From the course: Creating a Short Film: 05 Directing

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Getting coverage

Getting coverage

- The process of getting enough shots to edit the film well is referred as getting coverage. If we were to shoot an entire scene, say the hut scene which is one camera, or other words just one shot, that our editor might tell us that there isn't enough coverage. That means there's not enough variety in the shots to edit the scene together well. Having enough variety in shots sizes gives the editor a lot more options in the edit because really editing is not just about putting pieces together. Editing gives you one last chance to fine tune your story. With edits you can control the tempo of a scene as we'll see in the course on editing but also it gives you the flexibility to add or remove elements, emphasize or deemphasize elements and so much more. Look at this example from the end of the goodbye scene. What if we were running on low time or only planned on getting coverage in this one shot? - It was always you. - But how do I know where to go? - In forest deep and desert long. - I…

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