COGN 21: Methods of
Media Production
Professor
Brian Goldfarb, Dept of Comm
Office hours Wednesday 10:30 - 12pm, MCC 102
Email bgoldfarb@ucsd.edu
TA’s
21: Katrina Boulding, Rachel Cody,
Terra Eggink, and Chuk Moran,
TA’s 22: Lauren Berliner , Emma Johnson,
and Eduardo Santana
COGN
21 all sections fully enrolled. If students
drop, wait-listers will be added in the second
week. Offered twice a year (winter and spring)
COGN
22 sections open. Extra space in:
A01 609446 Tue 9:30 – 12:20 Eduardo
A03 609448 Wed 9:00 – 11:50 Emma
A04 609449 Thur 9:30 – 12:30 Lauren
A05 609450 Thur 12:30 – 3:20 Lauren
A06 609451 Fri 9:00 – 11:50 Emma
Books:
Price Center bookstore and reserve
in library
Readings not in the books are on electronic
reserve (through Roger)
Additional handouts linked to Course Web
Site (CWS)
Official
(up to date) version of syllabus:
http://communication.ucsd.edu/goldfarb/cogn21w08
Goals of the Course

Learn the language of (cinematic) media
production
 Gain elementary skills in media producing
 Connect media production to other areas of
the Communication major
 Begin to translate theoretical ideas into
media projects (and vice versa)
 Become a more ACTIVE & ENGAGED
viewer / listener
Analysis of Audio-Visual
Media
Frames
 Intention
 Interpretation
 Style, Form, Formal Systems
 Genre

Media Clips for Today


Safe, by Todd Haynes, 1995
American Beauty, Sam Mendes, 1999, 122
min.

Scenes from the House Dream, (Media
Installations) by David Hoffos, 2003-present

Trip to the Moon, George Méliès, France,
1902

The Most Beautiful Man in the World, by Alicia
Duffy, Great Britain, 2002.
Mise-en-Scene
Putting into a scene: “the director’s control over what
appears in the film frame.”
Setting
Lighting
Costume & Props
Staging
Composition
Color
Movement in Frame Camera Movement
Space
Time
Scenes from the House Dream
David Hoffos: I have sought to reveal and examine the
sources of illusion found within genre movies, stage magic,
theme park attractions, 19th century parlours, and museum
displays. The evolution of my work has been a steady
process of accumulating and inventing techniques and
devices and then applying and refining them. In 2002 I
embarked on a five-year/five-phased project which will result
in a series of fifteen to twenty small installations down a long
hallway, forming a sort of dream narrative. The installations
incorporate multiple channels of video and audio, miniature
models, mirrors, lighting effects, video projections, phantom
figures, hidden doorways and false walls down a dark
hallway.
Scenes from the House Dream



Experimental
Installation work
Reflexive (directs us to think about the
conventions of the medium and it’s
history)
Trip to the Moon
George Méliès, France, 1902

Early narrative construction
 Inspired by novels by Jules Verne and H G
Wells
 Series of single shot scenes
 Used cinema in new ways to extend
theatrical staging and magic shows
Constructing Images
Framing and the frame
Elements of a “Good” Shot
No rules that can’t be broken
 Elements - cohesive?
 Eye Trace
 Thought provoking
 Cues

Photography
Framing
Composition: X, Y and Z axes
Type of Shot: Medium, Wide, Close Up,
Extreme Close up
Depth of Field
Camera Angle
Lighting
Color
Framing

Removing unnecessary, confusing or
competing elements.
Framing

Rule of Thirds
Framing

Rule of Thirds
Rule of 3rds
Divide the frame
into nine areas
 Avoid placing object in red area
 Horizon lines are top and bottom thirds
 Place objects at points 1, 2, 3, or 4

Framing

Rule of Thirds
Rule of 3rds
Framing:
The
portrait
Framing: The portrait

Headroom
Framing

Headroom - too little
Framing

Headroom - too much
Framing

Headroom - just right
Framing

Nose-room or lead room
Framing

Nose-room
Close-up Offset
Close-up Offset: Wider
Aspect Ratio
Composition

X Axis
Composition

X Axis
Composition

Y Axis
Composition

Vectors - Z Axis Blocking
Composition

Vectors - Z Axis
Composition

Vectors - Z Axis
Depth of Field
The area of the z-axis in which the
objects appear in focus.
Allows for differences of focus of objects
in foreground, middle, and background.
Depth of Field
Ways to decrease depth of field:
 Telephoto lens setting
 Subject closer to camera
 Open Iris (letting more light into the
camera) Lower F-stop.
Depth of Field
Wide Shot
Shallow Depth of Field
Wide Angle Shot
Medium Shot
Medium Shot
Close Up Shot
Extreme Close Up Shot
shallow depth of field
Angle
Low Angle
High Angle
Angle
Low Angle
High Angle
Angle
“Normal” Tripod Height
Lighting
Terms we use:
 High key
 Low key
 Soft light
 Hard light





Contrast
Fill
Flat
Direct
Indirect
Lighting
Terms we use:
 High key
 Soft light
Lighting
Terms we use:
 Low key
 High contrast
Lighting

Low key
 High contrast
Lighting

High contrast
Lighting

Soft light
 Flat light
Color
Saturated
Color
Saturated
Color
Muted
Color
Muted
Color Temperature
Color Temperature--refers to the spectrum of light
illuminating a scene (not the color of objects in the
scene)
 Exterior light - 5400K BLUE
 Interior (tungsten set lights) - 3200 K ORANGE
 Fluorescent - GREEN
 Sunset exterior - blue/orange
 Mid day sun exterior - bright blue
White Balance: video camera adjustment to
compensate for color temperature.
Color Temperature
Clips from Traffic (Steven Soderbergh, 2001)

Scenes in San Diego - white balanced normal
 Scenes in Tijuana - color balanced orange
 Scenes with Drug Tsar and family - color
balanced blue
The Most Beautiful Man
in the World
Alicia Duffy , UK, 2002,

Short independent/art film.
 Consider aspects of photography
 How is composition used to convey ideas or
emotions?
Still Image Checklist







Framing: Centered, use of rule of 3’rds
Tripod height: High, medium or low angle
Wide, medium, close up shot
Hard or soft lighting
Focus and Depth of Field
Direct or indirect lighting
Colors in the frame