Production Phase
• The production phase
refers to the period of
time when the film is
actually being shot.
Some aspects of
production include:
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Direction
Camera operation
Lighting
Sound recording
Acting
Production Phase
• During production, these roles are usually
delegated to the production departments
listed on the next two slides.
Production Phase
• Production Departments
– Direction
• Director (oversees all aspects of the production)
• Assistant Director (works closely with the actors)
– Camera
• Cinematographer (oversees camera operation and lighting plan)
• Camera Operator (operates the camera)
• Assistant Camera (loads camera, pulls focus)
– Lighting
• Cinematographer (oversees camera operation and lighting plan)
• Gaffer (head electrician)
• Grip (sets up lights)
Production Phase
• Production Departments (continued)
– Sound
• Sound Mixer (records the sound)
• Boom operator (positions the microphone)
• Clapper (displays the clap slate for the camera)
– Talent
• Actors (perform before the camera)
– Miscellaneous
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Production Coordinator (scheduling)
Continuity “script girl” (watch for continuity errors)
Make-up Artist (apply make-up to actors)
Production Assistant (various jobs)
Production Phase
• All of the departments and positions
described on the last two slides serve one
goal: to capture the sound and image
necessary to tell the story. Although going
into every detail of production is far
beyond the scope of this course, let’s
consider the “nuts and bolts” that go into
filmmaking.
Production Phase
• How does the camera work?
– When we are watching a motion picture, we
are actually watching a rapid series of still
images that are projected in rapid succession
on the screen.
– We are able to perceive motion in a film
because of the cognitive/perceptual
phenomenon known as persistence of vision.
Production Phase
• How does the camera work?
– The motion picture camera is a tool used to
rapidly expose a continuous series of film
frames to light that is reflected off of objects
and focused onto the film by the camera’s
lens. The following three slides display
diagrams of the inside of a basic motion
picture camera.
Production Phase
• How does the camera work?
– As you can see, the film makes its way from
the spool into the loop and through the gate.
The aperture in the gate is a small square
hole that allows light to pass from the lens
onto the focal plane of the film. This process
is represented in the diagram on the left of the
next slide.
Production Phase
• How does the camera work?
– Once light has been focused by the lens, the
camera shutter opens. The shutter is shaped
like a revolving disc and it’s function is to
allow a single frame of film to be exposed to
light ONLY when it is completely motionless
inside the gate. This normally occurs 24
times per second. See the following slide for
shutter operation.
Production Phase
• How does the film record the image?
– In the instant that the shutter opens and closes,
exposing the film frame to light, a chemical reaction
takes place on the surface of the film. The coating of
emulsion, which is composed of light-sensitive silver
halide, is burned away in various degrees (depending
on the intensity of the light) leaving behind a “latent
image” that is revealed once the film has been
processed. The following two slide illustrates this.
Production Phase
• Shot / Mastershot
• The 180 degree rule.
Production Phase
• Now that we understand the basic
mechanism, let’s consider some of the
ways that it can be manipulated during
production:
– Types of shots
– Types of angles
– Lens choice
– Movement
– Lighting
Production Phase
• Types of Shots
– There are four basic shot types that are based
on the apparent proximity of the subject.
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Long shot
Full Shot
Medium shot
Close up shot
Production Phase
• Types of Shots
– The Long Shot (a.k.a. Establishing Shot)
• In the most pragmatic sense, long shots can be
used to establish a location, acquainting the viewer
with the onscreen space so that the sequence of
shots that follow is not disorienting.
• Long shots can also be used to suggest a wide
variety of meanings such as isolation, loneliness,
freedom, emotional distance, and more. (Note that
interpreting any particular shot or sequence of
shots is dependent upon the context of the film.)
Production Phase
• Types of Shots
– Full and Medium Shots
• Full shots include the entire body of a subject from
top to bottom while medium shots generally
include the body from the waist up.
• Full and medium shots tend to mimic our point of
view when we are engaged in a social encounters.
Production Phase
• Types of Shots
– The Close-Up Shot
• Close-up shots capture a single object, or feature
within the frame. They are commonly used to
reveal subtleties and/or create a sense of
engagement or intensity.
Production Phase
• Types of Angles
– There are three basic types of angles which
refer to the position of the frame with respect
to the subject within the frame.
• High Angle
• Low Angle
• Straight-On Angle
Production Phase
• Types of Angles
– High Angle
• A high angle shot refers to a camera position
where the lens aims down at the subject from
above. An extreme high angle is sometimes
referred to as “bird’s eye view.”
• High angles can be used to reveal the layout of a
room or to make a subject appear weak and small.
