1. Film Techniques
Film techniques is the term used to describe the
ways that meaning is created in film.
A2 Media Studies
Eman, Katie, Lucy & Hamza
2. Types of Shot
A camera shot is the amount of space that is seen in one shot or frame. They are
used to demonstrate different aspects of a film's setting, characters and themes.
As a result, camera shots are very important in shaping meaning in a film.
• An extreme long shot contains a large amount of landscape. It is often used at
the beginning of a scene or a film to establish general location (setting). It’s also
known as an establishing shot.
• A long shot contains landscape but gives the viewer a more specific idea of
setting. It may show the viewers the building where the action will take place,
for example.
• A full shot contains a complete view of the characters. From this shot, viewers
can take in the costumes of characters and may also help to demonstrate the
relationships between characters.
• A mid shot contains characters from the waist up. From this shot, viewers can
see the characters' faces more clearly as well as their interaction with other
characters. This is also known as a social shot.
• A close-up contains just one character's face. This enables viewers to
understand the actor's emotions and also allows them to feel empathy for the
character. This is also known as a personal shot.
• An extreme close-up contains one part of a character's face or other object.
This type of shot creates an intense mood and provides interaction between the
audience and the viewer. It’s often used in horror films.
4. Camera Movement
There are a variety of different ways in which the camera can move during film. Many camera moves
use a combination of these techniques:
Dolly – the camera is mounted onto a cart which travels along tracks in order to keep movement
smooth. It’s known as a tracking/trucking shot.
Dolly zoom - the camera moves closer or further from the subject while simultaneously adjusting
the zoom angle to keep the subject the same size in the frame.
Follow – the camera physically follows the subject at (more or less) a constant distance.
Handheld Shooting - sometimes the action is moving too quickly or too unpredictably for the
camera to be on a tripod and this calls for making the camera more mobile and able to follow the
action of a scene. Most times the camera will simply be held by the operator, who will then employ
a number of basic camera moves by moving the feet - trucking in and out, dollying in one direction
or another, tilting, panning, zooming - and combinations of all of these.
Jib - A crane can be used to lift a camera (and operator, if it's big enough) from low to high shooting
positions, allowing high and low shots to be taken without movement, but also shots moving from
high to low angle, or visa versa, to be taken too. Less expensive jibs can support the weight of a
camera and lift it several feet off of the ground.
Pan – a horizontal movement during which the camera moves left and right.
Pedestal - moving the camera position vertically in relation to the subject.
Track - roughly synonymous with the dolly shot, but often defined more specifically as movement
which stays a constant distance from the action, especially side-to-side movement.
Zoom – although technically not a camera move, it’s a change in the lens focal length which gives
the illusion of moving the camera closer or further away.
5. Managing Time
When producing a film, it’s important to manage your time because
time is money in the film industry! It’s also important not to miss
deadlines, otherwise the film will take longer to create and keep
distributors and the audience waiting, and this will also cost the film
company more in hiring any equipment and locations and paying the
crew for a longer period of time than expected. Because of this, our
group is going to plan our time before we start filming for our short,
but mainly so that we don’t miss our deadlines because our short
film will be low budget. This will be useful for us and will also ensure
that we don’t miss out filming any scenes, otherwise our short
won’t make sense. Moreover, planning our time will help us with
continuity because we will be able to film scenes that go together at
the same time. For example, we will try to film all of the scenes on
the moorland at the same time so that the natural lighting and
setting is the same. Failing this, we will plan to film on the moorland
at the same time on days very close together to try and recreate the
same lighting and setting, and then use editing techniques to blend
them together.
6. Locations
When choosing locations, it’s important to make
sure that they convey the right message because
they will be a main part of the mise en scene.
Therefore, as we have been choosing the
locations for our film, we have been considering
everything that will come across in the scene
before deciding if they’re right or wrong for us to
use in our film. One of the locations that we have
considered the most is David and Eve’s house, as
the furniture, decoration and overall feel of the
house will reflect both of their personalities.
7. Actors and Actresses
Actors and actresses are one of the main focuses of a
film, so it’s important to hire the right ones. To make
sure our group does hire the right ones, we are
producing character profiles for each of our characters
and matching appearances of potential actors and
actresses to them, and we are also allowing our
potential actors and actresses to read them to allow
them to get into character. Once they are in character,
we are going to conduct a screen test, where they all
get to read a few lines from the script in front of the
camera to see how well they portray our characters
and how comfortable they are in front of the camera,
with an audience.
