We use camera straps and double check that the camera is securely in the tripod. When we're not using it we have the lens cap on and put it in it's bag. We stay in places close to the college and busy buildings so if anything were to happen we could easily reach someone, We usually use riversley park for these reasons. We also keep our phones on so we're always able to reach the college in a emergency.
Before each session in the studio, we would have a technician come in to show us how to safely use the equipment. We would turn the lights off when we werent using them so they wouldnt heat up too much and burn anyone. we would also sit when he lights were off to ensure nobody would fall.
The Butterfly effect is a achieved simply by putting a soft light love the subject in a way that compliments their cheekbones, creating a butterfly wing effect.
ISO is the sensitivity of your camera to light. The lower the ISO, the less sensitive it is. The Image sensor in the camera is the most valuable and important part, it gathers light and transforms it into an image. With increased sensitivity, your camera sensor can capture images in low-light environments without having to use a flash. But higher sensitivity adds grain or “noise” to the pictures.
"A camera shutter is a curtain in front of the camera sensor that stays closed until the camera fires. When the camera fires, the shutter opens and fully exposes the camera sensor to the light that passes through the lens aperture. After the sensor is done collecting the light, the shutter closes immediately, stopping the light from hitting the sensor. The button that fires the camera is also called “shutter” or “shutter button”, because it triggers the shutter to open and close. Shutter speed, also known as “exposure time”, stands for the length of time a camera shutter is open to expose light into the camera sensor. If the shutter speed is fast, it can help to freeze action completely, as seen in the above photo of the dolphin. If the shutter speed is slow, it can create an effect called “motion blur”." [1]
5/1
"The iris of the lens that controls the size (diameter) of the aperture is called “diaphragm” in optics. The sole purpose of the diaphragm is to block or stop all light, with the exception of the light that goes through the aperture. In photography, aperture is expressed in f-numbers (for example f/5.6). These f-numbers that are known as “f-stops” are a way of describing the size of the aperture, or how open or closed the aperture is."
The cat in the hat adheres to freudian theory in the following ways
ID
The cat
Conrad
"Do you know how frustrating it is that you're always doing the exact opposite of what I say?" (his mother)
Thing 1 and Thing 2
SUPEREGO
The fish
Susie
"She talked back to me, so I ordered her not to speak to me anymore.
I won't tolerate it."
The mother
"Well, if you're both staying, remember the rules.
Conrad: No playing ball in the house, no fighting"
The Ego does not exist until the end when the two siblings are shown to be 'just right' on a machine that gauges how impulsive and reckless a person is.
The fact that the mother is constantly mentioned in relation to punishment and consequences, such as when the fish says "He should not be here while your mother is out!" illustrates the infantile obsession with the mother and her rejection of the children's ID temptations. This is emphasised by
the fact that the daughter feels no desire to explore her ID side, illustrated by the quote "I tried to tell him, Mom. But he went right ahead and wrecked the house and let Nevins get away. Now, again, I hope you're going to ground him."
Characters in films can represent what's happening in the conscious and unconscious world.
Freud believed that dreams are the royal road to the unconscious and that they contained important clues into the human psyche. (weiter 2004:295) much of his initial research methods involved questioning his patients on their dream experiences and using their descriptions as a means of uncovering their true motivations and perceptions.
"Film operates on much the same principle, film speaks directly to the unconscious, the language of dreams is one that is not an abstract form of communication such ad narrative, but is one that is filled with images they carry hidden meanings on a latent level. Just so is the language of film organized so that only a part of the film is communicated in a narrative form – sound and images make up the majority of the effect." (kluge 1999)
Therefore the nature that is film can be to a degree, deconstructed tin order to unveil a universal understanding of out thoughts and behaviors that through identification, contributes towards our enjoyment of the film as it acts as a release mechanism of there ID induced impulses.
The birds – represent the maternal enegery stopping fraternization.
Anxiety is silence
The only emotion which doesn't deceive is anxiety, all other emotions can be faked
ID -
The most primitive drive, concerned only with fulfilling pleasure, has sometimes been referred to as the irrational an emotional part of the mind, it is often regarded as being selfish because it's concerned only with it's own self satisfaction. Babies and young children are often used as examples because they're usually driven by the pleasure and instant gratification principles. Key word: want.
