FILM MAKING

Making a Film

STILL CAM

VIDEO CAM

FILM MAKING

Making a Film

FILM MAKING

It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation

FILM MAKING

It is produced by photographic images with camera, or by creating images using animation

is the rapid display of a sequence of images of 2-D or 3-D artwork or model positions to create an illusion of movement.

Early examples of attempts to capture the phenomenon of motion drawing can be found in paleolithic cave paintings

Early examples of attempts to capture the phenomenon of motion drawing can be found in paleolithic cave paintings

INVENTION OF

Films are made up of a series of individual images called frames. When these images are shown rapidly in succession, a viewer has the illusion that motion is occurring.

1887

MO-TI (470 BC to 390 BC),

1900 ON WARDS Films as entertainment. World War Political use & Propaganda Hollywood industry & others.

(china,India,Iran)

HOLLYWOOD 80s 90s 2000 2012

FILM Development

Pre-production

Post-production

DEVELOPMENT

Finding story Finding a writer Step Outlining (turning the story into a

screenplay for a motion picture.) Screen writing (writing story in dramatic

way, writing it again n again improving dramatization, clarity, structure, characters, dialogue, and overall style.)

film distributor (is a company or individual responsible for releasing films to the public either theatrically or for home viewing)

PRE-PRODUCTION

Creating a production company. Hiring crew Storyboarding production budget Insurance

PRODUCTION AND CREW

The director = storytelling + decisions Making + Acting of the film.

The assistant director (AD) = shooting schedule + logistics of the production. There are several types of AD, each with different responsibilities.

The casting director =finds actors to fill the parts in the script + actors audition.

The location manager= finds and manages film locations, Indoor & Outdoor.

The production manager =manages the production budget and production schedule.+ finding financiers of the film.

The director of photography (DoP) is the cinematographer who supervises the photography of the entire film

The director of audiography (DoA) who supervises the audiography of the entire film,

The production sound mixer is the head of the sound department during the production stage of filmmaking. They record and mix the audio on set - dialogue, presence and sound effects in mono and ambience in stereo. They work with the boom operator, Director, DoA, DoP, and First AD.

The sound designer creates the aural conception of the film, working with the supervising sound editor. On some productions the sound designer plays the role of a director of audiography.

The composer =creates new music for the film. (usually not until post-production)

The production designer creates the visual conception of the film, working with the art director.

The art director manages the art department, which makes production sets

The costume designer Set Designer.

Special Effects Manager. Camera Man. The make up and hair designer The storyboard artist creates visual images to

help the director and production designer communicate their ideas to the production team.

The choreographer creates and coordinates the movement and dance - typically for musicals. Some films also credit a fight choreographer.

Post-production Editing (Editorial, Visual effects, sound) Film distribution/Screening

Independent filmmaking

Filmmaking also takes place outside of the mainstream and is commonly called independent filmmaking.

BASIC EQUIPMENT FOR FILMING

CAMERA SHOTS

Extreme Long Shot Long Shot Medium Shot Medium Closeup Close Up Extreme Closeup Cut-In CA (Cutaway) Two-Shot (OSS) Over-the-Shoulder Shot Noddy Shot Point-of-View Shot (POV) Weather Shot

EXTREME LONG SHOT

In the extreme long shot, the view is so far from the subject that s/he isn't even visible. The point of this shot is to show the subject's surroundings.

The ELS is often used as an "establishing shot" - the first shot of a new scene, designed to show the audience where the action is taking place.

It is also useful in scenes where the action is very spread out. For example, in a war movie an extreme wide shot can show the scale of the action.

LONG SHOT

The Long Shot is much closer to the subject than an extreme long shot, but still much further away than a long. The subject is visible here but only just (in this case it's a boy leaning against the fence). The emphasis is very much on placing him in his environment.

This often works as an establishing shot, in which the audience is shown the whole setting so they can orient themselves.

The LS also allows plenty of room for action to take place, or for multiple subjects to appear on screen.

MEDIUM SHOT

In the medium shot, the subject takes up the full frame. In this case, the boy's feet are almost at the bottom of frame and his head is almost at the top. Obviously the subject doesn't take up the whole width and height of the frame, since this is as close as we can get without losing any part of him. The small amount of room above and below the subject can be thought of as safety room — you don't want to be cutting the top of the head off. It would also look uncomfortable if his feet and head were exactly at the top and bottom of frame.

MEDIUM CLOSEUP

The Mid Closeup shows some part of the subject in more detail, whilst still showing enough for the audience to feel as if they were looking at the whole subject. In fact, this is an approximation of how you would see a person "in the flesh" if you were having a casual conversation. You wouldn't be paying any attention to their lower body, so that part of the picture is unnecessary.

