WHY FILM?

The film or cinema industry is pervasive in American culture.

In many ways it has replaced, or at least taken a large portion of, the role that literature once played Popular film influences our culture. Example: Even if one hasn’t seen the films Scarface or Casablanca,

most Americans are familiar with movie lines “Say hello to my little friend!” or “Here’s looking at you, kid.”

WHY FILM?

Film serves as social commentary For a film to be successful, it has to connect with the audience, which

means it has to portray some kind of shared cultural experience Film is a microcosm of larger society. It takes what is interesting to an

audience and boils it down to 90-200 minutes Example: Argo (2012) An action/thriller about Americans escaping an uprising in

Iran speaks to contemporary audiences in a time in which Middle East politics still have a major affect on American’s lives. Also, older audience members would remember the Iranian hostage crises of 1980

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

Film has a its own language. Some of this is borrowed from literature, but other terms are specific to the art and science of making a movie

In order to effectively discuss film, then, one needs at least a basic knowledge of film vocabulary

SCREENPLAYS AND SCRIPT-WRITING

Usually one of the first things that must happen in the production of a film is that someone has to write a screenplay

Usually a screenplay is written in dramatic form, just like a play Depending on the writer and the production company, the

screenplay may be very specific and will be held-to very closely in production. Other times the finished product may look quite a bit different than the original screenplay

Scripts are generally the actor’s parts and may be rewritten often during production

SCREENPLAYS AND SCRIPT-WRITING

Genres of film What type of film a screenplay is attempting has a large bearing on what

type of content the film will have and audience expectations Example: A romantic comedy, such as This is Forty has a much different

approach than an action film, such as Dredd Many times, individuals may dismiss one genre or another as being trite,

but they all serve a particular purpose and audience When a film doesn’t do well, it is often a problem of confusing genre (like

the flop 47 Ronin)

PRODUCTION VALUES

Not all films require slick, seamless production and what is required in one film may be unnecessary in another genre

Action films often place fast pacing and great effects above meaningful dialogue or character development. Many independent films put character development and interesting camera work above pacing

Much of these decisions have to do with cost just as much as audience expectations.

CAMERA WORK Because the camera is the tool used to capture some of the

most important aspects of film production (not to slight the audio side), one must have a fundamental understanding of camera usage in order to better understand film, overall

This includes basic camera shots, camera angles, and camera movement

CAMERA WORK

Camera Shots The Basic Camera Shots begin with the amount of content included in

a shot The shots range from the most content within the frame (extreme long

shot, or establishing shot) to the least (extreme close-up).

CAMERA WORK

Camera Shots In long shots, a lot of background can be seen around the

subject. In fact, the extreme long-shot is often called an establishing shot because the focus is often on a whole neighborhood, skyline, or similar scene that establishes where we are in the narrative Medium shots tend to show most of a subject. For people, this

usually means from about the waist-up. One important common medium shot is called the two-shot, in which two characters share the scene

CAMERA WORK

Camera Shots A close-up generally shows only a part of the subject. If this is a

person, a close-up may be just the person’s face. Extreme close-up is used for its jarring effect. The shot is so tight

that it becomes abstract.

CAMERA WORK Camera Angles Angles refer to the position of the camera in relationship to the

subject For the most part, if only talking angle and not movement, we

are discussing the vertical plane Low angles (camera aimed up at a subject) tend to make subjects

look larger, more intimidating Direct angle or eye-level puts the viewer on the same plane as the

subject. If a person, this is literally eye-level. High angle can make a the subject look smaller

One angle that is horizontal is the Dutch Tilt– camera is fixed but tilts on its horizon, giving an odd angle to the scene

CAMERA WORK

Camera Movement Generally, camera movement can use any of the three

dimensions, or combinations Movement depends upon if the camera is fixed in-place (usually

on a tripod) with movement based on an axis, if the camera, itself, is in motion, or if the camera is fixed completely, but a lens effect is used to create movement

CAMERA WORK Camera Movement Horizontal movement: Pan– the camera is fixed, but turns on a center axis to move left-to-right or

vice-versa. It is important to note that the resulting movement is actually an arc, with the center of that arc being the tripod. If it is a very long shot (distance-wise, not in time), then this arc may be hardly noticeable. If the arc if very tight, then the effect can be a bit jarring

Crab or Tracking– the camera is mounted on wheels on a track, which is pushed horizontally in relation to the scene. Often this is used to follow action. Important to note that, unlike the pan, the distance between the action and the camera generally doesn’t change. This gives a smooth movement which is often difficult to notice unless one is looking for it

CAMERA WORK

Camera Movement Vertical movement: Tilt– the camera is fixed on the tripod and the camera literally tilts up or down.

Just like the pan, the resulting shot is actually an arc, although usually that arc is not enough to cause any kind of jarring effect

Generally, there isn’t a simple shot that is the vertical equivalent to the crab/tracking shot. A Crane can be used to move the camera up and down, but this is often combined with a tilt for a more complex combination of vertical movement

CAMERA WORK Camera Movement Near-Far movement: Dolly– the camera is attached to a truck, as with the crab/tracking, but now

the track runs toward the action, not horizontal to it. The camera is then pushed closer or further away from the action.