Ego -
Based on the reality principle, the ego is capable of undestanding that ones own desires may vary for people around (reality), and is willing to make his consideration. The ego tries to meet the basic needs of the id but also takes into account the rea word. The ego understands that actions have effects, whether positive or negative, and tried to balance out thinking before carrying out decisions/ actions. Key word: balance.
Superego -
Based on moral principles, instilled by rearing and moral/ethical restraints placed upon by caregivers. The superego encompasses an individuals ideals, goals, and conscience as well as societies. The superego is concerned with what others will think, and stands in opposition to the id. The superego acts to perfect and civilize our behavior.
Fight Club
The id – Tyler Durden/ unconscious desires, the repressed
The ego – the narrator- conscious, IKEA lifestyle
Ego – the real Tyler can be found between the ID and the EGO
The superego
Self help groups
Fight clubs
Project mayhem
-Freudian analysis can explain who Tyler really is
-Tyler represents the narrators inner desire or wants
-The narrator is unaware of who Tyler is until he begins to reconnect with his place in society and regain conscious control
Freud said "Without insight into these dark forces, we are doomed to play out our lives, in an endless dramatisation of our childhood relations with our parents."
Superego will regulate pleasure, it will sensor the id, but also license it.
Freud explained his famous model for brain function in the 1927 publication, the ego and the ID. Since then, the theory has been explained with reference to a horse and chariot.
FREUDIAN ANAYLSIS OF A SCENE
"Our fathers were our models for god, if our fathers bailed, what does that tell you about god?" This relates to the aspect of the freudian theory whereby the superego represents the ideals of our parents, specifically the way they would punish and discipline their children. In this scene, and especially in this house, there is no superego, except on the rare occasion they turn on the tv. This shows how the ego (the narrator) has no strict, rigid, socially acceptable influences around him at any time (while in this house).
Tyler's (the id's) outlook on god suggests he has no faith in humanity. By stating that god has "bailed' and that "god does not like you", "he never wanted you", "he hated you", he is describing how his own father left him at a young age (as mentioned in an earlier scene), and his resentment and image of his own father has been channelled into his image of god. This is a very literal display of how the id works, he's holding the ego hostage while he forces him to concentrate on only the most primal, father hating and aggressive thoughts in his own head. A sane, normal person in the fight club universe would have these thoughts in the back of their head, while a superego countered these thoughts with their own, more moral opinions, however the makeup of the narrator is a journey between two extremes.
He goes from being ruled by his superego, which is represented through his submissiveness at work, his lack of a girlfriend, and his subconscious need to fill his life with things form an ikea catalogue - to being almost in love with his own ID, following his every whim, and at one point being jealous that he's more friendly with someone else.
Tyler states "we don't need him", referring to god/his father. He forces the narrator to say the same. He's basically renouncing the superego, and allowing the ID to take over.
Edge lighting is where a subject has their silhouette emphasised with the use of back lighting. This is often used to exaggerate the outline of a person or to create mystery. It is most often used in promotional media, to make a subject seem godlike, in advertisements for sports most commonly.
The rembrandt lighting effect is achieved by situating the key light at eye level, off to the side, pointing diagonally at the face of the subject. This creates a shadow on one side resulting in a triangle of light below the eye. It is so named due to the fact that rembrandt's paintings would have this effect.
This shows the different camera techniques we've learned and applied this year so far. These clips accurately demonstrate how I managed to apply these well in a short period of time, and with limited resources or subjects. If I were to do it again, I would give myself more time so that i coul dfigure out how to do the dolly zoom, as you can see i didn't include it, becase we weren't able to figure out how to do it. I would also keep the tracking shot going a little longer, as i don't think i was able to create a real tracking effect due to us being a bit rushed for time. I've included photos of the shoot to show how we set up the cameras and positioned the subjects so as to get a good level of exposure in the images.
My editing types video includes an establishing shot, shot, reverse shot, 180 degree rule, 30 degree rule, parallel editing, match on action and the Kulescher Effect.
Establishing shot shows an environment or time, shot reverse shot establishes peoples position in a conversation. The 180 and 30 degree rule display variations in surroundings so as to keep a conversation between to people from becoming boring, with the exception to the 30 degree rule which has a smaller moving distance in terms of where you can film relative to the subject. Parallel editing gives a sense of time and match on action creates continuity in a scene. The kulescher effect is a way of portraying a subject in two different ways with the same footage.
