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Home , Camera angle, Continuity editing, Cutaway (filmmaking), Cut (transition), Deep focus, Dutch angle

Welcome to A Level Studies at Orleans Park

(This is a PDF version of the study material from our step up programme, some videos, gifs, and links may not work. Click here to access a google slides version of this presentation)

Cinematography is the art of creating images for the screen, composing and shots and recording them.

Cinematography encompasses

- The framing and composition of shots - The lighting of those shots - The position of the - The movement of the camera - The use of focus - The size of the - The angle of the shot

The person in charge of the cinematography on a film is not the Watch this video and see one of my favourite - director but the Director of (or DoP) - it is their job to the great Roger Deakins, explain and give some advice about cinematography visually bring the film and the director’s vision to life.

However, they are not the only person responsible for this! A small army of people are generally responsible for the final visual look and feel of the film Shot Size - How close is the camera?

The EXTREME CLOSE UP positions the camera right next to part of the subject of the shot. It is used to show small objects in great detail. This shot can often exaggerate, distort or emphasise a detail in a shot.

Shot from Blade Runner 2049 (2017 Villeneuve)

The CLOSE UP fills the frame with the subject - most often the face of a character. (Remember these shots can also be used on objects) Close ups can show information and details, and portray the emotions of your characters.

Shot from Silence of the Lambs (1991 Demme)

The MEDIUM CLOSE UP frames your subject from roughly the chest up. So it typically favours the face, but still keeps the subject somewhat distant and show some background detail

Shot from No Country For Old Men (2007 ) Shot Size - How close is the camera? The or MID SHOT is one of the most common camera shots, frames from roughly the waist up and through the torso. So it emphasizes more of your subject while keeping their surroundings visible. This is quite a naturalistic shot (immersing the spectator in the scene) Shot from Arrival (2016 Villeneuve)

The positions your subject in the background from a distance. We should be able to see the entire subject with some space in the frame above and below them to show the and location. (A FULL SHOT (sometimes a long shot) is a little closer than this from where the subject fills the frame like this )

Shot from Ran (1985 Kurosawa)

An EXTREME WIDE SHOT makes your subject appear small against their location. You can use an extreme long shot to make your subject feel distant or unfamiliar. It can also make your subject feel overwhelmed by its location, to emphasize the location or isolation. Shot from Lawrence of Arabia (1962 Lean) Shot Sizes Summarised: Shot Size Find a film sequence (either from last week or a new one)

● What shot distances are prioritised (seen most often) A great sequence to look at is this scene from the ● How varied are the shot distances within the scene ? opening of Once Upon A Time In The West (1968 ● What conclusions can you draw from the choice of shot Leone) - is a director noted for his distances for this sequence? juxtaposition of expressive close ups with powerful wide shots Framing & Composition

Balanced or symmetrical framing from ’s (2012) Composing the shot and Framing

A SINGLE is a shot composed around a single subject so they are the only part of the frame, or sometimes framed from OVER THE SHOULDER (despite it having two characters)

A is a shot with two A THREE SHOT similarly characters in the frame. This positions three characters can be useful to show inside the frame, normally this emotional reaction and is tightly framed (Close in, interaction between two filling the frame) in Medium or characters, and for comedy Long shot.

An UNBALANCED frame A BALANCED frame is when leaves space on one side, this the frame is composed so that is often following the rule of both sides of the frame are thirds, if the space is the balanced and match. This can direction the character is often be overly formal. In this looking this is called lead room and is natural, if the example the character is framed space is on the wrong side it centrally, which is also unusual. can be claustrophobic Framing & Composition Find a film sequence (either from last week or a new one)

● How are the characters framed - in singles or two & three shots? ● Are the shots balanced or unbalanced? Where is the space in the frame? ● Does the framing of the characters change or adjust during the scene? Does it depend on what type of scene?

Two great examples of this you can use are from Shaun of the Dead (2004 Wright) and Fargo (1996 Coen) Camera Angles

The ANGLE of the is used to specify the location where the camera is placed to take a shot.

Orson Welles holes in the floor of the sets of The position of the camera in relation (1941) to get the right camera angle to the subjects can affect the way the for this LOW ANGLE shot spectator perceives the scene.

