The 180-degree Rule of Filmmaking
Introduction
Filmmakers construct meaning by arranging of shots into coherent sequences. The fast-paced editing in action scenes, such as fight between the hero and villain, can create tremendous excitement whereas longer takes can provoke dread in a horror film when the protagonist moves towards the danger at the end of the dark corridor.
If you want to draw the audience into the world of your story, even the most straightforward interaction between two characters needs to be edited in way that does not disrupt our enjoyment of the scene.
The 180-degree rule is a simple but effective guideline that helps filmmakers point the camera in right direction towards the characters and maintain spatial consistency in a scene when the shots are spliced together in the editing room.
What is the Rule?
The 180-degree rule states the camera should remain on one side of an imaginary line running along two or more characters so that they always appear on the same side of the frame. Moving the camera across this axis will switch their position on the screen and disorientate the audience.
Camera one is a shot of the three characters in the room. It establishes the spatial relationship between the characters: one character is positioned on the left of the frame while the other two occupy the right side of the frame.
Camera two is angled so only the two characters are in the frame. Importantly, they remain on the right side.
The third camera is angled so the audience will see the single character on the left side of the frame.
By keeping the characters in the same position on the screen, the audience will focus on the dialogue and not become distracted by the editing process.
Notice the negative space in shots two and three. When you watch the sequence, you have to shift your eyes to the left and right during the interaction. Perhaps this movement also makes the audience feel like we are part of the conversation.
Blade Runner and the 180-degree Rule
The opening exchange in Blade Runner (1982) is a good example of this rule in action.
Holden, played by Morgan Paull, is responsible for investigating and “retiring” rogue bio-engineered beings called replicants. He is positioned on the right side of the frame in this shot taken from the start of the duologue.
The detective is administering a Voight-Kampff test to measure the suspect’s emotional responses to questions and determine whether or not he is a replicant. Leon, played by Brion James, occupies the left side of the frame.
The sequence then follows the conventional shot-reverse shot pattern found in narrative cinema and television programmes. First, Ridley Scott combines medium shots of Leon of Holden for the initial phase of the test:
Leon remains on the left side of the frame. Holden is on the right.
The director then tightens the frame on their faces to immerse the audience into the tense exchange:
Leon begins to shake in his seat. The test now feels like an interrogation. We can see the fear and anger in Leon’s eyes in the following closeup, especially when he twitches:
The tension seems to ease when Holden leans back on his chair and the director cuts back to a shot of the room, creating a sense of distance between the two characters. The abrupt blast of gunfire shatters that calm. The image of the coffee cup being sent into the air signifies the bullet hitting the detective without being too gory.
The final medium shot of Leon standing up from the table is quite shocking.
Skip to 1:15 and watch the entire scene to see how Scott sticks to the 180-degree rule.
By placing the camera along the imaginary line of the 180-degree rule, the director maintains a clear spatial relationship between the two characters and focuses on the audience’s attention on the conflict in the scene.
Establishing the Line
Directors use long shots to establish the distance and depth between characters. However, they can create a new axis by moving the camera across the imaginary line of the 180-degree rule in a single shot. In the following example, Scott uses the movement of the characters to create a new line.
The director establishes the geography of the scene in this high angle shot of Leon entering the room:
Leon is positioned on the right of the frame while Holden is on the left.
The camera pans and tilts to focus on Holden’s movement from the left of the frame to the right. A new axis if formed when Leon walks across the screen: the replicant is now on the left and the detective is on the right.
Leon blocking Holden on the screen could foreshadow his murderous actions at the end of the sequence. At the very least it demonstrates how filmmakers can form new axes during a scene.
Objects and the 180-degree Rule
Lev Kuleshov was a Russian filmmaker and theorist who began directing his own productions in the late 1910s. He was immediately aware of the “utter chaos” of combining shots into a sequence and was eager to ensure his transitions were smooth and did not “disturb the viewer”.
Referring to the image of a moving train, he concluded “the direction of motion of the last frame of the preceding shot and first frame of successive shot must coincide” to avoid an “abrupt jump” and “nervous irritation”.
In other words, filmmakers need to control everything in the scene.
After the exchange between Holden and Leon in the smoky gloom of the police station, typical of film noir, Scott cuts to this areal shot of a police car flying through the Los Angeles metropolis:
The cyberpunk vision of the future is mesmerising and frightening. The police car begins in the centre of the frame, approaches the audience, and then flies out the right.
The next shot is taken from street level. The car appears from behind the high-rise and lands on the platform. The left to right movement is consistent and enables the audience to make connections between the shot.
The same pattern can be found in the next beat of the story when Deckhard, played by Harrison Ford, crosses the street to a sushi bar:
In terms of continuity, if the audience sees a character walking towards the right of the frame, the character should be walking in the same direction in the next shot. If they exit the first shot on the left of the frame, they should enter the next shot on the right.
There is a similar convention in theatre. If a character exits the stage at the end of a scene, they should not enter the stage at the start of the next scene because it will disorientate the audience who will not realise there has been a shift in time and even location.
Directors have always tried to deliver an experience that allows the audience to forget they are watching a story. The 180-degree rule remains an important concept that can help them achieve that ambition.