My footage i found to be quite confusing, i had to use some footage for the wrong effect as i did not gather enough. This is shown in my 180/30 degree rule clips, they both appear the same because they essentially are. Luckily, i had video evidence from films to demonstrate the effect more clearly.
My new wave film is essentially a montage of shots, edited to coincide with music. The main theme was movement and transport, specifically centring around trains. I achieved this by including an erratic and constantly changing editing style, incorporated with camera shots that would move in unusual ways, and different speeds. By making sure all the shots were filmed in this way, I hardly had to spend any time on the editing, as the movements worked well with each other.
My initial plan was to simply have creative shots of the trains in coventry and the urban environment that surrounded it, but after i'd finished editing, I decided it would be a good idea to duplicate my new wave film, except have it in an old fashioned style, and place it alongside my initial edit. This basically created a comparison of transport, new and old, and gave me an opportunity to experience the role of a director of photography, since i had a list of shots that needed to be taken, so it would match the initial edit.
A technique I used frequently was the choppy editing found in Breathless. In Breathless, there's a montage of shots of the female lead in a car with a voice over narrator. These shots, so as to convey the passing of time are staggered and mixed up to create a jumbled up effect. This influenced my montage heavily and made for a great effect on some of my longer, slower moving shots, however I feel as though the editing could have been more concise, so that it moved perfectly in line with the visuals.
I feel the first shot went well, by using leaves i could easily switch focus between the ones closer and further away. I had to use the warp stabiliser for this which wasn't too bad, i was worried you wouldn't se the full effect of the pull focus but it turned out okay. If i were to do it again i would bring a tripod, as using handheld made this difficult.
The water shot was less effective, i thought i could make the camera focus between the water and the wood around it, but the subjects were too close together to make any real difference.
The final shot was severely underexposed and so did not show the pull focus as well as i had hoped. This was because the pull focus video was filmed before i learned how to control the ISO and shutter speed, otherwise i would have made the image much clearer. Nonetheless, it still shows pull focus relatively well with the light coming from the window.
After analysing french new wave films such as the 400 blows and breathless. Both films have a central theme of crime, however the narratives were unusual and didn't make much sense. With this in mind, I'm going to take advantage of the trip to coventry and make my new wave film about movement, however there will be no clear narrative, only shots that convey the central theme. I'll use a soundtrack that is fast paced and continuous so that I can easily edit the shots to constantly change and jump cut. I'd like to use overlays for some parts of the film, such as multiple shots of clouds over each other to suggest multiple locations visited in a short amount of time.
A huge theme from the new wave which i'd like to incorporate is very short duration shots that cut irregularly, I think that by arranging to music this will be much easier to do, as the strange editing will be compensated by the fact it's edited to music. Shots i'd like to get in Coventry include; geometric angles, simplistic/minimalistic shots of buildings, different colours, creative camera movements for overlay use and as many shots of the train journey as possible.
Natural lighting will be easy to accomplish, I'm using this because new wave films from dogme95 consider natural lighting to be a rule in order to achieve the best form of filmmaking. I'm also going to take multiple shots of the same place with two separate lenses. The wide angle lens, with the right settings, creates a very vibrant and colourful image compared to the default lens that comes with the camera. Creating this comparison will be an interesting experimental style to incorporate into my new wave film.
"I swear as a director to refrain from personal taste! I am no longer an artist. I swear to refrain from creating a "work", as I regard the instant as more important than the whole. My supreme goal is to force the truth out of my characters and settings. I swear to do so by all the means available and at the cost of any good taste and any aesthetic considerations.
Thus I make my VOW OF CHASTITY.
Copenhagen, Monday 13 March 1995
On behalf of DOGMA 95
Lars von Trier Thomas Vinterberg"
- POV.COM
Dogme is also against the auteur status of the director, destroying the romantic myth of the unique artistic personality; for an eccentric artist like Trier, this is a rather masochist rule. It is also part of the anti-aesthetic tendency of the movement, ignoring “any good taste and any aesthetics.
The Dogme project is not without its paradoxes: Why demand technical primitiveness from a medium so much based on technology? How is it possible to avoid “aesthetics” when you work in an aesthetic medium?
There are no simple answers to this, except that Dogme isn’t an academic approach, but an artistic one, in a field where there are no holds barred."
The video cameras gave new freedom but a less perfect image (corresponding well with Dogme’s disregard of aesthetic matters). The digital technique was behind “the ultimate democratization of the cinema” that resulted in millions of YouTube videos in the next decade.
