FILM LANGUAGEBy Elisa Dubignon

MOVING SHOTThe female protagonist is seen running into the school pushing the gate open. Moving shot is used to capture the subject in action. it introduces the character effectively because in most adventure/action films, the opening sequence usually contains a moving shot.

LEADING SHOTThis is an image following the female protagonist. The image is a leading shot and it is used as a way to provide continuality combined with the short clips put together. It is an effective technique to show the flow of the action in different ways. Here it is shown from the feet. My group used this shot, to show the character running up the stairs.

OVER THE SHOULDERHere are two images of me running to a ‘teacher’ and talking to her.(My friend in the group was the teacher) The ‘over the shoulder’ shot is taken from behind a person who is looking at the subject. The ‘teacher’ facing the subject should usually occupy about 1/3 of the frame.This shot helps to establish the position of each person, and get the feel of looking at the subject from the other's point of view.It's common use the ‘over the shoulder shot’ when two characters are having a conversation, it alternates the view between the different speakers.

We can see the facial expressions here. The protagonist looks shocked and afraid. However, she looks relieved to see the teacher.

TILT This is a tilt which captures the female protagonist talking on a phone. A tilt is a vertical camera movement in which the camera points up or down from a stationary location. Tilting is less common than panning because that’s the way human work, we look left and right more than look up and down. This shot is effective as it introduces the character.

The costume of the character is seen to be quite casual. This makes the film relatable to the audience. She is seen as an average teenager and the situation she is in can happen to anyone. (In the short clip we were presenting a girl who was being chased by a stranger.)

The prop shown here is an iphone which connects with the modern audience as they use the same everyday item. Also in films, props are used to identify the era when the film was done. For example, we can tell this is not made in 1990s because iphones weren’t invented then.

TWO SHOTHere is a two-shot of the female protagonist with the ’teacher.’ a two shot captures the two characters having a conversation with one another.A two-shot could also involve movement or action. It is a good way to follow the interaction between two people without getting distracted by their surroundings as they are the focal point of the shot.

EVALUATIONThe task was to explore how camera shots create meaning. To do this, I

gathered a range of camera shots from a clip I did with my group. As a group we tried many shots that would suit our short adventure/action clip. I think we done this well because we included : moving shot, leading shot, tilt and over the shoulder which are commonly used in action/adventure films.

To improve, we could have had a tracking shot. This would also appear in an action film as the shot captures the movement of the protagonist. Furthermore, including this shot would engage the audience as they are viewing from the perspective of the protagonist if the camera were to be behind them.