The MC is appropriate when the subject is speaking without too much emotion or intense concentration. It also works well when the intent is to deliver information, which is why it is frequently used by television news presenters. You will often see a story begin with a MS of the reporter (providing information), followed by closer shots of interview subjects (providing reactions and emotion).

CLOSE UP

In the closeup shot, a certain feature or part of the subject takes up most of the frame. A close up of a person usually means a close up of their face (unless specified otherwise).

Close-ups are obviously useful for showing detail and can also be used as a cut-in.

A close-up of a person emphasizes their emotional state. Whereas a mid-shot or wide-shot is more appropriate for delivering facts and general information, a close-up exaggerates facial expressions which convey emotion. The viewer is drawn into the subject's personal space and shares their feelings.

EXTREME CLOSEUP

The ECU (also known as XCU) gets right in and shows extreme detail.

You would normally need a specific reason to get this close. It is too close to show general reactions or emotion except in very dramatic scenes.

A variation of this shot is the choker.

CUT-IN

Like a cutaway, but specifically refers to showing some part of the subject in detail.

Can be used purely as an edit point, or to emphasise emotion etc. For example, hand movements can show enthusiasm, agitation, nervousness, etc

CA (CUTAWAY)

A cutaway is a shot that's usually of something other than the current action. It could be a different subject (eg. this cat when the main subject is its owner), a close up of a different part of the subject (eg. the subject's hands), or just about anything else.

The cutaway is used as a "buffer" between shots (to help the editing process), or to add interest/information.

TWO-SHOT

There are a few variations on this one, but the basic idea is to have a comfortable shot of two people. Often used in interviews, or when two presenters are hosting a show.

A "One-Shot" could be a mid-shot of either of these subjects. A "Three-Shot", unsurprisingly, contains three people.

OVER THE SHOULDER SHOT (OSS)

This shot is framed from behind a person who is looking at the subject. The person 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 one person from the other's point of view.

It's common to cut between these shots during a conversation, alternating the view between the different speakers.

NODDY SHOT

Common in interviews, this is a shot of the person listening and reacting to the subject. In fact, when shooting interviews with one camera, the usual routine is to shoot the subject (using OSS and one-shots) for the entire interview, then shoot some noddies of the interviewer once the interview is finished. The noddies are edited into the interview later.

For more information see shooting interviews.

POINT-OF-VIEW SHOT (POV)

This shot shows a view from the subject's perspective. It is usually edited in such a way that it is obvious whose POV it is (see the example below).

WEATHER SHOT

In this type of shot the subject is the weather. The sky takes up at least 2/3 of the frame. This type of shot is common in television programs where the weather is of particular interest, e.g. sports shows.

Although the usual purpose of this shot is to show the weather, it is also useful as an establishing shot, for setting the general mood or for overlaying graphics.

A weather shot doesn't have to show the sky. Other shots often used to illustrate weather include:

Puddles, drain spouts or any example of rainwater flow. Trees or anything else blowing in the wind. People sunbathing. Snowmen, snowball fights, snow sledding, etc.

CAMERA LEVELS

Eye Level Low Angle High Angle Over Head Shot Under Shot

5 DEADLIEST SINS IN FILM MAKING

Fire Hosing (Spacing above the head) Jogging Back Light Nose Room Head Room (Chin cuttings)

OTHERS

Camera Handling While moving into the streets While Rain or snow Don’t make other conscious. Let the camera record. 10 sec at least Keeping eyes open.

CAMERA ANGLES

The Bird's-Eye view This shows a scene from directly overhead, a

very unnatural and strange angle. Familiar objects viewed from this angle might seem totally unrecognisable at first (umbrellas in a crowd, dancers' legs). This shot does, however, put the audience in a godlike position, looking down on the action. People can be made to look insignificant, ant-like, part of a wider scheme of things. Hitchcock (and his admirers, like Brian de Palma) is fond of this style of shot.

HIGH ANGLE

Not so extreme as a bird's eye view. The camera is elevated above the action using a crane to give a general overview. High angles make the object photographed seem smaller, and less significant (or scary). The object or character often gets swallowed up by their setting - they become part of a wider picture.

EYE LEVEL

A fairly neutral shot; the camera is positioned as though it is a human actually observing a scene, so that eg actors' heads are on a level with the focus. The camera will be placed approximately five to six feet from the ground.

