Cinematography!

Cinematography ia the use of the camera, for example, the framing/position that a camera is places in, and the movement of the camera.

There are many types of shots and framing, for example: 

                                The Close Up                                

The Extreme Close-Up

                                                          Medium or Mid-Shot

Long Shot

                                                    Extreme Long Shot

                                                         Point Of View Shot

                                                                High Angle Shot

                                                           Low Angle Shot

                                                 Over The Shoulder Shot

                                                            Establishing Shot

Camera Movement
The camera from a fixed position:

• Pan- the camera rotates from left to right.
• Tilt- the camera 'tilts' up and down.
• Dutch Tilt- the camera tilts on an angle to give a disorientating effect.
• Zoom- the camera remains still, but the focus is adjusted to move either towards or away from the object.
• Reverse Zoom/Contra Zoom- when the focus zooms in whilst the camera moves out. )This isn't a movement from a fixed position.)

The camera is free to move in any position:

• Track- the camera moves fluidly on a set of tracks in a certain direction.
• Dolly- the camera is on wheels, so can be moved in any direction.
• Crane- the camera i placed on a large crane arm that enables is to move around the set with ease. It also allows the camera to move quickly between different heights.
• Rolling- the camera moves diagonally, making the image askew.
• Handheld- the camera is held in a hand and can therefor move in any direction. The result is usually a very shaky picture.
• Steadicam- the camera is worn on a weighted harness to keep it still and balanced, whilst allowing the freedom of handheld filming.

Aspects of a thriller; Alfred Hitchcock.

   Alfed Hitchcock was the master of suspense, whose films came to be the benchmark for psychological thrillers. He believed that the only way to get rid of his fears, was to make films about them. A few of his quotes are:

- 'There is no terror in the bang, only in the anticipation of it.'
-'If it's a good movie, the sound could go off and the audience would still have a perfectly clear idea of what is going on'
- 'Always make the audience suffer as much as possible'.
-'I am a typed director. If i made Cinderella, the audience would immediatly be looking for a body in the coach.'

Under the strong influence of Alfred Hitchcock, thrillers often begin with a crime, and then an accusation of an innocent bystander. Were the accused, to contact the authorities, no doubt the case would be solved, however, the bystander runs from the law and thus further jeapordizing life and limb. A few examples of this happening are in films such as, 'The 39 Steps' and 'North by Northwest'.

Sabotage (1935)

The film 'Sabotage' directed by Alfred Hitchcock is a perfect example of suspense. Hitckcock creates suspense by using extreme close-ups and fading shots, along with fast paced editing and faced paced music that resembles a clock, that also rises in pitch and volume. The fact that the music resembles a clock, creates tension, due to the fact that in a scene, a boy is told to take a 'roll of film' to a station, and has to be there by a certain time. Due to the fact that the boy gets distracted, and stopped, the boy starts to run late, and the ticking clock in the music puts the audience on edge, due to the fact that they know that the bomb is about to go off any second. Hitchcock drags the scene out, so that the audience start to feel sympathy for the boy and start to feel worried. The constant shot of clocks also effectively creates suspense.

Rope (1948)

Rope tells the story of two young wealthy mean, Brandon and Philip, who strangle and murder a friend of theirs just to see if they can get away with it. They invite other close friends round to their apartment for a dinner party, whilst hiding the body in a chest in their sitting room, just to see if they can get away with it, without getting caught. The suspense is created through the body in the chest. Hitchcock creates suspense by constantly placing the chest in the middle of each clip and between the dialogue of all people involved in the dinner party scene. He uses dramatic music to give the scene and edgy feel.

Hitchcocks Maguffin

•  A Maguffin is a plot device that motivates the characters in the flm and advances the story, but has little or no relevance to the story.
• ''We have a name in the studio and we call it the 'Maguffin'. It is the mechanical element that usually crops up in any story. In crook stories it is always the necklace and in spy stories it is always the papers'

Psychological Thrillers

The suspense created by psychological thrillers often comes from two or more characters preying upon one anothers mind, either by playing deceptive games with the other or by merely trying to demolish the others mental state.

Sometimes the suspense comes from within one solitary character where characters must resolve conflicts with their own minds, usually this conflict is an effort to understand something that has happened to them.

 Enigmas This refers to a puzzle, something mysterious or unexplicable, or a riddle or difficult problem. In thrillers, this is commonly something which the protagonist has to try to find out or solve before the narrative is resolved and the film finishes.

Defining a Thriller.

Thriller's are a vague genre of film, that can be broken down into many catagories. These catagories are genres such as, a Crime Thriller, a Horror Thriller, an Action Thriller and the Psychological Thriller. Thrillers are films that create tension and suspense, and put the audience on edge.

Do Thrillers follow rules?

