A “Crab Left” camera movement means for a handheld camera operator to walk sideways (like a crab). The technique is often used to follow a subject that would otherwise leave the frame such as an actor or vehicle in motion. An example of this is in a behind-the-scenes video of “Grey’s Anatomy) (2006), and is presented in this scene:
“Zooming” in film-making and television production refers to the technique of changing the focal length of a zoom lens (and hence the angle of view) during a shot. An example of this is in the movie “Ratatouille” (2007).
A “Pan Down Shot” is when you rotate a camera on its vertical or horizontal axis in order to keep a moving person or object in view or allow the film to record a panorama. An example of this is used in the film “Psycho” (1960). In the shower scene in this film, the director has used a pan down shot to show Marion’s death.
A Bird’s Eye View is a camera angle used to view an object or a person from above, with the perspective as though the audience were a bird. An example of this is in a scene of the 2017 drama film “To The Bone”, where the main character Eli who suffers from Anorexia, experiences a dream in which it reveals to her how sick she really is and that she needs to accept the help she needs. This is revealed to her by, in the dream, the male protagonist tells her while they are both in a tree, only for Eli to look down and see her naked self on the ground revealing how fatal her disorder has become and what she looks like that she can’t see in real life. This is shown in a bird’s eye view as thought we were Eli looking down at herself.
A canted camera angle is a type of camera shot where the camera is set at an angle on its roll axis so that the shot is composed with vertical lines at an angle to the side of the frame. Canted angles are frequently used by film directors such as Tim Burton, and an example of one is used in the film “Edward Scissorhands”. This is used to represent disorientation and drug psychosis.
A high-angle is an angle that looks down on the object/person in order to make them seem vulnerable or powerless. An example of this is used in The Lord of the Rings franchise, specifically the scene where the ring is falling and Frodo is trying to catch it on his finger. This scene shows desperation and hopelessness.
A long Shot is used to place an object or human figure in some relation to its surroundings. For example, in the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz, a very wide shot is used that keeps all the protagonists on screen with the Wizard’s palace in clear view. This captures the importance of their surroundings because they have finally reached the destination they’ve been searching for the entire movie, therefore revealing the full palace to the audience with the characters looking up at it highlights their amazement.
A close-up is a technique used to tightly frame a person or object in order to put the audience’s full focus on it. An example of this is used in the 1980 horror film “The Shining”. During the infamous scene of Jack breaking through the door with an axe and reveals his face yelling “Here’s Johnny!” in order to terrorize his wife, the close-up on his face captures the psychotic-ness within Jack’s mind and shows how he has truly lost his mind influenced by the ghosts.
A medium shot is a camera angle shot from a medium distance. They are typically used to film the dialogue of a group of people in order to show the audience a partial view of the background, the character’s facial expressions and the context of their body language. An example of this is the scene in “My Sister’s Sister” (2011 comedy film) where Hannah reveals to her sister and her sister’s friend (the male protagonist) that she wants to become impregnated, despite being a lesbian, after drunkenly sleeping with the male protagonist. This scene is filmed with a medium shot so the audience is shown each of the character’s reactions and also the background of the woods so we are aware of the atmosphere.
The scene from “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” in which we are introduced to Willy Wonka’s childhood is a great example of diegesis within a film. This is because it is an narrated explanation to Willy Wonka’s behaviour such as his hate towards families and confusion when Charlie chooses to stay with his family rather than going to the chocolate factory. It also explains his obsession with candy due to strictly not being allowed it as a child, even on Halloween. It also explains his sociopathic tendencies due to lack of sympathy when each of the children suffers from his factory and his lack of understanding when each of the parents shows concern towards their bratty children. Overall, it is an explanation for the entire plot and it turns the movie into not only an artistic creative “wonderland” type of movie but it also turns it into a family movie when Willy Wonka re-unites with his dad and finally gets to understand the importance of family.
“The Blair Witch Project” is a great example of intra-diegetic gaze because it is filmed as a “documentary” and we are constantly put in the character’s peripheral and point of view. The scene where the main character is exploring the house and is being chased by the witch causes a feeling of panic for the audience as we are experiencing what the character is experiencing.
“Fight club” is an example of breaking the fourth wall as the character broke the fourth wall and spoke to us, meaning they ignored the imaginary “wall” that keeps the actors from the audience. It is used to engage the audience and focus the attention onto specific character traits.
Cinematography is the art of photography and camerawork in film-making.
Cinematographer is a director of photography and is the chief over the camera and light crews working on a film and is responsible for making artistic and technical decisions related to the image.
The difference between a cinematographer and a director is a director of photography is hands off and usually watches a monitor, directing camera operators instead of handling the camera herself. A director commands the whole cast and crew.
Blade-runner uses Mise En Scene specifically with the set and costume design throughout the film. In the first scene the main think you focus on is the grit and grime of the world. The future in the film, shows us how everything is overpopulated and dirty. The neon lights and smoke is occasionally shown throughout with lights being casted through the smoke as if to expose to the audience the feeling of suffocation and isolation. Everything looks wet and uncomfortable, people wear clothing with dull colours that seem worn and nothing looks very new. That is the setup for this world.
The next thing brought to the audience’s attention is the futuristic technology which has clearly advanced from now which includes replicants, flying cars, cloned animals and androids with limited life span made to do the humans’ work.
The plot of the story revolves around replicants that have hijacked a spaceship and need to be destroyed. Throughout the movie we see animals that have been cloned and have certain characteristics that differ from real animals such as an owl with an eerie glow in its eyes. We also see a flying police car roaming around the town in the air.
A technique used to create an eeriness to the movie and lighting is the amount of smoke used throughout the film. Most of the characters smoke cigarettes and there is smoke or fog is nearly every scene. The smoke is a form of mise en scene as it helps to establish how this new world is because smoke can signify something that needs to be cleaned or purified, therefore it creates a sense that the futuristic world is dirtier than how it is now.
When filming Rope (1948), Alfred Hitchcock intended for the film to have the effect of one long continuous take, but the cameras available could hold no more than 1000 feet of 35 mm film. As a result, each take used up to a whole roll of film and lasts up to 10 minutes. Many takes end with a dolly shot to a featureless surface (such as the back of a character’s jacket), with the following take beginning at the same point by zooming out. The entire film consists of only 11 shots.
This film is notable for taking place in real time and being edited so as to appear as a single continuous shot through the use of long takes. In film-
making, a long take is a shot lasting much longer than the conventional editing pace either of the film itself or of films in general. Significant camera movement and blocking are elements of long-taking, and elements used in the film “Rope”.
I also chose suicide squad for this one too because in one scene after the Joker jumps in the vat to save Harley Quinn, you have Joker and Quinn in that disgusting green fluid. Beautifully, you have the red paint around the joker, and the blue around Quinn. It almost looks like a red/blue yin-yang.
I chose suicide squad as an example of good composition. In one of these shots, you see Joker lying on the ground, with all these knives and weapons pointed to him. Funny enough, it looks like he is some Jesus savior figure. The camerawork is great, it pants outwards and turns. Also note the laptops and baby clothes in the top-right corner. Perhaps his dreams of having a family with Harley Quinn (his love interest) You can see the roses, around the guns.
I chose Alice in Wonderland’s Queen of hearts character. This is because she is supposed to represent Mary, Queen of Scots who had a rivalry with her sister, and the big head is a metaphor for Queen Mary’s selfishness. The hair, being red and heart shaped, was a clever play on the “Queen of Hearts” façade and the makeup represents how royalty used to wear their makeup in the 1500’s.
