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The ABCs of Film Directing
NOTES

Lev Kuleshov (Unpublished in the US)

the page numbers are the PDF page numbers

www.filmschoolthrucommentaries.wordpress.com
p.2 - not knowing how to walk, you can't learn to stand on your feet - Kuleshov
-One must thoroughly prepare before shooting a film.
One foot of...
- 35mm film has 52 frames...
-16mm - 131
-8mm - 262
Silent films the speed of film is 16frames per second, in sound it's 24fps
p.5 - The frame and the cell
-every 'cell' of the celluloid which records an image is
e)
- the "rule" or "law" of compositions in films shouldn't
tographs - but ever-changing compositions; like movement
" may still be the same, but the composition has changed
an example)

always an "image" (fram

be "static" like in pho
in one shot. The "image
(photo on this page as

-the movement within a frame always changes a composition

Close-ups, Medium shots and Wide shots
-in films the most common shots are; close-up, medium shot, and wide (pic 10-13)
-connection of a close up and a medium/wide - creates a DEEP shot in terms of pe
rspective (p.7, visual examples)
Why do we need various shots?
-let's say you're shooting a 30 second scene of (example on page 7) and you want
to capture it all, you'll shoot from various angles and shot lengths... like cl
ose up, medium, wide, etc...Each one of these form a scene when you edit them to
gether and get rid of the unnecessary.
p.9 - What is Montage?

"Montage

is the assembly" - Vasilyev

-Every shot in the picture (shot lengths too; CU, MS, etc) must serve a purpose
in the order of which they're shown. The previous shot and the next shot - the o
rder of shots matters, and must be justified. Logically make sense, the decision
s of cutting to and from various shots.
- Rhythm is an important factor, not just the order and the logical sequence of
shots. The rhythm must correlate with the action on screen (the action of the sc
ene itself)
p.11

Diversification of filming and montage

1. Something that's constantly moving, repeating - you can study the pattern and
then organize your set ups according to the pattern and what you want to film.
2. something that's "known" yet unpredictable - these kinds of things are harder
to shoot (people walking in and out of a store, walking on a street, sport...et
c) you know it basically, but can't necessarily predict certain things that may
suddenly change.... this will demand from you to be a bit more elastic in your s
hooting, and quick judgment and plasticity...
3. Organized action
can be two types
a) Repetition of an action currently produced (acted)
(footage of something like
missile testing or an assembly of something at a shop)
b) Newly organized and rehearsed action (generally, a work of an actor)
This type of action demands a director and a DP a great deal of organization in
work and professional experience
My notes: essentially he is talking about HOW you would film organized action
whet
her it s a sequence on set, or how would you capture, for instance footage of an a
ssembly line? It s organized, the action, but how would you film it? Etc that s wher
e the organization comes in, in your work (storyboarding, planning, set ups at the
right locations)
4. Peeped

action. (Candid camera)

This type of action is filmed when the person in the frame is unaware of being f
ilmed. This type of action is never organized and in the 20 s used to be called Kin
o-eye
Dziga Vertov s invention
and later on became cinema verite and usually this i
s used in documentaries.
p.12 - It must be clear to you that you can't shoot nor edit as you "wish" - you
must choose and you must choose wisely during shooting and before - how you are
to edit a scene.
- even if you are shooting a spontaneous incident - let's say out and about some
where - you must think about how to shoot it, in what shot lengths, and how to e
dit them later - so that you can TELL this incident in time and space to the VIE
WER!
- "without an idea, or a deeply thought out theme or topic, you won't have a fil
m, but a sequence of "live photographs - no more" - Kuleshov
Montage of a film
The film is edited in the same way frames/shots are edited in to form a scene.
-Scenes connected in a certain, logical order form episodes. Episodes form parts
. Parts form a film.
- Having captured on film whatever it is you have shot... (Natural phenomenon, l
andscapes, cards, etc etc) we must join all the different halves of the shoot in

a special order, an imperative order...

