CFA: 8:50 P.M. - 10/25

Mr. Rasmussen is now answering student's questions. This one regards a comment made by him earlier in the presentation.

The question was: "What is a stage line?"

The Answer: When an object or person is moving in a shot, the line upon which it travels is called the stage line. The filmmaking rule is to never have successive shots from two different sides of the stage line. This is because, if an object is moving from right to left, and you move to the other side of the stage line, the object will now be moving left to right, which is confusing and disjointed. If you want to switch from one side of the stage line to the other, transition with a neutral shot. For example, if you’re filming a car coming down a road, film from one side of the stage line, then get a neutral shot of the car moving straight toward you or straight away from you, and finally, move to the other side of the stage line.