The manifesto was written very fast, “on the basis of some notes I had made, We sat there and composed those rules in half an hour. It was enormously fast. For me the incentive was the anarchistic, the collective and the totally insane side of it all.”
- Kosmorama.com
Dogme’s biggest failing is that it looked to impose a kind of retardation on cinema without offering any innovations.
But most ridiculous of all, in order to adhere to the rule about the avoidance of non-diegetic sound in a scene where he wanted music, he got someone to play a harmonica behind the camera. Sure, that’s technically within the rules, but hardly in the spirit of them. And how exactly did that trickery improve the film or derive a greater “truth” over using non-diegetic, pre-recorded sound?
The Dogme movement wanted to create a set of parameters that would encourage the revelation of truth in films, but with their tricksy rule bending, they actually perpetrated a hoodwinking of the audience, perhaps one even more disingenuous than Hollywood.
- Gorillafilmonline.com
These restrictions may indeed provoke a kind of purity, but they also evoke a kind of animal cunning in the director of Festen. No music? Get the actors to sing a lot. Only local props to be used? Find a big house with lots of them in. No director credit? Get yourself a walk-on role.
Film a variety of camera shots & camera movements to assemble for an AS Film/Media studies tutorial video.
This must include:
-Close up
-Extreme close up
-Mid shot
-Long shot
-Establishing shot/Extreme long shot
-Tracking shot/dolly
-Panning
-Tilting
-Zoom
-Zolly (reverse zoom dolly)
The aperture of the first clip was F4, which means a moderate amount of light is being let into the lens. Because the day was fairly sunny, and I was filming in a shady spot, the image did not need too much or too little light let into the lens. The effect of having it set at a wider aperture such as F4 gave the image a shallow depth of field, putting subjects directly in front of the camera in focus, and everything behind it, out of focus. This technique is used to draw attention to a subject in film.
The second clip is is F8, a smaller aperture opening, allowing less light. I chose a location that had high contrasts of light to illustrate the difference. The light behind the leaves compared to the shadows on the tree trunk indicate that less light is being let into the lens. Another effect of this is a wider depth of field than the F4. This is shown as I switch focus between the leaves(closer to lens) and the trunk(background). The switch in focus is not as bold as the F4, and at times both subjects are mostly in focus.
The final clip shows an aperture of F22 which was the smallest aperture on the camera. This extremely small aperture lets in the least amount of light and so to compensate I chose a very bright shot and switched focus between the water and the wood around it to illustrate the extremely wide depth of field. This however did not work because the subjects were so close to each other so did not accurately illustrate the wide depth of field.
If I were to do this again, I would have chosen a better subject for the final aperture, as it did not accurately show the effect of the final aperture.
The shutter speed of the first clip was 1/2500. As you can see, the high shutter speed gave the image clearly defined edges while the mobile moves, although it also made the aperture higher, making the image under exposed. This high quality means that the sharp image is stuttery when filming motion sequences. The second clip is 1/50, and the aperture has compensated for the reduction in shutter speed by reducing the aperture, making the image brighter. The image is also smoother, so a screenshot of the video reveals a slight blur as it moves. The final clip is 1/30. The aperture reduction caused the clip to be so overexposed that I had to decrease the ISO. The screenshot below also shows that the image is incredibly blurry.
If I were to do this again, I would compensate for the exposure better, so as to make all the clips the same brightness. It's harder to compare the images when each is a different brightness.
Scandinavian cinema was known in the 50's predominantly for it's silent cinema, but with the advent of sound, Scandinavian cinemas international prominence declined, and it became most known for it's art cinema. In the 1990's, Scandinavian cinema came back into the international limelight with Dogme95; the danish film collective launched by Lars Von Trier and Thomas Vinterberg.
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Dogme95 started as a collective involving four Danish Directors: Lars Von Trier, Thomas Vinterberg, and Kristian Levring. It was launched with a manifesto in 1995, although the films announced by Danish TV station Danmarks Radio in return for broadcasting rights after Von Trier's arrangement with the Danish Film Institute fell through, did not appear until a few years later. The manifesto sets ou ten filmmaking rules known as the 'vow of chastity'. These stipulate:
Location shooting using only props and sets found found on site; diegetic sound; handheld shooting using only props and sets found on site; diegetic sound; handheld cameras, with the camera following the actors rather than actors moving to where the camera is; colour film stock and natural lighting; academy 35mm format; and contemporary stories set in the here and now. They prohibit optical work and filters, 'superficial' action involving guns and murders, and genre movies. Most provocatively, they insist that 'the director must not be credited'; according to Von Trier, this is 'a punch in the face to all directors'.