-This junction IS called editing or montage
-EDITING by nature, illustrates the director's attitude towards the material sho
t (example, this attitude could be the director's vision of a certain emotion, p
hilosophy of life, etc etc)
- EDITING helps the viewer better SEE the film, to GRASP it.
p.13 - Different types of montage
- The editing must be achieved in such a way that it is dictated by an IDEA, a T
HEME, or CONTENT
-EDITING must help the viewer see the film in the BEST way perceive and comprehe
nd the ACTION through a screen.
-The content of the film, or its scenes, episodes, etc, may dictate ONE or ANOTH
ER form of editing; one or another TYPE of editing (fast/slow, etc rhythm) - the
BEST kind that transcends the content to the viewer.
-Two styles of editing: slow and fast.
-Slow: images rarely change...pacing is slower
-Fast: images are shorter and the pacing/rhythm is fast.
Composition of a frame
Also the man is framed in the CENTER because he's the MAIN component of the fram
e (also important to nice Kubrick always framed dead center)
p.14
-Don't just look at the object in the frame, look at its SURROUNDINGS.
- Learn to choose in your frame THAT which you NEED, NOT "Anything goes"
Object in an image
-p.15
-Moving the camera closer or father away we are concentrating the attention in v
arious ways: wide (whole object), medium, close up - all serve different purpose
s.
- Each close up or wide shot of an object in the frame, gives us different conte
nt - different objects and shots.
- Depending on the task - what is necessary to show in the frame - one must "enl
arge" or "reduce" the size of the object, that is - select only what you NEED. A
nd it does not matter if the object that we're shooting is one and the same - th
e content of the frame from "enlargements" and "reductions" (close ups, or wide
shots) will be DIFFERENT.
1. In determining the frame - remember that the camera may always be up close or
further away from the object - that you may create different SHOTS (lengths)
2. By enlarging or reducing the distance of the camera in relation to the object
- you are always changing the CONTENT of the frame.
3. In order to "take" from the given frame THAT which is required by way of a pl
an - it is necessary among all else, to determine the distance of the camera fro
m the object
Should you always center an object within a frame?
p.17
-When you are learning to compose - first learn how to FRAME an object dead cent
er before you can compose it any other way.

-How should one use the space of the frame? By filling it with a more "active" m
ore "expressive" elements or equally balance the frame? Obviously, maximum space
of the frame must be filled with the main, more expressive. Example on page 17
is amazing...
-Best example of this is image 60 - the space is balanced equally and is express
ively filled.
- This image proves that not always one must compose everything DEAD CENTER.
- It s almost always required that the direction of a person s view must leave empty
space.
- imagine if you've got a window and a shaft of light shining on a man - you mus
t compose in such a way that the composition is balanced (example p.18) - the a
ttention of the viewer will be greatly enhanced because of the way the shaft of
light (when rightly composed) intensifies the focal point of the composition - a
man.
-In choosing a frame/composition do the following; 1) enlarge, or reduce the fra
me by moving the camera closer or away from the object you're photographing (or
the lens, etc)
2) By placing the main object in the center of the frame - begin "looking" throu
gh a horizontal and vertical axis the more "correct" distribution of the main ob
ject and its subsidiary objects in the frame.
Laws of Composition
-While composing a frame.... or working with compositions - keep in mind - not a
lways the "laws" or "rules" of compositions are undeniable (meaning you can argu
e the "rules"). A lot of people follow compositional "dogmas" But you can't look
at a composition as something "self-sufficient". The best way to achieve the ri
ght compositional frame is - logic and sequence in the arguments, the subordinat
ion of the composition within the meaning of shooting, and dramatic problems.
-the content of the frame dictates the composition.
- Content and composition are inseparable.
-nice example on page 19. of when compositional "rule" isn't right.
-"A composition always depends upon the CONTENT of the frame, of the TASK - (the
example in pics, 72 and 73 illustrate this difference)
The Whole and the details
"Sometimes part of the main, a detail, speaks better about the "whole", than the
"whole" of the image itself. Remember this.
- composing a frame "always keep it "minimal" (come back to this)
Closed

and

free

compositions

-There are two types of compositions:

