Unit 1 media

1. Guide to camerawork and photography techniques
 Close up:The objecttakesup mostof the frame.Theyare useful forshowingand
emphasisingdetail andfacial expressions,canhave a dramaticeffect.
 Mediumclose up: Lessclose than a close up,showsthe person’sshouldersandtheirhead.
Showsthe person’sfacial expressionswhilstnotbeingtooextremelyclose,useful in
documentaries.
 Extreme close up:Closerthana regularclose up,objecttakesupthe whole frame
and usuallynone of the backgroundisvisible.Itisa dramaticshotthat meansthe
audience canfocuson the character alone,notany backgroundaction.Canhave
a mysteriouseffecte.g.if onlythe character’seyesare visible.
 Mediumshot:Shot from a mediumdistance andgive the viewerpartial view of the
background.Theyare favouredforshowingdialogue astheyallow the viewertopickup on
character’smovementsandgestures.Still close enoughtocapture emotion.
 Mediumlongshot:a shot betweenthe medium(ormid) shotandthe longshot,it
framesthe whole subjectfromthe kneesupandshowsthe subject/characterin
relationtotheirsurroundings.Canbe useful if there ismore thanone personin
the frame.
 Long shot:oftenshowsanentire object/personandisusuallyintendedtoplace it/themin
some relationtoitssurroundings.Oftenusedtoshow scenesof thrill/actionasitgives
viewerawide viewof what’sgoingoninthe scene.Allowsviewerstoacknowledge the
settingwhich canbe vital tothe plot.

2.  Extreme longshot:showsmore backgroundthanthe longshot andis
shotfrom a furtherdistance,itisthe longesttype of shotand furthest
away.Usuallyinformsthe audience the charactersare movingfrom
one location/settingtoanother.Allowsthe audience totake inthe
whereaboutsof the scene andemphasisethe distance.Canbe shown
to use cityscapes andothersettingse.g.castles.
 Establishingshot:usuallythe firstshotof a new scene
whichshowsthe audience where the actionwill be taking
place.Usuallya longshotor extreme longshot.The effect
isusuallyforthe audience toestablishthe settingand
where everythingistakingplace.
 Overheadshot:a shotwhere the camerais placedusuallydirectly
above the actor, lookingdownonthem.Itgivesthe audience a
bird’seye viewandgivesthemthe impressiontheyare looking
downon the action.Can be usedfor dramaticeffectorspatial
perspective.
 Pointof view(POV) shot:Thisshotshowsthe scene fromthe
character’sperspective andshowsthe audiencewhattheyare
lookingatand whattheycan see,fromtheirpointof view.These
shotsrepresentwhatthe charactercan see andcan be usedfor
dramaticeffector to give the audience aninsightintothe
character.
 Two-shot:A shotof twopeople together,sometimesnextto
each other,sometimesone inthe foreground andone inthe
back. Veryuseful if the filmisabout2people orhas 2 main
characters. These are goodfor establishingrelationships
betweentwopeople.A natural shottointroduce 2 characters.
 Overshouldershot:ashot takenfromoverthe character’sshoulder.Againshowsthe scene
fromthe perspectiveof characterandis usuallyused when2characters are havingan
interaction ordiscussion.Itallowsthe audience toestablishthe charactersandthe setting.
Helpsto establish eachcharacter’sposition.

3.  Highangle shot:Scene/characterisshotfrom a highangle,similartoan
overheadshotinsome cases.The effectof thisshotisto make any
characters lookweak,vulnerable and/orpowerless.
 Low angle shot:The scene/characterisshotfroma low angle,this
givesthe opposite effecttothe highangle shotandmakesthe
character seemstrongand powerful.
 High,lowand midheightshots:How highup the camera is,whichhasan
effectonthe shottype.Shotsthat are takenfroma lowercamera height
usuallyhave more of a dramaticeffect.Mid(eye level) heightshotsare
more natural and mundane whilsthighandlow heightshotsswitchitup
a bit.
 Movement- static:ashot that doesnothave any tilts,pans,dollies,
or trucks. Itis a verysimple shottype andcan be verypowerful
because itdoesnotadd any unnecessarydramatictiltswhichcan
take away the effectof the scene.
 Movement-pan:the camerahorizontallysweepsacrossthe scene.Itcan
alsobe movedverticallyordiagonallyforavertical/diagonalpan.
Horizontal panshotsare useful forfilmingcarsgoingpastwhilstvertical
pan shotscan be useful forfollowingcharactersupthe stairs,for
example. Canhelptogive chaoticand mysteriouseffect.
 Movement- whippan:atype of panshot inwhichthe camera pans so
quicklythatthe picture blursintoindistinctstreaks.Itiscommonlyusedas
a transitionbetweenshots,andcanindicate the passage of time ora
freneticpace of action.These shotsare particularlygoodforemphasising
chaos and chaoticscenesandshow a fast pacedscene.