So far there have been two waves of Danish Dogme films. The first consisted of films made by the founding directors; Vinterbergs Festen (1998), Von Triers The Idiots (1998), Kragh-Jacobsen's Mifune, and Levring's The King Is Alive (2000). The second wave, currently ongoing, includes Lone Scherfig's Italian For Beginners, Susanne Bier's Open Hearts (2002). Ole Christian Madsen's Kira's Reason (2001), and Åke Sandgren's Truly Human (2001).
Non-danish Dogme films have not equalled the Danish Films success, either critically or commercially. This inevitably leads to speculation that Danish Dogme films are 'founded in a specific location and sensibility' which the foreign films lack. John Orr, for example, sees Dogme's emphasis on restrictions as recalling Lutheran denial and suffering.
Dogme95 claims to be a 'rescue action' designed to counteract;certain tendencies' in cinema today. According to some reports, Contrier and Vinterberg drew up the manifesto in 'a mere 25 minutes amid gales of laughter'. Both solemn and playful, the rules are designed to provoke the film establishment and to give filmmakers fresh inspiration through the creative use of limitations. the idea that creativity can flourish when one has constraints rather than complete freedom has a long history and is shared by other filmmakers working under completely different circumstances including Abbas Kiarostami who's films must comply with strict Iranian state censorship. Removing the directors credit however, has done little to shake the auteur concept which remains attached to all dogme films.
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Dogme has become known for it's 'back to basic' realism. The Dogme filmmakers despite to force 'the truth' out to their charachter and settings, swearing to so do 'at the cost of good taste and any aestheric considerations'. Dogme's emphasis on contemporary stories, location shooting, and handheld cameras recalls Italian Neoralism, while the idea of the camera following the actors, and not vice versa, evokes American independent filmmaker John Cassavetes, whose 16mm Arriflex cameras achieved an intense intimacy with actors in films like Faces (1968). With even more flexible camera technology, Dogme takes on emotional closeness with actors yet further. Dogme also subverts 'fly on the wall' documentary film conventions, where the cameraman is a passive observer, and makes the cameraman a participant in the action. Shaky, hyperactive camerawork and abrupt jump cuts abound in the early films, 'conveying raw, truth telling qualities' but also emphasising confusion and highlighting the limits of their 'truth capturing potential'.
Peoples idea of a legitimate film is defined by high production values, expensive special effects, established genres like science fiction, disaster movies, or thrillers involving violent, 'superficial action'. As Von Trier asserts, films like Festen lend incentives to filmmakers in other small nations, who can see that 'if that's a film, then we can make films too'.
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When Christian reveals the family secret in he guise of a celebratory toast, the guests attempt to take it for what it pretends to be and carry on with the festivities. The effectiveness of these scenes is due partly t the casting of henning moritz, a well known danish star, against type as helge. The extras playing the guests were not told about his role as child abuser in this film, so they reveal genuine surprise or fail to register Christians news altogether. This establishes the pattern of response to his revelations: as christian opens up cracks in the polite dinner party façade, the rest of the family and the german toastmaster use dinner paty rituals - further toasts, coffee, after-dinner cigarettes, music and dancing next door - to reseal the façade and sustain appearances. When Christian makes his second charge that his father murdered his sister, his brother michael and some other guests forcibly eject him from the house. Vinterberg understand that, in this respect (of keeping a lid on things) his film has really 'touched something Danish, and that people have felt...provoked by it'. The ritual of manners only ceases to work when christians other sister Helene agrees to read lindas suicide note, which she had hidden in a pill bottle.
When Gbatokai, Helene's African American boyfriend, arrives at the party, in a taxi driven by vinterberg playing a cameo role, we learn more about the family's insularity by their attitudes to him. Michael starts up a racists danish dong to taunt him, a childrens song, which everybody know, evoking the swing toward the xenophobic far right in den marks contemporary political climate. In addition to race, Festen foregrounds class issues. The impetus for change comes from the servants, who steal the guests car keys to stop them from leaving and to ensure they hear christian out.
