Monday, June 20, 2011

The Movie Project

The purpose of the movie project is to study a film in distinct minutae.

The shot sheets are designed to show how detailed you can be without inserting your opinion. Yes, the shots mean something, and yes, they have both symbolic an metaphoric significance, but that significance is understood once you gather the evidence.

The first part of the project, the shot sheet, tests how observant you are.

What I notice is that most people are excessively observant when it comes to things they like. A male or female can spot the price tag on a pair of shoes, or the type of rims on a car from across the street, and summarily they make it a point of personal necessity to know in-depth specifics of something if they think it is important.

Apply this concept to College--the difference is, that most students really don't wish to be in college--Sure they would like the percs that come with a degree--the better job, the paycheck, the respect of having a degree, but when it comes to the work, and the ability to teach something to yourself, most students are looking for the easy way out--what can the teacher teach me so I can do the minimal work.

This is something encountered over and over--and the truth of the matter is that professors go away--yes, they do, they move, they die, they stop teaching, but they are more than simply machines for spitting out everything you want to learn.

College is supposed to give you the tools with which to learn something yourself, long after you leave college--so that you can continue to learn yourself.

The movie project teaches you to look analytically, but the first part of the project is a gathering excersize. John Berger's book Ways of Seeing is a very short book, but what his book shows the student is is that looking is never enough. If one doesn't understand what one sees, then one had best look closely.

When doing this project pay very close attention to the things you see.

For the shot sheet, record what you see, no matter how insignificant it seems, no matter how small. Pay close attention. For this project, the pause button is going to be your friend.

Record the details of your shots as closely as possible--without opinion.

The First Shot

In order to really understand a film, you must find the first shot. How is this done? Within a film there are many shots, and the first usually shown is called the "Chronilogical First Shot." The Chronilogical First Shot is literally the first shot that comes after the Movie Company and Production Company Logos have Dissapeared.

In this opening to "Touch of Evil." The chronilogical first shot is in fact the first Conflict shot of the film, but this is not always the case. As you can see the Universal Logo is also a shot, and this is technically the first shot you, see, but what we are looking for is called the "Conflict Shot" or the "Opening Shot."

The first conflict shot, leads you then to the opening shots. Let me make this utterly clear, some filmmakers play around for a bit, but the way you usually know the first opening shot of something is there will be a conflict presented. This conflict is clearly connected to the plot. In Touch of Evil, the "opening shot" is the visual and setting of the bomb? The conflict here is very clear, a bomb has been activated, and it is going to go off.

Here is an example from "Chariots of Fire," This literally begins with a image of a church and the date 1978. This is the first Chronilogical shot of the film, but it is not the "Opening shot." We then cut to a old man talking about the "Death" of someone important, who was a member of a group of athletes who are now mostly dead, and then we cut to a shot of the runners running down the surf, the intensity and committment to the craft on their faces. One is slightly alive, when he runs, meaning, he feels almost angelic. Another is having a great time, running, and the front of his white shirt has caught quite a bit of mud from the running. Another is disciplined and serious and the last we clearly see has a pensive look on his face, as if running for him conflicts with something inside him--something we will soon find out about. These are the first shots of the film and essentially, they reveal everything about what we will soon be watching and everything is outlined from the beginning.

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Terms and Definitions

DESCRIPTION:

On your shot sheet, this is a written representation of what you visually see. You describe in exact detail what you see, down to the smallest point.

This should include color, movement, posture, action, tone of voice, objects and their descriptions. There should be no opinion in this part of the shot write-up.

There should be no opinion presented at all in your shot sheet. Opinion would be saying something like he looks happy. Just say he smiles and describe what the person or object or animal or whatever does.

Do not include Camera movement here.

Include Camera movement in the Camera movement section. Any reference to movement should be described as follows. First we see feet and then we move from the feet up to the face of the man running.

Do not include lighting references in the Description. You may make reference to the fact is "appears to be morning" or "night."

Any discussion of lighting needs to go in the lighting section.

Do not include sound in the description setting. Include sound in the sound slot.

Do not include full sections of dialogue. Use dialogue as you feel it is needed, but the description should not contain full passages of dialogue.

Use dialogue as needed.

Example: Jefferies makes frequent mention of "getting married."

Sound: Anything that is not Dialogue. Examples: Music. Gunshots. Slamming Doors. Hammering. People Talking in the background. Lunch trays clinking or glasses in a Restaurant. Birds Chirping. The sounds of Cars. Footsteps on pavement.

Two Types:
Diegetic: Visable Source. Radio. Bird, Moving Feet, Moving Cars, People typing on Typwriters in the background.

Non-diegetic: Non-Visible Source. Often Called Mood Music or Magic Music. Reflects theme or idea or emotion at given moments. Sounds without visable sources are also non-diegetic.

