Film Shot Types

As a class, we have produced a short film detailing all of the various different shot types that can be used within a movie or short film.
While creating this short film, I picked up on numerous invaluable techniques in terms of camera control, directing and the process that goes into both filming a scene and editing the film. In terms of directing, there are several steps that must be taken when filming a scene. The first is from the person operating the camera. When shooting a scene, the cameraperson first says 'rolling' to indicate to the actors and director that the camera is filming. Then, the director, after waiting for a short period of time, says 'action'. This lets the actors on-stage know that the action within the scene can commence. Once the action ends, the director must wait one or two seconds before saying 'cut'. The cameraperson can end filming on the camera. These commands can then be indicative to the editor of which content needs to be kept, cut out, replaced etc. This is why these commands mustn't be too early. The editor can always cut away any extra footage created from saying 'cut' too late, however if said too early, they cannot create footage that they do not have.
I also learned about the importance of shooting multiple takes. Even if more than one of the takes work, this enables the editor/director to then choose the ones which they prefer the most, even if the differences between the takes are minimal or not noticeable at all.