© 2011 Delmar, Cengage Learning Chapter 1: Motion Picture Language (part 2) Courtesy of Kendelyn...

© 2011 Delmar, Cengage Learning

Chapter 1:

Motion Picture Language (part 2)

Courtesy of Kendelyn Ouellette

Objective

• Evaluate the effect of continuity and other editing techniques in motion picture sequences.


Note Taking Color Key

• Vocabulary – Green

• Key Terms - Blue


Agenda


Vocabulary



• Static shot• Tilt & pan• Dolly shot • Crane shot• Handheld shot • Steadicam shot • Push-in & pull-out

Vocabulary: Camera Movement


• Imagine seeing a shot of a character sitting at a kitchen table. After a few moments, there is a dissolve and the same character is standing near the far wall, at the kitchen counter making a cup of coffee. After the next dissolve, the scene shows the same character standing to the right of the frame, looking out the window while the coffee cup is sitting on the table. In each of the three shots, the framing stayed the same.

Linking Shots


• What do you guess from this sequence?

• Why were there dissolves between the shots?

Linking Shots


• What do you guess from this sequence?

• Why were there dissolves between the shots?

• The main reason dissolves are used is so the viewer understands that time has passed between each shot.

Linking Shots


• Similar to dissolves, fade ins can be used to introduce a scene or a new moment in a story, while fade outs can be used to bring a scene to a close like the curtain closing at the end of a scene in a play.

Linking Shots

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQj4i6SMY-A

• In a scene from the animated movie A Bug’s Life (1998), Flik, an adventurous ant, is about to leave his colony and is being seen off by little Dot and two skeptical “ant” children.

• The sequence communicates with the viewer using a wide array of expressive tools of motion potion language built on the physical reality of filming live subjects.

Linking Shots


A Bug’s Life: Flik Is Going To The City


• This is a movie made entirely of computer-generated imagery, so there was no real camera shooting a bunch of ants out on a field. Yet, it uses elements of live action shooting to show use the scene. For example, early in the scene is a focus pull.

• A focus pull occurs during shooting when the point of focus is altered on the lens of the camera, for example, from someone close to the camera to some one far away.

Linking Shots


• Point of View (POV) Shot

• A shot that is from the point of view of the character in the film.

Building Blocks of Visual Communication


• In this scene, there are a number of clear examples of motion picture language at work:

• The point of view shot as Flik looks down.• The swooping feel of the “camera” as Flik

takes off, duplicating a similar feel in live action shots.

• The “camera” continues when Flik hits the rock; the visual joke is accentuated by our understanding of shot movement and of its use timed with Flik’s “splat.”

Linking Shots


A Bug’s Life: Flik Is Going To The City


• Screen direction• Viewer perspective

• When multiple shots are used in

sequence, the viewer sees them

in relation to each other.

• Movement left to right • Americans read left to right so we

tend to view other things in this way. • What does this picture say to you?• What would it say if they soldiers were looking behind

them?

Basics of Continuity

Courtesy TriStar Pictures / Photofest


• Screen direction• What you infer from watching the movement of the screen

• The axis • Using the camera to duplicate viewer perspective • To preserve continuity, the camera must always be set

up on one side of the axis (180º Rule)– This rule is often deliberately broken during chase or fight

scenes to throw the viewer off or make them view the scene from a different perspective

Basics of Continuity

Courtesy TriStar Pictures / Photofest


The 180 Degree RuleMovie Making Techniques

Breaking the 180 Degree Rule Tokyo Drift Chase Scene (2006)


• Continuity Editing• A style and system of editing designed to make time

seem relatively continuous to the viewer• Match cut

• Matching movements of characters and objects between scenes

• Usually created during filming when there is a change in the position of the camera

• Jump cut• An obvious jump in time

• EX: a person sitting a chair in scene one and opening a door in scene two without an actions in between

Establishing Continuity


• Dissolve • When one shot fades away and another comes

into view

• Fade in• Used to introduce a scene or a new moment in a

story,

• Fade out • Used to bring a scene to a close

Establishing Continuity


• Composition• The particular framing for a shot, the way in which

visual elements are arranged

• Rule of Thirds• Separating a frame into

thirds and placing visual

elements at intersection

points to make viewing

more interesting

Composition

Framing: The Rule of Thirds


• Depth of View• Foreground

• Objects closest to the camera

• Background• Objects near the rear of the image

Composition


• High Angle Shot• Camera is placed

above subject with the lens pointing downward

• Used to make subject seem vulnerable

Depth of View


• Low Angle Shot• Camera is placed

significantly lower than the subject

• Done to offer perspective that accentuates the stature of the people or objects in the frame, sometimes distorting them or giving them force or power

Depth of View


– Composition of the frame:• How are people, objects, and places presented,

and how do they move around? • Where is the camera positioned and how does it

move?

– Qualities of light (Value)• How would you describe the “look” of the film?• What is typically sharp or blurry?• How do you describe light, dark, and color in the

film?

Investigating Tone and Style: Camera


– Cutting style• Do the cuts establish continuity? Are they “calm?” • Are the cuts sharp and “edgy?” Are there any jump cuts?

– Rhythms • Are cuts generally fast? • Are there any long shots?

– Sequences• What are some typical juxtapositions of shots? • How do sequences reveal or hide information?

Investigating Tone and Style: Editing


– Dialogue • How is dialogue used to establish the story? • Is there a rhythm or particular style to the dialogue?

– Sound design• How do the various noises of the film affect the impact of the

images? • How does sound work to add to, contradict, or comment on

the events of the motion picture?

– Music• How is music used in the movie?

Investigating Tone and Style: Sound


– Acting• Is there a particular tradition and context for the actors? • Do the performances fit together well and follow an approach

that reflects a cultural, social, or historical context?

– Production design (sets, costumes, props, etc.) – Visual effects

• How are production design and visual effects used to create a believable or artistically cohesive world on the screen?

• In what ways do production design and visual effects add to the story being told or the impact of the images?

Style: Directorial Choices


– Evaluate the script or objectives – Shot list – Storyboards – Schedule and checklist

Preparing for Production


Summary

In Chapter 1, you examined the ways in which moving images communicate ideas and narrate events using motion picture language.

In order to describe what you see on the screen, you studied terms used to describe shots and basic ways they are linked together in sequences.

You also studied a variety of terms and concepts to classify, analyze, and evaluate various types of motion pictures. In particular, you developed capacities to interpret style and tone of motion pictures.

© 2011 Delmar, Cengage Learning Chapter 1: Motion Picture Language (part 2) Courtesy of Kendelyn...

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Transcript of © 2011 Delmar, Cengage Learning Chapter 1: Motion Picture Language (part 2) Courtesy of Kendelyn...