Film Unit

Storyboard

• "There was not much written on the chase in the script. We had one page written on the sequence, but I wanted it to be seven to ten pages long. I wanted it to be the centerpiece of the movie. So rather than writing it, I sat down with my two sketch artists, David Jonas and Ed Verreaux and I just sort of made the whole chase up on paper from frame 1 to frame 405.

- Steven Spielberg, on Raiders of the Lost Ark

Shot

• Basic unit of film

• One uninterrupted piece of celluloid without a cut.

Sequence

• A sequence is a number of shots put together to show an event

• Examples: The shower sequence from Psycho, the subway fight sequence in The Matrix.

Mise-en-Scene

• Technically means “in the frame.”

• It is a way to describe what the director has chosen to place in his/her frame.

• It includes actor’s positions, props, lighting, setting, and costumes.

Types of Shots

• Establishing Shot

• Long Shot

• Medium Shot

• Close-Up

• Extreme Close-Up

• In between

Establishing Shot

• Also known as ES

• Often coming at the beginning of a scene, the establishing shot sets the time and place of the action.

• It is often the outside of a building or a view of a city.

Long Shot

• Also known as LS

• A long shot is generally made from a sufficient distance to show a landscape, a building, or a large interior.

• Often, an Establishing Shot is a Long Shot

Medium Shot

• Also known as MS

• Generally, a medium shot leaves enough room in the frame to reveal full figures.

• It can, however, be a “waist up” involving several people.

Close-Up

• Also known as CU

• The image being shot, usually the face, takes up at least 60-80% of the frame.

• In a close-up, the whole object can still be seen.

Extreme Close-Up

• Also known as an ECU

• A close up shot in which the full object cannot be seen – only a part of the object is revealed.

• Usually a part of a face (an eye, lips, etc.)

In-between = Term + Term

• Medium Close-Up– The shot is somewhere between the two; part

close-up and part medium shot

• Medium Long Shot– The shot is somewhere between a medium

shot and a long shot.– The viewer can see most of the body

Medium Close Up

Medium Close Up

Medium Long Shot

Extreme Long Shot

Extreme Long Shot

Camera Angles

• Eye-level

• Low Angle

• High Angle

Eye-level

• Also known as EL

• 90-95% of a film is shot at eye-level because it is most natural

• The camera is even with the character’s eyes.

Low Angle Shot

• Also known as LA

• The camera looks up at what is being photographed, making the subject look larger than normal

• Has the intended effect of making the character seem strong, powerful, and/or threatening.

High Angle Shot

• Also known as HA

• The camera looks down at what is being photographed, making the subject look smaller than normal.

• Has the intended effect of making the character seem weak, powerless, and/or trapped.

Camera Movement

• Zoom

• Pan

• Tilt

• Dolly/Tracking

• Boom/Crane

Zoom

• The camera does not move, rather the lens is manipulated to make an object seem to move closer or farther away from the camera.

• Zooming in to a character is often used to highlight a personal or revealing moment.

• Zooming away from a character is used to separate the character from the viewer.

Pan

• The camera, while on a fixed base, swivels horizontally.

• Pan right (camera moves left to right)

• Pan left (camera moves right to left)

Tilt

• The camera, while on a fixed base, swivels vertically.

• Tilt up (camera moves down to up)

• Tilt down (camera moves up to down)

Dolly / Tracking

• The camera is placed on a track.

• This allows the camera to move with the action

• It can take several people, all operating in synchronicity, to operate a dolly.

Boom / Crane

• Camera is placed on a crane.

• This allows the camera to move up, down, or sideways.

• Used frequently in establishing shots, or to break the bounds of reality.

Sound

• Diegetic sound– Sound that can be heard by the characters within

the film– Ex: gunshot, phone ringing, car engine racing

• Non-diegetic sound– Sound that cannot be heard by the characters in

the film. Used to elicit a reaction by the audience.– Ex: soundtrack, suspenseful music, narration

Editing Techniques

• Cut

• Dissolve

• Fade Out/Fade In

• Wipe

• Two-shot (shot/reverse)

• Eye-line match

• Point of view

Cut

• A cut is the most common type of transition

• One shot ends and is instantaneously replaced with another shot

• There are no other editing effects between the two shots

Dissolve

• A gradual transition in which one shot is momentarily superimposed on another.

• This editing technique is used to create a connection for the viewer between two disparate images.

Fade Out / Fade In

• One scene gradually emerges from (or disappears into) darkness.

• Often, a “fade out / fade in” is used to mark the passage of time.

Wipe

• A new image wipes off the previous image.

• A wipe is more fluid than a cut and quicker than a dissolve.

Two-shot (shot/reverse shot)

• A shot of one subject, then a shot of another subject, then back to the first

• Used primarily to edit a conversation between two people.

Eyeline Match

• A cut from an object to a person.

• Used to establish that the person is looking at (or can see) the object.

Point of View (POV)

• Also known as POV

• Cut to an object through the eyes of the subject

• To view the events through the eyes of a character’s physical vantage point

Lighting

• Balanced Lighting

• High key lighting

• Low key lighting

• Bottom/Side lighting

• Front/Rear lighting

Balanced lighting

High key lighting

• The frame is flooded with light

• Intended effect: Bright, cheerful, open, and welcoming.

Low key lighting

• The frame is flooded with shadows and darkness

• Intended effect: Creates suspense, suspicion, intrigue, lack of trust

Bottom/Side lighting

• Direct lighting from below or from one side

• Intended effect: Danger, evil, divided motives, moral ambiguity

Front/Rear lighting

• Soft, direct lighting on face or behind subject

• Intended effect: Innocence, purity, the “halo” effect

Focus!

• Deep focus

• Depth of field

• Shallow focus

Deep Focus

Deep Focus

Depth of Field

Shallow Focus

Shallow Focus