LOW ANGLE

These increase height (useful for short actors like Tom Cruise or James McAvoy) and give a sense of speeded motion. Low angles help give a sense of confusion to a viewer, of powerlessness within the action of a scene. The background of a low angle shot will tend to be just sky or ceiling, the lack of detail about the setting adding to the disorientation of the viewer. The added height of the object may make it inspire fear and insecurity in the viewer, who is psychologically dominated by the figure on the screen.

CAMERA MOVEMENT

Pans Tilts Dolly Shots Hand-held shots Crane Shots Zoom Lenses The Aerial Shot

PANS

A movement which scans a scene horizontally. The camera is placed on a tripod, which operates as a stationary axis point as the camera is turned, often to follow a moving object which is kept in the middle of the frame.

TILTS

A movement which scans a scene vertically, otherwise similar to a pan.

DOLLY SHOTS

Sometimes called TRUCKING or TRACKING shots. The camera is placed on a moving vehicle and moves alongside the action, generally following a moving figure or object. Complicated dolly shots will involve a track being laid on set for the camera to follow, hence the name. The camera might be mounted on a car, a plane, or even a shopping trolley (good method for independent film-makers looking to save a few dollars). A dolly shot may be a good way of portraying movement, the journey of a character for instance, or for moving from a long shot to a close-up, gradually focusing the audience on a particular object or character.

HAND-HELD SHOTS

The hand-held movie camera first saw widespread use during World War II, when news reporters took their windup Arriflexes and Eyemos into the heat of battle, producing some of the most arresting footage of the twentieth century. After the war, it took a while for commercially produced movies to catch up, and documentary makers led the way, demanding the production of smaller, lighter cameras that could be moved in and out of a scene with speed, producing a "fly-on-the-wall" effect.This aesthetic took a while to catch on with mainstream Hollywood, as it gives a jerky, ragged effect, totally at odds with the organised smoothness of a dolly shot. The Steadicam (a heavy contraption which is attached a camera to an operator by a harness. The camera is stabilized so it moves independently) was debuted in Marathon Man (1976), bringing a new smoothness to hand held camera movement and has been used to great effect in movies and TV shows ever since. No "walk and talk" sequence would be complete without one. Hand held cameras denote a certain kind of gritty realism, and they can make the audience feel as though they are part of a scene, rather than viewing it from a detached, frozen position.

CRANE SHOTS

Basically, dolly-shots-in-the-air. A crane (or jib), is a large, heavy piece of equipment, but is a useful way of moving a camera - it can move up, down, left, right, swooping in on action or moving diagonally out of it. The camera operator and camera are counter-balanced by a heavy weight, and trust their safety to a skilled crane/jib operator.

ZOOM LENSES

A zoom lens contains a mechanism that changes the magnification of an image. On a still camera, this means that the photographer can get a 'close up' shot while still being some distance from the subject. A video zoom lens can change the position of the audience, either very quickly (a smash zoom) or slowly, without moving the camera an inch, thus saving a lot of time and trouble. The drawbacks to zoom use include the fact that while a dolly shot involves a steady movement similar to the focusing change in the human eye, the zoom lens tends to be jerky (unless used very slowly) and to distort an image, making objects appear closer together than they really are. Zoom lenses are also drastically over-used by many directors (including those holding palmcorders), who try to give the impression of movement and excitement in a scene where it does not exist. Use with caution - and a tripod!

THE AERIAL SHOT

An exciting variation of a crane shot, usually taken from a helicopter. This is often used at the beginning of a film, in order to establish setting and movement. A helicopter is like a particularly flexible sort of crane - it can go anywhere, keep up with anything, move in and out of a scene, and convey real drama and exhilaration — so long as you don't need to get too close to your actors or use location sound with the shots.

SLIDES

VIDEO CAMERA FOCUS

Soft: Out of focus Sharp: In focus Depth of Field: The range of distances from

the lens at which an acceptably sharp focus can be obtained

Pull focus: Adjust the focus to a different point during a shot

COMPOSITION RULES

Rule of Thirds Balancing Elements Leading Lines Headroom Symmetry and Patterns Viewpoint Depth Framing Cropping Eye placement pyramid compositions

RULE OF THIRDS

Imagine that your image is divided into 9 equal segments by 2 vertical and 2 horizontal lines. The rule of thirds says that you should position the most important elements in your scene along these lines, or at the points where they intersect.

BALANCING ELEMENTS

Placing your main subject off-centre, as with the rule of thirds, creates a more interesting photo, but it can leave a void in the scene which can make it feel empty. You should balance the "weight" of your subject by including another object of lesser importance to fill the space.

LEADING LINES

When we look at a photo our eye is naturally drawn along lines. By thinking about how you place lines in your composition, you can affect the way we view the image, pulling us into the picture, towards the subject, or on a journey "through" the scene. There are many different types of line - straight, diagonal, curvy, zigzag, radial etc - and each can be used to enhance our photo's composition.

