Roger Ebert once said movies are like a machine that generates empathy and perhaps the most important part of that machine is the closeup today we're going to explore why they're used when to use them how to shoot them and how to break the rules that surround them all right let's get to it this is the ultimate guide to closeups but before we get started subscribe and click the bell for More film making videos ready all right Mr de I'm ready for my closeup to begin what is a closeup a closeup is a shot that frames a character from roughly their shoulders to the top of their head its purpose is to focus the audience's attention onto the actor's face for dramatic or important moments no matter the context close-ups emphasize emotion sadness romance Terror Elation according to John Carpenter emotionally between characters Hitchcock would just go for close-ups because that's where the emotion comes comes in the eyes and the expressions of the actors what in Hell's name are you doing here hello Michael listen to me I you stay away from me don't talk to me when this plane lands you take the next one out anywhere go home they can also capture a detail that a wider shot cannot such as the flicker of an eyelid at moments when drama is at an emotional High you mean an institution a mad house the close-up is often the go-to shot choice but as we'll see a close-up is just the starting point elements like lighting color and angle can customize the shot to best fit your scene let's run through these various considerations starting with aspect ratio the size and shape of the frame matters in visual storytelling taller frames might be better to capture close-ups but there are plenty of opportunities in every frame size a narrow aspect ratio 4 to3 or IMAX will remove the background and focus all attention on the face a film like the lighthouse uses a 1.19 to1 nearly Square image which allows their psychological journey to play out in focused and full close-ups for Winslow we're right Thomas you're a dog a filthy dog a dog wider aspect ratios like 1.85 and 2.39 will preserve the background this allows you to include a context around your subject object in these shots the face itself is only part of the story this emotional farewell is counterbalanced with palm trees and sunshine this additional horizontal real estate is also useful when a single close-up isn't enough to capture a moment instead having multiple close-ups in the frame might be the best way to go this could be romantic or confrontational I'm upset ouder I'm upset you are a worth another use of The Wider frame according to James Mangold is particularly two shots where you might have an actor in a close-up on the left or right of screen and another element on the other side asymmetrical kind of compositions that are really beautiful a perfect illustration of this idea is this shot from Steven Spielberg's munic using a 2.35 aspect ratio allows not only for a beautiful composition but also to tell two stories at the same time on the left anner is framed in closeup reacting to a bombing gone wrong and on the right his associates argue as to the cause anner Lou provided the explosives then anner is surrounded by them three close-ups in one as the pressure and paranoia overwhelms him yes but but without him would be nowhere on this the plastic with the size of the frame decided let's turn our attention to how camera lenses play a role in shooting close-ups lens Choice should never be an arbitrary decision especially when it comes to close-ups the two main deciding factors here would be focal length and depth of field choosing the focal length is important because they affect how the face looks longer focal lengths 50 mm and above tend to flatten the face whereas wider focal lengths 28 mm and below tend to stretch the face and distort it thus making it a common way to show that a character is under the influence in Luper Joe has just taken a psychotropic watch this cut as it kicks in on the left a longer lens keeps his face and the wall flat on the right the wall stretches back and his face widens and distorts in addition this close proximity to the the actor creates a sense of physical intimacy for the audience do you want the audience to feel like they're in the same space or do you want them to watch the character from a distance another question to be answered with focal length is how much of the background do you want visible around your subject longer focal lengths will show less of the background and make it seem closer this works when you want to make your subject seem trapped or claustrophobic wider focal lengths will show more of the background and make it seem further away for example if you want their surroundings to overwhelm the subject oh my God another way to control the context around your subject is with depth of field using the adjustable aperture can create either shallow or deep depth of field in short deep depth of field renders everything in focus for close-ups this allows the subject to become part of their surroundings shallow depth of field on the other hand separates them so that our focus is drawn to the face alone revealing their thoughts and emotions for a deeper dive on focal length and depth the field our breakdown is linked in the description most of the time close-ups are shot at eye level and level with the ground but how does camera angle and staging change the meaning of a closeup it's important to remember that close-ups can be taken from any angle and that the chosen perspective adds meaning to the shot low angles can give the subject power you will never be enough and high angles can take the power away Dutch angles can add style and energy or a bit of psychosis overhead angles can be Transcendent other than the the angle there are also variations of staging to consider close-up shots in profile give us more of an objective perspective