Film Techniques The Art of Reading Film
Learning Goals 1. Understand language used in film 2. Understand the stylistic choices made to create meaning in a films 3. Understand how films can influence society Being successful in these goals means: By the end of this unit, you will be able to review a film using the language and concepts in this slideshow. You will also be able to create a trailer for an imaginary film showing an application of persuasive techniques learned in the last unit combined with the concepts learned in this unit.
What does it mean to read a film? When asked to read a film text, you are being asked to understand, interpret, and analyse it. The first step to knowing how to read film is to understand the conventions. Film conventions include: A Shot An Edit A Scene The Frame
Shot - A continuous piece of filming without interruption from the time the camera is turned on and starts filming until it is turned off. - Tend to last no more than ten seconds - There are no edits or breaks in filming during a shot.
An Edit An intentional break in the film between shots. There are four types: 1. Cuts 2. Dissolves 3. Fades 4. Wipes
A Scene A collection of shots arranged, through editing, in a specific order to tell an important part of the story. A scene in film is similar to a chapter in a novel. Ex: an action scene in which James bond escapes from the villains vs. the scene where the villains are discussing their plan to take over the world.
The Frame The border or edge of the screen - the physical boundary around what the audience will see. Actors can enter and exit the frame and there can be aspects of the story that happen outside of the frame. The world of the film exists both inside and beyond the frame.
One must also consider style when reading films. Style in literature is the use of devices like adjectives, adverbs, strong verbs, similes and metaphors etc. In film, style looks at the specific choices a director, cinematographer and editors make to communicate the story and create a specific atmosphere: Lighting Camera position and movement, Angles, Shots Sound Editing Acting Costume Choices Setting
Basic Lighting Techniques They include: Broadside Lighting Short Side Lighting Rembrandt Lighting Backlighting Cross Lighting Lighting the actor from the front so the largest part of the face is lit. Lighting the actor from the back so the shortest part of him/her is lit and the broader side is in shadows. Angling the light to create a triangle of light under the eye. Lighting from behind the actor so to create a shadow figure. Lighting the actor or actors from both sides (behind and directly facing) Low Key vs High Key Lighting A scene that consists of low lighting and more shadows vs a scene with a lot of brightly lit areas.
Lighting
Camera Angles and Shots Long Shot & Full Shot: This puts both the actors and the setting in the frame Medium Shot: Shoot from a medium distance and film the actor from waist up Close Up & Extreme Close Up: zoom in on one desired focal point and fade the background Pan: move the camera toward one specific focal point Cut In: This is an extreme close up to one specific smaller aspect of the focal point Angle: shoot the focal point from the ground and angle up, from the sky and angle down, or from a left or right angle.
Camera Angles and Shots
Sound: Just listen to learn about the complex world of sound:
As you watch the next video... List the 6 main rules for editing in your notebook under the title: Rules for Editing:
Editing
Watch the following film opening and answer the following: 1. Identify one lighting technique used to create an atmosphere appropriate to the video and target audience. 2. Identify one camera angle that you feel was used effectively and tell why it was appropriate for this particular video and target audience. 3. What sound effects were added to the video to add to the realistic experience for the audience?
Who are the people that make film happen? Meet the film crew:
Mise-en-scene Refers to the staging of all visual elements (acting style, costumes, setting, lighting, etc.) within the frame to support the telling of the story. Works subtly on viewers emotional and intellectual responses without them noticing how it is being done. By learning to look at a film analytically, we can see how each element can be used by filmmakers to position the viewer, cueing them into thinking about humanity in general and about social values.