A scene may be shot from multiple camera angles to amplify the cinematic effect and the emotions. Camera Angles The most common angle for the camera is below the EYE LEVEL SHOT. When your subject is at eye-level they’re in a neutral (not superior or inferior). This mimics how we see people in real life -- our eye line connecting with theirs. (Shot from Forrest Gump 1994 Zemeckis) Camera Angles

This is a LOW ANGLE SHOT where the camera is positioned low to the ground, pointing up toward the subject. It gives the subject

status, power and importance. (More examples)

Shot from The Empire Strikes Back (1980 Kershner)

This is a HIGH ANGLE SHOT where the camera is positioned above the subject, pointing down toward them. It makes the subject seem smaller, weaker, vulnerable or lower status and gives

the viewer power and status over them. (More examples)

Shot from Lord of the Rings: Return Of The King (2003 Jackson)

This is a / CANTED ANGLE SHOT the camera is tilted or slanted on one side. With the horizon lines tilted in this way, you can create a sense of disorientation and distortion. (More examples)

Shot from Die Hard (1988 McTiernan) Camera Angles

A BIRDS EYE VIEW SHOT / OVERHEAD SHOT where the camera is positioned directly above the subject.

Shot from The Great Gatsby (2013 Luhrmann)

A WORMS EYE VIEW SHOT is basically an extreme Low Angle Shot where the camera is positioned directly to the floor looking up at a sharp angle.

Shot from Inglorious Basterds (2009 Tarantino)

A POINT OF VIEW SHOT positions the camera from the point of view of the subject, so we can see what they say. This can be used to create empathy or sympathy with the subject, or to disturb the audience by seeing the scene from the villain / monster’s perspective such as in this shot where we look through the mask of the killer Shot from Halloween (1978 Carpenter) Camera Angles Find a film sequence (either from last week or a new one)

● How often does the camera move from eye level to a A great sequence to look different angle? (seen most often) at is this scene from DUNKIRK (2017 Nolan) - ● How varied are the camera angles used within the look at how the angle and scene ? position of the camera changes to enhance the ● How are different camera angles used to create effects tension in the scene, to make the audience feel on the audience? vulnerable and the characters seem in danger Practical Task

● Choose a scene from any film you like. ● Recreate shot by shot a sequence (30 – 60 seconds) from that scene ● Your recreation can be in still images (like a ), or use video. It should include at least TEN shots. Be creative in how you adapt the scene in terms of mise-en-scène (costume, props, setting and lighting). An example of a remake of the opening sequence from Trainspotting (1996 Boyle) 2: Cinematography Part 2 -

It is normally someone’s job to ‘Pull’ or adjust the focus on the camera, (turning the dial in these shots) separate from the person who operates the camera FOCUS

An example of a finished shot where the focus being measured to make sure a has been pulled to draw attention to a specific subject is in focus character - (2010 Fincher) In this shot we can see clearly Focus & the depth of field - the background is The depth of field is the amount of the shot out of focus, which is clearly in focus from the camera the foreground is in focus

In a shallow depth of field, only a small part of the filmed space is in focus.

In this example, the hand is clearly in focus, but the character’s head only a few inches away is out of focus. Conversely, when a large area of the space is in focus, we call this (sometimes deep depth of field)

The most famous example of this is ’ Citizen Kane (1941) which used this technique frequently. You can see more about deep focus here See how both characters are clearly in focus Rack Focus / The Focus Pull

By adjusting or pulling the focus and shifting the focal length in the middle of the shot, the attention of the audience can be directed to different parts of the frame. In this example the camera focus shifts from the character, to his drink, in the same shot.

This is called a focus pull or rack focus

Watch this video to see more examples of how the rack focus can be used to direct the attention of the spectator, and to give and communicate information and importance.

This is likely one of the few techniques you will not be able to recreate on a smartphone, but if you have access to a DSLR camera, I urge you to try it out! (Remember to switch to manual focus) Camera Movement

A large part of cinematography is deciding how to move the camera, or keep the camera static.

Camera movement can add emotion, information or visual flair to a shot, and can help to create specific aesthetic effects.

There are wide variety of different camera movements - and the names of them are not all the same, but this video should go through the basics. Watch and it see what you can find out. Camera Movement In a static shot the camera is held in one fixed position, usually on a . These shots emphasize the movement of the character against the environment

This can be effective for comedy, in scenes such as this from The Grand Hotel (Anderson 2014)

A Shot or Pan Shot is where the camera remains fixed, but rotates on a horizontal axis. Turning around without moving its physical position. Pans can be slow or fast.

A particular fast, or violent pan, (such as in the bottom image) is called a

Images from The Shining (Kubrick 1980) and Whiplash (Chazelle 2014) Camera Movement

A shot like this, is essentially a pan where the camera pans vertically, not horizontally. It is often used to information

Terminator 2: Judgement Day (1991 James Cameron)

A is where the camera moves, following a subject for an extended period of time. There are different terms for how to describe these movements.

