UNIT I The Video Camera &

Early FilmChapter 3 & 4 – Image Formation & the

Digital Camera

The Video Camera

• Whether digital or analog, and regardless of their size, cost, and quality, all video cameras convert an optical image into electrical signals that are reconverted by a television receiver into visible screen images.• To fulfill this function, each video camera needs

three basic elements: the lens, the imaging device, and the viewfinder.

Lenses• Lenses determine what cameras can see. They are

classified by focal length, which is a technical measure of the distance from the iris inside the lens to the plane where the projected image is in focus.

• The zoom lens on a camera can change from a short-focal-length, or wide-angle, position to a long-focal-length, or narrow-angle, position and back in one continuous move.

• Lens speed This term refers to how much light can pass through a lens to the imaging device.

• A fast lens can let a relatively great amount of light to pass through; a slow lens is more limited in how much light it can transmit.

• You can tell whether a lens is fast or slow by looking at its lowest ƒ-stop number, such as ƒ/1.4 or ƒ/2.0. The lower the number, the faster the lens. A lens that can open up to ƒ2.0 is pretty fast; one that can’t go below ƒ4.5 is quite slow.

Iris control ring with f-Iris control ring with f-stopsstops

Zoom RingZoom Ring

Focus RingFocus Ring

Lens Iris & Aperture

• Like the pupil of your eye, all lenses have an iris that controls the amount of light transmitted. In a bright environment, your iris contracts to a smaller opening, restricting the amount of light passing through; in a dim environment, it expands to a larger opening, admitting more light.

• The lens iris, or lens diaphragm, operates in the same way. Like your pupil, the center of the iris has an adjustable hole, called the aperture, that can be made large or small. The size of the aperture controls how much light the lens transmits.

• When there is little light on a scene, you can make the aperture bigger and let more light through.

• We measure how much light is transmitted through the lens with the help of the ƒ-stop. Normally, lenses have a ring at their base with a series of ƒ-stop numbers (such as 1.4, 2.8, 4, 5.6, 8, 11, 16, and 22) printed on it that controls the iris opening.

F-Stop Settings

Beam Splitter & Imaging Device

• A second main system within the camera comprises the beam splitter and the imaging device, which transduces light into electric energy.

• The beam splitter consists of a series of prisms and filters locked into a prism block. Its function is to separate the ordinary white light of the lens projected image into the three primary light colors— red, green, and blue (RGB) —and to direct these light beams at the corresponding imaging devices, normally solid-state charge-coupled devices (CCDs).

• In most larger camcorders, there are three such CCDs: one for the red beam, one for the green beam, and one for the blue beam.

• Each of the three sensors is solidly attached to the prism block.

Video Signal Processing

• Signal processing —how the RGB signals are amplified when they leave the imaging device and how they combine to match the colors of the scene—is another significant factor in producing optimal picture quality.

• Basically, color signals consist of two channels: a luminance channel, also called the luma, or Y, channel (lumen is Latin for “light”), which produces the black-and-white image of the scene and is mainly responsible for the picture’s sharpness; and a

• chrominance channel, , also called the color, or C, channel. In high-quality video, these channels are kept separate throughout signal processing and transport.

Types of Cameras

• A camcorder (for camera and recorder) is a portable video camera with its recording device attached to it or built-in.• ENG(electronic News Gathering) / EFP(Electronic Field

Production) camera does not have a built-in video recorder but must feed its output via cable to a stand-alone video recorder or transmits the signal when shooting live.

Tutorials

• In groups please read the Informational sheet I have given you. • After you have read through SONY NXCAM Tutorial

go to my teacher page and view The Camera – Tutorial 1 & Tutorial 2.• After you have read over the camera information

and watched the tutorials please take the rest of class to get to know the camera and its settings. • Complete the follow up questions at the end of the

packet. This will count as a formative grade.

Homework

• Please take home and complete the Chapter 3 Quiz. This is a formative grade.

UNIT I Operating the Camera

Chapter 5 & 6 – Operating the Camera

Basic Camera Movements• Pan: To pan is to turn the camera

horizontally, from left to right or from right to left.

• Tilt: To tilt is to make the camera point up or down.

• Cant: To cant is to tilt the camera sideways. You can cant the camera either left or right.

• Pedestal To pedestal is to elevate or lower the camera on the center column of a tripod or studio pedestal.

• Dolly To dolly is to move the camera toward or away from an object in more or less a straight line by means of a mobile camera mount.

• Truck To truck, or track, is to move the camera laterally by means of a mobile camera mount.

Basic Camera Angles & Shots• Your framing of a shot depends to a great extent on the kind of frame you have available

—the relationship of the width of the screen to its height, or aspect ratio.