The Following link is a film called Diegesis which discusses non-Diegetic sound as an idea:
"Diegesis: A Film"

This link shows a discussion of Non-Diegetic and Diegetic Sound:
What is Diegetic Sound?

Sometimes In a film, a process called a Voice Over is used. A Voice Over is a Non-Diegetic piece of sound that plays over a shot. It has no Visable source, so it is non-diegetic.

Here is an example of a Non-Diegetic Voice Over.

For a Voice Over it is possible to include some sections of what the person is saying, or specific part in the sound section of your shot sheet..

Example: Non-Diegetic Voice Over floats over shot. "Sauron forged the one ring in the fires of Mount Doom."

Lighting:


This term deals with the type of light and its effect on the shot.

Types:

Natural: This refers to lighting that doesn't augment or change any aspect of the shot, IE. If everyone seems to be shot and there are no extraneous shadows on a person's face, that is

Natural Lighting. All that needs to be written is usually Natural Lighting.

In this shot from Big Night, the lighting is Natural.


Low Lighting: Low Lighting is an Aspect of Natural Lighting, but with less of an Artificial Source. Low Lighting is usually shot in the dark, or in dark rooms, or in areas where light is sparse. You know low lighting by how little light there is.

In this example from Knowing low lighting is being used.

Hard Lighting: Hard Lighting is the use of an artificial source to highlight the aspect of a characters face or an object. Hard Lighting always creates shadows or is used to brighten an object in an otherwise Dark room.

If no object is brightened, then Hard Lighting is not being used. If there are no shadows, specifically on Human faces then it is not hard lighting.

This link shows examples mostly of Hard Lighting, some of the lighting uses gels.
Notice when the model has shadows on his face. That is Hard Lighting.

Soft Lighting:

Soft lighting is the use of an artificial source to highlight an aspect of the human face. It uses a soft light filter which highlights and improves visual aspects of a person's face such as Hair, skin, eyes, lips and teeth. Soft lighting is only used in a close-up.

Here's an example of Soft lighting:

Judy Garland in most of her close-ups is being lit by soft lighting. Notice How lustrous her hair is, and how her lips seem to glisten. She is shot in soft light, while the other girls have hats on that cause shadows on their faces.

In the following Makeup Tutorial soft lighting is being used to accent the hair and lips and eyes.

Length:
The time period a shot lasts from the time it begins to the time of a transition starting a new shot. A shot usually lasts 3-7 seconds, though there are longer and shorter shots.
The following links show many shots. This is the opening to Citizen Kane, and most of the shots here are about 5 seconds in Length. There are also Specifically Dissolves in between them.

Opening to Citizen Kane.


Now here, exactly are two shots from the same film. These two shots are specific, the first is over a minute long while the second is less than two seconds. There is one cut between them, but I need you to see the reason for the first shot. The first shot reveals quite a bit of information about Charles Foster Kane.

"How to Run a Newspaper"


The following link shows two shots. One shot is about 2 minutes the other is 5 seconds:
This is the Shot from Touch of Evil

Transitions: The bridge between shots, creating how a director transitions between shots.
Here is a Video on the types.

A Cut:
A cut is a basic transition between shots. It is an instantaneous jump from one shot to another like a snap. Most shots are cuts. A Straight Cut is simply another word for a Cut.
This is a section from Black Hawk Down, which shows numerous cuts. These shots are also about 5 seconds in length on average.


Dissolve: A Gradual transition where one shots fades out or disintegrates and the other appears. The importance of the dissolve is that is directly links similar things. Shapes or visuals are similar. To quote Robert Olen Butler, "For a brief time, the two become one."
Here is a series of Dissolves between the opening shots of Citizen Kane.

Wipe: A Transition where the first shot remains stationary, while the second shot is literally dragged across screen or wiped into being by wiping the first shot away. The following is a commentary about George Lucas and his use of the wipe.

There are several examples of wipes, including a circle wipe, horizontal or vertical wipe:

Tracking and Panning.
Tracking is the slow movement of the camera in distinctly straight ways, where the movement is slow and methodical, and steady.

Panning is the fast fluid movement of the camera in multiple ways, where blurring often happens for a moment.

Trucking: Slow Tracking left or right.


Special Effects: Anything created digitally and added to the film. In this clip from Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World the Special Effects are the strange powers of the yellow haired man, his glowing eyes and his glowing hands as well as the strange power lines, and the large "POW!" that appears on screen.

For a Special effects Writeup you describe what is exactly created and shown on screen.
The Following is From Scott Pilgrim vs the World, and has several Special Effects in it:


Focus and Depth of Field: This refers to the entire frame of the shot.

Inside a shot there is usually a background and a foreground and the camera chooses what you see and how you see it. When something in the foreground is shown in deep focus, then the background is usually in shallow focus. When the background is shown in Deep focus, the foreground is in Shallow.

A director can play with what you see and how you see it. Also symbolically or appropriately you blur out an image or bring it to a crisp focus given the context of the shot, or any number of reasons.

