The Photographer's Guide to Depth of Field
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Let's Make a Movie
LET’S MAKE A MOVIE Cadette Digital Movie-Maker Badge Workshop What’s your favorite movie (or a movie you really like)? ■ When was it made? ■ What do you like about it? ■ How do you feel when you watch it? PRODUCTION CREW Production Crew Roles ■ Director ■ Assistant Director (AD) ■ Director of Photography/ ■ Sound Mixer ■ Boom Operator ■ Gaffer ■ Grip ■ And more… https://filmincolorado.com/resources/job-descriptions/ CINEMATOGRAPHY Shot Composition ■ Follow the “rule of thirds” ■ Imagine a 3 x 3 grid on your image, align subjects where those lines cross and intersect in the frame ■ Provides a balanced image, prevents a wandering eye from the viewer, helps to effectively convey important information ■ Everything in the frame should communicate something to the viewer Rear Window (1954) Directed by Alfred Hitchcock, Rear Window has great examples of excellent shot composition. Notice the lead room for our main subject, and that the other character is on the bottom third. Depth of Field ■ In photography and cinematography, depth of field is the distance between the nearest and the farthest objects that are in acceptably sharp focus in an image. ■ 3 factors contribute to depth of field: aperture, focal length, focus distance. ■ Depth of field is used to describe the depth of focus within an image. An image with a shallow depth of field has the majority of the background out of focus, while a large depth of field has many details in the background in sharp focus. ■ Depth of field is a tool that can be used to convey or conceal information within a film by drawing attention towards some subjects and away from others. -
The Photographic Snapshot
Rochester Institute of Technology RIT Scholar Works Theses 3-1-1986 The photographic snapshot Michael Simon Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.rit.edu/theses Recommended Citation Simon, Michael, "The photographic snapshot" (1986). Thesis. Rochester Institute of Technology. Accessed from This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by RIT Scholar Works. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses by an authorized administrator of RIT Scholar Works. For more information, please contact [email protected]. THE PHOTOGRAPHIC SNAPSHOT by Michael Simon March 1986 Master of Fine Arts Thesis Rochester Institute of Technology Thesis Board Richard D. Zakia Chairman: Richard Zakia, Professor, School of Photographic Arts & Sciences, Rochester Institute of Technology Members: Elliott Rubenstein, Associate Professor, School of Photographic Arts & Sciences, Rochester Institute of Technology Keith A. Boas Keith Boas Eastman Kodak Company, Supervising Editor, Commercial Publications 1 CONTENTS Thesis Board 1 Acknowledgements 2 Introduction 3 Snapshots a Definition 4 Photographs as art 6 The ubiqui tousness of the snapshot 12 Survey of past definitions of snapshots 15 A definition of folk art 25 Photographic snapshots as folk art 34 Snapshots and the media 44 Snapshots as ritual 55 The Evolution of the Snapshot since 1880 66 Enjoying Photographs 7 9 Bibliography 103 List of Illustrations 107 Acknowledgements My thesis board, Richard Zakia, Elliott Rubenstein, and Keith Boas, have been of great assistance in the preparation of this essay and have supported my work through its many drafts. For their contribution I owe them many thanks. In addition, I should like to thank all those who helped with comments, suggestions, and who read the manuscript in its many stages. -
Cinematography
CINEMATOGRAPHY ESSENTIAL CONCEPTS • The filmmaker controls the cinematographic qualities of the shot – not only what is filmed but also how it is filmed • Cinematographic qualities involve three factors: 1. the photographic aspects of the shot 2. the framing of the shot 3. the duration of the shot In other words, cinematography is affected by choices in: 1. Photographic aspects of the shot 2. Framing 3. Duration of the shot 1. Photographic image • The study of the photographic image includes: A. Range of tonalities B. Speed of motion C. Perspective 1.A: Tonalities of the photographic image The range of tonalities include: I. Contrast – black & white; color It can be controlled with lighting, filters, film stock, laboratory processing, postproduction II. Exposure – how much light passes through the camera lens Image too dark, underexposed; or too bright, overexposed Exposure can be controlled with filters 1.A. Tonality - cont Tonality can be changed after filming: Tinting – dipping developed film in dye Dark areas remain black & gray; light areas pick up color Toning - dipping during developing of positive print Dark areas colored light area; white/faintly colored 1.A. Tonality - cont • Photochemically – based filmmaking can have the tonality fixed. Done by color timer or grader in the laboratory • Digital grading used today. A scanner converts film to digital files, creating a digital intermediate (DI). DI is adjusted with software and scanned back onto negative 1.B.: Speed of motion • Depends on the relation between the rate at which -
