Camera Angles

The 7 Areas of Textual Representation

You need to understand how the technical elements (in the last post) create specific representations of individuals, groups, events or places and help to articulate specific messages and values that have social significance. 

Particular areas of representation that may be chosen are:

1. Gender
2. Age
3. Ethnicity
4. Sexuality
5. Class and status
6. Physical ability/disability
7. Regional identity

The 4 Key Areas of Textual Analysis

Camera Shots, Angle, Movement, Composition

• Shots: establishing shot, master shot, close-up, mid-shot, long shot, wide shot, two-shot, aerial shot, point of view shot, over the shoulder shot, and variations of these.
• Angle: high angle, low angle, canted angle.
• Movement: pan, tilt, track, dolly, crane, steadicam, hand-held, zoom, reverse zoom.
• Composition: framing, rule of thirds, depth of field – deep and shallow focus, focus pulls.

Editing

Includes transition of image and sound – continuity and non-continuity systems.

• Cutting: shot/reverse shot, eyeline match, graphic match, action match, jump cut, crosscutting, parallel editing, cutaway; insert.
• Other transitions, dissolve, fade-in, fade-out, wipe, superimposition, long take, short take, slow motion, ellipsis and expansion of time, post-production, visual effects.

　Sound

• Soundtrack: score, incidental music, themes and stings, ambient sound.
• Diegetic and non-diegetic sound; synchronous/asynchronous sound; sound effects; sound motif, sound bridge, dialogue, voiceover, mode of address/direct address, sound mixing, sound perspective.

Mise-en-Scène

• Production design: location, studio, set design, costume and make-up, properties.
• Lighting; colour design.

Camera Shots, Angles and Movement

Camera Shots

The Vampire Diaries-Caroline and Klaus Scenes

Over The Shoulder Shot
Over the shoulder shots are used(0:36-0:48) to highlight the stream of conversation and make the audience feel connected. The behind the shoulder shot creates intimacy between the characters and the audience.


Establishing Shot
At 2:11 an establishing shot is used to portray the context of the scene and reveal important characters and objects. It establishes the time and location of the scene.

Close Up Shot

This set of close ups(4:33-4:57) create atmosphere and emphasises the mood of the characters. The close up exposes the emotions of the characters and makes the audience feel closer to them.




High Angle Shot
This shot can make the subject seem vulnerable or powerless, this can be used in assistance with the male gaze as a woman could be looked down on to give the male a feeling of power over her. This shot can also be used to emphasise the level of elevation between one character and another.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8V1uE1-wTPs
Low Angle Shot
This shot is often used to connote power with the character in the shot. It develops fear in the audience as this shot makes them feel vulnerable.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8V1uE1-wTPs


Point of View Shot
This shot is a way to put the audience into the shoes of the character. It can make the audience trust the character and connect with them emphasising feelings and creating a more dynamic experience.
http://www.tubechop.com/watch/7025625
Extreme Close up
An extreme close-up is when what is being viewed is very large, usually this is a part of someone’s face.
http://swf.tubechop.com/tubechop.swf?vurl=fuEG_PSb_Ts&start=8.86&end=11.65&cid=6953461
Camera Movement


Tracking Shot
This shot allows the audience to feel involved in the movie. Its away of maintaining movement in the movie and is used often to follow a character.


Tilt Shot
The tilt shot moves vertically, it is often used to show the significance of something e.g the height of a building.


Zoom
This shot does not require the camera itself to move at all. Zooming means altering the focal length of the lens to give the illusion of moving closer to or further away from the action.


Arc Shot
This shot is similar to the tracking shot, but it moves around the subject therefore it can emphasise a characters body language or anything significant.


Crane Shot
A crane shot is achieved by mounting a camera on some type of crane device. This allows the director to achieve any shot he wants without too much struggle.


Pan Shot
A pan shot is a camera movement which follows the action, or reveals previously unframed space, as it moves horizontally. Pans occur in varying speeds for dramatic purposes.

