2. ACTIVE FILM VIEW VIEWERSHIP
In film, the ‘how’ is just as important as the ‘what’. To move from
passive to active viewership, you must recognise and keep in mind
that everything in the film was done purposefully and that the end
product is comprised of many elements.
3. CAMERA WORK AND FRAMING
There are many modes of cinematography that the film crew can use,
each producing a different effect. A scene can be composed of many
shots. A shot is the time that elapses in one take. The way that the
camera is moved in any given take establishes the rhythm and point
of view of a scene.
4. HANDHELD/STEADICAM
In a handheld shot, the operator’s body is used as a camera support.
Whereas hand held cameras give a film an unstable, jerky feel, they
also allow for a greater degree of movement and flexibility than
bulkier standard cameras.
Handheld cameras have experienced a recent revival with the
popularity of documentary-style filmmaking.
5. MOVEMENT
Pan - to turn, or pan (from the word panorama), the camera horizontally so that it sweeps
around the scene. It can also be tilted up or down in a vertical panning shot or in a diagonal
pan, as when it follows an actor up a stairway.
Tilt – up and down movement of the camera along a vertical/horizontal axis
Track - any shot where the camera moves alongside the object(s) it is recording. In
cinematography, the term refers to a shot in which the camera is mounted on a camera
dolly that is then placed on rails – like a railroad track. The camera is then pushed along the
track while the image is being filmed.
Dolly – basically same as track (camera mounted on device and moves)
Crane – taken using crane, most common way to end a movie
Steadicam - lightweight mounting for a film camera which keeps it steady for
filming when handheld or moving.
Hand held – clue is in the name (e.g DSLR camera)
Zoom – zoom (duh)
Reverse zoom – zooming out
6. COMPOSITION
Framing – technique to bring focus to a subject
Rule of thirds - when the photo is split into three
Depth of field;
Shallow –
Deep – basically everything is in focus
Focus pulls – changing focus during a shot:
7. EDITING
After the footage of a film is shot, editors work to join the shots
together in a cohesive manner. Often, scenes are shortened or cut
and shots are joined together in different ways. Traditionally, film
editing was meant to be seamless and not invasive. This style of
editing is called continuity style, wherein editing techniques avoid
drawing attention to themselves. However, some avant-garde
filmmakers intentionally draw attention to editing and do not attempt
to hide the fact that film is artifice.
8. Shot/reverse shot - where one character is shown looking at another character (often off-
screen), and then the other character is shown looking back at the first character.
Eyeline match - associated with the continuity editing system. It is based on the premise
that an audience will want to see what the character on-screen is seeing.
Graphic match - creates a cut between two shots that juxtapose their graphically similar
images e.g. Voldemort getting a wand then it cuts to him fighting Harry with that same
wand
Action match – when the scene cuts from one shot to another view that matches the first
shot's action. A common example is a man walking up to door then cuts to reaching for the
handle
Jump cut - an abrupt transition from one scene to another
Crosscut - used in films to establish action occurring at the same time in two different
locations. In a cross-cut, the camera will cut away from one action to another action, which
can suggest the simultaneity of these two actions but this is not always the case.
Parallel editing - the technique of alternating two or more scenes that often happen
simultaneously but in different locations.
Cutaway/insert - the interruption of a continuously filmed action by inserting a view of
something else e.g. boy and man being filmed then zooms in on a potato
9. SHOTS
Two shot - shot of two people together
Establishing shot - Usually the first shot of a new scene, designed to show the audience
where the action is taking place. It is usually a very wide shot or extreme wide shot.
Master shot - Recording of an entire dramatized scene, from start to finish, from an angle that
keeps all the players in view. It is often a long shot and can sometimes perform a double function as
an establishing shot (gives feel of where they are).
Close up – head only, expressions become important
Mid shot – approx waist to head
Long shot – figure can be seen from head to toe
Wide shot – acts as an establishing shot, normally used at the beginning of a film or
sequence.
Shows where action is taking place.
Conventional connotation- person is isolated, alone, vunerable.
Aerial shot – normally take using drone/aircraft
10. Aerial shot – normally take using drone/aircraft
Point of view shot –
Over the shoulder shot –
12. WHEN LOOKING AT THE EDITING
STYLE OF A FILM, NOTICE:
Transitions: how shots are joined together
Matches: whether two seemingly unrelated shots are optically joined
together to infer meaning: i.e. if we see a character staring at
something and then a cut to the thing they appear to be staring at
Duration: how long a particular shot is
13. ACTING
There is enormous historical and cultural variation in performance
styles in the cinema. Early melodramatic styles, clearly indebted to
the 19th century theatre, gave way in Western cinema to a relatively
naturalistic style.
When considering the acting in a film, think not only of how the actor
interprets and plays his/her character, but why a particular actor was
chosen for his/her character.
14. MUSIC
Sound is equally important to image in film, and the score of a film is
second only to dialogue in creating mood and establishing plot.
15. SOUND
Synchronous sound - sound that is matched to certain movements occurring in the scene e.g when footsteps
correspond to feet walking
Asynchronous sound – opposite of above
Sound motif -
Sound bridge - Sound bridges are one of the most common transitions in the continuity editing style, one that
stresses the connection between both scenes since their mood (suggested by the music) is still the same
Sound perspective – refers to the apparent distance in sound. Clues to the distance of the source include the
volume of the sound and the balance with other sounds, the frequency range (high frequencies may be lost at
a distance) and the amount of echo and reverberation
Incidental music - music used in a film or play as a background to create or enhance a particular atmosphere
Ambient sound – e.g birdsong (can be recorded at place of scene and plays in background/added to
soundtrack)