3 Areas of TV & Video Production
Media Semester 2 TV & Video Production Media Semester 2 Television & Video Production Media Semester 2 TV & Video Production 3 Main Area’s Pre- Production Production Post Production Planning Cinematography Editing Equipment Audio Colour Correction Lighting Effects Talent Exporting and Publishing Production Cinematography Cinematography is the act of capturing photographic images in space through the use of a number of controllable elements. This include but are not limited to: Focus Length Framing Scale Movement Production Cinematography Type Of Shots - Focal Length Deep Focus Deep Focus is keeping everything in frame in focus. This can be achieved by having a small aperture (f/stop) and lots of light - this give a crisp clear image. It is good for establishing shots featuring a large group of people. Production Cinematography Type Of Shots - Focal Length Shallow Focus Shallow focus is only keeping one element in focus and the rest blurred. This can be achieved by having a large aperture (small f/ stop). It can be used for close up’s. Production Cinematography Type Of Shots - Scale Close Up A shot that keeps only the face full in the frame. Perhaps the most important building block in cinematic storytelling. Medium Shot The shot that utilizes the most common framing in movies, shows less than a long shot, more than a close-up. Obviously. Production Cinematography Type Of Shots - Scale Long Shot A shot that depicts an entire character or object from head to foot. Not as long as an establishing shot. Aka a wide shot. Production Cinematography Dutch Tilt Shot Type Of Shots - Framing A shot where the camera is tilted on its side to create a kooky angle. -
Quick Guide to Talking About Film
Quick Guide to Talking about Film Also refer to Storyboard Language for Films http://accad.osu.edu/womenandtech/Storyboard%20Resource/ AND https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oFUKRTFhoiA AND any Simon Cade DSLRGuidance video 1. Film as Literature P.O.V. Themes Characters- conflicts, transformations Settings Symbols 2. Mise-en-scene- “What is put in the scene?” Lighting Costumes Sets & Settings Consider the Composition elements below 3. Composition- images, angles, position SHOT: image or scene before film cuts to different image PHOTOPGRAPHIC PROPERTY: qualities of the image- colors, clarity, tone… FILM SPEED: slow & fast PERSPECTIVE: Deep focus- background Shallow focus- foreground Rack focus- quickly changed or pulled- switches perspectives 4. Angles and Shots LEVEL CAMERA ANGLE: A camera angle which is even with the subject; it may be used as a neutral shot. LONG SHOT: A long range of distance between the camera and the subject, often providing a broader range of the setting. LOW CAMERA ANGLE: A camera angle which looks up at its subject; it makes the subject seem important and powerful. HIGH CAMERA ANGLE: A camera angle which looks down on its subject making it look small, weak or unimportant. CLOSE-UP SHOT: A close range of distance between the camera and the subject. MEDIUM: character body LONG: full body at distance CRANE: overhead shot TILT: Using a camera on a tripod, the camera moves up or down to follow the action. TRACKING: follows next to or behind or in front of shots PAN: A steady, sweeping movement from one point in a scene to another. ZOOM: Use of the camera lens to move closely towards the subject. -
New Mode of Cinema V1n1
New Mode of Cinema: How Digital Technologies are Changing Aesthetics and Style Kristen M. Daly, Columbia University, New York Abstract This article delves intrinsically into how the characteristics of digital cinema, its equipment, software and processes, differ from film and therefore afford new aesthetic and stylistic modes, changing the nature of mise-en-scène and the language of cinema as it has been defined in the past. Innovative filmmakers are exploring new aesthetic and stylistic possibilities as the encumbrances of film, which delimited a certain mode of cinema, are released. The article makes the case that the camera as part of a computer system has enabled a more cooperative relationship with the filmmaker going beyond Alexandre Astruc’s prediction of the camera-pen (camére-stylo) to become a camera-computer. The technology of digital cinema makes the natural indexicality of film and the cut simply options amongst others and permits new forms of visual aesthetics not premised on filmic norms, but based on other familiar audiovisual forms like video games and computer interface. Voir le résumé français à la fin de l’article ***** “We see in them, if you like, something of the prophetic. That’s why I am talking about avant-garde. There is always an avant-garde when something new takes place . .” (Astruc, 1948, 17) In this article, I will examine some of the material qualities and characteristics of the equipment, software and processes of digital cinema production and propose how these afford a new aesthetics and style for cinema. Of course, many styles are available, including the status quo. -