The British Film Industry and America's Influence

1. What % of global box office was the British film industry responsible for? 15%
2. What was this % in 2009? 6.8%
3. What might this change indicate about British film? It is getting bigger and more successful.
4. What films have been responsible for this change? Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part 2 and The Kings Speech.
5. What % of the British film industry makes a profit? 7%
6. What % of Hollywood films make a profit? 17%
7. How does that % differ between £2m and £10m budget British films? 4% of £2 million budget films make a profit, whereas 17% of £10 million budget films are likely to make a profit.
8. What might we infer from this difference? The more money spent on a movie the bigger the profit made.
9. Which age group makes up the largest % of UK cinema goers? Aged 45 and over.
10. Why do you think this might be? They have the money and time to go out more often than a younger group, there are not any movies that 45 year olds are restricted to see because of their age.
11. Which 'type' of film has seen an 18% drop in attendance? 3D
12. Within that 'type' which genre has seen the biggest fall? Big Family Films e.g. Madagascar 3
13. What did Charles Grant put this decline down to? Families need to economise.
14. Who is Paul Greengrass? A British film director.
15. How did he describe the British film industry? A success story.
16. What did a BFI spokesperson say was the point of less profitable low budget British films? That they are successful and beneficial to the industry for other reasons like skills and training development and for artistic and cultural importance.
17. What was the budget for Filth and how much money did it take? Less than £2 million and it made £4 million in profit.
18. What advantage did James McEvoy feel £100m films have over low budget films? They have a massive budget to sell the film if it's not very good.
19. What is VOD? Video On Demand, e.g Netflix
20. What % increase did VOD see last year? 50%
21. What impact might VOD have on distributers and Studios? They might become less important
22. What impact has it had on Blockbuster rental stores? It has caused them to lose lots of money and even close a lot of stores down.
23. What was unique about Ben Wheatleys 'A Field In England'? It was the first UK film to be released simultaneously in cinemas, on DVD, on TV and through video-on-demand.
24. What does director of The Machine Caradog James think is the toughest part of film making? Making a good film really reach the audience.
25. Why have rules been relaxed on what makes a film 'British'? To help encourage investment in the UK film industry.
26. How has the use of visual effects in films been encouraged? The points for visual effects has been increased.
27. Name five of these rules and link them to The Kings Speech, Kill List, The World's End:
    •film set in the UK     
    •lead characters British citizens or residents          
    •British director, scriptwriter, producer, composer, key staff, crew
    •Original dialogue recorded mainly in English language            
    •Film based on British subject matter or underlying material                                                             
    •The three films above fit most if not all of the above criteria, and are therefore qualified as British films
28. What rules has chancellor George Osbourne announced for tax on British films? That tax relief would be increased from 20% to 25% on the first £20 million of qualifying production expenditure.
29. What is the highest grossing film in UK box office history? James Bond: Skyfall
30. How much has it taken and how many screens was it available on? Globally it has taken $870 million(£540m)

American Influence - Variety links

Why has Sony opened a Digital Motion Picture Centre at Pinewood studios? It is used to provide hands-on training for cinematographers and other crew members to help them get the most from Sony’s 4K cameras.


What benefit might this have for the British film industry? Evolved technology and allowed more people to be highly trained.
Where else have they opened facilities like this? Culver City in Los Angeles.

How many films have been produced using the F65 camera? 30 feature films.

What has been the consequence of Blockbusters to US film production? The studio of the future, some CEOs predict, will embody a streamlined distribution and marketing mechanism leveraging a limited flow of features through global revenue streams. The conceit of developing scripts and nurturing filmmaking talent will be history.

How big a loss to Sony expect to post? $181 Million

Which films are responsible for this? After Earth and White House Down.

How is Lionsgate different to Sony? Lionsgate has no physical studio to support and a more modest overhead than the majors, can register enormous grosses with a franchise like Hunger games.

Why is "the new mandate to avoid niche products'? The belief that blockbusters alone represent a sound investment strategy is in itself driving up the cost of blockbusters as well as superstars. While business strategists traditionally have argued for diversification, the new mandate is to avoid niche product because the niches are getting narrower.

The Amazing Spiderman 2

Class and Status Stereotypes

Class and Status Powerpoint