Language of Film

1. Language of Film One shot at a time

2. Divisions of shots Scene 1A, Take 25 (phew! That was a long day!) • Scene – one setting/continuous period of time; referred to by number in a script • Shot – one way of shooting a scene; usually a letter after the scene number • Take – each attempt to get a shot/scene on film/tape; numbered

3. Divisions of shots Watch the Chaplin’s The Immigrant and see how many scenes and shots you can find.

4. Categories of Shots • Long shot (LS) – establishing shot/scenery; a wide view of everything • Medium Shot (MS) – upper body and some background

5. Categories of Shots • Close-up (cu)– head and maybe shoulders; shows more detail • Extreme Close-up (ecu)– shows very fine detail – face only or one object • Insert shots – cu or ecu of an object

6. What’s your angle? Angle: from what point of view we look at a scene or character Reverse Angle Shots: shots of the same even from opposite angles P.O.V. Shot: (P.O.V. = Point of View): shots from a character’s or object’s point of view (that is, as if through its eyes)

7. Bust a Move or Chillax, Dude? In shots the camera can be STATIC or MOVING

8. Bust a Move or Chillax, Dude? The camera can move in various ways: • Zooming (in or out): Changing the lens to make objects appear closer or farther away. • Panning: Turning the camera left to right or vice versa (as if shaking your head no) • Tilting: Angling the camera up or down (as if shaking your head yes) • Dollying: Moving the entire camera set up on a cart with wheels (called a dolly). May be done forward, backward, or side to side.

9. Composition: The arrangement of objects in the frame to create balance and/or tension in the image.

10. Composition: Think of each frame as an individual photograph.

11. Leading the Action: Whenever a subject is moving, place the subject closer to the edge of the frame from which he/she is moving. The space into which he/she is moving is called lead space.

12. Screen Direction Screen direction: Right or left of frame as seen by the audience

13. The 180 degree Rule Maintains screen direction when different shots from the same scene are edited together. For example, if a person is facing right on the screen, the character should be facing right in all shots in scene. You don’t want to put the camera behind the screen.

14. The 180 degree Rule Imagine a line through your scene. The camera must stay on one side of the line unless we see the camera cross over in the scene. May also cross the line by inserting a neutral shot and reestablishing the 180 line.

15. Continuity Keeping track of actions, positions, and props so that when editing we can match them from one shot to another or one take to another. Cutaway: Shots of objects or other P.O.V.s used to draw attention to something or to avoid continuity problems.

16. Continuity Keeping track of actions, positions, and props so that when editing we can match them from one shot to another or one take to another. Coverage: Making sure you have enough angles, takes, footage to edit a scene together.