Hot moves are those breathtaking moments in a movie when the image on the screen so perfectly matches and amplifies the emotion of the story that they literally take your breath away. The hero suddenly finds himself on the edge of a cliff and you feel it too. The sheriff realizes the shark has returned to the crowded beach. The young future Jedi looks out over the desert from his home at the two suns setting.
These are the powerful moments that separate great filmmaking from mediocre. Most beginning filmmakers don't know how to do them, and probably wouldn't think of trying to create them, but they make all the difference in the power of a film.
A simple pan, tilt and/or dolly is all that is required most of the time to carry the viewers emotions to a higher plane and every filmmaker should take advantage of every oppotunity to learn. One way is to watch for them in great films and figure out how they are done. This will require watching a lot of films and pausing and rewatching over and over to try to figure out how these effective scenes were filmed. An easier way is to learn from a great course from a master film instructor.
Product Reviews
Disclosure: I am an affiliate for some products I recommend and may receive some compensation if you buy them through my links. Regardless, I only recommend products I have personally reviewed and/or own and believe them to be worthy of your consideration.
Hot Moves - The Science Of Awesome is an amazing learning tools that disects some of the most effective camera moves you've ever seen and makes them look simple. Knowing how to create these kinds of camera moves is the difference between films that look average and movies that tell an exciting, emotional story.
Per Holmes, the creator of the Hot Moves DVD, is adding to his already impressive set of filmmaker learning tools. His first product was Hollywood Camera Work which graphically teaches how to block and stage scenes for movies using computer generated 3D visuals. Hot Moves is both a sequel to Hollywood Camera Work in that it extends what is taught in that product, as well as a stand-alone master-class in creating stunning scenes that will make any movie memorable. Watch the trailer to get an idea of the kinds of scenes I'm talking about.
The product consists of one DVD totaling almost two hours of instruction. As you can see in the trailer the images are simple 3D models of actors, sets and cameras illustrating the concepts. Each lesson consistes of overview shots showing camera placement and movement followed by the view through the camera to see the effect. Clear explanations and titles accompany the lessons so everything is easy to understand. Two hours may sound like a long time but a lot is covered in the DVD.
After an introduction there is a quick recap of the important concepts you need to know from the original Hollywood Camera Work set so you won't be lost in terminology. Then you are taken through the concepts of parallax, pivots, keyframes, grid theory, stacked moves, angles on a path, rolls and other techniques to create a sense of awe and disorientation in any viewer. The price is very reasonable, especiallyt since I know of no film school course that teaches so camera moves at any price. The illustrations are all very clear and repeated enough times that you will completely understand them. Beyond simply learning a set of techniques, no matter how extensive, what you will really get from this DVD is a new mind set of looking for more effective ways to film scenes for emotional impact.
My criticisms? Most of the computer generated scenes feel like they are rendered in "draft" quality. That doesn't keep you from learning but I did find it a bit distracting to have leaf shadows flickering on and off as the camera dropped down on a resting subject. Because we are used to such slick productions in the movie theater it would be nice if the quality of the renderings in this set was up to the same standard. You will also soon realize, and it is pointed out in the narration, that many of the effects will require booms and dollies as well as computer generated effects that are far beyond the budgets of most indie filmmakers.
My few criticisms aside Hot Moves is an outstanding learning tool and will open your mind to a world of new possibilities in filmmaking regardless of your budget.
Save up to 20%!
HCW offers an educational discount to film schools and movie studios who buy their DVDs in quantity. I have persuaded HCW to offer the same discount to all the individual students of FreeFilmSchool.Org. The discount does NOT currently apply to orders for individual Hot Moves disks. However if you order Hot Moves along with other products such as Hollywood Camera Work or Visual Effects for Directors you will receive a substantial discount on your total order.
Your discount coupon code is 4FILM. Enter this code on the third checkout page in the School Acc# field if you are buying Hot Moves along with other HCW products and your price will be adjusted on the next page before you enter your credit card. Although you will not get the educational discount using this code when buying Hot Moves alone, you will receive the lowest price available anywhere.
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