Coursework Form Research
- 1. Form Research { Shona Traynor & Xavier Vale Katz, Steven D., Film Directing: Shot by Shot, Michael Wise Productions, 1991
- 2. A close-up shot has connotes an image of vulnerability, intimacy or an intrusion of the character’s privacy. The objects can be positioned dead- centre, which would connote an image of importance to the film, or off-centre, displaying more of the background in the shot. The use of off-centre shots are more conventional in films, as the take advantage of the wide screens. The Close Up
- 3. The medium shot works well if there are between one to five characters in a frame. Any more than this, however, requires a full shot. The camera shot is used mainly in dialogue scenes, capturing both the actor’s facial expressions and clear gestures. The Medium Shot
- 4. The long shot has not been used as much in recent years, ‘relegated to the function of an establishing shot’. These are used to establish both a character and a specific location in the same frame, but needs dialogue to work effectively. A positive of having a long shot is that the audience can see the full body language of the actor. The Long Shot
- 5. These shots are useful for dialogue scenes between two people. These are places ‘just inside…the line of sight of the subjects.’ They also enable a different perspective to be given, allowing the mis-en-scene to be shown in a slightly different angle. Over the Shoulder Shots
- 6. The position of lighting can greatly influence the connotations a certain shot has. For example, the villain in an action movie would have shadows constantly on him, highlighting his dark and evil personality. Lighting
- 7. To film dialogue, there are several different ways of composing it. Face-to-Face This allows for the juxtaposition of characters, to be squared off against one another. Over the Shoulder These can vary from low level shots, capturing the majority of the actor’s body, and tight OTS, resulting in the isolation of the character’s face. The closer it zooms in, the more intimate the shot becomes to the audience. Filming Dialogue
- 8. Shoulder-to-Shoulder This enables the actors to ‘be seen in full face or in profile’ within a single shot., allowing the audience to see the relationship between the two or more characters in the shot. Filming Dialogue
- 9. For interior scenes, there are only three positions the camera can be in, and conventionally, only the middle ground and background shots are used. MIDDLE GROUND: The camera is placed out of the action, but is positioned in such a way that all the actors have a different depth. This reduces the amount of cutting needed. BACKGROUND: More cutting would be applicable for this camera shot, as the majority of actors in the frame have approximately the same depth of field. Depth of a Frame
- 10. This is constantly in films, as the subjects are positioned very carefully to portray a specific message to the audience. Closed Framing
- 11. First-person POV These have been awkward in narrative-based films because we are deprived of the actor’s facial features and expression. Omniscient POV This only works if we have some insight into the character, eg. Voiceover Point of View
- 12. The Pan shot is used to: Include a wider range of space not available through a fixed frame Follow the action/subject as it moves. Connect two or more points of interest to the audience. It is also used to signify the emphasize the depth of a specific shot. The Pan