How to film a sequence

Get the course now at bit.ly/mzedbloom
Knowing how to shoot a sequence, what shots to get, how many shots to get etc, is one of the most important things in filmmaking.
The just released episode 4 of my new training course for MZed "Filmmaking for Photographers" is devoted to sequences. This 14 segment of the one hour episode covers in depth one of the types of sequences that we need to understand so we can film them properly and not end up stuck when editing. Throughout the episode increasingly more detailed sequences are dealt with and rules that need to be understood are explained.
There are six episodes in total which in total run to about 7 hours. The episodes are being released fortnightly, with the last two being released this month. So as of the date of this upload the first four are available to stream or download once your purchase them. You can buy them individually but it is was cheaper to buy the entire course. Please note the total time of the course on the MZed page reflects the running time of the releasee 4 epsiodes only. Not the whole course.
Course Description:
Following on from his acclaimed Cinematic Masterclass, this course is aimed at established photographers but includes new techniques, practice, and workflows that make it equally relevant to filmmakers alike.
Episode 1: Setup and Audio
In this first episode, Philip shows you what you will need to turn your stills camera into a filmmaking machine and get the most out of it. Then we look at the first major difference between stills and film, the addition of sound. Philip gives us an in-depth look at the various types of microphones and recorders and demystifies polar patterns to help you get the best sound possible in any type of location. We finish by looking at the art of foley.
Episode 2: Working with light
In this episode, Philip explores light and the different approaches you require for filmmaking. We’ll look at filming exteriors, how we’re affected by factors like the time of day or year, the weather, the location, and how the movement of that great key light in the sky, the sun, affects our choices. Then we continue to look at interiors and explore how to craft the scene and mood of an environment to becomes a character of its own in your film. We'll look at common lighting styles both photographic and cinematic, how to practice with them and see how they’re used to communicate beyond just what we see. Finally, Philip guides us through lighting people and the particular challenge when we introduce movement.
Episode 3: Movement
The biggest difference between photography and film is movement. It’s not just how we move but why. In this lesson, Philip explains the reasoning behind movement in filmmaking. We will look at the different styles of movement, from basic handheld to gimbals, as well as movement within the frame. We'll then look at how lens choice mixed with angle and composition affects what we see on camera and our sense of movement. We will also look at different framing choices and how the 180-degree rule informs the entering and leaving of the frame. Finally, we will follow Philip as he plans to block out a large one-shot moving sequence.
Episode 4: Sequences
In photography, everything depends on that single image, however, in film no single image stands on its own. In filmmaking, everything we see on screen is a sequence, and understanding how we construct them is essential to filmmaking. In this episode, Philip explores how to plan out sequential stories. We discuss how the unique art and psychology of filmmaking can be seen, mastered and broken including the all-important 180-degree rule. Learn how editing starts before we even begin filming and follow Philip to see his process as he creates various sequences.
Episode 5: Story and Narrative
It’s stories that make us watch films, without them our attention span is very limited. As a species, we communicate through stories and have passed down our history and lessons for millennia. In this modern age where we have so much content around us, the story is even more important, as a good story will make your work stand out in a sea of noise. In the past four episodes, we have looked at all the key elements that differentiate photography from filmmaking. In this episode, Philip puts it all into practice in real-world situations, showing how we go about making entire films both personal and commercial.
Episode 6: Post-Production
One of the biggest differences between photography and video is the amount of time you spend in post-production.Philip takes us through key post steps such as preparing and organising your footage, pacing, and timing in editing and working with audio, music, and colour, as well as general tips and tricks to get the best possible results.

[@joshzaring]

My God man, the mood from the colors in the “coffee walk” made me want to see an entire film like this. Great work.

[@polaroidsky]

The 2010 film, The Trip, comes to mind.

[@MobileFilmmaking]

Watching the jump cuts you did for CNN was amazing. I'm a beginner but saw that composition was everything. I love the color grading on that as well.

[@markzou9125]

Got this as my early Christmas present! Now time to learn

[@MAKEARTNOWCHANNEL]

THANKS FOR SNEAKING ME IN THERE YO! HERE'S LOOKING AT 2020!

