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������� ��������1. This instructional guide2. Four student activity masters3. A four-color wall poster for classroom display4. A response card for teacher comments

���� �����This program has been designed for students in sec-

ondary school English, languagearts, visual arts and communica-tions courses.

��������������1.To enhance student interest in

and knowledge about themotion picture developmentand production process.

2.To encourage students to usecritical thinking as they learnhow cinematographers con-tribute to the process ofcreating a motion picture.

3.To engage students in anexploration of film as amedium of communication.

4.To help students becomemore visually literate.

����������The first Academy Awards were handed out on May 16,1929, just after the advent of “talkies.” By 1930, enthusiasmwas so great that a LosAngeles radio station did alive, one-hour broadcast,and the Awards haveenjoyed broadcast coverageever since.

The number and typesof awards have grown andchanged over the years tokeep up with the develop-ment of the motion pictureindustry. Since 1981,Awards of Merit—Oscars—havebeen presented in each (or in sub-divisions) of thefollowing categories: acting, art direction, cinematogra-phy, costume design, directing, feature and short docu-mentary film, film editing, foreign-language film, make-up, music, best picture, best animated and bestlive-action short film, sound, sound-effects editing,visual effects and writing. In an age when awards showsseem as common as nightly news programs, the AcademyAwards are unique because the judges—Academymembers—are the top filmmakers from around theworld.The question,“Who gets the Oscar?,” is decidedby a true jury of peers.

With the exception of the best picture, which isdecided by the entire Academy, and the documentary,foreign-language film and short-film categories, whichare selected by special viewing committees, nominations

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Youth Media International, in cooperation with theAcademy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, is

proud to present the second in a series of annualstudy guides that will focus on the different branchesof the Academy. In this guide, students will learn aboutcinematography, one of the many craftareas involved in creating a motionpicture, as they complete the activitiesin this kit. The kit has been designed forstudents in secondary school English,language arts, visual arts and communi-cations courses.The activities havebeen developed to capitalize on students’ natural interest in currentfilms and the excitement generated bythe Academy Awards®. They are designed to teach valuable lessons incritical thinking and to develop visualliteracy skills.

The Academy, organized in 1927, is aprofessional honorary organization com-posed of more than 6,000 motion picturecraftsmen and women. Its purposesinclude advancing the art and science ofmotion pictures; fostering cooperationamong creative leaders for cultural,educational and technological progress; recognizingoutstanding achievements, and fostering educationalactivities between the professional community and thepublic at large. Academy members are the people whocreate movies—the cream of the industry’s actors, artdirectors, cinematographers, costume designers, direc-tors, film editors, make-up artists, composers, produc-ers, sound- and visual-effects experts, and writers.

Please share this material with other teachers inyour school. Although the material is copyrighted, youmay make as many photocopies as necessary to meetyour students’ needs.

To ensure that you receive future mailings, please fillout and return the enclosed reply card. Also, feel freeto e-mail us at schoolroom@aol.com to commentabout the program at any time.We welcome yourthoughts and suggestions.

Sincerely,

Roberta Nusim, Publisher

This is the second in a series of guides that willfocus on different branches of the Academy ofMotion Picture Arts and Sciences. If you would liketo receive future kits from the Academy and itsvarious branches, please be sure to fill out andreturn the enclosed reply card.

Youth Media International Ltd.

Cinematographer James Wong Howeshooting The Rescue

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are determined by a secretballot of Academy membersrepresenting each craft.AllAcademy members vote toselect the final winners.

The awards nomination andselection process provides awonderful opportunity to teachyour students about the manycraft areas—and the manycommunications techniques—that play a part in creating a motion picture. Filmmaking is by nature acollaborative process, with each craft area supportingand being supported by the others. Because our space is limited, this kit focuses on just one of thoseareas—cinematography.

��������� ��� � �������� ������� Students may select the films they wish to view duringthe following activities, or you may wish to suggestfilms that you believe are appropriate.

The following films have won Academy Awards forcinematography and may be appropriate for your stu-dents: Titanic (1997), Schindler’s List (1993), A River RunsThrough It (1992), Dances With Wolves (1990), MississippiBurning (1988), The Last Emperor (1987) and Out ofAfrica (1985).

The following films werenominated for AcademyAwards for cinematographyand may be appropriate foryour students: Shakespeare inLove (1998), Amistad (1997),Evita (1996), Sense and Sensi-bility (1995) and Howards End(1992). For younger stu-dents, A Little Princess (1995)and Fly Away Home (1996)may be good choices.