The first is when the compositional framing is 'closed' in the frame and outside
of it, you do not feel any
Continuation of the given compositional system (what you've composed within the
frame...)
The second - is when beyond the limits of the frame you feel the continuation of
the composition.
-"Closed" compositions are no different than that of the canvas the painter uses
, and the type of painting he or she draws - example being; a plate, an apple, o
r whatnot - within the canvas the painter composes the painting/image.
This type of composition is all within a FRAME - you don't feel anything outside
of it. There's nothing else beyond the boundaries of the frame - you can't even
imagine it.

"Cut-off" frames of people, such as the ones shot by Eisenstein or Dovzhenko - b

eyond those types of frames, you felt the world. There was real continuity beyon
d the edges of the frames. The expressive position of a man in a frame spoke abo
ut the expressiveness beyond the frame (image 76)
Example of the second type on page. 20
"Compositions - idea, point, concrete task"
Balance and contrast
- The choice of a background and the use of the vertical and horizontal panorama
s help correctly set up the objects in the frame.
- The Objects in the frame must be set up not in - anything goes fashion, but in
corresponding with the TASK - theme of the image,
- In composing a shot - one must strive to use all of the space of the frame eff
ectively.
- Balancing of the frame is vital, and it strives to not only compose each objec
t in the frame (balance it) - but also the contrast of light and dark, the color
, tones..., object and space - everything must be considered in their totality.
And distributed in a way that your task asks of you.
Perspective
p.21
Almost always, the frame must be deep - perspective
- Almost always it's not "practical" (?) to shoot an object head on... (Let s see
if I can observe these in films, example)
-Also don't shoot an object up against a flat wall like in examples (85, 86)
There are no rules without exceptions
p.22
-If you're shooting a normal action in a normal setting - strive to shoot with t
he most perspective.
-Do not shoot up against a flat surface or head on... unless you are shooting so
mething like a portrait a picture on a wall - shooting something like that with
a skewed, perspective will mess up the picture (as in example 90)
-Shots of people, nature, decorations head on can also be accepted but only when
it's dictated by the content of the frame (story?)
-Though, as a rule of thumb if you can, always shoot with a perspective, depth a
nd avoid HEAD ON shots
The frontal plane and perspective
-The more "planes of field" in the frame, the more impressive the perspective of
the frame (depth)
-Multiple planarity; makes the perspective more felt.
-The "frontal plane" makes the depth more impressive, especially when you've got
multiple planes in the frame (examples 93, 95)
When choosing a "frame" - look in that frame for the "first plane of view (front
al plane)" (such as in examples 93, 05) --- and perspective.
In a daytime light, the frontal plane of view that's dark...underlines a perspec
tive! (Depth)
p.23 - Foreshortening

Moving the camera around the vertical axis intensifies a perspective.

- This type of change in vertical axis - changes the character of every frame...
meaning psychologically it affects the viewer in different ways. For instance t
o make someone really big and important you shoot from a lower angle, etc... Etc
...
These type of shots are called "foreshortened"
Foreshortening