As mentioned previously, however, the context of
the scene and the larger film must be taken into
account prior to interpretation.
Production Phase
• Types of Angles
– Low Angle
• A low angle shot refers to a camera position where
the lens aims up at the subject from below.
• As opposed to the high angle shot, the low angle
tends to make the subject appear intimidating and
powerful. Again, the larger context of the film must
be accounted for.
Production Phase
• Types of Angles
– Straight-On Angle
• A Straight-On shot refers to a camera position
where the lens is aimed directly at the subject.
• Especially when used in conjunction with the full or
medium shot, this angle mimics our point of view in
a social encounter.
Production Phase
• Lens Choice
– The only function of a lens is to focus the light that is
either projected or reflected from the surrounding
environment onto the focal plane of the film.
However, lenses come in a variety of focal-lengths
which make the depicted scene appear at different
distances. There are three basic types of lenses:
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•
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Telephoto lens (a “long” lens)
Wide angle lens (a “short” lens)
Normal lens
Zoom lens
– The image on the next slide shows the basic function
of a lens.
Production Phase
• Lens Choice
– Lens choice is guided by two primary and
strongly related factors:
• Focal Length: The distance perspective of the lens.
• Depth of Field: The range of distance that can
focused in front of the lens.
Production Phase
• Lens Choice
– Telephoto Lens
• The focal length of a “telephoto” lens results in a
magnified perspective, not unlike a telescope,
which makes objects appear closer than they
actually are when viewed with the naked eye. The
telephoto lens has a relatively shallow depth of
field, meaning that only a narrow range of space
before the lens can be put into focus. It also tends
to compress the foreground and background of the
field, making images look flat or two-dimensional.
Production Phase
• Lens Choice
– Wide Angle Lens
• In direct opposition to the telephoto lens, the focal
length of the wide angle results in a distanced
perspective, which makes things appear further
away than they actually are when viewed with the
naked eye. The wide angle lens has a relatively
deep field, meaning that a vast distance of space
before the lens can be put into focus. It also tends
to create a more three dimensional effect. An
extreme wide angle lens is sometimes referred to
as a “fish eye” lens.
Production Phase
• Lens Choice
– Normal Lens
• The focal length of the “normal” lens is similar to
the actual distance of objects in the field of view
when viewed with the naked eye.
– Zoom Lens
• The focal length of the “zoom” lens is able to be
manipulated while in use, and can range from
telephoto focal lengths to wide-angle focal lengths.
Production Phase
• Camera Movement
– Camera movement guides the perspective of the
spectator and causes him/her to attend to those
events and features which are most important to the
narrative and aesthetic of the film. There are five
basic forms of camera movement:
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Panning
Tilting
Tracking
Trucking
Booming
Crane
Hand-Held
Production Phase
• Camera Movement
– Panning
• Panning refers to the left to right or right to left
movement of the camera as it remains on a single
axis. This is demonstrated graphically on the
following slide.
– Tilting
• Tilting refers to the down to up or up to down
movement of a camera while it remains on a single
axis.
Production Phase
• Camera Movement
– Tracking
• Tracking refers to the sideways movement of the
camera as it captures a scene.
– Trucking
• Trucking refers to the forwards or backwards
movement of the camera as it captures a scene.
– (These are demonstrated graphically on the following two slides.)
Production Phase
• Camera Movement
– Booming
• Booming refers to the vertical movement of the
camera as it captures a scene.
– Craning
• Crane shots permit a wide range of sweeping
motion and height in capturing a shot. This is
demonstrated graphically on the next slide.
Production Phase
• Camera Movement
– Hand-Held
• Just as the name indicates, hand-held camera
movement is performed without the assistance of a
dolly or tripod. Hand held shots tend to have convey
the subjective point of view of a character since they
imitate a first-person perspective. Hand held shots are
commonly used in “slasher” films to create a feeling of
panic.
• Steadicam: A steadicam is camera mount that is
attached to the operator’s body. It serves to reduce
jerky movements and create the sense of a steady flow
through space.
Production Phase
• Lighting
– Lighting refers to how a scene is lit, and, to a
large extent, how it is exposed on film. It is
among the most complex and important
aspects of production and can be divided into
two categories based on location and two
categories based on style.
• Location (Indoor versus Outdoor lighting)
• Lighting Scheme (High Key versus Low Key
lighting)
Production Phase
• Lighting
– Location
• Indoor lighting
– Indoor lighting is generally achieved through the use of
specialized lamps with varying characteristics of directionality
(focus), throw (distance), and intensity (brightness). There are
three lights in a basic lighting setup (also see the next slide):
» Key Light (provides the primary source of illumination)
» Fill Light (illuminates the shadows left by the key light)
» Back Light (separates the foreground from the
background)
Production Phase
• Lighting
– Location
• Outdoor Lighting
– Outdoor lighting is generally done with large, powerful
lamps known as HMIs.