- Push In / Dolly In - Moving forwards - Dolly Out - Move backwards - Crab - move (like a crab) - Track right / left - turn left or right (normally on some sort of track.

Pulp Fiction (1994 ) A little on tracking shots Camera Movement A DOLLY is something with wheels that can move the camera. This shot here uses a dolly to gently push in to the subject. You can use dollys to create tracking shots also.

Get Out (2017 Jordan Peele)

A ZOOM is where the camera remains still but the focal length is changed, making a subject seem further away or closer. on a subject is different from moving the camera toward them, but the difference can be hard to see. If in doubt, avoid using a zoom unless you have a specific zoom to do so.

This video explains the difference between dolly and zoom shots

(Django Unchained 2012 Quentina Tarantino) Technical Camera Movements

This on the left is a . This allows smooth handheld shots to move, without using a dolly, as shown on the right.

On the left is a , this can be used to give dramatic elevation and a wider range of movement to the shot, as shown on the right Lighting

Lighting is an incredibly important part of cinematography, and one we don’t have time to fully explore today. So let’s just look at one key part of lighting for screen, three point lighting.

Watch the video on the right to get a basic understanding of this process.

(Don’t worry about the specific bulbs referenced! - This is the main light source for the scene, and should be the brightest light available. Put this to one side of your subject FILL LIGHT - This light should go on the opposite side, and should be less strong than the key light BACKLIGHT - This light should be out of shot, behind the subject, it should not be as strong as the key or fill light

Try experimenting with this technique - find a toy, model, or even a willing human participant, and get some household lights and torches and experiment with different lighting directions.

You can even use the sun as your key light, and use a white piece of paper to reflect the sun as your fill light. Aesthetics Step Up To A Level Film Studies

Week 4 Why do we watch films?

(Think about the different ‘pleasures’ they offer us, of story, of ideas, of characters, of emotion, of excitement etc.) Aesthetics refers to the ‘look and feel’ of the film

● Aesthetics refer to the overall style, feel and ‘texture’ of a film.

● To study aesthetics is to study film as an art form and to appreciate the beauty of the film and its artistic merit.

● can offer aesthetic pleasure where we appreciate the visual beauty and power of the look of the film. This shot from Annihilation (2018 Garland) serves little narrative ● The aesthetic of a film is created by a purpose, but provides a visual spectacle and helps create a powerful aesthetic feeling. combination of key elements such as Camera, Mise-en-Scene (more on this later) Editing, and Sound. Describing Aesthetics

A way to start thinking about the aesthetics of a particular film is to think of as many adjectives as you can to describe the film’s overall style and feel.

Watch this clip from Ida (2014 Pawlikowski) and think of what adjectives you would use to describe the look, feel, and texture of the film Describing Aesthetics

- Mysterious - Cold - Austere - Thoughtful - Meditative - Stark - Subtle - Restrained - Old fashioned

“There really is a bitter, wintry cold here: it is illuminated by the stark, daylit whiteness of snow, and you can feel the chill in those barnyards and draughty churches. This film has its own kind of freezer burn.” - Peter Bradshaw, Describing Aesthetics

- Mysterious What is creating this aesthetic? - Cold - The colour stock - Austere - The (shape of the frame) - The camera angles - Thoughtful - The - Meditative - The use or lack of music - Stark - The framing of the characters - Subtle - The movement and performances of the - Restrained - The stillness of the camera - The rhythm of the editing - Old fashioned Watch this scene and write as many adjectives as you can to describe the aesthetic

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Think about what elements of film help create this specific aesthetic PRINCIPAL ELEMENTS OF Film Form: Mise-en-Scene MISE-EN-SCENE

This is a French term meaning ‘everything in the frame’, - Setting this includes the arrangement and design of props, - Props costume, performance, special effects and setting. - Costume - Make Up - Staging (position of actors) - Movement - Off screen space

An analysis of the style chosen for these elements of mise-en-scene is a very rich area to discover meaning.

Look at the opulent and rich mise-en-scene in this scene from Marie Antoinette (2006 Coppola) Aesthetic Case Study: Wes Anderson

Wes Anderson is an american director (often described as an ) known for films such as , The Royal Tenebaums, and Isle of Dogs who has a very specific and trademark aesthetic for his films.

