P1 Proposal

 

Camera Movement

 Camera Movement

Camera movement is a filmmaking technique that causes a change in frame or perspective through the movement of the camera. Camera movement allows cinematographers and directors to shift the audience's view without cutting. Specific types of camera movements in film also can create a psychological and emotional effect on the audience. These effects can be used to make a film more immersive and engaging.

Static -A static shot has no camera movement at all. It is achieved by locking a camera to a fixed-position typically with a tripod. The stability of a static shot makes it non-distracting. This makes it one of the best camera movements for shot reverse dialogue, precise composition, or showcasing an actors’ performance.

Pan -The camera directs a camera horizontally left or right. The pan camera movement is typically achieved with a tripod head, but can also be done handheld or with a stabilizer.

Pans are often motivated by a character’s actions. They can also be used to reveal new information to the audience.

Tilt - Camera Tilts are just like pans, only vertical. Tilt camera movements direct a camera upward or downward. Camera tilts can be used to give a character dominance in a shot or to reveal new information to the audience. Tilts enable filmmakers to capture the verticality of a film in moments of awe and spectacle.

Push in -A push-in moves the camera closer to a subject typically with a dolly camera movement. Push-ins can draw the audience's attention toward a specific detail. Filmmakers also push-in toward characters to try and infer what is occurring internally. This can be a reaction, thought process, or internal conflict.

Pull out -The camera pull out is the exact opposite of the push in. A pull out is a smooth camera movement that moves the camera further away from a subject. This movement causes the subject to grow smaller while simultaneously revealing their surroundings.

Zoom -Although zooms are technically not a camera movement they do create movement within the image. Zooms change the focal length of a camera lens to either zoom in (magnify) or zoom out (de-magnify) the size of a subject in the frame. 

Dolly Zoom -One of the more heavy-handed camera movements is the dolly zoom. A dolly zoom is achieved by dollying the camera away from or toward a subject while simultaneously zooming in the other direction. Dolly zooms are an incredibly intentional camera movement because they have such a specific effect.

Roll -The camera roll is a rotational camera movement that rotates the camera over its side on its long axis. Rolls can be dizzying and unnatural. For this reason, filmmakers use it to disorient the audience or create uneasiness. It’s specific effect makes it a very intentional camera movement that should only be used when wanting to elicit a discomfort in the audience.

Tracking Shot -A tracking shot is any shot that physically moves the camera through the scene for an extended amount of time. Tracking camera movement often follows a traveling subject, though they can be used to simply show off the scene. Check out our breakdown of the best tips to shooting better tracking shots.

Arc Shot -The arc shot orbits the camera around a subject in an arc pattern. Arc shots are typically used to add energy to a shot in which characters have minimal actions. 

Angles

 Angles

Shot #1 - Low Angle

In cinematography, a low-angle shot, is a shot from a camera angle positioned low on the vertical axis, anywhere below the eye line, looking up. Sometimes, it is even directly below the subject's feet. Psychologically, the effect of the low-angle shot is that it makes the subject look strong and powerful.

Shot #2 - High Angle

A high-angle shot is a cinematic technique where the camera looks down on the subject from a high angle and the point of focus often gets "swallowed up". ... In film, they can make the scene more dramatic. If there is a person at high elevation who is talking to someone below them, this shot is often used.

Shot #3 - Dutch Angle

The Dutch angle, also known as Dutch tilt, canted angle, or oblique angle, is a type of camera shot which involves setting the camera at an angle on its roll axis so that the shot is composed with vertical lines at an angle to the side of the frame, or so that the horizon line of the shot is not parallel with the bottom of the camera frame.

Shot #4 - Overhead Shot

An overhead shot is when the camera is placed directly above the subject. It's somewhere around a 90-degree angle above the scene taking place. Overhead shots are also called a bird view, bird's eye view, or elevated shot. Its placement is somewhat near the action, differing from the aerial shot.

Shot #5 - Eye Level

An eye level shot refers to when the level of your camera is placed at the same height as the eyes of the characters in your frame. An eye level camera angle does not require the viewer to see the eyes of the actor, nor does the actor need to look directly into the camera for a shot to be considered eye level.

Shot #6 - Shoulder Level

In film or television, an over the shoulder shot is when the camera is positioned behind one character and facing another, so the shoulder and back off the one character are facing the audience. Over Batman's shoulder.

