Many fundamentals of photography are used in Video as well. In fact photography does become the base for shot composition in Television as well. Block shot is a perfect example to highlight this aspect.  It is one of the main shots used in video and television. One could even call the block shot as the bread and butter shot meant for an ENG shoot.  ENG stands for Electronic News Gathering.

The block shot has many advantages – the first and the foremost being you can cut it to various durations.  Unlike a pan or tilt where one is required to wait till the camera movement over, there is no such necessity while using the block shot.

So what is a block shot?  Frame a good video composition and allow the camera to roll for a minimum of 12 seconds. The action happens inside the frame. Of course subjects can enter and exit such framing.  However, when someone is enters the frame shoot till this subject exits. This is a must otherwise you might end up with a jump cut. The jump cut might happen in this case, as you may need to continue filming the subject in other shots or sequence that you create.  Other kinds of shots and more information on block shots can be found on my ebook – Preparing for Primetime.

The following lesson from youtube highlights some aspects of using photography fundamentals in video.