BASIC FILM TERMINOLOGY Aerial Shot a Shot Taken from a Crane
BASIC FILM TERMINOLOGY Aerial Shot A shot taken from a crane, plane, or helicopter. Not necessarily a moving shot. Backlighting The main source of light is behind the subject, silhouetting it, and directed toward the camera. Bridging Shot A shot used to cover a jump in time or place or other discontinuity. Examples are falling calendar pages railroad wheels newspaper headlines seasonal changes Camera Angle The angle at which the camera is pointed at the subject: Low High Tilt Cut The splicing of 2 shots together. this cut is made by the film editor at the editing stage of a film. Between sequences the cut marks a rapid transition between one time and space and another, but depending on the nature of the cut it will have different meanings. Cross-cutting Literally, cutting between different sets of action that can be occuring simultaneously or at different times, (this term is used synonomously but somewhat incorrectly with parallel editing.) Cross-cutting is used to build suspense, or to show the relationship between the different sets of action. Jump cut Cut where there is no match between the 2 spliced shots. Within a sequence, or more particularly a scene, jump cuts give the effect of bad editing. The opposite of a match cut, the jump cut is an abrupt cut between 2 shots that calls attention to itself because it does not match the shots BASIC FILM TERMINOLOGY seamlessly. It marks a transition in time and space but is called a jump cut because it jars the sensibilities; it makes the spectator jump and wonder where the narrative has got to. -
Film Analysis
Film Analysis I Shots Extreme long shot (ELS) / panoramic shot (Panoramaeinstellung): The camera is far away from the subject, emphasising the surroundings (Umgebung) e.g. a tiny group of riders in a vast landscape in a western. Long shot (LS) (Totale): A human usually takes up less than half the height of the frame (Bild), often used to show the setting of a scene. Medium shot (MS) (Halbnah): The subject and the surroundings have about equal importance. The picture shows e.g. the upper body of a person. Close-up (CU) (Großaufnahme): The subject fills most of the frame (e.g. the entire head) and little of the surroundings is shown. Close-ups are often used to show a character’s feelings. Extreme close-up (ECU) (Detailaufnahme): For example only the eyes or a certain object (like a knife or a gun) are shown. Establishing shot (Anfangseinstellung): Usually a long shot or an extreme long shot, which “estab lishes”, i.e. shows the setting (Schauplatz) often at the beginning of a film. POV shot (point-of-view) (subjektive Kamera): The camera adopts (übernehmen) the per spective of a character. We see what a character sees and therefore often identify with him/her. Reaction shot: Someone’s face reacting to an event, for example when a villain (Bösewicht) comes into a saloon. Before we see him we see the fearful expression on the faces of some of the guests. Camera Positions Top shot: The camera looks down at a 90° angle, you can see only head and shoulders of a person. -
Glossary 7 8 9 1120 180-Degree Rule from One Cut to Another, the Camera May Not Cross an Imaginary Line Drawn 1 Behind the Characters
1EEEE 2 1113 4 1115 1116 7 8 9 1110 1 2 3 4 5 6EEE Glossary 7 8 9 1120 180-degree rule From one cut to another, the camera may not cross an imaginary line drawn 1 behind the characters. 2 3 90-degree rule The camera may never be placed 90 degrees facing the subject, but rather set 4 off the center to give an illusion of depth. 5 actualités Events filmed as they were happening, events that would be happening even if the 6 camera weren’t there. 7 8 ambient sound See room tone and world tone below: the sound added to a sequence to provide 9 aural atmosphere. 1130 1 anamorphic process The camera lens “squeezes” an image onto the film. When unsqueezed by 2 the projector lens, the ratio of the image is 1:2.35. Panavision was the most common proprietary 3 anamorphic process. 4 aspect ratio The relationship of screen width to height. There are four ratios. “Standard” ratio 5 existed from the early 1930s through the early 1950s and is 1:1.3. Two wide-screen ratios are 6 1:1.6 and 1:1.85. Anamorphic wide screen (CinemaScope, Panavision) is 1:2.35. 7 8 aura Critic Walter Benjamin’s term for the uniqueness of a work of art which is lost when, as in 9 film, it is mechanically reproduced. 1140 1 auteur Originally French but now a universal term for the film director who realizes a personal 2 style in his or her films. 3 auteur theory This analyzes film based on the idea that the director is the creative force. -
Mise-En-Scene Analysis
