Contextual Studdies: Camera Work

If shots are words, mise en scene is meaning and editing is narative structure.

The Basic Shots- Long shot/wide shot (establishes location and characters); Medium shot (ensures charcter is prominent in the frame); Close up (focuses on charcaters expressions and motions); extreem close up (focuses on specific parts of characters face or objects for dramatic effect e.g. to show fear or anger).

When filming especially in documentry's it is important to pay atention to the rule of thirds. Ensuring your character is riughly centred and that there is something to look at in each segmant.

 

Rule Of Thirds

Other Angles Include Birds eye/Worms eye veiw used to give further detail about location.

There are also angled shots  which were very common in expressionism films. Designed to create a subjective veiw and evoke particular moods or ideas. 

Speed- Slow motion especially is used to create dramatic effect and envoke emotional reponse in an audience.

Camera movement is something that can be utalised but should be done so sparingly. Pans are good for establishing shots but zooms are often better done in post.However directors like Hitchcock are able to utalise techniques like reverse dolly/crane tracking to genreate meanings.

Alienation is one such theme generated by the technique. Hitchcock wanted to distance the audience from the horror and action. 

Key Camera movement techniques- Pan, tilt and zoom; Handheld/Steadicam; Dolly/Crane and now days there is also Drone Footage.

Pan tilt and zooms are thr most commonly used techniques used a lot in documentries and dramas.

Handheld and steadicam footage are used a lot in horror genres. 

Dollys and Cranes take time and money to set up, so tend to be saved for big budget dramas and thrillers that will be shown in cinimas. 

Use of camera movement in "Halloween": Hightens action and emotion through subjective POV.

Switches between subjective (steadicam) and objectice (crane) veiwpoints.

Refocuses audiences atention within the scene.

 

Elements Of visual style (bordwell)

Denotive (directing atention)

Expressive (bringing out or magnifying feelingful qaulities)

Decorative (flourishes or stylistic patterns that are independant or semi independant of narartive design)

Symbolic (creating meaning through shots etc.)

 

Use Of Handheld In Documentry

Heightens action and emotion (conveys urgency)

Dynamics of transition (moving from one location to another)

Places Character In Context