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FilmSkool — a free film school

Film Blocking: The SECRET to Visual Storytelling

Alex Zarfati explains film blocking, how actors and camera move within a scene, and why it tells the story before a single line is spoken.

Alex Zarfati · 9 min · Beginner · CIN · Cinematography · 2024

What you take away

Block the actors first, then place the camera.

Watch it

Filed under

Oscar winners for cinematography

Books on cinematography

Cameras and glass

Canon RF 50mm F1.2 L USM — The portrait-adjacent normal
Canon RF 24-70mm F2.8 L IS USM — The RF standard zoom, stabilised
Canon RF 15-35mm F2.8 L IS USM — Canon’s wide zoom for the C70 and R5 C
Helios 44-2 58mm f/2 — The swirly Soviet prime — a look for the price of a meal
Panasonic LUMIX S5 II — Full-frame, open gate, phase detect at last
Panasonic LUMIX S5 IIX — The S5 II with raw out and ProRes internal

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