180 degree rule

180 degree rule, which is shown above, is a basic rule for every scene. When two people in a scene, A and B, are facing each other (e.g. having a conversation) the axis which connects them divides the filming space in half. If the camera crosses this line into AREA 2 it will disorientate the audience (people A and B will be facing different directions). Imagine how confusing it'd be if there was a shot of someone walking down a street and then in the next shot they're walking in the opposite direction. Here is a famous example of a director, Alfred Hitchcock, deliberately cross the 180 degree line in order to confuse and unease the audience in Psycho. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8VP5jEAP3K4 After 1:40 the camera crosses the l80 degree line many times in order to distress the audience. It gives the impression that the scene is a caotic and the woman has no control over what is happening, so she is sure to be stabbed. It's extremely hard to cross the line without the sequence looking cheap and unprofessional. Other than this film, most films apply all of their scenes to the 180 degree rule so I'll use the same video i did for shot reverse shot. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cvof8mI6pXk As you can see the scene is very easy to follow; the characters always stay on the same side of the shot.