Shot #7 - Hip Level

A Cowboy shot is when your camera is roughly waist-high. Hip level shots are often useful when one subject is seated while the other stands.

Shot #8 - Knee Level

This is when your camera height is about as low as your subject’s knees. They can emphasize a character’s superiority if paired with a low angle. It's not as extreme as a ground level shot but it gets the same feeling across. These are ideal when you want to focus on characters walking.

Shot #9 - Ground Level

A ground level shot is when your camera’s height is on ground level with your subject. This camera angle is used a lot to feature a character walking without revealing their face, but it can help to make the viewer more active and use the actor's performance to build an idea. 

Hollywood Composition

 Hollywood Composition

Shot #1

For this shot as a group we chose to use an over the shoulder shot, demonstrating the first and secondary characters in shot - we included this to showcase the two characters talking and not have to cut back and forth to each characters face. This also gave us ability to see the body language and facial expressions of both characters interacting with each other; also allowing us to follow the 180 degree rule where the camera stays on one side of the characters, helping the audience keep track of who is speaking. This shot was edited to fit the next scene. We could have improved this by having the camera higher upwards, only showing the shoulder and to blur out the secondary characters shoulder as well to emphasise/gain more attention on the first character. We followed the rule of thirds within this shot and gave headspace for each character, enabling it to look clean and not cramped, making the audience uncomfortable. There is a good use of white balance in this shot, allowing the face of the characters be shown clearly. We sequenced this clearly leading to the next shot to create a flow to the narrative

Shot #2

The camera angle we used is a over the shoulder shot, again to show the two characters dialogue without switching back and forth between the two. This also gave us ability to see the body language and facial expressions of both characters interacting with each other; also allowing us to follow the 180 degree rule where the camera stays on one side of the characters, helping the audience keep track of who is speaking. I feel the composition could have improved by allowing the first character (male) to have enough headspace in the shot - the angle makes the shot look crowded and uncomfortable and would make the audience notice the strangeness. We could have improved this by making sure the shot wasn't blurred and each feature of the characters were in focus. Moreover, I feel we could have improved the white balance as some aspects of the colour come across as grey and muted, as well as the background light overtaking some of the shot.

Shot #3

This worms eye view full body shot showcased a character coming up a set of stairs, we chose to make the camera angle lower to show the characters footsteps walking as well as using the two railing like arrows, making the eye lead to the characters face. We could have improved this by giving the character more head room to move as the shot comes across as uncomfortable and cramped. Within this we followed the rule of thirds and kept the character central in the screen. I feel the white balance has worked well as the colour and lighting are clear in this shot. the shot is also sequenced to be in time with the next.

Shot #4

I think this shot worked extremely well as the lighting, composition and white balance all worked harmoniously together. The shot we used was again a worms eye view of the character moving, following her feet as she walks. When the character left the screen it transitioned to the next shot following this movement. However, when editing this shot we had to reverse the footage as it didn't fit the 180 degree rule.

Shot #5

For this shot we used a medium shot to showcase the character walking, the camera walking backwards and character walking forwards in a dolly shot to create an illusion. We included this to finalise where the character was going. Although fro this shot we didn't use enough head space and so the shot can be seen to look cramped. I feel the white balance worked well in this shot and no over powering light leaked into the shot.

Unit 3: Assignment Brief

 

Short Model Movie Analysis

Short Model Movie Analysis

To begin this short narrative video I was going to use an establishing/master shot as my first scene, this would have helped demonstrate the geography, time of day and scale of environment. However, when shooting the video we included an establishing shot of our green screen, although when editing the video we couldn't add a background into the green-screen as the opacity wasn't strong enough to get the full image. Thus being why I couldn't use a backdrop that fitted the style and genre of the film. 

For the first shot I used an over the shoulder shot, the main protagonist being in shot and the villain in a dirty two shot. However, the footage when editing came out blurry, not giving the best quality to work with. The dialogue of the scene starts with the villain (side of shoulder), giving the audience the impression they are possibly on his side of watching from afar.

For the second shot in the short narrative, I used a close up of the characters side profile, this works well, corresponding to the 180 degree rule, as the audience can keep track of which direction each character is looking and can keep the story flowing smoothly.