• Aspect ratio The ratio of the width of the television screen to its height. In STV (standard television), it is 4 × 3 (4 units wide by 3 units high); for HDTV (high-definition television), it is 16 × 9 (16 units wide by 9 units high). Mobile video has various aspect ratios, including vertical ones.

• Field of view refers to how close the object seems to the viewer, or how much of the “field,” or scenery, in front of you is in the shot. When organized by how close we see the object, there are five field-of-view designations: • extreme long shot (ELS or XLS)• long shot (LS) • medium shot or mid shot (MS) • close-up (CU)• extreme close-up (ECU or XCU)

• Over-the-shoulder shot (O/S), which shows the camera looking at someone over the shoulder of another person nearer to the camera.

• Cross-shot (X/S), which looks alternately at one or the other person, with the camera-near person completely out of the shot.

Types of Shots

Extreme Long shot- also known as an establishing shot and contains a large amount of landscape.

Long shot- contains landscape but gives the viewer a more specific idea of setting. A long shot may show the viewers the building where the action will take place.

Close up- contains just one characters face and enables the audience to view the characters feelings and emotions to help them feel empathy.

Extreme Close up- contains one part of a character’s face or other object. This technique is quite common in horror films.

Mid shot- contains the characters from the waist up and you can see their interaction with other characters.

More Types of Shots

Full shot- this contains a complete shot of the characters. From this shot, viewers can take in the costumes of characters and may also help to demonstrate the relationships between characters.

Wide shot- this shot shows the area and environment around the subject. This allows the audience to clearly see the subject and the immediate environment and area around them.

Over the Shoulder shot- a shot showing someone or something from over the shoulder of another person or thing.

Placement, Headroom, & Lead room• If you want to draw attention to a single subject, place it there.

The same goes for framing a person who is addressing viewers directly, such as a newscaster or a company president.

• If the newscaster has to share screen space with a visual, such as the secondary frame—the box—over her shoulder, you obviously need to move her to one side, not only to make room for the visual but also to balance the two picture elements within the frame.• Headroom The space between the top of the head and the

upper screen edge.• Noseroom The space in front of a person looking or pointing

toward the edge of the screen.• Leadroom The space in front of a laterally moving object or

person.

Camera Angles Activity• Each group will receive a camera and a memory card.

• It is each groups responsibility to shoot all 5 basic camera angles using their team. • extreme long shot (ELS or XLS)• long shot (LS) • medium shot (MS) • close-up (CU)• extreme close-up (ECU or XCU)

• We will learn how to load the footage upon your return.

• Please make note of the number memory card you are using to

Loading your Footage (iMovie Tutorial

1)

1. Take the card reader and plug it into a USB port located in the back of your computer.

2. Open iMovie using Launchpad or the search option.

3. Imovie should automatically recognize the cardreader. If not click the little camera icon located on the middle bar when the software opens.

4. Click the little switch on the bottom right from automatic to manual. Click all the clips you would like to import to your project.

Footage you just loaded

Where you will put clips to make a movie

Preview screen

All events you have loaded (video footage imported)

For more information go to my teacher page and watch iMovie

tutorial 1.

Homework

• Please Read Chapter 4 and complete the given worksheet. • If you cannot complete it in class, use the

internet to complete it at home.

UNIT I Using iMovieChapter 5 & 6 – Operating the Camera

Loading your Footage (iMovie Tutorial

1)

1. Take the card reader and plug it into a USB port located in the back of your computer.

2. Open iMovie using Launchpad or the search option.

3. Imovie should automatically recognize the cardreader. If not click the little camera icon located on the middle bar when the software opens.

4. Click the little switch on the bottom right from automatic to manual. Click all the clips you would like to import to your project.

Footage you just loaded

Where you will put clips to make a movie

Preview screen

All events you have loaded (video footage imported)

For more information go to my teacher page and watch iMovie

tutorial 1.

Intro to iMovie Project• Using the footage you acquired last class, it is your groups responsibility to make

a short movie defining all of the shot types.

• You video must have the following:• Title screen with project name: “Camera Angles Project”• Minimum of the 5 basic types of shots with title screen defining them

before they appear. (you took this footage in class).• Transitions used between all video clips.• Background Music• Credits – with all group members names.

• On my webpage there are tutorials that can help you. Please watch these and then begin. • Tutorial 2 – Importing Video into iMovie• Tutorial 3 – Organizing your video (creating a movie)• Tutorial 8 – Adding background music• Tutorial 9 – Adding Titles• Tutorial 11 – Adding transitions.

UNIT I Creating a Storyboard

Chapter 5 & 6 – Operating the Camera

Storyboards

• A storyboard is a visual representation of the scenes you plan to shoot.

