Lecture 2: Cinematography

Camera movements can be used to tell the audience the emotion or the motive within a scene.
They can also be used to tell the audience what has happened.

Shots:

Extreme Long Shot - An extreme long shot is taken from a long distance to get as much as possible within the frame. These are usually used as establishing shots.
Long Shot -  A long shot is used to get the entire body of a character in shot. These are used when filming a character walking along/across the scene.
Medium Shot - A medium shot is when half the character is in shot usually from the waist up. This shot is used in conversational situations when dialogue is being shared.
Close Up Shot - This shot is when you can only see a single section of a persons body, usually the face. These are used mostly as reaction shots to capture a characters expression.
Extreme Close Up Shot - This shot is when something is shot for very close range, again usually the face but this time only a very small amount.
Insert Shot - These focus more on an inanimate object rather than a human being. They are used to show a persons possessions or the things surrounding them.

Camera Angles:

Birds Eye View - Any shot taken from over head, mostly top down. These are mostly use either as establishing shots or as a quick transition.
High Angle - This is when the camera is positioned high up looking down on the subject. This angle is used to show weakness and show small they are.
Low Angle - This is when the camera is positioned low down looking up at the subject. This angle is used to show power and authority.
Dutch Tilt - This refers to any shot that is on a tilt. It turns the horizon into a slope. This angle is used to create a sense unease and disorientation for the viewer.
Point of View - This is when we see the film through the eyes of a character. This is used to show what the character sees so we can get more of a personal feel for the character.
Eye Level - This shot is quite self explanatory as the camera is positioned at eye level with the character on screen. This angle is used to make a scene more personal as it shows the character as we'd expect to see him/her in real life.

Camera Movement:

Pan - The camera pans around the subject. These are used to show the action and reaction in the same shot, this is because the camera can first show you the action the pan to show the characters reaction.
Tilt - Camera tilts up to or down to or away from the subjects face. These are used to reveal something big, either a character or an object.
Tracking - The camera follows the subjects of the scene. It "tracks" them along the scene. This shot is used mostly to track the subjects of a scene as they walk along the scene.
Crane - This shot is taken from a camera on a crane arm. These are used for many shots such as establishing shots and long one take shots.
Zoom - In this shot the camera zooms in onto the subject. This is used to show tension as the camera
would zoom on the characters face to show a reaction.
Dolly Counter Zoom - This is like a zoom however it appears that the subject is zooming in while the background is zooming out. Again this would be used as a reaction shot, but it is slightly more comedic.

Transitions & Edits:

Cut - An instant transition
Fade In - The screen becomes lighter
Fade Out - The screen becomes darker
Dissolve - The end of shot A is briefly onto of shot B
Wipe - A line crosses the screen wiping away shot A and revealing shot B

Editing Techniques:

Graphical [PICTURE] - This is when you make a graphical match between to clips.
 Rhythmical [RHYTHM] - This is used to set the pace of a film. If the film has a fast rhythm then it there will be lots of short clips with fast cuts and if the rhythm is slow then it will have the opposite.
 Temporal [TIME] - This is when the a film uses something like a montage or the image of a clock shifting forward several hours to quickly show the passage of time.
Spatial [SPACE] - This is when several shots of things happening at the same time in various locations come together to create the film space.

Cross Cutting - This is when the editing cuts between many different events happening at the same time during a sequence in a film.

Kuleshov Effect - This is when a meaning is derived from the relationship between two shots.

Ellipsis - This is when the editor shortens the duration of a film by cutting out anything that does not need to be shown.

Context - Understanding films through context means knowing the conditions that surround the film-making and the reputation of the film.