180 - Degree Rule

180 Deagree Rule

"In film making, the 180-degree rule is a basic guideline regarding the on-screen spatial relationship between a character and another character or object within a scene. An imaginary line called the axis which connects the characters and by keeping the camera on one side of this axis for every shot in the scene, the first character will always be frame right of the second character, who is then always frame left of the first. If the camera passes over the axis, it is called jumping the line or crossing the line."




This is an example of the 180 degree rule in use:

In our example of 180 degree rule (below), we've included the character walking round to the passenger side of the car, to establish what side of the car he is on, then the shot-reverse-shot abides by the 180 degree rule, as it shows the blond haired passenger on the left side of the car and camera, and the dark haired driver on the right side of the car and camera, so the audience don't get confused.

This is an example in the 180 degree rule in use in our film: