Cinematography
Examples & Best Practices
Life of Pi - Oscar, Best Cinematography - 2012
Other notable winners of
Best Cinematography from the Oscars
1931 - Gone with the Wind
1961
1969
1991
1993
1994
1995
1997
1998
(Color)
- West Side Story (Color)
- Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid
- JFK
- Schindler’s List
- Legends of the Fall
- Braveheart
- Titanic
- Saving Private Ryan
2001 - Lord of the Rings:
The Fellowship of the
Ring
2006 - Pan’s Labyrinth
2008 - Slumdog Millionaire
2009 - Avatar
2010 - Inception
2011 - Hugo
Introduction to Cinematography
★ What are the secrets to creating a quality
shot?
★ No MAGIC button to push on the camera to
get HIGH quality results
★ But, techniques are learnable and doable
★ This lesson will show you HOW to create
shots that look like the PROS
What is Cinematography?
cinematography |ˌsinəməˈtägrəfē| noun
the art of making motion pictures.
Cinematography: is the making of lighting and camera choices when recording
photographic images for the cinema. It is closely related to the art of still photography.
Many additional issues arise when both the camera and elements of the scene may
be in motion, though this also greatly increases the possibilities at the same time.
★ Using photographic composition techniques in videos.
★ Remember to always follow good composition when filming your
videos.
Areas of Cinematography Shots
➢ Composition (Rules)
➢ Subject Distance (Basic Camera Shots)
➢ Camera Angle (Height)
➢ Shot Purpose
➢ Camera Movement
Composition Rules
Headroom
Lead Space
Rule of Thirds
When you follow the first two, the Rule of Thirds will naturally occur
Distracting Background
Mergers
Headroom
➢ The space above the subjects head in a
close-up
➢ The perfect balance is needed:
○ Too much and the shot looks off balance
○ Too little cuts off the subject’s head
Lead Space
➢ Viewer’s want to see where moving things are going, so
enough space must be allowed between the subject and the
edge of the frame.
➢ You must adjust your shot
to give a bit more room in
the direction of the
movement.
Rule of Thirds
➢ Subject is offset in frame for visual interest
➢ Shot is divided with two evenly spaced lines
horizontally and vertically
Rule of Thirds
The basic principle is to imagine breaking an image down
into thirds (both horizontally and vertically) so that you
have 9 parts. As follows:
Then…
Put the subject on the
intersection of the lines
or the horizon along a
line.
Rule of Thirds
Place points of interest in the intersections or along the lines.
The image becomes more balanced.
This will enable a viewer to interact more naturally with the image.
When using the most important
questions to ask yourself are:
What are the points of
interest in this shot?
Where am I intentionally
placing them?
Distracting Background
➢ Try to avoid
➢ Always check the background of the shot you are
framing
➢ Background clutter or distracting objects can
usually be avoided by repositioning your camera or
moving the subject.
Mergers
➢ Another form of
distracting background
➢ Background objects or strong
vectors (lines) that visually merge
with your subject can be distracting
➢ Reposition the camera or subject
to avoid mergers
What composition do you SEE?
NOW...
You find a good and bad example of
each of the 5.
Save the images, put into a
presentation, and label.
Basic Camera Shots
Long Shot
Medium Shot
Close up Shot
Extreme Close up Shot
Long Shot
➢ A shot that shows all of something:
a room, a building, a mountain
➢ Help viewers get a sense of location: Where is this scene taking
place?
➢ Most TV shows start with this shot also known as an Establishing
Shot
Medium Shot
➢ This is a waist up shot of person
➢ Place person in context or on
location
➢ Works for someone who moves
hands while they are talking
➢ Problems
○ not much detail in subject
○ too much background
information that can be
distracting
Close-up Shot
➢ Shot includes a little room above
the head, all of the person’s
head,
and down to their armpits.
➢ Fill most of the frame with head
➢ Why this shot?
To capture facial
expressions, makes
it personal, to see
the emotion
Extreme Close-up
➢ Includes just the person’s facial features:
○
Eyes, nose, mouth and chin
➢ The top of the head and shoulders are not included
➢ Can be disturbing shots because they show all the
details
○ i.e. sweat, wrinkles
Camera Angle
·Bird’s Eye View
·Neutral Angle (NA)
·Worm’s Eye View
➢ High Angle/ Bird’s Eye
○ Gives the audience the
perception they are
superior to the subject
○ Give the power to the
audience
➢ Low Angle/ Worm’s Eye
○ Gives the audience the
perception they are inferior
to the subject
○ Gives the power to the
person in the shot
Shot Purpose
·Cutaway/ Insert Shot
·Point-of-View Shot
·Reaction Shot
Cutaway/ Insert Shot
➢ Something other than the current action or subject.
➢ This shot is used as a "buffer" between shots (to help
the editing process), or to add interest or information.
➢ They are mainly used in reference to objects, a clock,
or actions, opening a locker.
Point-of-View Shot
➢ This shot shows a view from
the subject's perspective.
➢ It is usually edited in such a way that it is
obvious whose POV it is.
Reaction Shot
A shot showing one or more characters
reacting to an action or statement.
Camera Movement
·Pan Shot
·Tilt Shot
·Arc Shot
·Zoom In (ZI)
·Zoom Out (ZO)
Pan Shot
➢ The horizontal pivoting of
the camera from a fixed
point, moving left to right
or right to left.
➢ It is used to follow screen
action or to reveal more of
a location without moving
the camera.
Tilt Shot
➢ Pivot your camera up or
down from a fixed position.
➢ Like nodding your head.
Tips & Tricks for Successful Pan & Tilt
➢ Tip #1: Move the camera slowly.
➢ Tip #2: Have a good reason to choose that
shot.
➢ Tip #3: Hold the camera still for a few seconds
at the start and at the end of the shot.
➢ Tip #4: Practice before recording the shot,
making sure you know where to end the shot.
Arc Shot
➢ A shot in which a moving camera circles around the subject.
➢ Must have good control of camera to be successful.
➢ Great way of introducing a character to a story.
Zoom In
Zoom Out
➢ Concentrate the viewer’s attention
to a particular subject or detail not
evident in a wider shot.
➢ Serve to reveal the location or context
of the thing that is framed at the start
of the shot.
➢ It is more dramatic than a cut from
the wider shot to the zoomed in
view, but takes longer to get there.
➢ DO NOT follow ACTION.
➢ Have a good reason for making
your audience wait.
➢ A young man with several piercings is
sitting in a room. The camera slowly
zooms out from a close up to reveal
the other people in the room, who are
all senior citizens in formal attire.
YOUR Homework… Watch TV
Watch Thriller in
class.
Complete Analyzing
Video Assignment
together and then
complete at home
YOUR Filming Assignment