For my third shot I again used an over the shoulder, however when filming this shot I now recognise in editing it did not fit an over the shoulder as it was too high up the characters body. As well as this the background stops behind the villain, as you can see a part of a set, making it a nearly unusable shot.

For the fourth shot I used an extreme close up of the character; at this moment in the audio the villain is left alone in a room, the single shot giving the impression of loneliness and emphasises the fact he is the only one in the room, to go further you could interpret the character is inside his head, thinking while the camera is on him. I feel this shot worked well in correlation to the narrative as well as the cinlmphatography, it being a clean, balanced and un-blurred shot.

My fifth shot was a medium shot, demonstrating the character from chest to head, as well as using only a small part of the screen in the footage as the character is central to the left, leaving speaking room in the right corner. 

At this point I introduced my protagonist into the narrative, using a single clean close up of the character, as well as a medium close up to transition onto the next scene. I feel this worked well as it followed the 180 degree rule and kept the narrative flowing smoothly.

This shot was used as a worms eye view of the villain, at a point where the character may have felt big and monstrous towards the protagonist, using this technique of demonstrating the villain in this way helped portray this through the narrative. 

These two shots included are medium fulls, portraying the character in full from his head to waist. This helped the audience gain insight onto the fashion, composition and body stance of the character.

I used this shot as a medium full shot/cowboy shot but instead having the characters looking directly at each other. This I feel creates more tension within the scene and makes the audience feel uncomfortable by the closeness of the characters, not letting there be any room left in the shot.

When editing the video I cut down the footage to fit the dialogue, as well as cutting out any mistakes of blurred, angled or uneven scenes. As well in editing I attempted to imbed a environment background that would suit the dialogue (eg, a interrogation room, prison, police station, etc) unfortunately the opacity of the green screen in the footage was not strong enough and would not allow a backdrop to be used. Furthermore, when filming the short video I made sure the white balance was on, on the camera so I could achieve the lighting I wanted. I feel the use of varied camera angles worked well in correlation to the narrative, however, some of the footage could be improved by not being blurry or in and out of focus next time. I could have improved my composition by using more shots that fit well within the narrative, making it clear which character is speaking and who the villain and hero are. I felt I followed the rule of thirds within the short film, nearly always giving each character speaking/breathing room so the footage didn't come across as uncomfortable or crowded. In most shots I left space for head room, however when coming to editing I realised that the top of the heads were cut off/not included. I sequenced the footage to fit the dialogue, creating smash cuts when a character starting talking or cutting to/from a character when there was dramatic speech or movement. 

180° Rule

 180° Rule 

The 180 Rule is a basic guideline regarding the on-screen spatial relationship between a character and another character or object within a scene. By keeping the camera on one side of an imaginary axis between two characters, the first character is always frame right of the second character. Moving the camera over the axis is called jumping the line or crossing the line; breaking the 180-degree rule by shooting on all sides is known as shooting in the round. 

To create this short film we used a A58 Camera and used the 180 degree rule, following our instructions to keep the camera on one side of an imaginary axis between two characters, keeping the character in the right frame. For the first shot we used an over the shoulder but the camera is almost looking up at the shoulder, making the two characters seam taller. This shot was a great use of exposure and demonstrated the features of the models without light overpowering the shot. 

The second shot was again an over the shoulder, although this time in a closer shot nearer to the second character; this was however was not a great use of exposure as the camera was in manual focus and so the light emitting overpowered the shot as well as the closest object being in full resolution whereas the rest was slightly blurred.

The next sequence of shots we were asked to create a stream of a moments of character walking, for the first shot we used a high angle shot to demonstrate a character coming up a set of stairs; the model getting closer and closer to the camera to cut to the next shot. 

For the next shot we made a mistake and didn't use the 180° as the character was on the other side of the screen; to fix this, in editing we flipped the shot uses a filter in Final Cut Pro that does this. 

This shot was a worms eye view of the character moving across a set of benches, the upper body not being visible but only the feet to give a clear view to the audience to where the character is going.

The next shot switches to an eye level view of the character, the cameraman walking backwards as the model walks forwards to create an illusion of time passing. 

The final shot in the short film, is from an above angle, the camera man showing the model walking from above; the audience seeing the back of the models head giving an ominous display of what may happen next.