Shallow Focus: When something in the foreground or background is blurry or unclear.

Shallow Focus:


Deep Focus: When something in the foreground or background is in crisp clear focus.
Both planes cannot be in the deep focus or shallow at the same time. Both planes may be in

Deep Focus.

Medium to Shallow Space. All Planes in Focus:
This refers to a shot where everything is essentially in focus and neither crisp nor blurry.
Most Shots are shot in Medium to Shallow Space.

In this sequence of shots from 300, most of it shot in Medium to Shallow Space, however, there are moments of extensive deep focus in the foreground. The visual of Leonidas 's wife is shot in deep focus, where the background is in Shallow.

Types of Angles

Camera Angles:

In the study of film, the Angle in which the shot is filmed also has a purpose. There are four camera angles that are often used by directors and filmmakers which actually convey a subtle message about the shot or the action that is happening in the shot.

The Frame: This refers to the filmed Square of screen in which the film or shot is shown. By adjusting the frame, you adjust the angle of the picture. The square of the screen stays the same, but the action inside it is shown in a different angle.

Straight-on:

The straight-on Angle conveys the message of normality. This is the normal world, and everything is in place. What may happen later may be strange, but for now, this is all normal and plain.



Overhead or High Angle:

This angle is used when the camera is placed above a subject or area. Most often there is a crane involved, but the angle usually conveys the subject as small, insignificant or weak. Many times the High Angle shot can represent weakness, or terror. Imagine the number of times in movies when a monster rises up, and our heroes are immediately shown as small of in terror. id afraid. A regular use of the High Angle on a person can also convey guilt, depending on how high the angle is and what is shown. Usually Hitchcock will show the very top of a person's head, which is a formula for showing guilt.


Low or Underneath Angle:


This angle is used when the camera is placed near the ground of sometimes literally below the figures. In a Famous example, in Citizen Kane, Orson Welles tore out the floor so that he could shoot his figures in the lowest angle possible. This angle provides the idea of strength, power, fierceness and dominance.



In the following example by my student Mr. M Osuji, he demonstrates how a Low or Angle works:

Link

Canted Angle:

The Canted Angle is sometimes also called the Dutch Angle. The Canted angle shows everything in the frame as askewed, acute, or titled to the left. Because of the canted angle's off or askew quality it represents a form of abnormality or strangeness. The Canted Angle usually represents one of three things:

1. Something bad is about to happen.
2. Something is wrong mentally
3. Something is wrong with the universe.




The following is a small film I made talking about the Canted Angle:

Link

Types of Shots

The "Shot"
The basic building block of a film, equivalent to sometimes a word, or a sentence in English.

How shots are connected to other shots creates messages and also the film. A sequence is a group of shots connected together by a thematic. A thematic also holds a film together between the many shots and sequences. Most shots are only 2-7 seconds in length, but there are longer shots, like the opening of Touch of evil which is exactly two minutes long.

The following link is one shot that lasts 2:30 seconds. There are no cuts, and minimal camera movement.
The Big Lebowski.

This link is about 40 to 50 shots literally, most of them less than 4 seconds.
Nodding Sequence.

The purpose of these two links is that you understand the use of a cut and what a shot is.

Shot Scale: The Size of the shot, which may or may not change given the camera movement. Most shots are one of three types. Long Shot. Medium Shot, or Close-up. A shot will sometimes start as a Long Shot then pull us into a Medium Shot then a Close-Up with Camera movement.

In the following Clips. Camera movement changes the Shot Scale.

Example

In this example from Kill Bill, the camera moves around changing the shot scale.

In this example. The camera movement changes the shot scale from a Long shot to a medium, then a long shot again.

Camera Movement Changes Shot Scale.

This shot from Goodfellas, starts from a close-up and ends as a medium shot.



Here are visual examples of the types of shot.


Medium Shot.



Usually about half the human figure is present, and there is a level of background. It is the interplay of this background with the figure that is most important that creates the Mis-en-scene or the Juxtaposition. The purpose of the shot is exactly the interplay of the background and the foreground. The Human figure in transition to the objects next to her.

Long Shot:



Long Shot:
Full Human figures are usually shown in a long shot, along with large sections of scenery, The landscape in both the background and the foreground is very important here. It is usually more important than the human figures, but they must be considered in the context of everything.

Establishing Shot:
Specific landscape and visual city/town areas. Human figures are usually very very small. An Establishing shot is a Long Shot usually, but the shot introduces the area, the city, the land as the most important part of the shot.

Close-up:


This type of shot usually shows a human face or an object.

The background is usually insignificant because there is so little of it.

The purpose of the shot is close inspection of the character or human figure, or close inspection of an object.

Welcome to the New Blog

What's going to happen with this blog is a new expirament and I'm going to focus it, while teaching class, and while teaching my students. It's a new idea, but it's also something i can focus on while working on my disseration.

Here we go.

Me