This document discusses camera techniques used in portraying party scenes based on analyzing clips from the TV series "Skins". It notes that close-ups, canted angles, and hand-held camera work are often used to convey intoxicated states of characters and a sense of chaos. Canted angles specifically symbolize the effects of drugs and alcohol on the body and an experimental lifestyle. Quick cuts between clips maintain a fast pace suggestive of an "out of control" party building toward a climactic moment. The document examines these techniques to inform filming an upcoming party scene in a coming-of-age film.

1. Camera Ideas 1
Party Scene

2. Skins
Skins is an British on-going TV series, a drama based on the lives
of different groups of friends throughout their years of college. The
target audience for Skins is young adults, roughly around the same
ages as the characters i.e. 16 – 20, this is because of the explicit
content featured i.e. sex, drugs and violence. This series was
incredibly popular due to the relation the characters and themes
has with the audience, including relatable story lines along with
covering several sub-genres such as comedy, social
realism, romance.
Throughout the 6 series of Skins, the stereotypical scene which is
always featured in a ‘party scene’, representing the archetypical
behaviour of teenagers in this day and age. Considering that our
trailer is a coming of age film, we also wanted to include the
stereotypical party scene as we wanted this to include the climatic
point in our film, along with having the opportunity to explore and
use camera angles in order to portray various things.

3. A complication of clips from 16 series
http://youtu.be/GGL4nNnjkWQ

4. Camera Angles 1
Wide High Angled Shot
Close Up Shot
Close Up Shot
Wide Angle – Establishing Shot
Low Angled Shot

5. Skins – Series 3
Another short clip from Series 3 of Skins.
http://youtu.be/RC6zFBji_vQ

6. Camera Angles 2
Close up – Low Angle
Shot
Medium Close Up Shot
Wide - High Angle Shot
Extreme Close up Canted angle
Medium Close Up – Canted Angle Close up/Medium Close up

7. Popular Camera Angles
Used
O Canted Angles
O Close Up
O Medium Long Shot
O High Angle Shot
O Low Angle Shot

8. Canted Angles
Canted angles are used repeatedly in both clips
to clearly represent the stereotypical behaviour
at young adult’s parties. The canted angles are
symbolically used in order to reveal the reaction
of drug and alcohol abuse on a person’s
body, alongside representing the experimental
lifestyle of teenagers and young adults. Canted
angles also connote the outrageous and out of
control behaviour of the characters as the
skewed angle represents their erratic state of
mind.

9. Close Ups/Extreme Close
Ups
Close ups and extreme close ups are the most popular camera
angle used in the previous clips. The use of the close ups
allows the audience to focus on the facial expressions of the
characters, linking to the directors intentions of portraying the
characters as being drunk or high, showing the archetypical
behaviour. In addition, close ups can be used in order to
represent relationships between characters. For
example, close up of a feature of a character (eyes) would be
followed by a eye-line match to another character, connoting a
lust or passion a character has for another, linking to the
stereotypical sub-genre in a coming of age film being
romance/sex. However, depending on the expression of the
individual features, it could also show conflict between
characters, foreshadowing a climatic point to the scene.
Furthermore extreme close ups are used effectively to show
the state of the characters i.e. focusing on the sweat on a
characters forehead. This shows the intensity of the party
along with the reaction the body is having to the alcohol and
drug substances.

10. Movement of Camera Angles
The shots in both clips appear to be unsteady, this is
due to the camera being ‘hand-held’ allowing the
audience to feel part of the scene and
atmosphere, creating a POV perspective. This is
what we will mainly be including in our own party
scene as we feel that we could portray the manic
state of the party, having the opportunity to take close
up, canted, low and high angled shots. A pan is used
frequently, used in order to create a long
take, moving from one character to another. This is
effective as it allows the audience to see what's in the
back and foreground of the shot along with creating a
variety between length of shots.

11. Transitions
Within both of the clips, there is a lack of
transitions used, conventionally only using quick
cuts in order to jump from clip to clip. This is
effective and links in with the intentions of
portraying the wildness of the party as the lack
of transitions increases the pace of the
clips, symbolic for the ‘high’ and excited state of
their bodies due to the substance abuse. It also
establishes the party as being ‘out of control’
with the pace of the clips being fast, possibly
leading up to the climatic point of the scene.