Research: Cinematography - Miss B

What is Cinematography?

Cinematography analyses the different shot frames, for examples the angle in which a shot is taken, the choice shots and the effect it has on the audience and the movement of the camera. 

 

  XLS (Extreme Long Shot): an extreme long shot is when a picture is taken from a long distance showing the full character and the surroundings. The image bellow is an example of an extreme long from the film "in city". This shot lets the audience know where and when the movie is set and allows them to guess the genre or what will happen in the movie. Looking at the image of sin city the audience would have sense that the film is a mysterious action thriller because of the black and white colour which can be associated with innocence & death and the red colour of her dress can signify blood, danger or love.

 

LS (Long Shot): A long shot shows the character from head to toes with a little part of the surrounding. it also lets us know what is happening in that moment, who are in the scene and how are the feeling. this image is an example of a long shot which shows us a terrified men surrounded by dead people, hiding form someone or something.

 

 

 

Medium shot: a medium shot is taken from the waits or chest of the character to the head. This shot allows the audience to see clearly the reaction or facial expression to something which has or will happen. The medium shot of the "sider man" tells us that he is frustrated, tired or giving up because of an event which occurred. I know this because he has his head down which is a sign of sadness or depression.

 

 

 

 

Close up: up shot can be taken from the shoulders of the character to the head. This type of shot only focuses on the character and allows the audience to experience or feel the same emotion as that character. the image above is an example of a close up from the film "orphan" the close up used tells us that she is scared of what is seeing in front of her causing her to scream.

 

 

 

Extreme close up: an extreme close up zooms in, into a significant piece in the movies, which can either be a character's feeling shown through their eyes and their expression through their face. An extreme close up shot can also be of an object which symbolize something meaningful.

 

Establishing shot: an establishing shot tell the audience where the film is set. Most establishing shot are shown at the beginning of the movies showing where the movie will take place, an example of establishing shot can be found in the movie known as “se7en”. Right at the opening intro which lets us know that it’s a psychological thriller movie through the iconography, there is an establishing shot tells the audience that setting of the film is in a busy city environment.

 

 

 

High angle shot: A high angle shot is taken from above the character or object and it’s mostly done using a crane. This type of shot makes the characters appear smaller and can show that they are an inferior or less significant.  The shot in the image is a taken above character, portraying them as being powerless and vulnerable. This is shown by his facial expression which lets us know that he’s scared of is about to happen, and also through the iconography of blood and broken glasses the audience can tell that he was a victim of an attack.

 

 

Low angle shot: a low angle shot looks up at the character making them appear bigger. Low angle shots are mostly used to emphasize characters that hold great status, powerful or intimidating like villains. The low angle shot image of batman in the action thriller “the dark night rises” directly tells the audience that he’s one the main characters who is strong, vigorous and confident

 

Panning shot: a panning shot is when the camera films a scene and moves horizontally. A panning shot follows the movement of the of the character or an object as it can establish the scene, build suspense or make it seem as if the character was being watched.

 

Point of view: the point of view is when the camera is set up to show a scene as if it was being viewed through the characters eyes. This makes the audience feel like they were that character and become emotionally attached sharing the same feelings and emotion with the character, for example being scared feeling defenceless if a character has a gun pointed right at them.

 

Hand held: hand held is when the camera move with the character, meaning that it’s either held in their hand or attached on them. This technique makes the movie seem as it was reality and engages the audience, making them feel as though they were the one holding the camera.