HEADROOM

Headroom: Enough room for the subject's head. Space around their head yet not too much. Too low in the frame (too much headroom) makes them appear short. Not enough headroom makes them look tall and scrunched. Correct headroom gives the subject just enough space around their head to make them look comfortable. 

SYMMETRY AND PATTERNS

We are surrounded by symmetry and patterns, both natural and man-made., They can make for very eye-catching compositions, particularly in situations where they are not expected. Another great way to use them is to break the symmetry or pattern in some way, introducing tension and a focal point to the scene.

VIEWPOINT

Before photographing your subject, take time to think about where you will shoot it from. Our viewpoint has a massive impact on the composition of our photo, and as a result it can greatly affect the message that the shot conveys. Rather than just shooting from eye level, consider photographing from high above, down at ground level, from the side, from the back, from a long way away, from very close up, and so on.

DEPTH

Because photography is a two-dimensional medium, we have to choose our composition carefully to conveys the sense of depth that was present in the actual scene. You can create depth in a photo by including objects in the foreground, middle ground and background. Another useful composition technique is overlapping, where you deliberately partially obscure one object with another. The human eye naturally recognises these layers and mentally separates them out, creating an image with more depth.

FRAMING

The world is full of objects which make perfect natural frames, such as trees, archways and holes. By placing these around the edge of the composition you help to isolate the main subject from the outside world. The result is a more focused image which draws your eye naturally to the main point of interest.

CROPPING

Often a photo will lack impact because the main subject is so small it becomes lost among the clutter of its surroundings. By cropping tight around the subject you eliminate the background "noise", ensuring the subject gets the viewer's undivided attention.

EYE PLACEMENT

Should be in the top third of the screen (see rule of thirds).  You want the viewer not to notice the camera-work so, make it look natural and standard.

PYRAMID COMPOSITIONS

Triangles can be formed a few different ways: If your subject is already triangular or diamond-shaped

(like a pyramid), the viewer’s eye will automatically focus on that shape.

Groups of people can be posed as an irregular triangle. This helps keep people from creating a shapeless blob in a portrait; and an irregular (slanted) triangle makes sure that no two pairs of eyes will lie on the same horizontal plane.

Different landmarks can be one of three points that form the triangle. For instance, a person at the forefront of the photo is the first point, a boat far behind the person forms the second point, and an island on the other side of the frame forms the third point. As long as no other objects enter the frame, the eye can easily follow the photo from the person, to the boat, to the island.

WHAT IS A AUDIO/VIDEO EFFECT

WHAT IS A AUDIO/VIDEO TRANSITION

AUDIO FILE FORMATS MPEG Layer-3 (MP3) The MP3 format is the most commonly used audio format for digital audio players, such as iPods, and for transferring

music online. MP3 uses a compression algorithm to reduce the size of the audio file. The file size of MP3s is typically between 1 and 1.5 MB per minute. While some loss of sound quality occurs due to the compression, most listeners are unable to notice a difference between a high quality MP3 file and the original CD production. Most Mac CD Burning applications are able to convert MP3 files to CD audio for burning standard audio discs.

Wave (WAV) WAV files are a standard audio file format supported by most operating systems. It is used mainly on Windows PCs but

may also be used on Mac OS X. WAV files are typically uncompressed and lossless, meaning that a WAV file produced from an original CD production. Since WAV files are uncompressed, the standard file size is approximately 10 MB per minute of music. The large file size is a major deterrent to using WAV files for transferring audio using this format online or for storing music on a hard drive or portable MP3 player. Most MAC CD Burning applications are able to convert WAV files for the purpose of burning standard audio CDs.

Free Lossless Audio Codec (FLAC) FLAC is a relatively new audio format, developed by Xiph.Org Foundation in 2001. It is a compressed audio file type

that is lossless, so audio quality is not lost during the compression process. FLAC is a free, open source format that can be used by anyone. File sizes range from approximately 30 to 70% of the original audio size, so 3 to 7 MB per minute of music. Support for FLAC is limited compared to MP3 or WAV. However, iTunes and many iPod models do support FLAC.

Advanced Audio Coding (AAC) AAC is a file format designed to be a successor to MP3s. It is supported by many hardware devices, including iPods,

Sony Playstation 3 and more. Most Mac CD Burning applications also support converting AAC files to standard CD audio for creating music CDs. The file size is comparable to MP3s, making it an attractive choice for storing audio. However, it is a lossy format, meaning that some audio quality may be lost when a file is converted from the original source to an AAC file.

