o
o
o
the process of capturing moving images on film
(or digitally)
everything that has to do with cameras and
lenses, with film/film stock (and its digital
equivalents), exposure and processing of
film/digital images
Cinematographer = Director of Photography (DP)
o
Mise en Scene refers to “what is filmed”
o
Cinematography refers to “how it is
filmed”
o
Some elements – like lighting, can be both
o
Framing and Composition
o shot types
o camera angles
o depth
o camera movement
o aspect ratio
o lighting*
o
Camera and exposure choices, film stock
and lenses*
extreme long (ELS)
o long (LS)
o medium (MS)
o close-up (CU)
o extreme close-up (ECU)
o
Extreme Long Shot
aka:
used when/for:
Long Shot
used when/for:
Medium Long Shot and Medium Shot
used when/for:
Close-Up
used when/for:
Extreme Close-Up
used when/for:
Over the shoulder shot
used when/for: establish the position of each person;
feeling of looking at person from the other's point of
view; common to cut between these shots during
conversation
Point of View Shot (subjective shot)
used when/for: as if seeing through the
character
eye-level (straight angle)
high angle
low angle
dutch angle/tilt
Eye-Level (straight angle)
used when/for:
High Angle
used when/for:
Low Angle
used when/for:
Dutch Tilt
used when/for:
o
Challenge: how to give the illusion of
depth
o using the planes of mise en scene
(fore/middle/back) to create an illusion
o deep-focus composition
o rule of thirds
 Framing
can become a director’s
signature
- using the natural framing occurring in objects
•
M. Night Shyamalan – door ways
•
Quentin Tarantino – from below/trunk shots
- or direction and perspective
•
Wes Anderson – from above
•
Stanley Kubrick – one-point perspective
 Pan
 Tilt
 Dolly/tracking
shots
 Crane/“boom”/jib shots
 Hand-held and steadicam shots
Pan – camera rotates horizontally, side to
side
o Tilt – camera vertically pivots/rotates up
and down
o
o In pans & tilts, camera does not change position,
it pivots or rotates
oUsually tripod mounted
o example
Dolly/tracking shots
o Crane/“boom”/jib shots
o Hand-held and steadicam shots
o
The camera is mobile
o
Dolly/tracking shot: camera fixed to wheeled
support
o
dolly in:
o frequently used at moments of character’s realization
and/or decision, or as a pov shot of what the
character is having a realization about
o
dolly out:
o used for slow disclosure
o Spike Lee - dolly
o Children of Men
o
Boom/jib shots: Camera mounted on
counterweighted boom
o some can also telescope in or out
can use for combinations of pans & tilts,
horizontal (tracking), vertical or diagonal moves
o
Crane shots: Shots look the same as
boom shot, but often motorized or with
hydraulics for movement
o Crane shots are typically long or extremely
long shots and long takes
o
Crane and boom shots…
Opening of Touch of Evil
o Opening of The Player
o
o
Hand-held and Steadicam shots
o can pan, tilt, or track
o Hand-held
omovement is obviously “unsteady”--which is how we
know it’s a hand-held shot
o Steadicam
oa patented device dampens unsteadiness, producing
a relatively smooth movement, even when walking or
running
oSteadicam first used in Rocky (1976)
Steadicam
Handheld *
 The
Zoom
• camera doesn’t move, but frame changes as the lens
focal length is changed
• zoom in or out/magnification
• Left:
 move the camera (track in)
 short focal length lens
 Note: Relation of
back/foreground, changed
angles
 distortion at edges
• Right:
 Camera stationary
 Change of focal length (i.e.,
zoom in)
 Relation of back/foreground
closer (telephoto effect of
flattening)
 No distortion at edges
 Zooming is unnatural to the
human eye *
And there are endless combinations…
o Jaws (3:51)
o
Rules of the Game, Jean Renoir, 1939
1.33:1 (4 to 3) actually 1.37:1
Aliens, James Cameron, 1986
1.85:1
Rebel Without A Cause, Nicholas Ray, 1955
2.35:1 (Cinemascope)
* *