• Some film makers will claim that 'there are no rules', or that 'rules are made to be broken.'
• However, most would agree that there are certain conventions that mainstream films observe in order for them to be acceptable to the mass audience.
• We have discovered that there are many different types of thrillers, all including different technical aspects, plot generalisations and character types.

A few typical aspects of a thriller are things such as :

•  Plot twists.
• Enigma's.
• They all contain a protagonist (hero).
• All contain suspense.
• Kidnapping.
• They are usually set out in large cities, such as New York.
• Femme Fatales.
• Mind games.
• Alot of point of view shots are used.
• Death and murder.
• Cliffhangers.
• Explosions.
• Car Chases.
• Fights.
• Antagonists,
• and dramatic music.

All of the above, are general aspects of a thriller, and can create great tension and suspense, if used correctly in a film.

A few well known thrillers that contain some of the typical thriller conventions are:






Phone Booth.

and, Hostage

Suspense and Shock

If there were a scene in a classroom, with students and a teacher, and the camera reveals that there is a bomb under the table to the audience, however, the characters in the film do not know, this creates suspence and is called dramatic irony. It makes the audience question whether or not the characters will be saved, and whether or not the bomb will go off... thich then creates shock, due to the fact that the audience are paying so much attention to the fact that the bomb my go off, and that the characters don't know, that when the bomb actually does explode, it comes as a shock.

Preliminary Task

The criteria for our Preliminary Task was to create a short sequence of clips demonstrating continuity editing. We must show match on action when we see someone start an action in one shot and continue it in the next shot or reverse shot. We must also obey the 180 degree rule. This is where two people in a shot always have the same left/ right relationship to each other. 

We filmed a sequence of somebody walking down a corridor, opening a door, having a conversation with someone, walking back through the door and back along the corridor, whilst using the most effective and interesting camera techniques and angles possible. The task had to be as realistic as possible, meaning we had to take care in the camera angles we used, the continuity of the angles and the editing we did, and the length of the clips we used.  

Whilst filming the video, we had to take special care in the angles we used, and had to edit them carefully so that the film looked realistic. Particular moments in the film, that we had to pay more attention too, were scenes that involved Shelby, (the main actress) walking through a door. We had to make sure that during the times she was walking through the door, and the times we were changing camera angles, that she had to stay in the same position, and that we had to place the camera in a specific position to make the shot look realistic, yet still effective.


*Need to add working video, and screenshots.

Psycho; Analysis

In class, we watched the film Psycho, by Alfred Hitchcock.We deeply analyzed the iconic 'Shower Scene' in which the main character gets brutally murdered. 


I noticed that Alfred Hitchcock used fast paced shots to give the scene a tense, exciting, panic-y feel. The fact that the shots were fast, puts the audience on edge, and tells them that something dangerous is about to happen, if not already happening. Due to the lack of technology and props, this also made the scene seem scarier than it actually was, as at no point did the audience see the woman getting killed, or see the killer. We see the killer approaching as a shadow, her screaming, the killer holding up a knife, blood on the floor, and her falling to the floor, slowly. 


Hitchcock also effectively uses fast paced, loud music that usually makes the audience jump, this also adds a tense, shocked feel to the scene. The music matches the action of the murderer stabbing the main character, and this makes the murder seem more dramatic, horrifying and gruesome. The music is very unpleasant to the ear, and crescendo's in volume as the murder gets more intense. 

Film Language; Sound

Sound has been used in the film industry since 1927, and was first used in 'The Jazz Singer'. There are many effective sound techniques that make films more interesting, and can change the feel of a film. 

Catagorising Sounds

On Screen Sound: Sound coming from the screen. EG: If you can see a radio on screen, and the radio is playing.

Off Screen Sound: Sound that can be heard by objects off of the screen. EG: The audience can hear a radio playing, but can't see the radio. 
Diegetic Sound: Sound that the actors can hear a radio playing but can't see the radio.

Non-Diegetic Sound: Sound that the actors can't hear, that isnt part of the film. EG: Music to 'set the scene'. 

Sound Bridges : When a piece of music whether it be diegetic or non-diegetic, continues from one shot to the next.

Parallel: Sound is complimentary to the scene so it makes sense. EG: Children having fun on a beach. You would hear laughter, splashing and happy music.

Contrapuntal sound: Music that doesn't fit the scene. EG: In jaws, there are children splashing in the sea, and the shark starts to approach, there should be scary music, and screams from the children, but there is still laughter, and splashing. 

Source Code; Analysis.

