Seen any good movies lately? Chances are you have, and chances are that within those enjoyable and memorable films were scenes of particularly strong impact. It's those scenes that can provide inspiration when you're planning and shooting your movie clips.    

That's the essence of Steve Heiner's Moving Pictures column in the spring issue of Nikon World magazine: scenes and techniques from your favorite films can trigger moviemaking ideas.

Steve Heiner
Steve Heiner photo of rig used to shoot self video Steve Heiner
A flag arm, which would normally be used to block the camera from the sun was used to hold the camera steady while moving.

No matter if you have a scripted short film or the straightforward capture of a special occasion in mind, Steve suggests that "you really do know how that movie is going to look...because you're walking around with an incredible resource: memorable scenes and techniques from your favorite movies."

In the column Steve talks about a few of his favorite scenes and how one technique in particular—the use of low-angle/wide-angle shots in the film Raising Arizona—inspired him to make a short film of his own.

The Coen brothers' use of wide and low angles signaled a story in which unfamiliar perspectives on people, places and events were commonplace. Steve adapted that idea to add a touch of mystery to a pleasant walk in the park.

As director, producer, cameraperson and star of the film, Steve writes that he, "needed a way to put the camera down close to the ground and have it move with me as I walked." He found the way by turning a flag arm, which normally shields a camera from the sun, into a pendulum-like device that provided "a perspective other than my own."

View the film clip to see how Steve put inspiration into motion.

Read Steve Heiner's Moving Pictures column, from the Spring 2012 issue of Nikon World.