FILM STUDIES – Cinematography
Camera techniques (Framing, Angles, Moves, Editing, Lighting), Sound, Roles
FRAMING (CAMERA SHOTS):
1. Very long shot/wide shot/establishing shot: a shot in which figures appear small in the landscape. Often used
at the beginning of a film or sequence as an ‘establishing shot’ to show where the action is taking place; also
used to make a figure appear small or isolated.
2. Long shot: contains a fair amount of landscape or background but the subject (usually a person/people) are
recognisable.
3. Full Shot: contains much less landscape or background. A shot in which a figure can be seen from head to toe
4. Mid shot: Shows the figure from approximately the waist to the head. In a mid-shot, you can easily recognise
an individual but you can also see what they are doing with their hands.
5. Close-up: Head and shoulders, enabling you to easily see facial expressions, so you can see what characters are
thinking and feeling
6. Extreme close-up: From just above the eyebrows to just below the mouth, or even closer: used to emphasise
facial expression or to make the subject appear threatening.
Other useful terms for shots are:
Two shot: Any shot with two people in it
Point of view shot: A shot from a character’s point of view
Over-the-shoulder shot: A shot in which we see a character over another’s shoulder, often used in interviews or
dialogues
Camera Angles:
The relationship between the camera and the object being photographed (i.e. the ANGLE) gives emotional
information to an audience, and guides their judgment about the character or object in shot. The more extreme the
angle the more symbolic and heavily-loaded the shot.
1. Overshot / The Bird's-Eye view: This shows a scene from directly overhead, a very unnatural and strange angle.
Familiar objects viewed from this angle might seem totally unrecognisable at first (umbrellas in a crowd, dancers'
legs). This shot does, however, put the audience in a godlike position, looking down on the action. People can be
made to look insignificant, ant-like, part of a wider scheme of things.
2. High Angle: Not so extreme as a bird's eye view. The camera is elevated above the action using a crane to give a
general overview. High angles make the object photographed seem smaller, and less significant (or scary). The
object or character often gets swallowed up by their setting - they become part of a wider picture.
3. Eye Level: A fairly neutral shot; the camera is positioned as though it is a human actually observing a scene, so
that e.g. actors' heads are on a level with the focus. The camera will be placed approximately five to six feet from
the ground.
4. Low Angle: These increase height and give a sense of speeded motion. Low angles help give a sense of confusion
to a viewer, of powerlessness within the action of a scene. The background of a low angle shot will tend to be just
sky or ceiling, the lack of detail about the setting adding to the disorientation of the viewer. The added height of
the object may make it inspire fear and insecurity in the viewer, who is psychologically dominated by the figure on
the screen.
5. Undershot: This shot is taken when the camera is directly below the object or figure. This angle can suggest
extreme power or danger. For example undershot of stampeding cattle or undershot of train, suggesting the
subject is in danger.
CAMERA MOVES:
Film makers not only use different camera shots and angles, but also move the camera in different ways for
different effects. Below are the main camera moves used in films:
1. Pan. The camera rotates from side to side, so that it aims more to the left or right. The camera does not
change the location.
2. Tilt. The camera rotates to aim upward or downward without changing the location. Tilt is sometimes
called "pitch".
3. Zoom. The camera's lens is adjusted to increase or decrease the camera's field of view, magnifying a
portion of the scene without moving the camera.
4. Dolly. The camera's actual position changes, such as to move alongside a moving subject or to travel closer
to a character during a scene. Dolly in moves the camera closer to the subject. Dolly out backs the camera
away from the subject. Dolly in and dolly out are sometime called "track".
Dolly vs. Zoom
The difference between dolly and zoom is that when you dolly, you are moving the camera in space, while zoom
refers to changing the camera's focal length. When you move the camera, the perspective changes. Objects far
from the camera change in relative size at a slower rate than objects which are close to the camera. That is what
you see through your human eyes as you walk around: your perspective changes. On the other hand, when you
zoom (i.e., when you change the focal length of your camera), your camera does not move and perspective does
not change.
EDITING: (How the individual shots are put together)
There are two main types of editing which you will encounter in mainstream films and TV programmes:
1. Continuity editing
The majority of film sequences are edited so that time seems to flow, uninterrupted, from shot to shot. Within
a ‘continuity editing’ sequence, only cuts will be used. Continuity editing can also involve ‘cross-cutting’, where
a sequence cuts between two different settings where action is taking place at the same time.
2. Montage
In montage, different images are assembled to build up an impression. This is often used in title sequences.
Editing can vary both in pace(how long individual shots stay on the screen for) and in the transitions between shots.
Transitions describe the way in which one shot replaces the previous one:
Cut: One image is suddenly replaced by another, without a visible transition.
Cross-dissolve: One image dissolves into another. This can be used to make a montage sequence - e.g. the title
sequence - flow smoothly; it can also be used in continuity editing to show that we have moved forwards in time
and/or space.
Fade up: An image gradually fades in
Fade out: An image gradually fades out.
Fades to and from black usually mean that time has passed
LIGHTING:
contrast (of image) grades of light and dark.
back light lights illuminating the main image from the rear, sculpting it from the background with highlighted
edges, as with haloed hair.
key light lighting which selectively illuminates from the front various prominent features of the image, such as
faces or hands, and provides the reflected gleam in an actor’s eye.
high-key (realistic) lighting lighting style in which all parts of the set and the screen are relatively evenly lit,
suggesting a familiar world containing few surprises or mysteries.
low-key (expressionistic) lighting lighting with strongly contrasted areas of light and shadow, often with one
feature of the image lit from one side or below and the rest dark, creating a sense of lurking mystery (called lowkey because the key light is turned ‘low’ or ‘off’).
SOUND:
ambient sound "live" background sounds creating the illusion that we are seeing and hearing a real world, such as
the sounds of distant birds or cars, supposedly incidental but in fact functioning to enhance the drama
wild (live) sound sound actually recorded while the shot is made, often of poor quality and unusable if recorded
outdoors on location but serving nevertheless as a guide for dubbing and editing, and as a reminder of dramatic
intentions.
background music off-screen, extra-diegetic (= outside the "reality" of the film story) music heard during the film,
not originating within the action but accompanying that action in order to heighten its dramatic power.
dubbing replacing sounds, voices, or languages on the sound track with others thought preferable, though
maintaining their synchronicity (synch) with the image as far as possible.
sound effects the "SFX" and sounds mixed onto the sound track, created to "accompany" various images as if they
were originated by those images.
ROLES:
director the film’s chief artistic co-ordinator or authority, responsible for blocking the camera and cast (i.e. deciding
where they move) and eliciting (designing, drawing out) their performances, and for bringing in the film on time
and within budget; usually oversees everything and often responsible for everything appearing on-screen.
producer the business executive who brings together the various artists, technicians, subcontractors and financiers
required for the film to be made, then during production oversees the film’s schedules, costs and contracts.
cinematographer (director of photography) the artist and technician responsible for the film’s lighting and
photography, an expert with lights, lenses, cameras, film stocks, and photographic processes who designs and tests
different effects until they match the director’s intentions for the film, then oversees the actual shooting.
art director (production designer) the artist who selects or designs the sets, settings, locations, and props seen in
the film, in accordance with the film’s visual style.
editor the person who receives work prints of the film’s takes, logs them, cuts and splices the preferred takes into a
rough cut, then with director trims shots and reconstructs sequences until a desired "final cut" of the work print
has emerged.
actors the people who play the various characters in a film (female actors are sometimes called actresses).