[@cannonjabari310]

Sorry to be so off topic but does anyone know of a way to get back into an Instagram account..? I somehow lost my password. I appreciate any tricks you can offer me.

[@avi8419]

@@cannonjabari310 just ask them to send you a password reset email. Then just do everything they tell you to do

[@Emgee78]

Im looking to start a vlog channel, nothing really serious, just a mundane here's-me-doing-boring-stuff kind of thing, and my man recommended this particular video after watching a few of my amateur video samples. I'm glad he did!

[@mdturnerinoz]

Awesome, Philip! Not only the didactics of the piece, but I so enjoy your wicked sense of humor. BTW I renewed my MZED for another year just because of YOUR teaching!

[@danzbeard]

Phenomenal intro edit!!!

[@davidminarro]

In my country (Spain) we call 'ellipsis' to the jump cuts, and they can be 'time ellipsis' (like in this episode), 'space ellipsis' or 'content ellipsis'.

[@srmono]

Wow! Amazing! Couldn't resist,just bought the course.

[@paolofont1]

So cool! thanks for sharing. I just started with videos and found your channel a few months ago. Then realized you are the man behind the Wonder List, which was probably my favorite show. Really sad it was cancelled.

[@GarCorStudio]

Don’t know how I missed this tutorial but better late than never... Awesome stuff and Happy New Year from the twin island of Trinidad and Tobago.

[@jgvbadv]

Meeting you in person is on my bucket list, thanks for your insight from Croatia :)

[@philipbloom]

John Smith it will be a disappointment am sure! :)

[@jgvbadv]

@@philipbloom I'm sure too, but for you :P

[@alexanderchua]

When people are saying that Philip Bloom is obnoxious but they don't realise that Philip Bloom educates and these pop KZbinrs are the real obnoxious ones with their abs, backflips, coffee-avocado gobbling, twisting transitions and vertigo-inducing shots.

[@SuperPandaren]

Are there people out there claiming Philip Bloom is obnoxious??

[@alexanderchua]

@@SuperPandaren Yes, there are a lot. Mostly, people who don't know the guy and does not understand his humour.

[@24sevencinema]

@@alexanderchua hes one of the best out there Ive been following him for years he even replied to a couple of comments on his posts from me it was totally cool he's a real dude facts

[@alexanderchua]

@@24sevencinema indeed. I met him in a camera show here in London and what you see is what you get with him. His filmmaking is beautiful and he does not rely on transitions and teal and orange grading. When people negatively criticising his style, I feel thay I have to defend the guy.

[@alexanderchua]

@@tomkraemer7077 he is and he is a guy that I would pick over any so called filmmakers that just stitch brolls and call them films.

[@barrycrowder]

Nice intro to the sequencing process. BTW, I really didn't want to believe that you are a real diva. I wanted to see you returning with a carrier with coffee for everyone. I was so disappointed when you revealed that, no, it was just for yourself. :)

[@audioisgood]

Love your work. Bummer about the mono audio export here. The music in your videos is a huge part of the allure.

[@Weird_Quests]

Always love your content - glad to say I’ve been here since the beginning. :)

[@RhawiDantas]

For a moment, I believed you got mad at her for not getting a cappuccino. :D Great stuff!

[@MartinLachmairPhotoVideo]

maybe one of your best … or another piece thast so nice! I like it. Greetings from Austria.

[@philipbloom]

Martin Lachmair Photo Video thanks. Just a short extract from my 7 hour course! :)

[@MartinLachmairPhotoVideo]

@@philipbloom lets do it with canon and I am in it … just a joke ;-)

[@philipbloom]

Martin Lachmair Photo Video good news is there is a big chunk in episode 4 shot with the Eos-R. We use all brands in the series and it was shot mostly the C200 :)

[@MartinLachmairPhotoVideo]

@@philipbloom ok … I will be in it … not to expect more of the gear … but mostly: when I started filming about 9 Years ago … it was you who told me how to set the 5d mark II right for video … and now I earn my money doing Medical Video E-Learnings … so thanks for your very first instructions! … working with C300mkII and the eosr … a great combo. Have fun and I wish you the best!