There is no fixed near/far effect similar to the pan or tilt, as there is no way to move a camera that direction from a fixed point, there is, however, the Zoom, which is an optical effect with a similar effect to the Dolly

There is also a special camera effect called the Dolly Zoom in which the dolly moves one direction (near or far) while the lens is zoomed the other (far or near). The effect is that the relationship of the subject in the camera doesn’t change– the subject appears the same size from start to finish, but the background seems to move. The resulting effect can be quite intense, especially when paired with appropriate sound or music effects

CAMERA WORK For a better visual directory of shots and movement, see “The Thirty

Camera Shots Every Film Fan Needs to Know” from Empire Please note that a couple of the “shots” described or more about

content than the actual shot, or, in the case of Aerial and SteadyCam, how the shot is achieved. The Aerial is really an establishing shot from high-angle. The SteadyCam is a one-shot sequence in which the camera

follows the action through a series of movements to capture a whole scene in one shot instead of multiple clips from multiple shot angles and movements. It is named for a name-brand of a technical device that allows for very smooth filming of very complicated hand-held shot sequences Library, Matte, and Money really don’t even belong in the same

category as they aren’t shots at all– they are production terms from other aspects of filmmaking

SUBJECT ORIENTATION

In addition to the composition, angle, and movement, the relationship of the subject and the camera can have a dramatic effect on filming

Facing: Subject looking directly at the camera

¾ Facing: Subject turned-away from the camera slightly, but face is still visible

Profile: Subject filmed from the side. Side of face is the main focus

¾ Away: Subject turned-away from camera so back of head is the main focus, but side of face can still be seen

Away: Camera aimed directly at back of subject

OTHER CAMERA TERMS Depth of Field: How much of the background or foreground is in focus in a

scene. Mostly a matter of optics and how much light is allowed to enter through the aperture into the camera

A specific lens paired with a very open aperture can have a very narrow depth of field, which makes everything but the subject blurry.

A newer digital camera with the right lens can have almost infinite depth of focus (almost everything is crisply focused), mostly because high-end digital cameras can pick-up a lot of light even from a very small aperture. The effect can be quite nauseating to watch in action sequences but makes for amazing nature documentaries

Focus pull: Changing the focus of a lens to put attention on different aspects of a scene without changing the shot. Only works with a low depth of field

Hand-held/Shaky-shot: Using a hand-held camera to add movement and action to an otherwise static shot. Although existing before, the Borne series of films heralded a new era of sickness-inducing shaky action shots

LIGHTING Lighting can have a major effect of the finished product Directional Lighting: usually the main lighting will be more intense and

from some direction other than straight in actors’ faces. This is used to establish subtle shadows, which are more pleasant to look at, and setting such as light coming from a window or the position of the sun

Fill Lighting: used to fill-in areas of the set that are too dark or to create background shadows

Eye Lighting: Often used in close-ups to achieve a directional reflection off the eyes that will match the directional lighting

Filters: usually glass, that are attached to the camera lens in order to filter-out unwanted light spectrum or to create special effects, such as a soft haze

FILM SPEED Although more and more movies and almost all television shows are now shot on digital cameras, most feature films still shoot to film stock, so we still talk about film speed Don’t confuse with Emulsion, which is the chemical composition of

film stock that determines how it will react to light in a given amount of time (this is often called “film speed” in fixed photography)

Speed is measured in frames-per-second (fps). A standard camera will shoot 24 fps, which is somewhat equivalent to a still camera shooting 24 pictures in a second. The result is a series of still photos that appears to be action.

FILM SPEED Film speed can be slowed-down or sped-up during filming to create different effects in production. A faster fps during shooting will equal slow-motion at regular speed; slower fps in shooting equals sped-up scenes. Action films will often combine the two effects. Highly technical sequences, like fights can be shot at a slower fps.

They will then appear to be very quick in playback. Other shots can be filmed at a fast fps to create intense slow-

motion scenes. Generally, speed must be manipulated during filming, instead of at

playback A film being played-back at less than 24 fps may appear choppy,

as the eye can discern the individual frames. A film recorded at regular speed, but then sped-up appears

comedic, as people’s actions are two quick and quirky

EDITING

Much of what goes-on in a film is a result of what happens in editing This is where scenes are cut-together from shots,

special effects are added, and sound is synced-up to the finished film

The result is what an audience sees in a theater

EDITING

Cuts and transitions With the exception of some long one-shot sequences for special effect,

scenes are created out of individual shots Depending on the Director and the scene, there may be anywhere from a

few to 40-50 takes of a specific scene Some directors shoot multiple cameras during a scene so they have

multiple different sets of film, others may shoot a scene over and over using different takes and different camera set-ups to get all of the pieces that make a scene In addition, often an assistant director will shoot other footage, called B-

roll to add establishing shots, transitions, and/or special effects All of this has to be selected, cut, edited, and packaged-together in post-

production by an Editor.

CUTS AND TRANSITIONS Cutaway: the most common cut, one shot is literally cut and pasted to the next with no transition If there is anything wrong with the lighting, props, or camera set-up, can

cause a continuity problem Cross Cut: A cutaway that moves between to scenes happening at the same time but in two different places Reverse Shot Cut: A series of cutaways between two over-the-shoulder shots used to establish conversation Sequence Shot: A long camera shot of a scene with no editing Montage: a series of brief shots edited together to create an emotional impact Match Cut: a transition in which the next scene, although different, is set-up in a similar fashion for emphasis. The matching elements may be shot set-up, lighting, or even sound

CUTS AND TRANSITIONS Jump Cut: A cutaway used as a transition to the next scene. Is very abrupt for effect

Fade in/out: An effect is added so the picture fades, usually to black, and then back out to the next scene

Dissolve: the end of one scene is faded away while the next is faded-in at the same time, so one image replaces the other with no black

Iris: Not used much anymore, but a black iris closes-down to the center or the screen, or to one specific aspect of a shot, then shuts all the way to black as a transition.

Wipe: a somewhat cliché effect in which a scene literally pans off the screen with the next scene panning in behind it. Not used much anymore

See Elements of Cinema for more discussion of transitions