Hello. I'm doing a project for a math class and I need to know how math is used in filmmaking. Technically, I'm supposed to interview a filmmaker. But any help would be extremely appreciated!
Hope you don't mind me posting this here.
Well, there's a certain amount used in cinematography for determining correct exposures. There's also some fairly complex maths used in special effects shots when they need to track objects in the image and use that to determine how the camera moved during the shot so they can superimpose 3D computer graphics correctly.
Those are two examples that spring to mind.
Thank you very much! Do you mind giving some details if you could. If not, that's fine. Thanks for your help!
Math is also used for camera positioning from shot to shot. Known as the 30 degree rule and the 180 degree rule. The 30 degree rule says that when you shoot the same scene with different shots you should position the camera no less than 30 degrees from the last shot. So let's say you want to shoot a medium shot from the waste up and then shoot a close up from the shoulders up. You would want to make sure that your camera position changes at least 30 degrees from the medium shot to the close up. You could draw a line from the subject to the camera for the medium shot...then draw another line from the subject to the camera for the close up shot. That angle between the two lines should be at least 30 degrees. The 180 degree rule says that all shots of a scene take place on one side of a line of action (hence the 180 degrees of the circle of shooting). It is like watching a football game. The red team is on one end of the field and the blue team is on the opposite end. The cameras always stay on one side of the field...that 180 degrees of a circle drawn around the whole field. The cirlce could be represented by the stadium and thus the cameras stay on one side...the 180 degrees of the 360 degrees in a circle. Keeping the cameras on one side of the field prevents confusion while watching the game. I'm sure I have confused the daylights out of you. If you like I can send you a better explanation with graphics to show you. Send me an email to curtis?filmschoolnow.com and I will make this more clear. The f-stops are another use of math in filmmaking. That is another area of confusion for many people.
Thank you! I'll send you an email.
