When dealing with the 180-degree rule, you are dealing with consistent spatial relations between subjects, and screen direction.
Let's make this a bit simpler - Imagine a circle drawn around your scene, or a line down the middle. In order to follow the 180-degree rule, you will need to place each camera on one side of the line/half of the circle. Keeping the cameras on one side of the imaginary line ensure proper spatial relations in your scene. Following this rule helps the viewer stay orientated and follow the flow of the scene.
What happens if I break the 180-degree rule? As with anything in video production, you must know the rules in order to break them. Disregarding the 180-degree rule will cause the viewer confusion, or a sense of abnormality. Directly breaking this rule will result in a change of subject orientation (someone who was on the left, will now be on the right). This technique is commonly used in horror/psychological thrillers to cause a sense of disturbance to the viewer.
|