Part 7 Audio-Visual Communication AUDIO VISUAL COMMUNICATION Module Notes Nature of Audio Visual Production We all watch films that we treasure and identify with – for their laughs, their thrills, or their haunting images of terror. Movie stars become cult figures or active politicians. Movies inform many parts of our lives and therefore we should enjoy them in many ways including the challenging pleasure of trying to think about, explain and write about our experience. Audio visual communication is something where audiences feel involved. By using audio visual medium, a story can be viewed from different point of views. In this medium of communication, sound has been carefully woven on the fabric of the film. Although video, an audio of a film are created separately and presented together to create a greater meaning. The need and importance to study Audio Visual: Audio Visual has a wide connotation and is evident in every sector the society; there are various advantages of the same: It records and preserves historical events, provides public with information, instructs people with tools and machines, teaches children in the classroom and students in the lecture hall, educates and enlightens grown up with the current and social affairs, assists scientists and technicians, brings people together to understand each other and instructs, informs and educates people who cannot read and write. Film is an art form which requires sophisticated technology; it’s a source of popular entertainment, and a powerful method for citizens. Images and Expression: Images express mental states, feelings, emotions etc. The image is a virtual object and not a real object. For example: The photograph of a tree is a virtual object and not the real object. Virtual objects only exist for a perception. Image Virtual Real Perception While making a film, the person would have felt, experienced, heard or understood an event. Each of these will have an inner structure of significance or a skeleton. The inner structure of the image should be representative of the inner thing in order to transfer feelings, emotions. One also needs to select and choose the video and audio segments. They need to be rearranged in a particular sequence according to the inner structure of the artist’s mind. Composition: Composition means exclusion of things that the film maker doesn’t want and inclusion of the things that he wants. Each artist makes a unique composition and eventually delivers a unique meaning. Composition is the artist way of saying the complexity of the subject. When you create a composition, you create a meaning. When the composition of the picture changes; its meaning also changes. What is said by a picture cannot be separated from the way it is said. All the rules of any art form is governed by our day to day life. The three important elements of composition include: - Visual - Audio - Editing The three basic elements of film making include: - Camera - Microphone - Editing A camera gives the artist an eye to recreate the image in mind. There is an audio medium that involves the selection and recreation of sounds for the audio perception to understand the experience. Editing involves the rearranging of the elements in a particular order. Camera – The camera is so versatile that it makes you look at things in many different ways. The film maker can portray different compositions and meaning by placing the camera in different distance from the subject and in different angles or levels the film. The film maker also decides whether the camera should be static or moving depending upon the mood or message that he wants to convey. Depending on distance of camera from the subject, the shots can be divided into different types: - Extreme close up shots - Close up shots - Medium shot - Long shot - Extreme long shot The three important decisions while shooting include: - Distance – how far from the subject - Height – how much height from the ground - Movement – whether it is still or moving Distance – The first step to analyse the film is the distance between the camera and the subject. What we see is a virtual subject. Changing the distance of the camera from the subject will change the size of the image. The moment the size of the image changes, the meaning or the composition also changes. Height – When you raise the camera or lower it, you are changing the height of the camera. When you tilt the camera upwards or downwards, it changes the perspective of the subject making it look different thus leaving a different meaning. Different angles of a camera are: - High angle - Eye level - Low angle The angles can be varying. It can be very low or high which is the extreme case of changing the viewpoint. The eye level shot is a very neutral and normal shot, there is no distortment of the subject. These shots describe powerful eye contact. Movement – The different kinds of camera movement include: - Panning - Tilting - Tracking SHOT, SCENE AND SEQUENCE SHOT: A shot is the basic unit of a film and refers to one length of continuous (unedited) action. While shooting, a shot is created when you turn the camera on (begin recording) and then turn it off. Often, a director will record multiple takes (attempts) of each shot in order to get one perfect take to be edited into the final film. While editing, a shot refers to the action between two adjacent edit points. In film, a shot is a continuous strip of motion picture film, created of a series of frames, that runs for an uninterrupted period of time. Shots are generally filmed with a single camera and can be of any duration. Frames, shots, scenes, and sequences form a hierarchy of units fundamental to many tasks in the creation of moving-image works. The distance from the camera to the subject greatly affects the narrative power of a shot. The three basic kinds of shots are long shots, medium shots, and close-ups; more specific examples include the extreme long shot, the aerial shot, the bird's eye shot, the over the shoulder shot, the point of view shot, and the two shot. SHOTS IN RELATION TO DISTANCE: 1. Extreme Wide/ Long Shot (EWS) In the extreme wide shot, the view is so far from the subject isn't even visible. The point of this shot is to show the subject's surroundings designed to show the audience where the action is taking place. The EWS is also known as an extra long shot. 2. LONG SHOT A long shot (sometimes referred to as a full shot or a wide shot) typically shows the entire object or human figure and is usually intended to place it in some relation to its surroundings; however, it is not as far away as an extreme long shot would be. 3. MEDIUM SHOT A medium shot is a camera shot from a medium distance. a shot of the person from the knees up or the waist up is a close-up shot. 4. Establishing shot An establishing shot sets up, or "establishes", a scene's setting and/or its participants. Typically it is a shot at the beginning (or, occasionally, end) of a scene indicating where, and sometimes when, the remainder of the scene takes place. For example, an exterior shot of a building at night, followed by an interior shot of people talking, implies that the conversation is taking place at night inside that building. Establishing shots may also use famous landmarks – such as the Eiffel Tower, the Colosseum or the Statue of Liberty – to identify a city. For example, the TV show Seinfeld often uses a "Restaurant" establishing shot — an exterior shot of a restaurant that is followed by interior shots of the characters inside. Or an establishing shot might just be a long shot of a room that shows all the characters from a particular scene. For example, a scene about a murder in a college lecture hall might begin with a shot that shows the entire room — including the lecturing professor and the students taking notes. 5. CLOSE-UP SHOT A close-up tightly frames a person or object. The most common close-ups are ones of actors' faces. They are also used extensively in stills photography. Close cuts to characters' faces are used far more often in television than in movies; they are especially common in soap operas. Close shots shows the character’s emotions. Close-ups are also used for distinguishing main characters. Major characters are often given a close-up when they are introduced as a way of indicating their importance. Leading characters will have multiple close-ups. Types of close-up: There are various degrees of close-up depending on how zoomed in the shot is. Medium Close Up: Half-way between a mid shot and a close-up. Usually cover's the subject's head and shoulders. Close Up: A certain feature, such as someone's head, takes up the whole frame. Extreme Close Up : The shot is so tight that only a fraction of the focus of attention, such as someone's eyes, can be seen SHOTS IN RELATION TO CAMERA ANGLE 1. Bird's eye shot: A Bird's eye shot refers to a shot looking directly down on the subject. The perspective is very foreshortened, making the subject appear short and squat. This shot can be used to give an overall establishing shot of a scene, or to emphasise the smallness or insignificance of the subjects. These shots are normaly used for battle scenes or establishing where the character is. 2. Two shot A Two shot is a type of shot in which the frame encompasses a view of two people (the subjects).