Anderson’s aesthetic could be described as; Retro, Twee, Kitsch, Precise, Detailed, Storybook, like a Watch the videos above to see examples of dolls house and more. Anderson’s particular aesthetic style.

Anderson uses over saturated vivid colour palettes, precise symmetrical framing, overhead camera ● Accidentally Wes Anderson - Instagram shots, detailed and old fashioned props and costumes and colour filters, 1960s music, dry ● Accidental Wes Anderson - Reddit snappy dialogue and eccentric character performances. The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014 Anderson) Write a paragraph below on the aesthetic of this scene and how it is created Aesthetic Case Study: - Film Noir scenes are mostly lit, set and Film Noir is description of certain Hollywood shot at night crime dramas most commonly from the 1940s and - Film noir uses jagged, oblique, and vertical 1950s. Film Noir is often regarded as having a very lines (emphasising urban cities and dingy specific aesthetic and recogniseable style. The rooms) rather than horizontal lines for writer of Taxi Driver; , wrote an essay landscapes in 1972 “notes on film noir” trying to explain the - Noir scenes often feature water and rain style. - Noir often features voiceover and narration - Lighting is exaggerated and emphasises shadows - Characters are often lit in shadow and the background - Themes of mystery and crime - Featuring ‘hard boiled’ detectives - The femme fatale character archetype - Pessimistic and dark tone and outlook Blade Runner (1982 Scott) Watch this scene from Ridley Scott’s sci-fi masterpiece Blade Runner. How does this scene use elements of the film noir aesthetic in creating it’s future Los Angeles dystopia Create your own Wes Anderson aesthetic

Try to recreate Anderson’s aesthetic and take some shots that demonstrate his style and visual flair. You could try to recreate a frame from one of his films:

Some tips:

- Make sure the frame is symmetrical Add your shot(s) here - Feature old fashioned objects and costumes - Use birds eye view perspectives and shoot from above - Either look for over saturated colour palettes or use colour filters

(If you’re stuck try this shot , this shot or this shot Create your own Noir aesthetic

Try to recreate the film noir aesthetic at home, think of ways to use vertical lines, oblique or dutch camera angles, shadows and lighting to create your effect. I’ve added a few examples below for inspiration.

Add your shot(s) here Further Reading: - Aesthetics chapter from the A Level textbook - Extension Tasks on aesthetics from eduqas (the exam board) - Paul Schrader: notes on film noir (1972) Introduction to Step Up To Film Studies: Week 5 “The essence of cinema is editing.” - What is editing?

At its most basic level, editing is the assembly of completed raw and individual film shot (often called ‘rushes’ into a completed whole)

This involves removing, reordering, selecting shots in a creative process unique to filmmaking.

Films are generally not shot in chronological order so the editor must reorder the shots to recreate the intended narrative for the spectator.

Most footage shot is never used, so the selection of shots is crucial. was said to use only one shot in every eighty he shot Apocalypse Now (1979 Coppola) Examples of editing - can you see:

❏ Cuts ❏ ❏ Dissolves (transitions between two shots) ❏ Cross cutting between two scenes ❏ Sound bridges (overlaying the sound from one scene to another) ❏ Cuts that maintain continuity @ 4:23 ❏ Jump cuts that break continuity @ 4:46 Classical Hollywood Editing in the silent era and the studio system The first filmmakers to really use editing to tell stories were Melies (in France) and Edwin Porter and D.W Griffith in the US.

These filmmakers created and popularised a style of editing that created the grammar of film that is still used today.

The goal of their editing was to immerse the audience into the story, and to create a clear narrative and for the editing to remain invisible and unnoticed. Look at the editing in this scene from Casablanca (1942 Curtiz) - look how the cuts are hard to spot, Think about how often you notice a cut or a scene and all serve to drive the story, make it clearer for the audience, and are smooth and seamless to the change in a tv show or a film? spectator. This is the classical Hollywood style. Look at how the style and rhythm of the editing in these clips is relatively similar

10 cuts per minute 14 cuts per minute Shot reverse shot Limited camera setups Shot reverse shot Limited camera setups Maintaining continuity & linearity (shots sequenced in Maintaining continuity & linearity (shots sequenced in chronological order) chronological order) This seems normal to us because this classical Hollywood editing style has become ‘normal’ in mainstream cinema - popularised by the dominance of The Hollywood Studio System from the 1920s - 1970s However this is not the only way of editing - it’s just the norm

This clip from (1959 Resnais) demonstrates a different way of editing - ignoring naturalism, chronology, continuity to create something more abstract and expressive.

