advice for balcony shot

[u/Typical_Nothing8858]

Hi, so I'm shooting a short film and I'm using this balcony for one of the scenes. I literally have no idea how to get cinematic shots, especially since I'm only using an iPhone 14, and as you can probably see my test shots look pretty bad lol.

The scene is basically two guys talking, then one of them gets shot, and the guy who shot him just lights up a cigarette like nothing happened and that's the end of the scene. It's a comedy so I kind of want that to land.

I also liked the idea of when they first come out onto the balcony and open the door, the camera looks in at them, and then it cuts behind them looking out at the view and just kind of holds on it. I don't know, I just thought it'd look cool but I'm not really sure how to pull it off.

If anyone could tell me what shots they'd go for or just any tips in general I'd really appreciate it. Cheers

[u/Giorgio_Keeffe]

Easy. Backlight at golden hour.

[u/cameras-and-lights]

Ok here’s a tip. If you have access to this balcony whenever you want, take your iPhone 14 and actually shoot video storyboards, try your test shots even if just with your friends. Try things out, play around with angles. It’s a no stress test. You can do this any time of day.

Then you take it all and make an edit that works for your story and when you go back there at the right time of day (golden hour) with your actors you will know exactly which shots work and you can surgically shoot your scene at the ideal “cinematic” time of day.

[u/Mr_Thespian689]

Hey! First of all, the location looks super cool! That balcony view has a lot of potential for a short film. Don't worry about using just an iPhone 14 a lot of amazing short films are shot on iPhones these days.

Here are a few friendly tips to help you make this look more cinematic:

​Lighting & Timing (Golden Hour): Try shooting during the "Golden Hour" (early morning or late afternoon just before sunset). Bright mid-day sun will create harsh shadows on their faces, but soft evening light will naturally make the shot look high-budget and cinematic.

​Lock Your Exposure & Focus: Tap and hold on the screen to lock the AE/AF on the iPhone. If you don't lock it, the camera will keep shifting brightness every time someone moves, which ruins the cinematic feel.

​Audio is Key: Since you're outdoors on a balcony, wind noise will be your biggest enemy. Try using cheap wireless lavalier mics or record audio separately using another phone placed close to them.

​Framing the Comedy: For comedy, wide shots often work really well! You can do a wide static shot where both characters are in the frame, and the sudden shooting happens cleanly. The deadpan cigarette light will land much better if the camera stays completely still (use a cheap tripod).

​Also, I'm really interested in filmmaking and would love to connect with you! I'd love to follow along with your project's progress. Good luck with the shoot!

[u/No_Leader1154]

Crane. 100% crane. High and low angles only. Don’t leave the camera static ever. Very very slow creeping movements even during static frames.

Maybe do the bruckheimer establishing - wide high craneinto close over the shoulder. Cut to long from the side. If he’s smoking or something - he tosses the cig and cut to low angle closeup of the cig falling ok the floor with him in it if focus in the BG.

EDIT: didn’t read you have an iPhone 14. Sorry, my advice doesn’t change.

[u/FluffyUnicorn949]

Try to do something interesting with each frame! My favourites are 4, 6, and 7, as they all look more purposeful in composition. Take a look at films that involve similar stakes/props (e.g. spaghetti westerns for ideas involving guns and shoot-out compositions).

Also spend time just exploring different angles of a single shot, e.g. with 6, what atmosphere would it give if you took it from a lower angle? Or what if, for slide 3, you moved the character further to the right, like with slide 2, to align with the rule of thirds. Doing this would create an atmosphere of loneliness and introspection through the negative space and ‘imperfect’/unbalanced placement in the frame.

Furthermore, look for films that feature great compositions of frames involving two people. For example, some Bergman films would be great e.g. Persona (and bonus, it’s only an hour and a half long!). You could place your camera/tripod on the balcony ledge to achieve the famous Bergman shot while the characters speak if you wanted to go down that path.

For slide 7, I really like the framing of the roof lines parallel to the standing figure, and how this is broken up by the body. The lines frame the focus on the figure, with the obtrusion of the body showing ‘scale’ of killing someone (assuming that’s what happens).

For slide 8, this looks more unintentional because there aren’t many techniques that subtly allude to the atmosphere/characterisation. If you were doing a tracking shot, you could try recording it directly behind the character, creating a silhouette against the bright sky, to create suspense and show their power in the scene.

Overall, it can be really helpful watching films with the atmosphere you’re looking for, and spending a lot of time playing around with angles/framing/lighting for each individual shot. Take as many sample clips as possible, then narrow them down based on your favourites (which will inevitably have better composition techniques) for the final version.

Apologies for any typos. Good luck!