A strongly induced perspective

-shooting this type of way, gives the object in the frame a special kind of mean
ing and character.
- these type of shots examples can be found in a variety of works from Michelang
elo, Sistine Chapel, Giovanni Tiepolo in the villa of Valmarana Senior in Hermit
age in Leningrad. Alexander Deyneka on metro station of Mayakovskaya. , Eugene L
anceray
p.24 - Be Careful
-We see our environment usually from our normal eye-level vision. Only in specia
l cases do we see it from a low angle or high angle.
That is why images which are shot in that fashion only appear to us "natural" on
ly when the shooting fashion is justified by the content of the frame or its' po
int of view on the object (a view from the pit, balcony, a plane...)
- If the film has a large amount of shots from different points of view (high an
gle, and low angle) the viewer will begin to get tired from this - because it is
unnatural - since most of what we see is at eye level.
- Just look at a real life example; try eating something with hot sauce or hot p
epper all the time - or how about constantly eating sweets, nonstop - the same c
andy, or the same donuts, all day everyday - you see the point now? You'll begin
to hate it.
-You must not overuse these type of shots (short focus lenses have a tendency to
underline/intensify these angled shots)
p.24 - Choice of a frame during filming
When choosing the frame on a shoot...Do not simply walk around the object, choos
ing the direction of the shot, but at the same time - walk UP and DOWN (change t
he level vertically, raise higher physically)
- In practicality it's done this way: First you walk around the object, looking
at it from your height, MARK the most 'correct' for the TASK AT HAND (keep in mi
nd the task, it's what's going on in the current shot, what's the story?) direct
ion for the shot. Then, look at, from the alleged angles you've chosen - the obj
ect - from low or high angles and finalize your choice.
2. Do not forget to get closer or/and farther away from the point of view you've
found that's best for the shot. DEFINE the "plane of view" (perspective), SIZE
of the object in the frame (large or small - wide), DISTANCE of the camera from
the shot.
3. Check the frame - find the most expressive point of view by using the vertica
l and horizontal axis of the camera...
Also using a "Dutch" angle isn't always used, but sometimes it can add a dynamic
to a given shot. (Waving of a flag)
p.25 - Practice using a painting

This is a vital section - it FORCES you to practice composing shots from works o
f art
p.27

Clarity

-Simplicity, brevity, clarity - the main condition for the construction of an im

age
-If you don't think about how to compose a shot without using these three concep
ts - you can expect a lot of unexpectedness (meaning, let's say there's a clock
behind someone, if you rashly compose it - you may have a composition that appea
rs with the clock morphing into the head of someone - you must compose with a lo
t of these things in mind, and EXPECT a composition to be based on the above thr
ee concepts
p.28
Examples of good compositions shown here.
1) In choosing your frame...try to:
a) Not to include in the field of view - unnecessary, leftover material
b) Choose the necessary objects - and doing so in a way where the objects in the
frame don't morph into each other or get in the way of each other.
2) When the frame is chosen...
a) Get rid from it objects which found themselves to be unnecessary or unneeded.
b) Switch around objects in such a way so they don't obscure each other.
Exceptions in compositions

p.28

-in some cases objects obscuring the field of view or each other aren t wrong... (
Image 119, is a good example)
-You can still understand what's going on...and that is due to...
-The parts - "details" - of objects in a given image speak a great deal about a
WHOLE no worse than if the objects were shown as a WHOLE
-That is why when you are "clearing" the frame from "extraneous" objects - KEEP
IN MIND the EXPRESSIVENESS of certain details.
-A DP can light an object in such a way that when the OBJECTS intersect/morph/ob
scure each other - will not result in MORPHING (meaning, you'll be able to see '
depth' and discern objects within a frame)
-examples: image 120 (light MORPHS) image 121 (light SEPARATES objects)
-However - keep in mind that when you are clearing the frame (getting rid of obj
ects in the frame for example) you run the risk of "dry out" the frame! - By mak
ing it unrealistically succinct - devoid of necessary details
-While composing a shot, try to keep a balance (how much is enough, not enough e
tc) in showing objects, as well as in getting rid of them. - You have to think o
n a regular basis "what is the story of the shot" and that will usually be able
to tell you what to do with it and the objects within it.
STUDY Compositions
p.30
This is a good page, in depth - teaches you to learn how to build compositions a
nd the LIFE in them.
-By looking at an image, you are able to determine the compositional schemes (ve
rtical, horizontal, triangle, diagonal, etc)
-Also possible to determine these schemes in tonal images (In films, we shoot th
e objects as they are lit - and in our images there's always a light and shadow
- they are tonal - in them, there are different tonal boundaries.
-In any frame, any photograph, any painting - you may determine the "scheme of c
ompositional construction" - linear, light, tonal or an aggregate of each.