[@donnybristol]

wow! got completely sucked in. very good!

[@EscapeSquad]

amazing job mate!once again!love your videos and the music you use and all of your filmaking skills!

[@ReefPatrol]

Jippy... back again ) Thank you for this content!!! Love ya!

[@Kainthemain]

Phillip is so awesome, love this guy

[@richardsmeele]

Great sequence, forgive me but what is the function of the light difference from Mr. Bloom inside to different colors and light intensity outside?

[@giovanni_grant]

Actual useful information

[@JacReviewsStuff]

A crew full of people and he gets ONE coffee hahaahahaha

[@MichaelWynneCAS]

Excellent sneak peak tutorial thank you.

[@stephanes.]

Very surprising topic! Masterclass yeah. Please do also for lighting, very underated subject

[@philipbloom]

Stéphane S. that’s episode 2. Take a look at description for full breakdown of the course. This is just a short segment from episode four not the whole thing!

[@stephanes.]

@@philipbloom that's Christmas presents

[@markus_knoedel]

Thank you so much for sharing this.

[@momchilyordanov8190]

Interesting and useful. Thanks for sharing.

[@TheDengozo]

Very interesting! Thank You!

[@ive595]

Just wow! Thank you!

[@mastercheif1989]

Do have your LUTS available?

[@philipbloom]

mastercheif1989 this is graded with Film convert nitrate. 10% off at gopb.co/fcnitrate

[@simtime7591]

What!, you mean you can buy real snow... Right then, that's my white Christmas sorted. :-)

[@lapamful]

In other words you have to tell the story with your shots, even if you can't hear audio or don't understand the language spoken.

[@PaulusPHM]

Interesting , the camera "frame" always moving.

[@philipbloom]

Not always no. Only in this “handheld” example. am only showing one aspect and style here. Movement is actually fully covered in Episode 3. Take a look at my last upload. Almost no movement at all. All movement is within the frame.

[@PaulusPHM]

@@philipbloom Actually , I liked it , it gives an extra dimension of been watched.

[@deeyammy783]

You're too good! ;)

[@richardgibbs4691]

✊🏾✊🏾✊🏾

[@amphotography1746]

Well, I think trying to point too much things like you are actually taking the scarf with you and stuff like that makes sequences boring over time. I know you are trying to tell that continuity is very important though. I personally like to leave some space for imagination. If person is opening the door is it essential to show opening and closing the door? If it isn't truly essential for the whole story I would leave it out. I may have cut the scene pretty bit shorter. From confused crew reaction to just slamming the door closed. That would have created more tension. I think it is bit sluggish as there's not much variance in shots either. There was lots of possibilities to take close ups and details to build more those frustrated expressions and show the weather by going low to feet to see wet shoes instead of just taking that pretty easy shot just following with gimbal. I think those kind of things could bring depth to storytelling..

[@philipbloom]

AM Photography not quite sure why you wrote such a long comment? Things are subjective. I do not ever say in any part of the course this is the ONLY way to do things. It’s about options. Shoot enough to give you options.

[@philipbloom]

Plus the camera is a voyeur here. Hence no close ups. I say this. It’s a deliberate style choice. The episode shows all sorts of different ways of shooting sequences. This is just one example and used as talking points. This is obviously not the whole episode yet you seem to be making a comment as if that’s it... This is a free segment to give people a taster of the episode and the course.

[@amphotography1746]

@@philipbloom yeah, I didn't say that the way I may have shot it was the absolute right way either. Just shared my thoughts as i like to analyze things. Nice idea to do masterclass specifically for photographers. Keep going. 👌

[@00anta]

Ha, moka pot, the best coffee maker on the face of the Earth

[@SatyaS_Pradhan]

ahh anamorphics

[@roryonabike5863]

Who tries to use a Bialetti to make a cappuccino in the first place :)

[@philipbloom]

Rory on a Bike English people.