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CAMERA The cinematographer works closely with the direc-

tor to compose the images that are captured onfilm.While some cinematographers operate the cam-era, many others supervise a team that includes one ormore camera operators, who do the actual filming, andcamera assistants, who load the film, mount the cam-eras and focus the lenses.

For each shot in a film, the cinematographer mustplan how far from the subject the camera will be, whatkind of lens is necessary and the angle from which theshot will be made.The cinematographer can createvery different effects by varying the angle—or point ofview—of the shot. A stationary camera can be rotated

on the axis of the camera mount (panning); italso can be moved up or down in a 90-degreearc (tilting).When a camera is mounted on adolly it can be rolled forward, backward andsideways. Cameras also can be mounted onpower-operated cranes that allow for evenmore flexibility. Lightweight hand-held camerasalso are used, at least in part, on many films.

In this activity your students will learn aboutthe basic camera angles and techniques and the

special effects they can create. As they view a film, theywill identify the various techniques used by the cine-matographer, and they will plan how they would film avariation on one scene in that film.

������������ ��������� Using a video cam-era, have students work in small groups to experimentwith various camera techniques as they film originalshort scenes. Provide class time for each group toscreen its film segment and explain the techniques theyused and the effects they were trying to achieve.

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���� ��� the �!"�"There are various styles of lighting that a cinemato-

grapher can use. Lighting style is generally deter-mined in consultation with the director (and often

the production design-er), and depends on thesetting, mood and char-acter of the story orthe scene.Three basicstyles of lighting arehigh-key, low-key andgraduated tonality.

A high-key sceneappears bright.The cine-matographer uses soft,diffused lighting and thereare few shadows. In a low-key scene, the lighting isdefined by lights that castsharper shadows. Graduatedtonality is often achieved byusing soft light to light the

scene and create soft shadows, often from a singlesource. (It is important to note that other factors alsocan enhance the effects of the lighting. Costumes and

scenery can be intentionally dark,for example, and sometimes tonalgradations are painted onto thesets or the costumes or evenincluded in the actors’ makeup.)

While there are no hard-and-fast rules about lighting, dramagenerally is done in a low-keystyle and comedy generally isdone in a high-key style of lighting.Graduated tonality is used in all

Orson Welles and cinematographer Gregg Toland onthe set of Citizen Kane (1941).

929).

kinds of situations. Lighting also isused to create the illusion ofdepth and dimension, and to illu-minate different contours andtextures. Depth can be empha-sized by back- and side-lightingthe actors to create highlights onprominent features and leave thebackground in shadow. Sometimescolor gels are used over lights to

enhance the depth of a scene (warm tones might be usedto light the actors, while cooler colors might be used forthe background lights, for exam-ple). How the lights are posi-tioned to create shadows con-trols how textures are viewed.The human face, with its changingcontours, provides the greatestlighting challenge of all!

Note: If your students haveaccess to instant cameras, youmay want to have them take pho-tographs of the setting theyobserve in the first part of this activity.

Supplementary Activity:Have your students work in pairsto create photographic studies ofvarious landmarks in your commu-nity under different lighting condi-tions (weather conditions, time ofday, etc.). One student in each pairshould use black-and-white film andthe other should use color film. Create a class display. Dis-cuss the differences between the black-and-white and colorimages. For example, how does the lack of color affect themood and tone of the photographs?

Activity 3.

FRAMING the SHOTThe “framing” of a shot simply indicates where the cine-

matographer has placed the borders of an image. Forevery individual shot in a film, someone has to decidewhere the camera will be in relation to the actors and thespace they are in.The cinematographer’s decisions aboutthe movement of the camera are critical in telling thestory effectively.

At the beginning of a new scene, the cinematographerwill generally include an establishing shot.This term is some-times used in a very literal way—to describe a shot of thebuilding in which the next scene will take place, for exam-ple—but more often it refers to an initial wide shot thatestablishes the spatial relationships of people and otherdetails that will be shown later in the scene in closershots.The establishing shot helps the viewer become ori-ented to the new location.

Framing is not unique to filmmaking, as your studentswill see as they view and discuss paintings and still pho-

tographs in the first section of the activity sheet.You mightalso want to discuss with your students the staging of aplay as a form of framing.

