Make The Audience Work For It
As I’ve grown as an operator (have I?), I have begun to recognize that what you show in the frame is often less important than what you don't show. Sure, you need to visually tell the story, but at the same time, as you are creating shots, you have to remember that this is not only a visual medium, but an audio medium as well, and most importantly...
YOU DON'T NEED TO SHOW EVERYTHING!
The key to all of this, as it is with every film you will ever work on is this question: How do you best tell the story? It has become increasingly apparent to me that the best way to do that is to make the viewer work a little for the information (perhaps even more so now that things are watched on tiny phones).
Consider this. Someone is hiding and a door is opened in the background. You could show a close up of the person hiding, a closeup of the handle, a close up of the door opening, a closeup of the food coming in the door, etc., etc., etc. Or, you could show the person hiding, maybe even in a wider shot so that we recognize how alone they are, and never show the door but play the whole action offscreen with sound and maybe a slight lighting effect. This is a much more efficient and interesting way to tell that story, and the viewer will be engaged trying to figure out what is going on.
Now, of course a tremendous amount of this isn’t up to you, it’s up to the director, but you will look like a hero if you suggest these ideas, as they will save time (fewer shots and setups including a possible turnaround) and it will show the director that you think like a filmmaker and that you aren’t just a pan and tilt monkey. But remember, if the director says that you should shoot everything, just in case they want to use it, it’s going to be in the movie. Commitment is the hardest thing for most filmmakers to make and it’s the single best way to making sure a filmmaker is telling the story their way - i.e. you may not win this battle very often. But that said, constantly keep trying and put your two cents in when you can.
The same concept goes for framing. Not every scene needs a closeup. In fact, many scenes are better in the wide shot. A huge shot with a small person in the bottom left corner of the frame, with some great sound design, will speak wonders and, most importantly, will allow the viewer to create some of the emotion in the scene in whatever way they interpret it.
Film was meant to be a multiplayer game. The writers, the filmmakers, the actors and the technicians are all striving to tell a story. But it doesn’t end there. After the filmmakers are done with the project, the story is handed over to the viewer to interpret it as they see fit. Allowing them to do so–by not showing everything, by not giving them every single piece of the puzzle–involves them in the story. But showing them the story in a way that they never have to think for themselves, deprives them of part of the joy of watching a movie, becoming engaged, and, in the end, creates an act of storytelling that is not as strong or effective as it could be.
Make the audience work for it, leave them something for the imagination, and your story will triumph. You will look like a hero, and your project will be that much better in the long run.