we're not as involved in the character's experience but we're still allowed to observe it shooting from the backseat of a car creates a similarly [Music] voyerism their most vulnerable moments for a complete overview of camera angles check out our previous video let's move on to another crucial element to shooting a closeup lighting meaningful lighting is important for any shot and close-ups are no exception the standard portrait lighting setups each bring a different mood and character to the face colored lighting is a great way to enhance the emotional qualities of the character the scene or both bouquet and lens flares give the shot texture underlighting is less natural and creates unsettling dramatic Shadows backlighting can add a halo around the subject top lighting can also obscure the eyes when you want to keep the character and their intentions of Mystery perhaps the best example of this technique can be found in The Godfather films Michael Fredo's in the house with Mama he asked for you and Tom said you wouldn't see him that's right arguably the eyes are the most important feature of the face they are the windows to the soul after all one way of lighting the eyes in the closeup is to block the light every where else you can also add an eyelight to further illuminate the eyes and those tiny glints of light in the eyes called catch lights can give them a bit of spark Sometimes the best way to capture close-ups is in complete darkness which begs the question how much of the face do we need to see all of these techniques can be used to limit or restrict our access to the subject's face and by extension our access to their thoughts and feelings sometimes filmmakers won't show a face at all Tarantino was inspired to break this rule by rebellious filmmakers like Jean Luke Godard Goddard is the one who taught me the fun and the freedom and the joy of of breaking rules you know setting up a close-up on the back of somebody's head you know and and just fing around with the entire medium this can be used to show that a character is emotionally closed off or to create Intrigue around them other times half an actor's face can be shown either through framing to enhance their performance or with costuming to focus our attention on a part of the face a common technique is keeping half of the face in Shadow to hint at some emotional or moral Duality give yourself to the dark side it is the only way you can save your friends and if these ideas are combined together into a single scene they can efficiently tell a complete story as demonstrated by this scene from Toy Story 4 in which Woody tries to restore Gabby Gabby's hope simply through how much of her face is shown it begins with showing the back of her head in a full shot when she's emotionally closed off you hear that then half a face when she begins to open up there are plenty of kids out there and one of them is named Bonnie and her entire face when she's fully convinced come on Gabby let's get you to Bonnie even with the sound off you can understand this scene by how much of Gabby's face we see now it's important to understand that close-ups don't exist in a vacuum which brings us to our next section editing close-ups when should you use a close-up in the edit movies like The Passion of Joan of Arc and Son of Saul are comprised mostly of close-ups while movies such as playtime have little to none but too many close-ups and you run the risk of diluting their power and without them it becomes difficult to engage the audience emotionally but a well timed that executed closeup can be the Lynch pin of the entire scene the general rule of thumb is to start the scene in wider shots and then slowly build towards the closeup Kirk Baxter anded a mind Hunter explains this technique with this scene we start wide and move closer and hold and sits down said Baxter then we go wide again when keer is standing I could kill you now pretty easily do some interesting things before anyone showed up now they're slowly going to get closer together until he's finally going to be wrapped like an Anaconda by this guy and then he makes a break for it and you're wide again that's the stuff editorially that you're looking for slowly tightening the Noose in the frame this rule of thumb is a great starting place because it follows the common dramatic structure of most scenes setup rising action climax resolution which can be translated into shots wide shots as we set up the action Lieutenant Bradshaw me medum shots when the action Rises yes sir what's not do it like this you going to wash me out that'll be up to you not me close-ups for the climax am I dismissed and another wide shot for the resolution however sometimes the rule of thumb isn't always the best way to present a scene in the edit for example wake up Henry in this scene from Good Fellas we get the opposite approach Martin scori Begins the scene in close-ups since the tension of the scene is already at a high point Karen and only when the tension decreases he cuts to the wide shot I love you you know I love you st Ken or in this scene from The Departed as Costello questions Billy's honesty we stay locked into close closeups smell a rat this allows us to focus on both men's faces as Costello searches for answers and Billy maintains his cover Jesus Christ you got a girlfriend no no no why why what does that matter depends the key point to remember is that the close-ups should be determined by how much they best serve the scene [Music] the closeup is a powerful tool in your film making toolbox it is the not so secret weapon that captures some of Cinema's most iconic moments here 's Johnny the best way to plan the perfect closeup is with a storyboard and studi binder software is designed to make that happen follow the link in the description to get started so until next time don't be afraid to get close closer please closer [Music]