[@roryonabike5863]

Philip Bloom Ha! I’ll be watching this video again, interesting content.

[@esgee3829]

had so little respect for you before i clicked play. and then....a bloody costa coffee. smh...

[@philipbloom]

Es Gee “had so little respect for you before” why, thanks

[@esgee3829]

@@philipbloom verbosity

[@RudyAyoub]

I think i want you to be my dad

[@nils.klinger]

Ey man, I sometimes watch your videos even though I'm not interested in guitars. :D

[@RudyAyoub]

Nils Klinger thanks brother

[@scottslotterbeck3796]

LOL! Philip can be...grumpy. Make him your aloof and slightly scary uncle.

[@SilverSmrfr]

Just want to say THANK YOU for your videos. The amount of work you put into every single one is insane.

[@enh2481]

Soo good. I think you just hypnotized me into buying your masterclass.

[@germanevision]

Wow! At last we get to see real film making tutorial on KZbin. I think there is only one more such video by film riot which talks about how to shoot a dialogue scene. All the other channels are only about the rule of third and key and back lights. Thanks so much. This single episode would take at least a week to understand.

[@josh.nuttall]

Hey love the video, definitely worth a like 👊 I just created a short cinematic style promo video for a coffee shop! 😊 if you get the chance I’d love any comments or feedback you had on it! Keep up the great work ❤️

[@co_si_dame]

I just had my mouth open for whole time how amazing this video is :O love it!!!!

[@RandomLifeProductions]

Simplicity in action... no complicated transitions priceless....

[@galaxyfilms1757]

Jox Pheionix fal bas ce • • • - - - • • • Ini bukan latihan

[@Alex-B-Media]

Man your storytelling is so so fresh. Your use of your personal taste of music breaks the mold and just adds to the atmosphere. 100/10 have learnt something today

[@philipbloom]

Thank you 😊

[@scottslotterbeck3796]

One thing Philip does really well is to incorporate music effectively in his scenes

[@TourayMediaGroup]

Really got me in the beginning. Great Video!

[@fireislandmavic5939]

much better than the irishman

[@chrisMsimon]

Philip, you are still truly one of the greats & the fact we once spoke regularly makes me very proud. Filmmakers are lucky to have your intuition to guide them. It's like some very early advice I got on my autobiographical idea for my movie from one Bryce Courtenay, when he was still an Ad Man. I'm about to get a trailer out, "CHRISOFIA - The Longest Suicide". I'll dropbox you an MP4 iPhone version for guidance. Big respect from Chris Simon.

[@andrewtaylor5103]

I like the wide shot where it's hard to spot you. The car stopping to let you walk indicates where you are anyway and it lets my mind be interactive by having to find you. Plus it enhances the moody distant loneliness of the whole piece. So nice work from my point of view haha.

[@philipbloom]

Andrew Taylor - Video Producer everything is subjective of course!

[@Indignepourdeux]

You sir are hands undoubtedly down the most educational video instructor out there. Thanks for your aamzing work, hope Sony is rewarding you well enough

[@dscraft6358]

Thank you Philip for a superb video. You got me hooked and I learned a lot. That BBC clip was brilliant. Did you actually go to all those places? 😊

[@JerryAdam]

Great break-down! Thanks for sharing, Philip! ✌️

[@scottslotterbeck3796]

Another excellent film series from Philip. Thanks.

[@DavisInDuval]

Well, now I know what I’ll be watching for cardio. Always love a new PB upload!

[@JaxsonNZ]

Thanks Philip 👍 This is kinda like an early Christmas present. Thanks, from New Zealand 🇳🇿

[@Rob_Kandels]

I love the explanation and I've been looking for videos that like this ! Great work !

[@VickersDoorter]

When he stormed off to Costa, I thought, "better leave him to his own Devizes..."

[@AJ-kv1po]

Halfway through your other Mzed course right now, superb 👌

[@BrotherBloat]

thank you for sharing this excerpt! all the best from St Margarets :)

[@amosaiccosmos6302]

Awesome. Thanks to Mr. Bloom.

