Saturday, 9 January 2010
Tuesday, 5 January 2010
Writing With Motion
– Cinematography & Camera Operation Research –
“The term cinematography is from the Greek roots meaning “writing with motion.” At the heart of it, filmmaking is shooting – but cinematography is more than the mere act of photography. It is the process of taking ideas, actions, emotional subtext, and all other forms of non-verbal communication and rendering them in visual terms.
The tools of cinematic technique are used by both the director and DP, either working together or in doing their individual jobs. Cinematography is far more than just “photographing” what is in front of the camera – the tools, the techniques and the variations are wide ranging in scope; this is at the heart of the symbiosis of the DP and the director.
– Brown, Blain. Cinematography Theory and Practice (2002)
Wide Shot (WS)/ Long Shot (LS)
“The wide shot is any frame which encompasses the entire scene. This makes it all relative to the subject. If the script reads “Wide shot – the English Countryside” we are clearly talking about a big panoramic scene done with a short focal length lens taking in all the eye can see. On the other hand, if the description reads “Wide shot – Leo’s room” this is clearly a much smaller shot but it
still encompasses all or most of the room.”
Medium Shot / Mid Shot (MS)
“The medium shot, like a wide shot, is relative to the subject. Obviously, it is closer than a wide shot. Typical shots might be people at a table in a restaurant. By being closer into the action than the wide, we
can see people’s expressions, detail of how they are dressed etc… In regards to landscape a MS may detail characters with a the landscape, this is most commonly used in establishing shots.”
Medium Close Up (MCU)/ Cowboy Shot
“A medium close up would generally be considered as something like from the top of the head to waist.
A ‘cowboy’ is from the top of the head to mid thigh, presumably named because it is important to see the six guns on his belt. In Europe the term plán americain refers to the same shot.”
Close Up (CU)/ Head & Shoulders
“Close ups are one of the most important shots in the vocabulary. A close up would generally be from the head to somewhere just bellow the shirt pockets. If the shot is cut just above the shirt pocket area, this is often called a ‘head and shoulders’.”
Extreme Close Up (ECU)
“An extreme close up varies, but it is usually just mouth and eyes. Just as often an ECU is an object: perhaps just a ring lying on a desktop, a watch etc…”
Macro Shot (McS)
“Macro lenses can be used to capture extreme macro images, this maybe be used to capture extremely intricate detail, or maybe used to depict an emotion or create sereal dream like sequences.”
Low Angle (LA)
“With low angles, the subject seems to dominate us. If the subject is a character, that actor will seem more powerful and dominant. Any time the actor being viewed is meant to be menacing or frightening to the character we associating the POV, with a low angle is usually appropriate. Certainly if it is any sort of villain or monster, an eye level shot will diminish the sense of danger.”
High Angle (HA)
“When the camera is above eye height, we seem to dominate the subject. The subject is reduced in stature and perhaps in importance. A very high angle is called a ‘God’s eye view’ suggesting its omniscient, removed point of view, philosophical and contemplative. We see all parts of the scene, all interacting forces equally without particularly identifying with any of them.”
Shallow Depth Of Field (SDF)
“The depth of field can dramatically affect the balance and meaning of the shot. It can create distance between characters on screen, or even isolate a single character. Several different factors influence the depth of field: focal length of the lens, aperture size of the lens and the magnification of the image.”
Over The Shoulder (OTS)
“A variation of the close up is the over the shoulder or OTS, looking over the shoulder of one actor to a medium or CU of the other. The over the shoulder is a variant of a connecting shot. It ties the two characters together and helps put us in the position of the person being addressed. Even when we are in close shot of the person talking the OTS keeps the other actor in scene.”
All quotes and descriptions taken from:
“Cinematography Theory and Practice”
Brown, Blain. (2002) Cinematography Theory and Practice
Focal Press, An Imprint of Elsevier
All photography taken by Marcus Crouch (2009)
– Cinematography & Camera Operation Research –
“The term cinematography is from the Greek roots meaning “writing with motion.” At the heart of it, filmmaking is shooting – but cinematography is more than the mere act of photography. It is the process of taking ideas, actions, emotional subtext, and all other forms of non-verbal communication and rendering them in visual terms.
The tools of cinematic technique are used by both the director and DP, either working together or in doing their individual jobs. Cinematography is far more than just “photographing” what is in front of the camera – the tools, the techniques and the variations are wide ranging in scope; this is at the heart of the symbiosis of the DP and the director.
– Brown, Blain. Cinematography Theory and Practice (2002)
Wide Shot (WS)/ Long Shot (LS)
“The wide shot is any frame which encompasses the entire scene. This makes it all relative to the subject. If the script reads “Wide shot – the English Countryside” we are clearly talking about a big panoramic scene done with a short focal length lens taking in all the eye can see. On the other hand, if the description reads “Wide shot – Leo’s room” this is clearly a much smaller shot but it
still encompasses all or most of the room.”
Medium Shot / Mid Shot (MS)
“The medium shot, like a wide shot, is relative to the subject. Obviously, it is closer than a wide shot. Typical shots might be people at a table in a restaurant. By being closer into the action than the wide, we
can see people’s expressions, detail of how they are dressed etc… In regards to landscape a MS may detail characters with a the landscape, this is most commonly used in establishing shots.”
Medium Close Up (MCU)/ Cowboy Shot
“A medium close up would generally be considered as something like from the top of the head to waist.
A ‘cowboy’ is from the top of the head to mid thigh, presumably named because it is important to see the six guns on his belt. In Europe the term plán americain refers to the same shot.”
Close Up (CU)/ Head & Shoulders
“Close ups are one of the most important shots in the vocabulary. A close up would generally be from the head to somewhere just bellow the shirt pockets. If the shot is cut just above the shirt pocket area, this is often called a ‘head and shoulders’.”
Extreme Close Up (ECU)
“An extreme close up varies, but it is usually just mouth and eyes. Just as often an ECU is an object: perhaps just a ring lying on a desktop, a watch etc…”
Macro Shot (McS)
“Macro lenses can be used to capture extreme macro images, this maybe be used to capture extremely intricate detail, or maybe used to depict an emotion or create sereal dream like sequences.”
Low Angle (LA)
“With low angles, the subject seems to dominate us. If the subject is a character, that actor will seem more powerful and dominant. Any time the actor being viewed is meant to be menacing or frightening to the character we associating the POV, with a low angle is usually appropriate. Certainly if it is any sort of villain or monster, an eye level shot will diminish the sense of danger.”
High Angle (HA)
“When the camera is above eye height, we seem to dominate the subject. The subject is reduced in stature and perhaps in importance. A very high angle is called a ‘God’s eye view’ suggesting its omniscient, removed point of view, philosophical and contemplative. We see all parts of the scene, all interacting forces equally without particularly identifying with any of them.”
Shallow Depth Of Field (SDF)
“The depth of field can dramatically affect the balance and meaning of the shot. It can create distance between characters on screen, or even isolate a single character. Several different factors influence the depth of field: focal length of the lens, aperture size of the lens and the magnification of the image.”
Over The Shoulder (OTS)
“A variation of the close up is the over the shoulder or OTS, looking over the shoulder of one actor to a medium or CU of the other. The over the shoulder is a variant of a connecting shot. It ties the two characters together and helps put us in the position of the person being addressed. Even when we are in close shot of the person talking the OTS keeps the other actor in scene.”
All quotes and descriptions taken from:
“Cinematography Theory and Practice”
Brown, Blain. (2002) Cinematography Theory and Practice
Focal Press, An Imprint of Elsevier
All photography taken by Marcus Crouch (2009)
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