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With it's country house and upper middle class dinner party, festen contains more than shades of bergman, as well as lii brunels nature of bourgeois dinner rituals. It also draws heavily on Scandinavian Kammerspiel traditions. However, festens handheld home-camcorder style, with it's restless, jerky camerawork, gives it an edgy quality, introducing an amateurish desperation into the scrutiny of intimate lives. the dizzy camerawork underlines the sense of disorientation, unease and moral chaos - the loss of control in a setting where behaviour is supposed to be controlled. Operating a small digital camera, cameraman Anthony Dod Mantle mingles with the actors like an extra guest at party, sometimes physically intervening in the action. This explains the first scene when michael orders his wife, Mette and his children out of the car to make room for christian; there would indeed not be enough room with the cameraman too. Moreover, the cameraman knowledge of narrative events appears to be just as restricted as ours - he is often taken by surprise, as when the angry Mette jostles the camera.
Festens style is very confrontational. Shock cuts abound, as in the abrupt could cut when Helene screams, hits the wall and then is sick in the bathroom after her quiet decorum at the dinner table. Vinterberg comments that, in the absence of other means such as dramatic music or lighting effects, 'you just have your actors, so you have to make them faint, or puke or fight'. Fester is widely accredited as an acting triumph, but that doesn't mean other stylistic devices are redundant. For example, Dod Mantle's cinematography makes use of available light to convert the storys darkening mood. As the evening wears on and light diminishes, the pixels become increasingly visible, suggesting that the image is disintegrating just as the family falls apart. The interior scenes after christian is ejected from the house are all shot in low light conditions - as is the films psychological nadir, when michael beats up his father. Michael reacts to news of his fathers incest in the only way he knows - by assaulting him and thereby assuming his legacy.
The film also manages to tell a ghost story within the confines of the rules, thereby exceeding narrow conceptions of realism. when helene finds linda's suicide note, the film cuts to shots of Christians girlfriend Pia submerged in the bath, suggesting the drowned sisters ghostly presence. Slow motion shots and static overhead shots indicate that we are not outside the agitated viewpoint of the camerman/ guest who dominates the rest of the film. Slow motion announces linda presence again when christian collapses and hallucinates. Yet, because dogme rules forbid special effects and flashbacks, we never actually leave the here and now. A persistent ringing phone punctuates this hallucinating sequence, existing both as a reality within the hallucination - linda call to christian from the spirit world - and as the reality that wakes him, an actual telephone call from helene. Dogme does not allow superimposed titles, hence opening and closing credits must be conveyed by other means. Festen uses pieces of paper floating in water, another allusion to linda's presence outside the film.
The first clip shows a low ISO of 200. Pausing the clip shows in detail that the image is clear and colours are defined. This is a high quality image compared to clip 2, which is an ISO of 3200. The image is quite blurry in the background from grain and after pausing you can see that the graininess affects the whole image, lowering the quality. This is because the ISO is amplifying the low light source rather than taking a natural image from an area with a prominent light source, such as the first clip which is taken outside.
If I would do this again, I would have focused better on the subjects, and used some kind of jib or tripod since using the stabiliser during editing just lowered the quality.
Shooting must be done on location. Props and sets must not be brought in (if a particular prop is necessary for the story, a location must be chosen where this prop is to be found).
The sound must never be produced apart from the images or vice versa. (Music must not be used unless it occurs where the scene is being shot.)
The camera must be hand-held. Any movement or immobility attainable in the hand is permitted.
The film must be in colour. Special lighting is not acceptable. (If there is too little light for exposure the scene must be cut or a single lamp be attached to the camera).
Optical work and filters are forbidden.
Temporal and geographical alienation are forbidden. (That is to say that the film takes place here and now).
Genre movies are not acceptable.
The film format must be Academy 35 mm.
The director must not be credited.
relate film to other films and to issues surrounding
include comparative/historical/cultural analysis
do three films
construct a logical argument, give evidence and details for the viewers
analyse evidence
short statement that sets out what it' going to do, describes the interpretation and anticipates each stage of the argument
identifies clearly my critical perspective of the topic. Indicate what the central argument is, and how that argument is important to understanding the films on that topic
In 1895 the Lumiere Brothers invented Cinematographe. The product of which was films that had scenes of long duration, usually around 3 or 4 minutes. The films were static shots of people moving along or around different locations, and didn't really tell a story.
