Cinematography

This post is about Cinematography. This is the craft of being behind the camera and having control over the shots and types of shots you wish to use.

Extreme Long shots
-these type of shots are ones where the shot covers a lot of the area. These are normally used to create the idea that the area is large, or maybe the feel of emptiness a character has.

Long Shot
-A long shot typically opens a scene as you would be able to see everything in the shot(possibly introducing all the characters at once). These shots would seem to the audience as if the actors and set is in front of them, normally involving lots of detail in the background and costume.

Medium Shot
-This type of shot typically covers above the waist of the actors. It normally films a conversation where the actors are not moving about to much and the audience can concentrate on the dialogue. It is easy to over use this type of shot because it is easy to capture action but can become boring after a while.

Close up
- These type of shots force the audience to watch a part of the film they may not have noticed. This can be used effectively when filming a small object eg ; a ring, a usb or even a small gesture from one actor to the other. They can be used to show the audience something that the characters in the film do not know.

Extreme Close Up
-This shot shows no background and very small detailed parts of a person or important object. Normally showing nothing bigger than eyes or lips etc.

Point of View
-This type of shot shows the actors view on things and how he/she may see other people in the film. This is normally used to show emotion in the characters or characters being effected. It gives the audience the feel that they are involved in the story line and are really being effected by these things.

Over the Shoulder
-This normally shows any sneaky things a charater may be doing in a 'Hes behind you!' effect. This is where we see a converstaion as if from looking behind someone 'over their sholder'.

Camera Angles

Birds eye view
-This angle is from above the scene as if a 'bird' is looking down on the actors. This is good for coverage in scenes where lots of ground can be covered in a single shot.

High Angles
- This shot is used to show the vulnerability of a charater. Showing that they might be in danger or trouble is coming.

Low Angles
- These shots do the complete opposite of the above and make the character seem in control and giving them the hiarchy in the scene.This shot increases the height of an actor to give the effect that they are taller.

Camera Movement

Pan
-this movement moves from left to right showing a vast amount of space. This could be used to capture a city or in a confined space to spot out a character.

Tilt
-This is based on a pan shot, but instead going from up to down or down to up. This is used to show the height of something or making it seem larger than it really is.

Crane
-This type of shot is where the camera starts close to the actor and moves further away into the distance. This makes the actor seem small and vulnerable.

Tracking
-A shot like this is used mostly in action movies where the actor is running and the camera is set up on a track to follow them. This can be very effective but costs a lot to set up.

Stedicam
-This is a device which uses weight to allow the cinematographer to wear the camera. This is used in films where a track and not be set up or the 'chase' is too detailed.

Rolling
-This shot is where the camera is 'rolling' to create a scene a sense of confusion to the character. used mostly in horrors or thrillers this is used to show madness or mental problems to the character.

Genre and Narrative

Genre- A macro element which categorises media products into areas where all of the products share the same charatristics. Genres like 'horror' and 'thrillers' are popular genres of film as they are easily recognised. 'Horror' would involved tense atmospheres. murders and scenes involving lots of blood and scary images. However, 'Thrillers' will also involve blood, except with more violence and more fast moving scenes that involve adrenaline. Genres also have taken into account the audience, for example, a woman may be more enclined to watch a 'rom com' genre than maybe a 'war' genre.

Narritive- This is the way a series of events are put together. For example, when you look for narrative in a film, you would look at the construction of the film. Some films are arranged in different orders where the 'end' is actually at the start of the film and the rest of the film is spent finding out why the end is the way it is. This type of sequence is called non- linear as the events are all in a unusual order to a normal 'beginning, middle, end' sequence. This normal sequence is called linear.

Welcome Post!

Hello
Welcome to my Blog!

This blog is dedicated to Media at Robert Clack which I am currently studding in year 12. i enjoy studding media along with a few of my friends in my filming group. I am a budding actress and take part in a variety of performances locally with my local drama group. Some of these performances include The kenneth More in Ilford, The London Palladium, Saddlers Wells, the 02 arena in london and a variety of other famous theatres. I hope you enjoy reading my blog!