Windows Media Audio (WMA) WMA is a compressed, lossy audio format developed by Microsoft primarily for use with Microsoft Windows Media

Player. The file size is comparable to AAC or MP3 files of similar bitrates. In 2003, Microsoft released a PowerPC version of Windows Media Player for Mac OS X. However, an Intel version was not designed and further development of Windows Media Player for Mac OS X has ceased. Flip4Mac is a plug-in for QuickTime that allows you to play WMA files on Mac OS X. This plug-in has some compatibility issues with certain types of WMA files. We recommend that you avoid WMA files, since other formats, such as AAC and MP3, have similar sound quality and much better compatibility with Mac OS X, Mac CD Burning applications, iPods and other portable audio devices.

VIDEO FILE FORMATS Flash Video Format (.flv)

Because of the cross-platform availability of Flash video players, the Flash video format has become increasingly popular. Flash video is playable within Flash movies files, which are supported by practically every browser on every platform. Flash video is compact, using compression from On2, and supports both progressive and streaming downloads.

AVI Format (.avi)The AVI format, which stands for audio video interleave, was developed by Microsoft. It stores data that can be encoded in a number of different codec’s and can contain both audio and video data. The AVI format usually uses less compression than some similar formats and is a very popular format amongst internet users.

AVI files most commonly contain M-JPEG, or DivX codec’s, but can also contain almost any format.

The AVI format is supported by almost all computers using Windows, and can be played on various players.Some of the most common players that support the avi format are:

Apple QuickTime Player (windows & Mac) Microsoft Windows Media Player (Windows & Mac) VideoLAN VLC media player (Windows & Mac) Nullsoft Winamp Quicktime Format (.mov)

The QuickTime format was developed by Apple and is a very common one. It is often used on the internet, and for saving movie and video files.

The format contains one or more tracks storing video, audio, text or effects. . It is compatible with both Mac and Windows platforms, and can be played on an Apple Quicktime player.

MP4 Format (.mp4)This format is mostly used to store audio and visual streams online, most commonly those defined by MPEG. It Expands MPEG-1 to support video/audio "objects", 3D content, low bit rate encoding and support for Digital Rights Management.

The MPEG-4 video format uses separate compression for audio and video tracks; video is compressed with MPEG-4 video encoding; audio is compressed using AAC compression, the same type of audio compression used in .AAC files.

The mp4 can most commonly be played on the Apple QuickTime Player or other movie players. Devices that play p4 are also known as mp4 players.

Mpg Format (.mpg)Common video format standardized by the Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG); typically incorporates MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 audio and video compression; often used for creating downloadable movies. It can be played using Apple QuickTime Player or Microsoft Windows Media Player.

Windows Media Video Format (.wmv)WMV format, short for Windows Media Video was developed by Microsoft. It was originally designed for internet streaming applications, and can now cater to more specialized content. Windows Media is a common format on the Internet, but Windows Media movies cannot be played on non-Windows computer without an extra (free) component installed. Some later Windows Media movies cannot play at all on non-Windows computers because no player is available.Videos stored in the Windows Media format have the extension .wmv.

3GP File Extension (.3gp)The 3gp format is both an audio and video format that was designed as a multimedia format for transmitting audio and video files between 3G cell phones and the internet. It is most commonly used to capture video from your cell phone and place it online. This format supports both Mac and windows applications and can be commonly played in the following:

Apple QuickTime Player RealNetworks RealPlayer VideoLAN VLC media player MPlayer MIKSOFT Mobile 3GP Converter (Windows)

Advances Streaming Format (.asf)ASF is a subset of the wmv format and was developed by Microsoft. It is intended for streaming and is used to support playback from digital media and HTTP servers, and to support storage devices such as hard disks. It can be compressed using a variety of video codecs.

The most common files types that are contained within an ASF file are Windows Media Audio, and Windows Media video.

Real Media Format (.rm)RealMedia is a format which was created my RealNetworks. It contains both audio and video data and typically used for streaming media files over the internet. Realmedia can play on a wide variety of media players for both Mac and Windows platforms. The realplayer is the most compatible.

Flash Movie Format (.swf )The Flash movie format was developed my Macromedia.

This format can include text, graphics and animation. In order to play in Web Browsers, they must have the Flash Plug-In Installed. The flash plug in comes preinstalled in the latest version of many popular Web Browsers.

IMPORTANCE OF SOUND

Demonstration. What is a difference between a sound effect

and a sound track. Select the sound according to situation. Selection of sound track according to culture,

environment (eastern, western) Follow the sound track while editing. Example of a radio show (when you are going

to edit voice with sound track) Use fade in and fade out for sound blending

by using cross fade effect.