CAMERA USE

1. CAMERA USE * Directors use the camera in various ways to cause different reactions in the audience * They do this through: Camera Placing Camera Angle Camera Movement

2. Camera Placing Extreme Long Shot In this type of shot the camera reaches its furthest distance from the character(s), which therefore takes up a very small part of the frame. The setting dominates the picture. This shot is also known as the “establishing shot” because it has a long history of use to establish or set the scene of a fresh piece of action.

3. Extreme Long Shot

4. Camera Placing • Long Shot • The camera remains distant but not so far off. The setting • continues to take up most of the space in the frame. A standing • actor fits completely within the frame, neither his head nor his • feet being cut off, though they are not far from the frame edge.

5. Long Shot

6. Camera Placing • Medium Long Shot • The frame line now cuts off a small part of the subject • which is still at a moderate distance from the camera. • In the case of a standing actor, the lower frame cuts across • his calves, cutting off his feet and ankles

7. Medium Long Shot

8. Camera Placing • Medium Shot (mid-shot) • The actor and his/her setting occupy roughly equal • areas in the frame. About half the subject is excluded • from the frame.

9. Mid-Shot

10. Camera Placing • Close up • The camera stands so close to the actor that it obtains • a head-and-shoulders shot. This shot allows the audience • to study the subject in detail. The subject fills up • almost all the frame.

11. Close - up

12. Camera Placing • Extreme close up • The camera comes so close that only a part of the face • is seen, but in enormous detail. The is room for nothing • else on the screen.

13. Extreme Close - Up

14. Camera Placing *Point of View (or Subjective shot) *The camera takes up the position of a character so we feel as if we are looking at the scene from the character’s point of view, or over their shoulder. This is done so the audience can identify with that particular character.

15. Point of View

16. Camera Placing • Omniscient (or Objective) Shot • This is the way that most filming is done. The camera moves • from place to place, shot to shot, too show the audience all • they need. This gives the audience more information about the • scene in front of them, than they could possibly get from real • life. This is comparable to the omniscient narrator in a novel – a • person outside the story, who leads the reader through the • story and knows everything.

17. Camera Angles • High Angle • A high angle shot is one which • the camera is high up and • looks down on the character, • making the character seem • subject small, weak and • venerable.

18. Camera Angles • Low Angle • A low angle shot is one in which • the camera is low and looks up at • the character, making them seem • larger, more formidable and • menacing, or perhaps, tall, regal • and powerful.

19. Camera Angles • Oblique Angles • A shot filmed with the camera • on a tilt so the objects within • the frame also appear tilted. • Used to make the audience feel • off-centre, or to make the scene • appear surreal.

20. Camera Movement • Pans • Short for panoramic. The camera turns horizontally on its • axis to reveal the contents of a room or landscape (survey • pan). The camera can also turn horizontally on its axis to • follow the movement of a character (tracking pan). • The camera can also pan up and down but this is used less • frequently.

21. Camera Movement  

22. Camera Movement • A smooth shot in which the camera moves alongside • the subject.

23. Camera Movement • Zoom • A continuous movement in which the subject appears • smaller when there is movement away from the subject • (zoom out) or larger when there is movement towards the • subject (zoom in).

24. Camera Movement

25. Camera Movement • Hand Held Shots • A shot taken with a handheld camera or deliberately made • to appear unstable, shaky or wobbly; often used to suggest • either documentary footage, ‘realism,’ news reporting or • amateur photography.

26. Camera Movement • Crane Shots • Shots taken from a large camera dolly, resembling an • extendable mechanical arm that can raise the camera up in • air above the ground 20 feet or more. The crane allows the • camera to fluidly move in virtually any direction (with • vertical and horizontal movement), providing shifts in levels • and angels. Crane shots usually provide some kind of • overhead view of a scene.

27. Camera Movement • Aerial Shot • A camera shot filmed in the outdoors from far overhead • (from a bird’s eye view), as if from a helicopter. • This is a variation on the crane shot; if the aerial shot is at • the opening of a film, it is an establishing shot.

28. Camera Movement

29. Other terms to learn * Mise-en-Scene • A French term for “staging,” or “putting into the scene • or shot. • In film theory, it refers to the arrangement, composition, • and content of the visual elements before the camera. The • content includes settings, décor, props, actors, costumes, • lighting, performances, and character movements and • positioning.

30. For example, what are the elements of mise-en- scene in this shot?

31. Other terms to learn * Montage * It means literally, “putting together” or “assembling shots”. • It refers to a filming technique, editing style, or form of movie • collage consisting of a series of shots or images (often • disconnected in time or place) that are rapidly put together • into a logical sequence to suggest meaning or a larger idea. • Usually a montage is not accompanied with dialogue.

32. Montage • A montage is a series of small related scenes, grouped together. • A montage example you will be familiar with is the “falling in • love” montage, where we see shots of our glowing couple at the • amusement park, looking over the ocean, feeding each other • dinner and dancing in the rain. Often montages are silent scenes • that have music or some other sound over them.

33. Series of Shots • A Series of Shots is similar to a montage, but takes place in • one location during one piece of time. Think of a chase scene • when you see a car racing through the street, then a baby • carriage wheeled across the street, then the cop chasing the first • car, then the first car narrowly missing the baby carriage and • the cop car having to stop to avoid hitting it.

34. Other Things to Think About * You will be considering: sound theme Narrative (known in novels as plot. setting lighting character