In 1901, Edwin S Porter released a film that was similar in that the shots were long duration, but they actually told a story. This film portrays the day of some firemen responding to a call. The use of editing in this film compares to the Lumiere brothers because it contains some of the first uses of cut ins.
In 1908 D.W Griffiths film 'money mad' used different camera angles and pace of editing for the first time. This was the first American feature film and the discovery of the close up. Lev Kuleshov coined the term The Kuleshov effect. This was essentially the invention of the montage. This technique was shown in the 1925 film 'Battleship Potemkin'.
The Moviola was invented in 1917 by Iwan Serrurier. It was originally a film projector to be sold to the general public, but it cost $600 ($20,000 modern day equivalent). He changed the design to make it a precision editing device for filmmakers. Many studios adopted the Moviola including Universal Studios, Warner Brothers, Charles Chaplin Studios, Buster Keaton Productions, Mary Pickford, Mack Sennett, and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.
The flatbed editor became a popular machine for film editing in the 1970's, but by the 1990's they had become almost completely obsolete due to the popularity of digital, non-linear editing.
Picture and sound rolls load onto separate motorized disks, called "plates." A prism reflects the film image onto a viewing screen, while a magnetic playback head reads the magnetic audio tracks. When the editor finds a point to cut one shot into another, he marks it on both picture and sound rolls, then makes the cut and splices in the next shot.
Offline editing is the process where an EDL (edit decision list) is created, using the bare minimum of equipment. Rough copies of the footage could be used by the offline editors to essentially create a final version of the production, ready for the online editors. One very basic method is paper and pencil editing.
When the offline EDL is completed, it is transferred to the online editors, who then use professional editing software to complete a final edit according to the EDL from the offline editors.
The CMX 600 was the first non-linear video editing system. It was introduced in 1971 by CMX Systems, and was referred to as a "RAVE", or Random Access Video Editor. The right monitor, which played the preview video, was used by the editor to make cuts and edit decisions. The left monitor was used to display the edited video.
The CMX 600 cost $250,000 USD at its introduction. only 6 systems were manufactured. They were used to edit several television shows and commercials.
Adobe Premiere Pro is a timeline-based video editing software application. It has been used to edit feature films, such as Gone Girl, Captain Abu Raed, and Monsters.
Premiere Pro can be used with other Adobe creative suite applications such as After Effects, photoshop, and Adobestory.
How and why does lighting affect camera techniques for moving image?
High quality, and well thought out lighting can mean the difference between your film looking like low budget social realism, and a big budget blockbuster. David Sterritt describes the use of elaborate lighting as part of the; "classical Hollywood
style" [it] results from a cluster of principles, practices, and procedures that
Hollywood studios (and others eager to emulate their financial success)
have promulgated since the 1920s. Among its main characteristics are;
-Three-point lighting that maximizes the visibility and clarity of images" [1] By describing it as a Hollywood Style, Sterritt suggests that lighting is essential to create a frame where the editing is as invisible as it is in Hollywood films. This shot from the short film My Utopia [2] shows how the room looks normally, and how the lighting has made the frame appear. Their choice of lighting is directly affected by the shot they use in this scene. All shots are either extreme close ups from a high angle on the students, or they're this very shot below, at different levels of close ups and long shots, so as to keep the lighting on the chalkboard the same the whole time.
[2]
Each camera technique is unique and implies a different meaning to the last. The effect of a camera technique is less prevalent if the cinematography is the same through each shot. By having obvious, and artistic lighting that contrasts shot by shot, the scene not only becomes more artistic and vibrant, but the messages being conveyed are more obvious.