Constructing a cardboard viewfinder: The standard aspectratio of a screen image until the mid-1950s was four unitswide and three units high (this is expressed as 1.33:1),which is still standard for television screens. For film, theratio is 1.85:1.To construct a viewfinder with the sameratio, students will need a piece of cardboard that mea-sures 8.5” x 11”.They should mark three points that are2.25” from each edge on the 8.5” sides and three pointsthat are 1.8′ ′ (approximately 1 7/8′ ′ ) from each edge on

the 11′ ′ sides.They should connectthe points, outlining a 4′ ′ x 7.4′ ′(approximately 7 3/8′ ′ ) rectangle.Students should carefully cut alongthe lines to create their viewfinders.

Supplementary Activity:Have your students view a recentfilm. As they watch, ask them to payspecial attention to the framing ofimportant scenes in the film. Stu-dents should analyze each sceneusing the same criteria they used forstill pictures and paintings.

Activity 4.

LEARNINGfrom the BESTEach year, the film industry pro-

duces an array of outstandingnew releases. Some are especially appropriate for fami-

lies, some are appealing to teens, and some are gearedtoward adult audiences. If you or the parents of your stu-dents feel that some, or even all, of this year’s nomineesmight be inappropriate for viewing by young people, youcan modify this activity in several ways. Students can locatereviews in newspapers and maga-zines, compare what the critics haveto say, and try to predict which ofthe year’s films will be honored forthe strength of their cinematography.They can view Academy Award nomi-nees and Academy Award-winningfilms from past years to complete theexercises.A list of past nominees andwinners appears at the beginning ofthis teacher’s guide.

ACADEMY OF MOTION PICTURE ARTS AND SCIENCES

Youth MediaInternational Ltd.

P.O. Box 305Easton, CT 06612

© 1999 YMI Ltd.

Brianne Murphy at work.

The cinematographer, or director of photography, has an extremelycomplex and challenging job. He or she must translate the ideas of

the director and the writer onto film.The cinematographer must knowhow to use the camera to capture the images in the most effective waypossible, and consider lighting, composition, camera moves and angles,different types of film, lenses and cameras, use of color, etc., when filmingeach shot. In composing a shot, the cinematographer must consider howeach image relates to the images that came before it, and how it willrelate to those that will follow it. Most shots are filmed several times toensure that the end result will be just right. Each of these filming seg-ments is called a “take.” The resulting takes are edited together to createthe film’s sequence of action that, in turn, moves the story forward.

For 1998, Saving Private Ryan won the Academy Award for cinematog-raphy. Pick a film you would like to see that was recognized for achieve-ment in cinematography (an outstanding example is Citizen Kane, hon-ored in 1941). As you watch the film, try to focus on the details of theimages. For example, think about the angles of different shots.The cine-matographer can convey a great deal simply by changing the angle of thecamera:A shot taken from above can make a figure seem small orinsignificant; one taken from below can make a figure seem larger, impor-tant, and even menacing. Use of a hand-held camera can give a feeling ofintimacy and reality to a scene. Select one scene from the film and com-plete the following (use the other side of this sheet if necessary):

Title of film: ____________________________________________________

What is the tone of the scene, and how does the camera placement andmovement contribute to it?

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

Is the camera placed higher, lower, or on the same level as the actors, andhow does the placement make you feel about the characters? Are somecharacters treated differently than others by the camera placement? ____________________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

Does the camera move a great deal, or is it fixed,with the action moving within a fixed frame?

__________________________________________________________________

Now, let’s take a closer look. View the filmagain, but this time turn the sound down so

you can focus more easily on what you see.Watchhow transitions are made visually from one sceneto another, and look for other special camera tech-niques. How many of the following could you iden-tify in your film?

Slow motion Aerial shotTracking shot Shallow focusSoft focus Deep focusZoom shot Pan

ANGLING the CAMERAActivity1

Reproducible Master

© 1999 YMI Ltd.

Some Camera TechniquesAerial shot: A shot taken from the air, as from an airplane, helicopter, bal-

loon, etc., or a high-angle shot from a camera mounted on a crane.Deep focus: The photographic technique of keeping the entire image—no

matter how far from the camera—in sharp focus.This allows action tooccur at different distances in the same scene.The opposite technique,known as shallow focus, uses a small depth of field to create a shallow focalplane. It is often used to direct the viewer’s attention to something specific.

