The document provides an overview of cinematography and film techniques. It discusses key concepts like shot composition using rules of thirds, depth of field, camera angles, movement, and lighting. The director of photography leads the camera, lighting, and electrical crews and works to implement the director's vision through cinematography. Understanding these techniques helps viewers analyze how meanings and ideas are conveyed visually through film.

1. An Introduction to Cinematography

2. Why Study Film?
 In 1965, Marshal McLuhan pointed out that old mediums become the content of
the new medium. So, photography became the content of film, novels and
drama became the source of films, and films became the content of television.
 Like traditional print texts, film and television have a grammar of their own,
produced through camera techniques and editing. It is crucial in the 21st
Century that children and teens are taught how to read, i.e. analyze and write,
i.e. produce non-print media like film and television. Noted media educator and
theorist Len Masterman (1982) argues that young people need to be made
aware that film and television are ‘constructions’ that convey meanings and
ideology.
 It is the role of not only media educators but also English Language Arts
educators to help students understand who, why, how and for what purposes
media are created. Young people must also be conscious of how the values and
ideologies in media texts help to position them as readers.

3. Cinematography
 Photography
– “writing in light”
 Cinematography
– “writing in movement”
 Cinematography includes:
– lighting
– shot composition
– selection of cameras, lenses, and filters
– special effects

4. The Director of Photography
 Individual responsible for the cinematography
– uses camera and light to implement the director’s vision
 The head of the camera, lighting, and electrical crews
– Camera Operators
– First Assistant Camera & Second Assistant Camera
– Steadicam operator
– Digital Imaging Technician (DIT)

7. Director of Photography (DP)
 The DP was usually also the director and the person
operating the camera
– when movies were a new art form
 As the art form and technology evolved, a separation
between director and camera operator emerged.

8. Shot Composition
 A shot is the continuous run of the camera.
– the moment between when the camera starts & stops recording
 Shot composition refers to the framing of the image.
– as well as the arrangement of objects within the frame
– also referred to as framing

9. The Rule of Thirds
 Compositional guideline
– used by artists to compose aesthetically pleasing images
 Divides the frame into:
– three vertical sections
– three horizontal sections

10. The Rule of Thirds & Aesthetics
 Helps artists produce aesthetically pleasing images
– a guide for the off-center placement of subjects
– rule comes from hundreds of years of artistic experimentation
 Subjects should be placed along the lines.

19. “Hotspots”
 The intersection points are called hotspots
– objects of interest are placed at the intersection of these lines
 Produces a more engaging composition

26. The Rule of Thirds & Balance
 The rule can be used to create symmetrical compositions
– shots with equal distribution of objects within the frame
– also referred to as a balanced composition

27. Symmetry
 Objects on either side of the frame match each other
– size, shape, and relative position of objects matches
– a mirror-image arrangement of objects

36. Asymmetrical Compositions
 Shots that have an unequal distribution of objects.
– also referred to as imbalanced compositions

37. Asymmetry
 Objects on either side do not reflect each other.
– The sides of the frame are not identical.
– the absence of symmetry

43. Plane of Depth
 The film frame is composed of three planes of depth:
– foreground
– middle-ground
– background

44. Planes of Depth
 The film frame is a two-dimensional image.
– placing objects or people in various planes gives the image the
perception of depth

48. Depth of Field
 Distance in front of the camera that will appear in focus
– a zone of sharp focus

49. Shallow Depth of Field
 Only one plane is in focus.
– often used to direct the audience’s attention
– create a sense of claustrophobia

51. Deep Depth of Field
 Multiple planes of the film frame are in focus.

53. Lenses
 Depth of field varies by lens.
– Wide-angle lenses have a wider depth of field.
– Telephoto lenses have a shallower depth of field.
 Types of lenses
– normal lens
– wide-angle lens
– telephoto lens
– zoom lens

56. Wide-Angle Lens
 Exaggerates the frame’s depth
– expands space between objects
– distorts straight lines, bulging them outward
– Wide-angle lenses have a deep depth of field.

57. Telephoto Lens
 Reduces the frame’s depth
– compresses space between objects
– the background and foreground seem squashed together
– Telephoto lenses have a shallow depth of field.

60. Zoom Lens
 Alters the size of the subject without changing the
distance between the subject and camera.
– magnifies the subject
– minimizes the subject
 The camera doesn’t necessary move.
 Permits filmmaker to change from wide-angle and
telephoto lenses during shooting.

61. Rack Focus or Pull Focus
 the practice of changing the focus of the lens during a
shot, this can refer to small or large changes of focus.
 if the focus is shallow, then the technique becomes
more noticeable

62. Shot Composition
 Shot composition is determined by:
– camera distance
– camera angle
– camera level
– camera movement

63. Camera Distance
 The names of shots refer to camera distance
– the space between the camera and the subject
– the subject-to-camera distance
 Extreme long shot (XLS)
– The subject is barely visible.

