AWN has launched the latest free video lesson in its exclusive video learning series taken from Hollywood Camera Work: The Master Course In High-End Blocking And Staging, a comprehensive and ambitious six DVD training series for animation and live action directors. The newest lesson cover focal length, which is primarily thought of as being about picking lenses that give us the right shot size, and fit the characters into the set. However, the primary reason to pick a lens is really to control the Compression of Space. Depending on your focal length, Compression of Space can either make the characters feel close and intimate, or distant and emotionally far apart. This is an essential storytelling tool.
The filmmaking skills required for producing high-end cinematic or 3D sequences are no different from the skills required by an experienced Director. While it's possible to create any conceivable camera move in 3D, great sequences come from good old-fashioned Directing, which is really independent of whether the medium is live-action or animated.
To see the complete and in-depth details for the Hollywood Camera Work DVD series, please click here.
Dan Sarto is Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of Animation World Network.