Resnais was part of a group of filmmakers experimenting with a new language of filmmaking known as the (La Nouvelle Vague) Filmmakers in Soviet Russia also looked at film in a different way

Filmmakers such as in the 1920s and 30s pulled imported american films apart and recut them together to see what effect different edits had on those films.

Soviet was a way of looking at and creating films - which were seen as a powerful art form and propaganda tool by the Russian Communist Party The

During this time soviet filmmaker Lev Kuleshov realised that the order of the shots - how they were edited and the context given to them by the shots before and after them, was as, or more important, than the ‘meaning’ of the shot itself.

By changing the order of the shots Kuleshov could totally change the meaning of those shots Try the Kuleshov Effect yourself The Kuleshov effect is easy to demonstrate at home

- First film a close up of an with a blank expression for a relatively (at least 10 seconds) - Then film other shots that can be intercut into that original shot. - This works well if the shots have emotional resonance or some sort of connotation (such as a ticking clock, a delicious looking meal, a cute puppy, or a tragic scene) - Practice cutting from the actor to the new shot, then back to the actor, and see if this changes the effect of your film. - You can see some examples below How to analyse the editing of a film scene in A Level Film Studies ❏ Another key aspect of editing to look for is ❏ How often are the cuts? We call this editing juxtaposition pace ❏ This means what shots are before and ❏ Generally a faster pace makes a scene more after the shot in the edit exciting or dramatic or chaotic ❏ How does the order of the shots used to ❏ A slower pace makes the scene more tense, create meaning dreamlike, calm, or emotional ❏ Shots can be intercut with other objects to ❏ The other thing to consider with pace is the suggest meanings or connotations to the rhythm, is it regular or irregular audience. ❏ A 60 second scene can have 20 cuts, ❏ Consider a character mentioning a secret, regularly cutting every three seconds, or, it and sudden cut to another character’s can have shots of five, six, even ten seconds, reaction, this can give information to the followed by short swift cuts of fractions of a audience second. ❏ A character talking to another character ❏ This irregular pace can punctuate moments intercut with a shot of a clock could be of drama or disorient the spectator used to indicate urgency, or boredom What do you think the effectof the following editing techniques is on the audience

Editing Technique Effect

The three quick cuts at 0:17

The freeze frame at 0:28 (and used later throughout)

The graphic between the two different football teams at 0:39

The intercutting between scenes at 1:15

The overall nature of the This is the opening two minutes from sequence as a montage between Trainspotting (1996 Boyle) introducing us to three different scenes (the street, the characters the football pitch, and the flat) Editing Glossary of Key Terms

Cut The sudden transition between the end of one shot to another shot.

Jump Cut A cut where the camera does not move (or barely moves) where the action seems to jump or skip breaking chronology (example)

Graphic Match A scene transition between two different scenes in which objects, layout, movement (sometimes called graphically match, establishing a strong continuity of action and linking the two a match cut) shots metaphorically. (example)

Shot Reverse Shot Cutting back and forth between two different shots in the same location, usually in a dialogue scene (example)

Cross Cutting Intercutting two or more scenes - cutting back and forth between them to imply they (Parallel Editing) are happening at the same time and have a narrative, thematic, symbolic, or literal connection. (example) Editing Glossary of Key Terms

Cutaway A cut away from the primary subject to something the filmmaker has decided is equally or more relevant at that time

Match on Action This is a technique used to cut during the middle of actions, where both shots match, creating a seamless and fluid cut. (example)

Eyeline Match Another technique used to maintain continuity. The begins with a character looking at something off-screen, followed by a cut to the object or person at which he is looking. When intercutting between shots of characters looking offscreen at each other their eyelines should also match

Montage A series or sequence of shots cut together - often used with music - to show the passage of time (example)

Dissolve An overlapping transition between scenes where one image fades out as another fades in. Editors often use this to indicate a change in time and/or location. Put what you’ve learned into practice - analyse the editing of these two sequences. A) Try to identify the techniques used B) try to explain the meaning of the techniques on the audiences

Inside the beauty of Apocalypse Now’s opening sequence

Psycho (1960 Hitchcock) Apocalypse Now (1979 Coppola) 10 things you How does Hitchcock use editing to shock and Think about how editing is used to show Willard’s (probably) never thrill his audience - as he kills off the main knew about the mental state as he is on leave from the Vietnam character of the film in a sudden plot twist during shower scene in war in a Saigon hotel Psycho the first ⅓ of the film Extra Reading: Choose a sequence from a film of your own choice and explain to me how and why the editing is used in that sequence