[4] For instance, in this scene from True Detective, a continuous panning/tracking shot is used with no cuts. From the point that they enter the house, the lighting changes dramatically depending on which room Cohle enters. This technique is used because, had they used cuts and static cameras to show Cohle entering each room, it would have given an image of calmness and control, it would have been focusing on Cohle instead of the state of the house, and not accurately depicting the chaos and danger that a handheld tracking shot shows. Because of the director choosing to use a tracking shot, both the drastic and subtle changes in each room had to be displayed solely from the cinematography. There's backlighting on Cohles body the whole way through, to emphasise the focus on the environment, we see his face lit up briefly as he passes through the hallway between rooms, just to give us a quick glimpse at his facial expression and a clue as to the situation from his mind. The only room in the house without low key lighting is the child's room, suggesting innocence. This explanation of the scene through lighting is used so commonly in film because it's easy to see that dark = bad and light = good. By using exaggerated contrasts like in this sequence, every audience member can subliminally pick up on negative characters or scenes simply from the lighting. This is supported by an analysis in Cinematography theory and practice; "Take this opening frame from Punch Drunk Love. The wide and distant shot emphasises his isolation and loneliness reinforced by the colour scheme and the lack of wall decoration. The dull shapeless overhead fluorescent lighting underscores the mood and tone of the scene." [3]
1 The Films of Jean Luc Godard: Seeing the Invisible 2 http://stillmotionblog.com/lighting-with-purpose/ 3 Cinematography theory and practice 2nd edition 4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s_HuFuKiq8U
lighting equipment and setups for the following scenarios;
A small documentary where portability is paramount
-LED, Adjustable/dimmable brightness Light Kit with Carrying Bag & Stands. Weighs just under 30 pounds for portability. Comes with a carrying case and softboxes that fit over the lights to diffuse them and cast an even, flattering glow on your interview subject.
-Micro-LED on-camera light. Heat Free LED, reduced fire risk. Flicker free output for continuous, smooth shots. Battery powered for portability. Lightweight and compact.
‘Talking head’ style interviews
-2 lamps with softboxes. One key light for the majority of the face, one fill light further away for a softer brightness to fill in the darker parts to the side.
-1 lamp without softbox on boom mic (with counterweight) that points down from behind head. This is the hair light to separate the subject from the background.
-2 lamps with barn doors, pointed at background for the backlight.
A ‘night time’ shoot.
- 1 harsh lamp without softbox to put behind subjects out of shot as a hair light. Positioned high up and pointed down. Good for urban environments, less for rural areas. - 1 - 2 very bright backlights for buildings or structures behind subjects to create backdrop that separates subjects from background. Best in urban area.
- 1 very dim key light near camera, pointed at faces, only to make sure faces aren't completely in shadow.
The scene begins with two men and women in a graveyard, drinking alcohol. The clothing in the scene is a key aspect for the text to convey the time period and the attitudes surrounding it. One man is wearing brown leathers, a headband, and a necklace with bones on it, reminiscent of the stereotypical attire of the native American. The other man is wearing a navy blue bomber jacket, aviator glasses, and red white and blue stripes on his arm. These both convey the message that the film centres heavily around American values and the conflict within it's culture.
The two women wear large fur coats, this, and the heavy makeup relate to the style and iconography of the late 60's, suggesting the film also centres around the values and culture of this era in America. However, the dishevelled look of the women, and the fact that they're drinking, smoking, and sitting on a curb outside suggests that it's a representation of the ruin of 1969 America.
This impression comes from the fact that 1968/9 was the thick of the Vietnam war, university protests, and assassinations of those in power such as kennedy and martin luther king. This anarchistic attitude contributes to the themes and values that are reflected in the appearance and personalities of the characters. The drug taking and exaggerated sexuality of the two pairs also reflect the contextual themes surrounding 1968/9 America; The Beatles along with Woodstock encouraged a carefree, peace oriented, musically centred era of Americans known as hippies. The main traits being drug taking, and anti establishment attitudes, which connects to my former point.
This is emphasised with the diegetic sound of the machines whirring in the background continuously. this ambience of industry and the fact that they sit on the steps of a ruined set of houses suggests that the ideals of the 60's, and the American Dream of the working man has failed.
There is no verbal confirmation that the pills they take are LSD, or that they're even pills, but this is suggested through the camera shots. After they take the pills, the camera remains static, but every few seconds, there's a shot of a camera tilting up the side of the house very slowly, the higher the camera goes, the lighter the shot, until eventually there's a lens flare which fills the frame. This insinuates that the characters themselves are becoming 'Higher' due to the drugs they took.
The religious connotations such as the low angle of the young woman against the sky saying; "I believe in God, the father almighty" suggest that the characters (or America's) values have underlying connotations of faith that they're suppressing or ignoring. This is emphasised by one of the men responding; "Shut up". The contextual evidence comes from the brutality of the Vietnam war, such a the massacre of My Lai, where nearly 100 civilians were killed by US troops. The Phoenix Program, a series of extreme interrogations on the Viet Kong, including gang rape, electrocution, and beatings operated by the CIA, was another 1968 event that could be considered unholy and suggest that the USA had abandoned it's christian values.
