ABSTRACT
Okay, we've thought out our master shot and talked a little about coverage. Let's suppose for the moment that we've done the master and now we're on to our other shots. Let's start out with faces. All actors will tell you that it's vital to see their eyes. Yes, the eyes are the windows of the soul, blah, blah, blah— but they have a point. (Let's remember that a large proportion of directors have been or are actors, so we'll face this demand throughout our careers.) The camera might not be able to see souls, but it can read minds; if an actor is fully in his part and understands the inner life of his character, the camera will magically pick this up. To do this magic you want to see the actor's face, and especially the eyes, arguably the most expressive part of the face. Now some actors will argue that the set of their mouth or the tilt of their head or the way they hold their shoulders is just as important. But no one ever complains that they can't see an actor's mouth, and you'll get holy hell if you can't see the actor's eyes.