– In addition to lamps, other devices such as reflectors,
flags, and neutral density gel may be used to increase or
reduce the intensity of sunlight on various parts of the
scene.
Production Phase
• Lighting
– Lighting Scheme
• High Key
– High key lighting is a style in which the ratio of the key
light to the fill light is high and, thus, fills in most of the
shadows in the scene resulting in a bright, evenly lit
image. High key lighting is often used in light-hearted
comedies and dramas.
Production Phase
• Lighting
– Lighting Scheme
• Low Key
– In opposition to high key, low key lighting refers to a low
ratio of fill to key light, which results in a darker image
with more “contrast” and shadows. This scheme is most
often associated with film noire crime stories of the 1940s
but is also frequently used in horror films and early
German expressionist work.
Production Phase
• It is the job of the director and cinematographer
to coordinate these elements into a strategy for
capturing the action on film. One common and
efficient strategy is referred to as Shot /
Mastershot or Shooting for Coverage. This
technique involves shooting a full shot of the
entire scene before moving in closer on a reshoot to capture more specific cutaway shots
that can later be coordinated with the master.
(Continued on the next slide.)
Production Phase
• Another strategy that is commonly employed in
directing a scene is the 180° rule, which posits
that the camera should take angles on only one
side of the axis of action. The reason for this is
that shooting on both sides of the action
changes the background and may disorient the
spectator. Adding an establishing shot or
tracking the camera across the axis of action
can prevent this.
Production Phase
• Sound Recording
– Sound recording is treated separately here because,
in traditional film production, it is recorded completely
independently from the image. This is known as
“double system” sound recording. Generally
speaking, there are at least four soundtracks in any
feature length narrative film:
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1 – the sound effects track.
2 – the music track.
3 – the room tone track.
4 – the dialog track.
Production Phase
• Sound Recording
– Sound Effects
• For the most part, sound effects are obtained
separately by a “foley” artist who coordinates sound
effects in synchronization with the onscreen action
through a process known as “looping” – where a
portion of the film is repeatedly played to perfect the
timing of the sound effects. This is considered to be
part of post-production which we will cover next.
• Alternatively, for low-budget productions, libraries of
prerecorded sound effects can be used or sounds can
be recorded during production by the sound mixer and
boom operator.
Production Phase
• Sound Recording
– Music
• Film music is either purchased (if it is not in the
“public domain”) or scored specifically for the
production.
• Music that is scored is done in similar fashion to
foley sound in the sense that film is playing during
the recording session to enhance timing.
Production Phase
• Sound Recording
– Room Tone
• Room tone is recorded silence. Normally, once all of
the dialog is recorded, the sound mixer asks for about a
minute of quiet to record the sound of silence in the
particular setting.
• The reason for recording room tone is that all
recordings have a low level of “noise” in the
background and, during the editing process it is
sometimes necessary to fill in gaps so that there is not
an abrupt change in the tone of the background noise.
Production Phase
• Sound Recording
– Dialog
• In order to record dialog in “double system” film
production, it is necessary to synchronize the
movement of lips with the sound of voices. Simple as
this may seem, achieving it requires precision
instrumentation.
• Most modern film sound is recorded digitally, but earlier
films made use of a “crystal” synchronized analog tape
recorded referred to as a “Nagra” (manufacturer’s
name) which kept the speed of the tape constant so
that no “drifting” occurred between the picture and the
sound track.
Production Phase
• Sound Recording
– Dialog (Continued)
• The function of the “clap slate” or “sticks” (see the
slide after next) is to supply a marking point for
when the synchronization between picture and
audio begins, allowing the editor to accurately
align picture with sound later during post
production.
• The first film credited with synchronized sound is
The Jazz Singer (1927).
Production Phase
• Sound Recording
– Dialog
• There are a series of steps that are taken on a film set in order to
ensure the proper coordination of picture and sound track:
– 1: The director says “quiet on the set” and “roll sound.”
– 2: The sound mixer says “sound speed” when the tape is running at the
correct speed for recording synchronized sound.
– 3: The director calls out “roll camera.”
– 4: The camera operator says “speed” when the film is running at sound
speed (24 frames per second).
– 5: The director calls out “slate.”
– 6: The clap slate indicating roll, scene, and take is placed before the
camera and read out loud (e.g. “Roll 1, Scene 1, Take 1”).
– 7: The director says “mark.”
– 8: The slate is clapped and removed.
– 9: Finally, the director calls “action” to cue the actors.