• Major companies hire professional artist to complete drawn storyboards, but many companies have begun to move towards digital storyboards.

• They different shot types are utilized here.

StoryboardingA storyboard is a series of thumbnails that show the breakdown of the video, illustrating the key scenes — how the setting will look, who will be present, and what actions will take place.

•Step 1: Make a list of the main events of the story in the order they will be told. This is how they will appear on screen. If you’re storyboarding for a commercial, establish what scenes will occur and in what order.

• Pick scenes that show the plot developing from start to finish. Turning points are important to show. Any time there’s a plot twist or an important change, include it in the storyboard to move the story along.

• You may also want to depict changes in setting. If the story begins in one city and moves to another, make sure that will be clear in your illustrations.

•Step 2: Sketch your thumbnails. Start bringing the scenes to life by drawing the sketches you mapped out into the template you designed.

•Step 3: Add other important information. • Next to or below each cell, fill in your description of what’s happening in the scene.• Include dialogue that will take place. Add information about the length of time the

shot will take.• Include what type of shot it is. • Finally, number the cells so they’re easy to reference when you discuss your

storyboard with others.

The Storyboard

Storyboard Activity• Using the blank storyboard Template given to you and your

partner, choose one of the following six scenarios and create a storyboard consisting of 10 – 15 shots. You must use all 5 types of shots discussed in class. • Late: Character A is waiting for Character B. Character B is oblivious to

the fact, until it is too late.• TV: Character A gets so sick of watching TV s/he makes a decision to do

something else.• Attraction: Character A and Character B notice each other in a public

space and are attracted to each other, but one of them is meeting someone else.

• Banana Skin: Character A is careless with a banana skin and it looks as if Character B will suffer the consequences.

• Unwell: Character A begins to feel unusual and has to sit down.• Unwelcome: Character A is very anxious about the impending arrival of

Character B for some reason.

Can you understand the Storyboard?• Pass your storyboard on to another student (or

group). • In your group take a look at the storyboard. On a

sheet of paper answer the following questions:•What is going on in this story?• How can that group’s storyboard be

improved?• Discuss your conclusion with group whose

storyboard you analyzed.

Homework

• Please Read Chapter 6 and complete the given worksheet. • A digital copy of the text can be found online.

UNIT I History of Film

Do Now:

• How do you think movies began to be made? Take a guess!

Motion Pictures Are Discovered

• In the year 1872, a man named Edward Muybridge began experimenting on capturing moving images.

• This man placed twelve cameras on a race horse track, spread thread across the track, and attached the thread into contact with a camera's shutter.

• Once the horse ran across the track, it's legs broke the threads, causing the cameras to operate in sequence. The ending results were 12 photos showing a horse's gait.

Cinema in the US• The Kintegraph was created be Thomas

Edison and his employees. It was a machine that could capture a sequence of images which was similar to a camera only it automatically took a picture of the moving image every half second.

• The images were then placed in his other invention, the kintescope. This device had a motor and shutter mechanism that ran a loop of film past an electric light source. The spectator would then peer through a small window to see the moving image.

• After these two inventions were created, the Lumiere brothers (Auguste and Louis) created a light weight hand cranked mechanism called the Cinematographe. It could take pictures and could project large images quickly when it was linked with projecting equipment familiar from magic lantern shows.

Earliest EditingDuring the first couple of years in the 1900's, it was a time of great discovery for film. In this time period, the use of editing, backdrops, and a different approach to the flow of time in cinema were all becoming more apparent.

•Editing allowed movies to become more refined and story like. It also allowed jumping from scene to scene.

•Actually, Porter “borrowed” some of his ideas from some European directors - and in particular from a Frenchman named Georges Méliès, who is credited with virtually inventing special effects with his film, Trip to the Moon. Crude by today’s standards, the film wowed audiences in 1902.

•In 1903, Edwin S. Porter, an employee of Thomas Edison, shot the first narrative film, The Great Train Robbery. The film featured a dramatic story line and cross cutting between different locations and camera angles. It had 14 scenes and lasted 12 minutes, making it an epic of its day.

•The 1st Special Effects • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_FrdVdKlxUk

Nickelodeons • During this time, vaudeville (small

theaters that featured short dramatic skits, comedy routines, and song and dance numbers) was quite popular.

• In order get one-up on the competition and fill in time between acts, vaudeville theaters started featuring short films.

• Around the year 1905, an inexpensive way to view movies was created - the 5 cent movie theatre!

• The period of time in which these theatres were built was called the Nickelodeon era, due to the cost of 5 cents for viewing. No longer would people have to see a movie in an upscale vaudeville house.

