers to the placement of characters and the camera for a particular shot. Each scene in a film is planned out as a series of shots that are captured.
Each shot is made up of unique camera movements in relation to the movements of characters within the frame. The Director will plan these movements in a series of diagrams that are called blocking diagrams.
Each shot is planned out. And the exact location, angle, and movement of the camera is noted similar to a choreography of sorts.
Positioning
The camera positioning and movements are planned. Meanwhile the Director is also looking at the positioning of the characters in the shot. Shot blocking refers to the choreography of the characters and the camera. As the two move in various ways about the scene.
Each shot that is captured will have a specified plan for character movement and camera movement. Which are coordinated as a series of shots which will ultimately make up the scene.
What Shot Blocking Is NOT
Generally speaking, the price that a production company will be willing to pay you for your book to film adaptation rights is about 2-3 percent of the production budget.
So, say the production company has a budget of $10M to produce your book adaptation. That’s considering you have an incredibly popular book like a NY Times Bestseller. Then you’ll be offered 2-3% or $200,000 on the first day of principle photography.
However, most of the time the agreement will also consider a cap. Perhaps the budget is $10M but the cap for rights to the book is set to $225,000.
That means, even if the film budget increases, to say $100M? You’re still only going to get $225,000 for the rights, which is still a rather substantial amount of money.
The Takeaway
So, what is shot blocking in film? It’s the unique coordination and collaboration of camera movement and character movement within a scene.
Which allows the Director to figure out where they want an actor to be. How and where to move. Where to look. And how all of that will coordinate with the movement of the camera for each individual shot that is captured.
