Guarding What Is Worth Keeping
Guarding is an abstract word until it turns into a shot list: which scenes to shoot, how long each one holds, how much of the frame the subject takes, and where subtitles are allowed to sit. The point of a written spec is that footage shot by different people, in different cities, in different seasons, still cuts together without a meeting in between. One line of feeling, then nothing but numbers that can be checked on location and enforced at the edit. The method is simple: specify the numbers first, then shoot to them.
01A Library of Twelve Shots, Starting With Hands
The list runs 8 to 12 shots. Fewer than 8 and there is no rhythm to cut against; more than 12 will not fit a 45 to 75 second film. Group them by action — hands, object detail, environment, handover — with 2 to 3 shots in each group. Nothing in the library carries plot. Every shot only has to be interchangeable with another in its own group.
Open on hands, always. A hand working a latch, a palm under a base, fingers setting something down: the viewer knows whose story this is without seeing a face. Frame hands from elbow to fingertips with the subject filling 40 to 55% of the frame, camera 30 to 45 degrees above the table. Cap environment shots at 2 so the film does not turn into scenery.
02Shot Length: 1.5 to 3 Seconds and No Further
Under 1.5 s the action never resolves and the cut reads as flicker. Past 3 s the rhythm sags and attention leaves before anything has landed on screen. The window matches the time one gesture needs to be read completely: a lift, a set-down, a lid closing, each takes about 2 s to finish, and the rest is waiting that will be trimmed anyway.
Keep length under control by assigning one verb per shot. Open, place, latch, lift, pass, close — six verbs, six shots, ordered by verb when you cut, and the durations fall inside the window without argument. Put two actions in one shot and a 2 s trim slices one of them in half, which means a reshoot on someone else's schedule.
03Thirty Percent Negative Space, Enforced
Hold 30% empty frame, accepting 25 to 35%. The subject occupies 65 to 75% and the rest is air. This is not a taste preference; it is the margin that subtitles, transitions and a vertical crop all draw on. Going from landscape to vertical removes roughly 40% of the width, so a centred subject survives the crop and a full-bleed one hits the edge.
Put a safe frame on the monitor and keep the subject's edge inside it. Close-ups break this rule first, because detail tempts you to fill the frame, and then the vertical crop takes the wrist out of shot. Pull the camera back 30 cm and recover the framing with a longer lens; the air returns and no detail is lost.
04Vertical Delivery: 1080×1920, Subtitles Above 12 Percent
Shoot vertical at 1080×1920, same frame rate as the landscape cut, encoded at 12 to 20 Mbps. Below 12 Mbps, shadows and large flat colour areas block up, and wood grain or fabric texture goes first. Above 20 Mbps the file grows noticeably with no visible gain on a phone screen. Capture 4:2:2 at 10-bit so the grade and any reframe keep some headroom. That choice is made on set, never in post.
Keep subtitles above the bottom 12%, clear of platform progress bars and buttons, and 10% clear at the top for the status bar. Cap lines at 14 characters, two lines maximum, type sized at 4 to 5% of frame height. Fix those numbers once and the same film clears overlays on three platforms without a second version, and check it on three devices before delivery.
05One Shoot, Three Deliverables
One batch of footage yields three cuts: a 45 to 75 s main film, a 30 s social version and a 15 s vertical. Trim in that order. Take the 6 to 8 most complete actions from the main film for the 30 s cut, then keep 4 shots of 2 s each for the 15 s. Grade and title styles stay identical; only count and order change.
To make that possible, shoot every action twice: one full take and one covering just the key 2 s. Name files scene-action-version so an editor can select without screening everything. The delivery list has four fixed items — main film, social cut, vertical cut, 3 cover frames — and a missing item sends the job straight back at acceptance.
| Shots in the library | 8–12 |
|---|---|
| Shot duration | 1.5–3 s |
| Finished runtime | 45–75 s |
| Negative space | 25–35%, 30% nominal |
| Vertical frame | 1080×1920 |
| Delivery bitrate | 12–20 Mbps |
| Subtitle safe area | bottom 12% |
| Outputs per shoot | 3 cuts (75/30/15 s) |
FAQ
How do you keep an abstract theme from going soft?
Turn it into a list of actions. Do not film guarding; film a hand closing a latch, a lid pressed down, an object returned to its place. One verb per shot. Feeling accumulates from action, and a fixed list keeps any crew on target.
Why hold shots between 1.5 and 3 seconds?
Below 1.5 s the action never reads and the cut flickers. Past 3 s the rhythm sags. A lift or a lid close takes about 2 s to land. What runs longer is usually waiting, and cutting it costs information but saves patience.
Can one shoot really produce three versions?
Yes, if every action is captured twice: one full take, one covering the key 2 s. The main film uses the full takes, the 30 s cut takes 6 to 8 complete actions, the 15 s keeps 4 shots of 2 s each. Grade and titles stay shared.
Can a vertical cut be cropped from landscape?
It can, but shoot 1080×1920 or at least compose in 4:5 with margin. A straight vertical crop removes about 40% of the width, and a full-bleed subject hits the edge. The safer route is a second pass at the same position, framed for vertical, still at 30% air.