Mise-en-scene Analysis http://www.slideshare.net/kjera/mise-en-scene-analysis-presentation The Dominant Where is our eye attracted first? Why? The dominant contrast can be created by any number of techniques. The size of an object may draw our attention to it. In black and white movies, the dominant contrast is generally achieved through a juxtaposition of lights and darks. In color films, the dominant is often achieved by having one color stand out from the others. Placing one object in sharper focus than the rest of the shot can also create a dominant. Lighting Key High key? Low key? High contrast? Some combination of these? • High key lighting--features bright, even illumination and few conspicuous shadows. This lighting key is often used in musicals and comedies. • Low key lighting--features diffused shadows and atmospheric pools of light. This lighting key is often used in mysteries and thrillers. • High contrast lighting--features harsh shafts of lights and dramatic streaks of blackness. This type of lighting is often used in tragedies and melodramas. Shot and Camera Proxemics What type of shot? How far away is the camera from the action? Shots are defined by the amount of subject matter that's included within the frame. They can be divided into six basic categories: • Extreme long shot--taken from a great distance, showing much of the locale. If people are included in these shots, they usually appear as mere specks. • Long shot--corresponds to the space between the audience and the stage in a live theater. The long shots show the characters and some of the locale. -
The Lens: Focal Length Control of Perspective in the Image Is Very Impor- 5.21 Wide-Angle Distortion in Mikhail Tant to the Filmmaker
The Phongraphic Image r69 The lens of a photographic camera does roughly what your eye does. It gath- ers light from the scene and transmits that light onto the flat surface of the film to form an image that represents size, depth, and other dimensions of the scene. One difference between the eye and the camera,, though, is that photographic lenses may be changed, and each type of lens will render perspective in different ways. If two different lenses photograph the same scene, the perspective relations in the result- ing images could be drastically different. A wide-angle lens could exaggerate the depth you see down the track or could make the foreground trees and buildings seem to bulge; atelephoto lens could drastically reduce the depth, making the trees seem very close together and nearly the same size. The Lens: Focal Length Control of perspective in the image is very impor- 5.21 Wide-angle distortion in Mikhail tant to the filmmaker. The chief variable in the process is the focal length of the Kalatozov's The Cranes Are Flyipg. lens. In technical terms, the focal length is the distance from the center of the lens to the point where light rays converge to a point of focus on the film. The focal length alters the perceived magnification, depth, and scale of things in the image. We usually distinguish three sorts of lenses on the basis of their effects on perspective: 1. The short-focal-length (wide-angle) lens. In 35mm-gauge cinematography, a lens of less than 35mm in focal length is considered a wide-angle lens. -
Gregg Toland: Cinematogrpaher I. Film Appreciation
Gregg Toland: Cinematogrpaher I. Film Appreciation: http://www.twyman-whitney.com/film/celluloid_profiles/toland.html Toland's trademarks included sharp, deep focus pictures, black-and-white film, ceilinged sets, low-angle lighting, and touches of Germanic expressionism. After much success in his early career, Toland remarked, "I want to work with someone who's never made a movie. That's the only way to learn anything from someone who doesn't know anything." He got his chance in 1941 with Orson Welles and "Citizen Kane". Toland received numerous nominations for best cinematography ( Misérables, Les (1934), Dead End (1937), Long Voyage Home, The (1940), Citizen Kane (1941). II. Blockbuster. http://www.blockbuster.com/browse/catalog/personDetails/101151 The most influential and innovative cinematographer of the sound era, He first made a name for himself in 1924 by creating a soundproof camera housing which blocked any mechanized noise from reaching recording equipment, a major advance in the new era of sound, as it allowed directors to film intimate moments without accidentally capturing the winding of film as well. Toland's fame rested on his gifts for innovative lighting techniques and crystalline deep-focus photography. His work was remarkably evocative. He revamped the Mitchell BNC camera to include a new anti-noise device which allowed even greater flexibility of movement and control, eliminating the need to intercut between scenes and enabling Welles to create long, continuous shots. Toland was duly rewarded for his innovations on Kane by receiving credit alongside Welles at the film's close -- the director's clear acknowledgment of the crucial importance of Toland's work -- and it has often been suggested that the film's brilliance was as much a product of his vision as it was Welles'.