btec cinematgraphy
TRANSCRIPT
CinematographyBTEC MEDIA
Aims
• To be able to identify all the different elements of cinematography used in Film and Television production in a range of still images and film trailers.
• To shoot a range of different shot types to be both aesthetically pleasing and create meaning and emotional response.
What is Cinematography?
• It is the culmination of various elements to create emotional response, give information and create meaning. Those elements are:
• Shot size• Angle & Height• Camera Movement• Aspect ratio• Lens type• Focus & Depth of Field• Exposure• Shutter Speed
• For additional information and training go to our YouTube channel for video tutorials, interviews and film scenes.
• http://www.youtube.com/smcbtecmedia
The Rule of thirds
• The very first and one of the most important elements to learn is The Rule of Thirds.
• This will help your shots look more pleasing to the eye, balanced and professional.
• All film and television productions use this rule, so from now on you will too!
• See the Cinematography playlist on our YouTube for more examples
Tutorial Videos
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tsgEzEJ_fd4&list=PL1DC73CD8E3769D91&index=31&feature=plpp_video
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fSSOZxLnNyc&feature=related
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FsFXtI1hG34&list=PL1DC73CD8E3769D91&index=30&feature=plpp_video
Dark Knight Rises Trailer
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ASQqjK47c04
Cinematography
• Cinematography deals with all aspects of framing and composition. It can be broken down into three categories:
• Shot size• Shot angle• Camera movement
Shot Size
• The following shot sizes cover the whole shooting range. Each one carries its own meaning and is used for different purposes.
• Extreme long shot (ELS)• Long Shot (LS)• Medium Shot (MS)• Close Up (CU)• Extreme Close Up (ECU)
Extreme long shot
• A wide shot that shows a very wide angle, where actors are usually small dots.
• These shots are commonly used to introduce a location. The viewer is able to get an overview of where he is, what is where.
• Emotionally, the viewer is distant. He's a spectator. Just watching what happens.
Long Shot• The angle is wide, your actor is
full in frame, from his feet to his head.
• These shots are commonly used to introduce an actor/object, but still leave details aside. The viewer sees more of the actors/objects and has an overview of them. The location becomes less important, the actor becomes more important.
• Emotionally, this is a bit closer, but the viewer is still a spectator that gets an overview.
Medium Shot• This closer shot shows your
actors from waist or chest upwards. This is commonly used for all kind of character situations.
• You get closer to the actor/object, and the viewer gets more and more drawn into the action/emotion of what's happening.
• Emotionally, you get more attached.
Close Up• This focuses on a detail, a face, an
object. This is commonly used to draw the attention to something very important.
• The one ring, the fist of the angry boy, the eyes of the loving woman, the wound of the hurt soldier etc.
• Emotionally, this is very close. This can be both pleasant or unpleasant, but as a viewer, you're forced to watch a specific detail.
Extreme Close Up
• This is the closest you can get. Focus on an eye, a mouth, an ear etc.
• This is so close, it's very uncommon for the human eye and therefore should be used only in a short sequence where a detail is either very small or you want to attach your audience very close to a character or emotional reaction.
Shot size
• The following extract uses all the shots in the size range.
• Note how the camera starts with wide shots to establish location and moves closer as the scene becomes more dramatic.
• Select three key shots and be ready to discuss how they worked to serve the scene.
Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
Shot angle
• Shot size places us closer to or further away from subjects, affecting our emotional response.
• Shot angles create power relationships between characters and objects within the film as well as between the characters and the audience.
High Angle
• Makes subject look inferior/weak/vulnerable
Low Angle
• Gives subjects a feeling of power
and authority
Canted Angle
• These angles are achieved when the camera is tilted so that the frame tilts to the left or right.
• This is an unnatural and unconventional angle and is used to suggest unbalance, danger or disorientation. The angle also creates a stronger more dynamic composition.
• This angle helps the audience to experience the same emotions as the characters as we are also disorientated.
Evil Dead II: Dead by Dawn (1986)
Camera Movement
• Meanings and emotion response can also be manipulated by the way in which the camera moves. We will study the following:
• Tracking• Steadycam• Handheld• Pan• Tilt
Tracking
• “Tracking” shots get their name due to the fact that a camera is placed onto mini train tracks to produce a very smooth moving shot.
• The camera can then be moved forwards and backwards, left and right or in circular motions.
• This is a very useful technique for putting the audience into the shoes of character as we move with them within a scene. This helps the audience to share experiences, and identify with characters.
Paths of Glory (1954)
Handheld
• This is when the camera is removed from a tripod or crane and is literally handheld by the operator.
• This creates an unstable and bumpy shot.• Handheld is a useful device for creating
realism and recreating the experience of being on the scene.
• It also injects instability and an adrenaline into a scene.
Pulp Fiction (1994)
Cloverfield (2008)
Steadycam
• The Steadycam was invented in the late 1970’s. The camera operator wears a spring mounted harness which the camera is attached to.
• The harness smoothes out the bumpiness of a handheld shot and gives a super smooth shot with the camera appearing to float.
• Therefore, steadycams provide the smoothness and stability of a tracking shot, but the freedom of movement of a handheld shot.
• The Shining (1980) was shot almost entirely with a steadycam to allow ease of movement through the Overlook Hotel.
The Shining (1980)
Steadycam
• There are many connotations of a steadycam shot.• The smoothness and fluidity can be used to suggest
ease of movement of characters in a scene.• The freedom to effortlessly move in and out of
places and turn suddenly has been utilised in films such as Halloween (1975)
• Its fluid quality can also be used to suggest dreams and fantasies.
Unbreakable (1999)
Point of View Shots (POV)
• A point of view shot is any shot which is through the eyes of a character.
• This is the most personal type of shot in terms of identifying with a character as we experience the scene through them.
• POV shots can also make the audience feel helpless as we can only see a small part of a scene and are only given the same information as the protagonist.
They Live (1988)
Halloween (1975)
Wide Angle/Fish eye Lens
• Wide angle and fish eye lenses are characterised by exaggerated linear distortion.
• In other words the effect is like looking into a mirrored glass ball.
• This gives an extremely distorted, unnatural and unrealistic shot.
• This lens is most commonly used to give a distorted point of view of an unbalanced character.
Wide Angle/Fish eye Lens
• In Requiem for a Dream (1999), a middle aged woman takes diet pills to loose weight to appear on a T.V. show.
• The pills cause hallucinations and a fisheye lens has been used to help convey her disjointed/fragmented/nighmarish perception of the world.
Requiem for a Dream (1999)
Requiem for a Dream (1999)
Pull Focus
• This is when a certain part of the shot is brought into focus.
• This technique is used to draw the viewers attention to an object or character within the frame and to give significance.
• Pull focus is also useful for isolating certain parts of the frame, or characters, to separate them from the rest of the scene.
Ratcatcher (1999)