Pan: A broad horizontal camera movement on a fixed camera mount. Aswish pan is a very fast panoramic movement of the camera, resulting in ablurred image, that sometimes is used as a transition between scenes.

Slow motion: A shot that makes people or objects appear to be movingmore slowly than normal.This is achieved by moving film through the cam-era more quickly when filming but projecting it at a normal speed.

Soft focus: Reducing the sharpness of the image by changing the lens or by plac-ing material such as gauze between the lens and the object being photographed.

Tracking shot: A shot in which the camera moves from one point to anoth-er—either sideways, in, or out.This is also known as a traveling shot.

Now, think about a scene in the film that youcould present differently.What characters

are involved in the scene? Briefly describe what happens: ______________________________

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

How would you place the camera relative to thecharacters to let the audience in on your feelingsabout them? ____________________________________

______________________________________________________________

What objects are included in the scene? Would thecamera treat some of them with the same impor-tance as the characters? Why or why not? ________

______________________________________________________________

How and why will your scene differ from the origi-nal scene? __________________________________

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

On another sheet of paper, make rough sketchesthat show the sequence of action in the originalscene and then in your revised scene. Pay particularattention to the relationship between the camera,the characters and the action.Annotate yoursketches with notes about the camera placementand movement you will use and the meaning youintend to convey with each.

Now, let’s look at how other sources of light can affectthe mood and feeling of a scene. In a corner of your

classroom, create a vignette by posing several of your class-mates. On the back of this sheet, draw a rough sketch ofyour vignette. In the space below, describe how the scenechanges as the lighting source changes.

Natural light from the window (overhead lighting off):

________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

Overhead fluorescent lights (curtains closed):

________________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________________

Spotlight (the beam from a large flashlight, for example):

________________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________________

Candlelight:

________________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________________

Some Important Lighting TermsBack light: A light designed to separate the actors from the background.

The actor is lit from directly behind, creating a halo effect that empha-sizes hair or a profile while leaving the face in shadow.The kicker lighthas a similar function, but is placed in a three-quarters-back position onthe opposite side of the face from the key light and often is lower to

the floor than the back light.Key light: The main source used to

light a subject.Fill light: Light that is used to fill in

the shadows created by the key light.Set light: A light that is used to

illuminate the walls and furniture on a set.

Source light: Light that appears to be coming from a source within the scene, for example, a lamp on a table or a fireplace.

Noted filmmaker, author and teacher KrisMalkiewicz describes lighting as “the

most important element in cinematography…thetask to which a cinematographer gives his primary attention.”

The cinematographer must know how to manipu-late the lighting—using the right quality of light anddistributing it in just the right way—to create themood that is required for each scene in the film.Thecinematographer must know how and when to usehard light (light that travels directly from its sourceundiffused, creating sharply defined shadows) and softlight (light that bounces off another source or is dif-fused through a translucent material, such as tracingpaper, thereby softening the shadows). He or shealso must consider the angle of the throw (the paththe light follows).This is important in creating themood of a scene and suggesting the time of day.Additionally, the cinematographer must be able tocommunicate clearly to those who set and focus thelighting instruments precisely how he or she wants ascene lit.

The primary source of light outdoors is sunlight.Although often supplementing sunlight with artificiallights, when shooting outdoors the cinematographermust consider how the angle of the sun at differenttimes of day affects the setting and changes its moodand appearance.Try this experiment to see just howmuch impact the angle of the sun can have. Pick alocation (a room in your house with a large window,a spot in your yard, the street in front of yourhouse, etc.) that you can easily observe at sunrise, atmidday, at sunset and at twilight.

The setting I will observe is: ____________________

__________________________________________________

__________________________________________________

© 1999 YMI Ltd.

Activity2

Reproducible Master

LIGHTINGthe SCENE

Record what you see in the chart below.Think about such things as the amount of light,the shadows the light casts and their angles, whether colors are bright and vivid or mutedand subdued and how the scene “feels” (warm and inviting, alive and energized, etc.).

Time How the Mood conveyed of day setting looks by the setting

Sunrise ______________________________________________________________________________

Midday ______________________________________________________________________________

Sunset ______________________________________________________________

Twilight ______________________________________________________________________________

Framing, the overall composition of theshot, is the placement of people and

objects within the border of the film frame.Composition greatly influences the audi-ence’s experience of a movie and allows thefilmmaker to emphasize people or objectsthat hold more importance than others. Forexample, if a filmmaker chooses to place acharacter center and more forward in theframe and light that character more brightly,the audience’s attention will focus moredirectly on that character. The cinematogra-pher generally works with the director todetermine how each shot will be framed. Butframing isn’t unique to filmmaking—still pho-tographers and painters also must determinehow they will frame their compositions.