[@celo1102]

Master! Really love It. Thank you!

[@yousseflamnaouarl9662]

ooh the poor cat 😢

[@philipbloom]

Youssef lamnaouar l يوسف لمنور which cat?

[@plastik420]

Philip Morse morise Collin william philip flee

[@jimbean532]

Wow! You have a really cool house! Is the upkeep expensive? ;)

[@MrMcshaft]

How the heck did you fly a drone in that crap Philip?

[@reecewashi]

Thanks Philip, amazing as always

[@aljamesproductions]

Genius.

[@ConfidenZeTheHumanTorch]

What drone did you use

[@christianflores-cordova4524]

lolool hahahahahha !

[@estebanalmont3711]

That was a bit meta XD

[@ACoderThatMakesFilms]

As always, great video, thanks for sharing this! I particularly like how you take the piss out of filming a making coffee sequence. Had you actually filmed one, it would look uncannily similar to the one I filmed and posted on my KZbin channel 😅

[@redwolf_media]

Such a great inspiration, always respect and love your work and philosophy. Real Filmaking content. Thanks for the videos, take good care, Cheers from Costa Rica!

[@rclockett36]

Wow just wow

[@scottslotterbeck3796]

Philip: 'Fewer' shots walking toward the coffee shop, not 'less'. That grates on my nerves!

[@philipbloom]

Seriously? That’s your comment? You are welcome!

[@RCodyWanner]

This is rad. Took me right back to film school.

[@somedaystudios9253]

Amazing class! Thanks for sharing this information. Really helpful!

[@sydneylawson455]

What was that anamorphic lens on the dslr you were using for her shots?

[@danquixote6072]

I like the point at 11.10 when you talk about the viewer having to search for the subject. I have noticed how film makers use other people, extras to draw the viewers eye to the main character. The guy with the balloons in the opening scene of Coppola's The Conversation springs to mind. Another film, racking my brains to remember which used a jogger in a bright red running outfit to guide the viewers eye toward the subject.

[@JorisMaas]

Very nice video! That must have been some tight editing with the walking of the Wonderlist promo video since the movements looks so naturally and fluent. It shows well that the editing is such a big part and the filming a relative small part of the whole feeling of a movie. The position of the lights is something I would like to see closer (I did experiment with my own Aputure LED lights but it's by far one of the hardest things to learn (lighting in video).

[@cueriative7609]

Thank you for your very very informative and easiest brakedown I've ever seen..I can't thank you enough.i'll hope for the next as soon possible

[@samybenhmouda1168]

Simplicity in action... no complicated transitions priceless....

[@jack_da_niels]

Nice, thx, is the Wonderlist btw anywhere available on a streaming platform in europe?

[@jmrepakphotovideo2331]

Well done Mr. Bloom. Thank you for another informative video. What music is used in your opening?

[@christhompson1727]

Why can you not cutaway to Lollipop falling in the bath? I think that shot would work in absolutely any sequence!

[@AllenRReid]

LOVED the jab at coffee making sequences!! THANK YOU!

[@scottystephenson8610]

well im just happy you featured some Yorkshire tea in there (1:56) but great video as always

[@clementeen]

Which gimbal are you using?

[@jonnezb]

Wonderful insight! More to think about on the next project :)

[@MattShockley]

Absolutely incredible and very insightful ... thank you Philip!!!

[@scottslotterbeck3796]

The incorporation of music makes a big difference.

[@hnsjnthn]

watched for the content, liked for the lollipop cutaway

[@alexhancock9738]

Your thumbnail looks like kafe dotoyevsky from r6s

[@13StopsPocketFilms]

Getting this course for sure. Which lens are you using in those scenes with Sarah? It has a fantastic subtle swirly bokeh.

[@philipbloom]

13 Stops Pocket Films /// tolufilms slr magic anamorphic

[@GabrielCastillo-vi3lg]

Very reasonable price! Count me in!

[@trevorpinnocky]

Always outstanding content 👍🏽