• 
  
  
•     The start of 'Source Code' is filmed on a helicopter, following the roads of New York and filming along the tracks of trains. This makes the people and trains seem small and vulnerable and foreshadows that something bad is going to happen. 
• The music used creates tension and puts people on edge and contrapuntal because the weather is bright and sunny and nothing bad happens. 
• The shot changes quickly to a close up of the main characters face and quickly to a close up of the main characters face and quickly changes between close-ups, over the shoulder shots and point of view shots to create tension. 
• The clips in the film are reasonably long, and the pace of them changes, depending on the mood of the main character. In the beginning of the film, the close up shot lasts reasonably long, because the actor is just waking up, and is slowly beginning to realise that he isn't where he is supposed to be. When the main character starts to panic, the shots become quicker and more 'jumpy', to make the audience on edge, and to emphasise the characters feelings. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QxDY6QNg7nQ

Casino Royale - Mise En Scene

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=epxYm3OouQA

The Use Of Mise-En-Scene in Casino Royale


The opening scene of Casino Royale is completely coloured in Black and White, this is effective as it adds a mysterious, classy, old-fashioned tone to the scene. The director uses low key lighting, in the office clip of the scene, this creates distinct shadows, to create an eery edgy scene, and hides most of Bond, to show that he is hiding something, is mysterious and that the way he is acting, probably isn't the way he usually acts.
This contrasts with the lighting in the toilet scene, which is bright and hides nothing. The fact that this scene is bright, had no distinct shadows and shows Bond in full, tells the reader that this is the true Bond.
In the office, Bond looks controlled and relaxed, sitting on a chair, this portrays Bond as a calm and collected person, with no fear, however in the toilet scene, Bond gives tense facial expressions, and seem's out of control when fighting, along with the lighting, this shows the 'real' bond.
The office is a tidy, classy place, made of glass, full of expensive objects. This also shows Bond's 'false' character, and the fact that he is wearing a suit, shows that he is trying to fit in with the 'classiness'. However, the fact that the building is made of glass, may show that Bond may not be trying to hide his feelings and emotions anymore, and that he is genuinely calm.
The toilet scene, is grimy and dirty, and this is shown clearly because the room is so bright. The fact that the dirt and grime is shown clearly, shows that Bond is doing 'dirty work', (as in killing someone).

Tori and Shelby's Eagle's Path Storyboard

Tori Wheatley's AS Media Studies Blog

This lesson, i made a storyboard based on different themes, camera angles, sounds and camera techniques. I did this to practice for my Thriller movie.

Film Language - Sound

In my most recent lesson, i learned a range of sound techniques and information that would be extremely useful in the production of my Thriller movie.
Sound has been one of the biggest developments in the cinema and movie industry, and add emotion, and sense to films.

• On-Screen sound: Sound coming from objects or people on the screen. Eg: If you can see a radio on the screen, and the radio is playing music.

• Off-Screen sound: Sound that can be heard by objects off of the screen. Eg: The audience can hear a radio playing but can't see the radio on screen.

• Diegetic sound: Sound that the actors, as well as the audience can hear. For instance, a doorbell rings in a scene, so the actors and the audience can both hear it.

• Non-Diegetic sound: Sound that only the audience/viewers can hear, that isn't part of the film/scene. For example: a music clip ''over the top'' of a scene, like a theme tune, to create emotion from the audience.
• Sound Bridges: A piece of music whether it be diegetic or non-diegetic, that continues from one shot to the next.
• Parallel sound: Sound that is complimentary to the scene/sound that makes sense to the scene. Eg:Children having fun on the beach, so the producer may play happy music, and clips of laughter and splashing.
• Contrapuntal sound: Music that doesn't fit the scene. For example, the film 'Insidious' plays happy music on the radio whenever something scary/bad is about to happen.
  
  
  

Film Language- Lighting

So far, i have learned a range of things about the different types of lighting there are. For example, i learned about low key lighting, and high key lighting which will be extremely useful in the production of my thriller film. 

• Low Key Lighting:   This will come in handy when trying to create dramatic effects and emotion in my film, due to the fact that low key lighting creates sharp contrasts and distinct shadows. It is created by using key and back lights.
• High Key Lighting:  This will be useful in my thriller when i want to make it look realistic, due to the fact that high key lighting gives a natural, realistic effect. This is created using filler lights. 
• The Key Light:  The key light is usually the brightest and the most influential.
• The Back Light:  Helps counteract the effect of the key light, which makes the character look 'rounded'.
• The Filler Light: Helps to soften the harsh shadows that key lights and backlights create. There are usually more than one filler lights.

An example if low key lighting. The distinct shadows and darkness create a dramatic effect.

An example of high key lighting. The use of filler lights means that there are no distinct shadows anywhere, and the  woman looks a natural colour. The picture also looks realistic, unlike the photo above.

Welcome to my AS Media Studies blog! This blog will chart the progress of my foundation portfolio, on it i will include details of filming,planning,research, and production of my Thriller coursework.