In a book or on the Internet, find a pic-ture of a painting that especially appeals toyou. Consider the following questions as youview the painting. How did the artist “frame” the painting? Howare the people and/or objects in the painting arranged? How didthe artist light the scene through use of light and shadow?

Name of painting: ______________________________________________

Artist: ______________________________________________In a sentence or two, describe why you think the framing inthe painting you selected is effective:

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

Locate a photograph by Ansel Adams (1902-1984), who is known for his dramatic pictures of western landscapes.Ask yourself the same set of questions as you view the photograph.

Name/description of photograph:____________________________

________________________________________________________________

In a sentence or two, describe why you think the way Adamsframed his photograph is effective:

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

Now, using your cardboard viewfinder,practice framing your own photo-

graphic compositions. Keep in mind therelationships between the people andobjects in each frame, the source oflighting, etc.

Finally, imagine a brief scene thattakes place in your school—in thelibrary or cafeteria or on the athleticfield, for example.

The location for my scene is:

____________________________________________

________________________________________

The main characters are: ____________

________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

In a sentence or two, describe what happens:

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

What is the tone of your scene?

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

Part of telling the story ischoosing how you wouldframe each portion of thescene. Divide your scene intoten pieces.With an instantcamera or simple sketches,illustrate the story you aretelling within the scene.

The Basics of Framing Close-up shot: A very “tight” frame. A close-up of a person

is generally just the face. A close-up of an object wouldinclude the object alone, or part of the object.

Medium shot: A frame that includes much of the object orperson.The character might be shown from the waist up,for example.

Long shot: A frame that includes the entire object or personalong with some of the surrounding environment.

FRAMING the SHOTActivity3

Reproducible Master

© 1999 YMI Ltd.

Brianne Murphy at work.

In the first three activities, we learned that the cinematogra-pher’s job is to capture on film the images that tell the story.

We learned a little about camera techniques, the use of lightingand framing a scene. Now it’s time to look at this year’s nomi-nees.They will be announced on February 15, 2000. List thenominees for best cinematography in the space below:

________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________

Pick one film that you would like to see from the list of nominees. As you watch the film, consider some of theguidelines that members of the Academy follow when makingtheir award selections:

How well did the cinematog-rapher succeed at capturingjust the right images toenhance the story? How does the mood of thecinematography help to tellthe story? How does the lighting help tocreate that mood? Does the composition of theshots reflect an aestheticsense? Are the camera moveswell-conceived and unobtru-sive? Do they contribute tothe story-telling, adding sur-prise, impact and emotionalvalue where needed?

After viewing the film, describe why you think the nomina-tion was or was not appropriate. (Keep in mind that beautifulscenery and elaborate settings should not be factors in your evaluation.)

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

Now, put yourself in the shoes of an Academy member.Using what you know about each of the nominated

films—either from seeing them or reading about them—pre-dict how the professional filmmakers in the Academy will vote.Then, watch the Academy Awards on March 26 or read thepaper the following day to see how you did with your predic-tions.Alternatively, view some films honored in the past forachievement in cinematography and describe on the other sideof this sheet why you think they won in that category.

For more information about theAcademy of Motion Picture Arts andSciences, visit these Web sites:

http://www.cinematographer.com (American Society ofCinematographers)http://www.oscars.comhttp://www.oscars.org

Additional ResourcesAmerican Cinematography magazineCinematography, by Kris Malkiewicz. New York: Fireside, 1989.The Filmmaker’s Handbook, by Edward Pincus and Steven Ascher.

New York: New American Library, 1984.Frame by Frame:A Handbook for Creative Filmmaking, by Eric

Sherman. Los Angeles:Acrobat Books, 1987.Masters of Light: Conversations with Contemporary

Cinematographers, by Dennis Schaefer and Larry Salvato.Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1984.

Principal Photography, by Vincent Lobrutto. Praeger PublicationsText, 1999.

Activity4

Reproducible Master

© 1999 YMI Ltd.

LEARNING fromthe BEST

Orson Welles and cinematographer Gregg Toland on theset of Citizen Kane (1941).