-The studying of the history of art/painting, photography, and film is undeniabl

y linked with the studying of the art of composition. - The mise-en-scene and it
s "schemes" (compositional schemes; linear, diagonal, etc)
- NOT ALWAYS can you determine a compositional scheme. There can be extremely co
mplex compositions)
-In order for the viewer to understand you clearly, you must "speak with them" NOT inarticulately, but in a clearly and distinctly
-Competent speech is unfathomable without knowing the alphabet, grammar, and syn
tax
-A film has its own alphabet, grammar and syntax... that's why it's important to
for a director and a cinematographer to STUDY composition.
-The right construction of a composition, you'll help your actors bring across t
o the viewer their "emotions"
-By creating the surroundings around the scene you'll shoot - you're alleviating
the actor's job as well as activating the audience's IMAGINATION and attention
- in connecting shots/frame, one must consider the construction of a composition
- in order to alleviate the strain the audience may have going from ONE shot to
ANOTHER.
- accuracy of a composition is vital for the audience in grasping what's going o
n screen - a good one will do it quicker than a bad composition - because during
a bad one, audience may think what is going on??? and you don't want that, unle
ss you're intentionally going for abstract compositions.
Camera captures the movement
p.32
- the frame/image in cinema is NOT static, but DYNAMIC - within the frame, for t
he most part, there's movement, and because of it - the COMPOSITION of a frame a
lways mutates, changes...
p.33
The cinematic image not only exists in SPACE, but also in TIME.
- discontinuous or continuous movement within a frame is discontinuous or contin
uous MUTATION of a composition of a frame (makes sense, it s like what I wondered
when I watched the Forty-First...and how the camera moved, and I wondered why...
but it made total sense why it moved, and does now - the composition simply chan
ges when it needs to serve the story.
-This is way studying paintings is only the FIRST step in learning of a composit
ion in cinematography/film
Movement in a frame
-the construction of a film image, must be produced by constantly keeping in min
d the changing in view of a composition due to movement WITHIN a frame
-You can't compose a film frame simply due to rules and laws of a photographic i
mage or a painting composition. A composition of a film - is a composition in mo
vement
-frames built out of painter s like compositions are dangerous because in a frame
like that, the movement may overturn all of your calculations (I think he means
that you should compose with MOVEMENT in mind: read this section more to better
grasp it)
- When you're shooting, practicing - try to understand the essence of a cinemato

graphic composition
-The basis of a composition is - the truthful transfer of actuality to the scree
n. We compose a shot not because it's an interesting composition, but because th
is or THAT composition is a much better representation of the LIFE of these imag
es.
- In compositing an image, you must keep in mind OTHER images that will come bef
ore or after, in editing.
p.34 - Consider the composition of a frame during filming
- When you are composing, you must always keep in mind the fact how you'll also
be connecting these images with others; will you have the same scenery, mellow t
ransitions... or will you have drastic changes? Different compositions come afte
r or before... (Think on this more, but he show an example with faces)
-Changing compositions calmly, or drastically all has to do with what you're goi
ng for - what emotion; do you want the audience to feel it? Or do you want to be
subliminal...
-Keep in mind the LIGHT within an image, TONE, color - when you're shooting. One
must not mix, in editing, UNREASONABLY connect dark shots with bright, extremel
y lit with low key lit shots, or diffused light (all over the frame) - blue with
red, yellow with purple...etc
-Shots with different light, color and tone, will be drastic - and the audience
will take it as an UNDERLINE of something or an unrealistic portrayal of a scene
.
-If you must underline something, use a close-up and or compositions, light, col
there mus
or and tonal "mismatches" just use them reasonably and not anything goes
t be thought put into your choices
-Feeling of balance is one of the MAIN qualities of an artist.
-To better understand tone, light, color of compositions study the basic example
of the two images page (155a, and 156b) the image in B, circle seems bigger, ye
t the shape is the same as in A.
-When we look at photos or images we tend to say "What a bright, happy tone", "V
ery dark, tones", "Very sublime tones" "Very appealing transitions of tones thro
ughout the image"
-The tone of an image gives it an appropriate "color", mood; tonality cannot be
disconnected from the content
A correctly found tonality of an image creates on screen a feeling of light, lat
itude/width, happiness, cleanliness, clearness, or gloom, oppression, severity/c
aution; or definition...
-Director and a DP must attentively watch out for the tonal ratio in the image.
(Correlation/relation)
-It's important to remember, that to film - in one frame - a dark and a bright t
one and make retain a certain harmony can be incredibly hard.
-This is why it's important to control color on set.
Light
p.37 (nice diagram here with explanations)
-without a sufficient amount of light, it's technically impossible to photograph
an image (more and more I begin to grasp how much light plays an importance, in
Crash commentary Cronenberg spoke a lot about light)
-Without the correct distribution of light on the objects to be filmed - you can
not obtain an expressively artistic image.
-Different kind of light makes us see the surrounding reality in different ways.

