Staging For Three Players

Film Directing, Shot by Shot by Steven D. Katz goes on to discuss staging with three subjects.

With two subjects the only possible pattern is the "I" pattern. With an extra subject one can make the "A" and "L" patterns.

Here is an example of an A pattern. The two policemen being the two bottom corners of a letter A and the man they are questioning being the top. When the fourth player enters the scene the pattern changes. If the scene involved say one of the policemen alternating between talking with the man behind the counter and his fellow officer then the scene would be an L pattern.

Of course these patterns are rarely as clearly defined in most shots and as we can see below, what with the introduction of other players and the placement of the camera, there can be a fine line between A and L setups. So here are a few common stagings.

"L" pattern round the corner of a table

"L" pattern: two players in car, looking out towards one outside the car.

"A" pattern: two players facing one player on the other side of the table.

"A" pattern: three players, one on each side of a square table.

"A" pattern: one player is on a different level.