4.  Movement- tilt:acinematographictechniquein whichthe camerastaysin
a fixedpositionbutrotatesup/downinavertical plane.The effectof this
shotis that itmimicsthe movementof apersonmovingtheirheadupand
downand givesamysteriouseffectinsome cases.
 Movement- track:a shot where the cameramovesalongsidethe
object(s) itisrecording.Forexample,itcouldfollowacar chase,
someone runningawayetc.thisaddsan actionatmosphere and
speedsupthe pace of the scene.The effectitcan give isto keepthe
audience onthe edge of theirseatsandbuildsuspense.
 Movement-dolly:ashotin whichthe camerais mountedona camera
dollythatisthenplacedon rails – like a railroadtrack.The camera isthen
pushedalongthe track while the image isbeingfilmed. Thiscanbe used
to filmtrackingshotsandcan give similareffectssuchasbuilding
suspense.
 Movement-crane:ashottakenbya cameraon a movingcrane or jib.
Thiscan be helpful tofilmshotsfromhighuptodo highangle shots,
whichshowstrengthandpower.Thiscan alsobe useful inestablishing
shotsto filmthingslike buildingsfromhighup.
 Movement- handheld:A shotinwhichthe camera filmingthe scene/shotisahand held
one.The camera isnot mountedona tripodor stand but
heldbythe camera operative. Hand-heldcamerasare used
because theyare convenientlysizedfortravel andbecause
theyallowgreaterfreedomof motionduringfilming.These
typesof shotsoftenproduce a shakycamera whichcan be
veryuseful ,suchasin‘foundfootage’filmsasthe scenesdo
not lookartificial,butasif theywere actuallyfilmedbythe
characters andthiscan helpgive the effectof suspense and
mysteryandmake the filmsseemreal,especiallyinhorror
films.
 Movement-zoom:thisiswhenthe camerazoomsinto a certain
person/objectinthe scene.Thiscanhelpshow small detailsonobjects
or facial expressionsoncharacterswhichcan be veryuseful.Zooming
inas oppose to usingclose upscan alsohelptobuildsuspense if done
slowly.Theycanalsohelpthe audience know whattobe focusingon.

5.  Movement- aerial:A shottakenfroman airborne device,generallywhile
moving.Thiscan be particularlyusefulforestablishingshotsastheyhelp
to showthe settingfroma wide view andhelpthe audiencetobe able to
establishthe setting.
 Composition-aspectratio:The size of the image inthe scene.The
proportional relationshipbetweenthe widthand the height.
 Composition-The rule of thirds: The rule of thirds is applied by aligning a
subject with the guide lines and their intersection points, placing the
horizon on the top or bottom line, or allowing linear features in the
image to flow from section to section.
 Composition-Depthof field:(Deepandshallow focus) the distance
between the nearest and the furthest objects giving a focused
image. It allows parts of the images to be sharp and some to be out
of focus.
 Composition-Focuspull:The focuspull (AKA rackfocus) isacreative
camera technique inwhichyouchange focusduringashot.Usuallythis
meansadjustingthe focusfromone subjecttoanother. Thiscan helpthe
audience understandwhatitistheyshouldbe focusingonandwhat the
focusof the scene is.
 Colour- Warm/cool:The tintof the camerain scenes.Warmcolours
are generallyusedinhorrormoviestogive acold,chillingatmosphere
whilstwarmcoloursare usuallyusedincomedies,romcomsetc.to
give more of a happyandwarm effectonthe audience.
 Colour- blackandwhite/monochromatic:Thisiswhenablackand white
filterisoverlaidona scene.Thiscan give the ideathatthe filmwas
filmedinanoldertime soitcan date the scene,itcan alsobe usedas an
artisticeffect.Canbe usedto show historical settingordreamsequence.

6.  Colour- exposure:howlightordarkthe image is.Lighter
exposure canbe usedinhappierfilmswhile darkexposure may
be usedfor filmgenressuchashorror. “The qualityof light
allowedthroughthe photo lens”.Overexposedimagescan
create specificeffects.
 Colour- Filters:affectthe colourof the camera shot,forexample bygivingita
blue/green/redtintorforexample adustyeffect.Some filterscanbe usedto
give a historical effectanddifferentfiltersofferdifferenteffects.
 Visual effects- Green/blue screen:Greenandblue screensallowfilm
makersto change the backgroundsof shots to make actors seem
like theyare inplacestheyare actuallynot,for example infictional
locationsforexample flyingona dragonwhentheyare in fact not,
the screenisjust green/blue.Thiscan give afantasysort of effect
and allowsfilmmakerstobe more creative.Usedinweather
forecastswhenthe weatherpersonisstandinginfrontof a map.
 Visual effects- computergeneratedimagery: Computer-generated
imagery(CGI) isthe applicationof computergraphicstocreate or
contribute toimagesinart, printedmedia,videogames,films,
televisionprograms,shorts,commercials,videos,andsimulators. They
can be usedtomake fictional beingssuchasdragonsor elvesorthings
that aren’treal so give a fantasysortof effectonthe audience.