Examples; "a gloomy, grey day" "the Sun lights everything!" "Darkness..." "Fount
ain of light" "Moon light" "light flares" "Reflection"
Reflex and penumbra (partial shadow)
-Objects reflect light off them, and actually light other objects with this ligh
t - "Reflective light"
-Shadows aren't always solid and full - if we attentively study shadows we'll se
e that they have their own "grades of tonality" - from completely solid shadows,
to light shadows; Reflective and half-shadows.
-Two different women dressed in different dresses. Dark and bright - even two di
fferent exposures will be required for these.
p.38 - Scattered light
-This type of light almost never results in shadows. Example: Overcast day
-If you need to use this light, don't be afraid of it and USE it if it fits the
story
-Not always correct to shoot everything in bright sunlight, also there are some
faces that need a much softer light
Sharp light
A direct(ed) sharp/hard light must be implemented in an image depending on what
the story and the content is
- Sunlight or directed light like that may create a contrast of tones you don't
want.
Direction of light
-In the outlining of a form, texture of objects - the direction of light plays a
n EXCEPTIONAL role
-Backlight 'outlines' contour of an object and is called contre
(Examples of direction of light - images 167-171)
Combined light
-Front light = gives a flat image, form of an object does not "bulge" clearly.
-Side light = halves the object; light and shadow, the object becomes distinct a
nd has texture. But the shadow side isn't well seen.
Backlight = creates a silhouette, a contour of an image...gives it a "characteri
zation" edge...
Low light and Top light must be justified when used = meaning, source of light m
ust be shown. For instance low angle light is used when a person is sitting by a
fire, etc...
- Light reveals a form and texture
- In order to create an artistic image - one must use creative lighting (combine
d)
(Examples on image 172, 173) - 173 is using "combined" - creative lighting. Most
likely side light and a bit of front light.
-Incorrectly directed light can change or distort a form and texture of objects
to be photographed (faces, figures, objects)
p.38 - Light and shadow as elements of compositions
When composing a shot, you must consider not only the placement of objects withi
n a frame BUT their NATURE (Character) - light, shadows, tonality
Color

-in working with color, remember that a REAL Colored film - is not colored pictu
res, but a consciously utilized relationship/proportion/correlation of COLORS in
a frame and in editing.
An orange on a green grass under a blue sky - are the relations of different col
ors of orange, green and blue, and not of a "painted" orange, grass and the sky.
Using color in a film, as well as how the colors interrelate with each other - i
s the inclusion of a vision of color in the dramatic fabric of a film. Color, as
music, may and MUST, affect the viewer as a powerful dramatic element.
-A great example of a dramatic utilization of color in film is Eisenstein's Ivan
the Terrible - Part 2