64. Long Shot (LS)
 The subject is more prominent
– the background still dominates the frame

65. Medium Long Shot (MLS)
 The subject is framed from the knees up.

66. Medium Shot (MS)
 The subject is framed from the waist up.

67. Medium Close-Up (MCU)
 The subject is framed from the chest up.

68. Close-up (CU)
 Just the head, hands, feet, etc appear in the frame.

69. Extreme Close-up (XCU)
 Only a small portion of the body appears in the frame

70. Camera Angle
 Low-angle shot
– camera is positioned below the subject
– aimed upward
– The subject appears powerful or important.

73. Camera Angle
 High-angle shot
– camera is positioned above the character
– aimed downward
– subject often appears vulnerable or powerless

77. Overhead Shot
 The camera is directly above the subject.
– also referred to as a bird’s eye view shot

82. Dutch Angle
 The camera is tilted
– the framing is not level
– often signifies a moment of imbalance, dynamism, or stress
– also referred to as canted framing

83. The Origin of the Term
 The term is derived from Deutch
– which is the German word for “German”
 Used extensively in German Expressionist films
– in the 1920s

88. Point-of-View
 Camera simulates a character’s field of vision
– depicts the action through a character’s eyes
– a subjective shot

95. Camera Movement
 Mobile camerawork changes the distance, angle, level,
during the shot.
 Types of camera movement
– pan
– tilt
– dolly
– crane
– Steadicam
– handheld

96. Pan & Tilt
 Pan
– Camera rotates left or right
– Camera body does not move
 Tilt
– Camera rotates up or down
– Camera body does not move

97. Dolly Shot
 A shot in which the entire camera moves on a wheeled
platform.
– enables the smooth movement of the camera

101. The Dolly Zoom
 Technique achieved when the camera:
– dollys out while zooming in
– dollys in while zooming out
 Often used to produce an unsettling effect
– The camera moves but the framing stays consistent.
 Invented by director Alfred Hitchcock and cameraman
Irmin Roberts in Vertigo (1953)
– also referred to as a “trombone shot”

102. Crane Shot
 Shot made from a camera mounted on an elevating arm
– the crane can be raised or lowered
– the crane can also move through space

104. The Steadicam
 A stabilizing camera mount
– consisting of a shock-absorbing arm
– attached to the operator’s body
 Enables a smooth shot
– even over uneven terrain

106. Handheld
 A shot accomplished without any sort of stabilizing tools
– such as a tripod, dolly, or Steadicam
 Characterized by shakiness
– often represents a loss of control
– also used to represent realism (or documentary realism)

107. The Long Take
 A shot that continues for an unusually long period of time
– before the next shot begins
 A long take generally lasts a minute or longer.
– The average shot length is 4-6 seconds.
 Should not be confused with the long shot

108. Lighting
 DP is also the head of the lighting department.
– Lighting refers to more than illumination.
– painting with light
 The active viewer is continually analyzing how light and
shadow work together.

109. “I am very, very concerned with the emotions of the story.
I am much less concerned with the reality of what the
lighting would be at that particular moment or in that
particular situation.”
~Michael Slovis, Director of Photography

112. Lighting & Color
 Different temperatures of light produce different colors
of light.
– Higher temperatures produce “cool” colors (blue)
– Lower temperatures produce “warm” colors (orange)

113. Lighting & Color
 Filmmakers can also add colored gels to lighting
instruments to create different colors.
– a transparent, colored sheet of plastic used as a filter

118. Three-point Lighting
 Most common lighting technique is three-point lighting
– key light (the main source of light)
– fill light (fills in the shadows created by the key light)
– back light (separates the subject from the background)

119. High-key Lighting
 The lighting design that creates little contrast
– the shot is uniformly illuminated
– reduces the presence and severity of shadows

122. Low-key Lighting
 Lighting style that creates strong contrasts
– extremely dark and light regions within the frame
– produces sharp, deep shadows

126. Transitions
 https://youtu.be/OAH0MoAv2CI

127. Diegetic Sound
 noise which has a source on-screen
and has not been edited in
– dialogue
– footsteps
– radio playing in the background
 “actual sound”
– source

128. Non-Diegetic Sound
 noise whose source is neither visible on
the screen nor has been implied to be
present in the action
 comes from a source outside the story
– narrator's commentary
– sound effects which are added for the
dramatic effect
– mood music
– commentary music

129. Anachronistic Sound
 music in a film which does not match
the film’s setting
– music older than the setting
• creates nostalgia or out-of-touch characters
– music more modern than the setting
• time travel? artistic license?
– Source
 Ex: The Great Gatsby (2013)

130. Continuity
 the practice of ensuring that details in a
shot are consistent from shot to shot
within a film scene.
 audiences have a greater suspension
of disbelief and will be more engaged