Film in Transition – Silent Films

• At this point there still wasn't sound or color.

• Dialogue appeared as full-frame text on the screen after actors spoke their lines.

• Later, the dialogue was superimposed over the picture, as shown here. The advantage of this was that it was easy to dub dialogue into any language for other countries.

• The 1920's was a time for the movie industry to really blossom and expand. It was the beginning of the studio and the birth of the "star".

• Talkies, or early films that contained image and sound, emerged in the late 1920s.

• Talkies made movies even more popular and ushered in the Golden Age of Hollywood, a period that lasted from roughly the late 1920s to the 1950s.

Subtitles ruled the theaters for 30 yearsSubtitles ruled the theaters for 30 years

Stop Motion

• Stop motion (also known as stop frame) is an animation technique to make a physically manipulated object appear to move on its own.

• It is based on the same concept upon which Edward Muybridge discovered the concept of motion pictures.

• The object is moved in small increments between individually photographed frames, creating the illusion of movement when the series of frames is played as a continuous sequence.

• Dolls with movable joints o clay figures are often used in stop motion for their ease of repositioning.

Story Structure• The 3-act structure is an old principle widely adhered to in

storytelling today. It can be found in plays, poetry, novels, comic books, short stories, video games, and the movies. • Though quite simple, the 3-act structure has proven to be

a valuable weapon in the arsenal of any screenwriter. Yes, there are alternatives to telling a story. But the 3-act structure is a highly accepted and greatly successful method.• The 3 acts are labeled as:

• Act I: Setup• Act II: Confrontation• Act III: Resolution

What Happens in Act I?• Act I (the Setup) comprises the first quarter of the screenplay. (For a two hour movie, Act I

would last approximately 30 minutes.)

• What is introduced?• Main character--the person in the story who has a need/objective to fulfill and whose

actions drive the story• Dramatic premise--what the story's about• Dramatic situation--the circumstances surrounding the action• Inciting Incident--an event that sets the plot of the film in motion. It occurs

approximately halfway through the first act.

• In Act I, the writer has the freedom to create any setting and reality that he so wishes. It’s in the first pages of the script that he defines the reasoning and logic of the story. This early in the script, anything is possible.

What Happens in Act II?• Act II comprises the next two quarters of the film. (For a two hour movie, Act II

would last approximately 60 minutes.)

• What happens in Act II (Confrontation)?• Obstacles--In the second act, the main character encounters obstacle after

obstacle that prevent him from achieving his dramatic need.• First Culmination(midpoint)--a point just before the halfway point of the

film where the main character seems close to achieving his or her goal/objective. Then, everything falls apart, leading to the midpoint.

What Happens in Act III?• Act III comprises the final quarter of the film. (For a two hour movie, Act III would be the final 30

minutes.)

• What happens in Act III (Resolution)?• Climax: The point at which the plot reaches its maximum tension and the forces in

opposition confront each other at a peak of physical or emotional action.• Culmination: The brief period of calm at the end of a film where a state of equilibrium

returns.• Resolution: How does the film end?

Silent Film /Stop Motion Project

• You and your team will create a “silent” or stop motion film like we viewed in class today.

• At the beginning of the film industry, movies relied on actions to tell the story. You will do the same. This film will not have sound but may have dialogue cards in between scenes.

• For your film, you team must go through all three phases of production: • Preproduction: Brainstorming about the plot, characters, setting, the three acts,

and the medium requirements etc. • Production: making the film. • Postproduction: editing the film.

• Your film can be about any topics you would like.

• You can have as many characters or settings as you would like.

• Remember there will be no actors speaking so you need to really plan out each of your scenes to convey what is going on in terms of actor movements and the instrumental music you will use.

• The film needs to be at least 3-5 minutes in length.

Silent Film /Stop Motion Project

• Preproduction: Brainstorming about the plot, characters, setting, the three acts, and the medium requirements etc. • Each group must fill out one of these for each

video project they complete. • Students must complete at least Act I & Inciting

Incident by the end of class. • This will be the first of 3 grades you will receive for

this video projects.

Production

• Each group will be given a video camera after their proposal has been approved. • Please remember to behave yourself in the hallway

when filming…class is still in session!• Make sure you have all medium requirements for your

film before you begin to film. • Remember the # of the memory card you are using. It

is important to allow enough time to get your footage off the card before class ends. • I cannot guarantee that it will still be there next class.

Postproduction• Please load all of your footage to the computer. • If you do not remember you may look up this PowerPoint

on my teacher website. • You will need the following for this project and all

projects:• Title screen: introducing your movie.• All 5 major types of shots.• Credits screen with all team members.