Cinematography: The art of photography and camera work in filmmaking 

Cinematographer: Someone who oversees the photography and camerawork in a film.  

ACTIVITY 1

Diegetic: the perspective is expressed in terms of how the audience is asked to look at the subjects on screen by the director. This makes the audience pay attention to what the director is trying to show. 

Most films are mostly diegetic. For example: In the Mission Impossible films you see shots of people fleeing and others following them, so it is easier for the audience what is happening in chaotic fight scenes.  

Intra-diegetic: When the audience are in the place of character and are being asked to see things from their point of view. This could make the audience feel like they are a part of the story so the things that happen in it will have a bigger effect.  

This happens in this still from Scott Pilgrim vs The World as the audience is in the place of the character that is about to be punched. This can express the fear the character is feeling without showing the character’s face. This also shows the strength of the punch that is about to happen. 

Extra-diegetic: When someone on screen addresses the audience directly by looking directly down the lens of the camera. (4^th wall breaks).  

This is used in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off when the main character addresses the audience to give his own perspective on different issues throughout the film. This allows the audience to understand him better.  

This still is from the comedy Hot Fuzz and it is taken from the final fight against the secret society of older members of the village of Stanford who have been killing people they do not like in order to make their village win village of the year.  

Space: Nicolas Angel, who is the main character, is in focus in the foreground of the still showing his important role in the fight that is about to happen. In the background, which is not in focus, the audience can see a surprised man which highlights the absurdity of the situation as members of the public are acting like we would expect them to act in this situation. The fact he is blurred shows how Nicolas Angel is focused on his own actions.  

Location: It is set in a small English village and it was filmed in the town of Wells, Somerset which means it is a believable location. Also, the quaint village location creates comedy as it is in complete contrast to the violent and action-packed fights that are happening within it. 

Costumes and props: Nicolas Angel is a police officer in the film so he needed to be a wearing believable police costume that is similar to the one that audiences would have seen real police with. This police uniform contrasts with the large guns and ammunition he is carrying as rural British police do not usually carry weapons and the ones in this still are large. He is also wearing sunglasses for comedic effect as he resembles an American action hero but in British police uniform.  

Mise en scene is the arrangement and design on the set of a film or the things that are seen. These can tell the audience things about characters and the setting of a film. 

Costumes 

I think a good use of costumes is in Midsommar as it shows how different the members of the Swedish commune are to the American tourists that visit them.  

Make-up 

I think as good use of makeup is in the 2009 Star Trek film as it displays the different types of aliens they meet. Even though they are aliens they seem as if they could exist. 

Set Design and Props 

I think an example of good set design and props is in The Favourite as it depicts an extravagant place in the 1700s. The golden decorations and elaborate paintings show the wealth and power of the Queen in the film which shows how important she is to other characters. 

Location 

I think a good example of location is the Lord of the Rings films as they create an imaginary world and make it seem like a place that could realistically exist by using the New Zealand countryside and adapting it to make it look like a place that hobbits could live. 

Lighting 

I think a good use of lighting is from John Wick as it is quite dark and has low key lighting showing that it is a dark and dramatic moment. There is also red lighting which is often used to show anger or aggression.  

Film Stock 

A good example of use of film stock is in found footage films such as Cloverfield as it is meant to imitate someone’s camera footage of a moment or event, so it is grainy or not always clear.  

Space 

I think an example of a good use of space is in Thoroughbreds as Lilly is looking at Amanda who is not in focus and is not aware that Lilly is looking at her. It highlights Lilly’s fascination with Amanda and the fact Amanda does not care about what Lilly thinks of her.  

Verisimilitude means something that is real or true.  

An example of this would be a film such as The Big Sick, which is based on a true story and all events throughout the film seem as if they would be likely to happen in the real world. The main character is also played by the person the real event happened to so the emotions he portrays are likely to be as realistic as what happened.  

An example of a film that would not be verisimilitude would be The Emperor’s New Groove as it is unrealistic as people do not become llamas in real life. Also, the film is animated so people can act differently from the real world and sometimes do actions that would be impossible to do believably with live action actors, such as falling from tall buildings and surviving. 

• The performance arts happen in real time. – A play, dance, musical, story that is not written down. E.g. The nutcracker ballet 
• The representational arts rely on established codes and conventions of language (both pictorial and literary) to convey information to the observer. – Books, paintings, drawings, photos. E.g. The Sistine Chapel 
• The recording arts provides a direct path to the observer. – Films and recorded music. E.g. Shaun of the Dead 

From the list of the top 10 biggest box office returns, it shows that the most successful films in recent years have been part of a franchise that already exists. For example, Black Panther and Infinity War are part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and Deadpool and Venom are both based on characters from the same source which is one that previously existed. These and Aquaman are all comic adaptations meaning they already have guaranteed fan base who will go to see the film. Deadpool 2, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, Mission Impossible: Fallout and Fantastic Beasts: the crimes of Grindelwald are all sequels meaning that the first film was popular so people who saw and liked the previous film will go and see the new one. Bohemian Rhapsody is based on a hugely popular figure and features the music of one of the most famous bands in the world. This will attract people to see it as more people will know what it is about.  

Art Film	Mainstream Film	Historically Significant Film
The Shape of Water	A Bugs Life	The Seventh Samurai
Submarine	Deadpool 2	Battleship Potemkin
Fitzcarraldo	Love Simon	The Wizard of Oz
Alphaville	The Breakfast Club	Toy Story
Manhattan	Once Upon a Time in the West

• Knowledgeable: Use knowledge of films people already have to influence their perspective on films. 
• Risk-takers: People should put forward new ideas and thoughts they have.  
• Principled: Make goals and try to stay to deadlines for tasks.  
• Caring: Try to respect other’s opinions or be kind when others are struggling to understand an idea that you understand.  
• Reflective: You could reflect on what response you have to a film and why that happens. Also, you could reflect on how your learning is developing and work out how to improve. 

• Communicators: In a film ideas and emotions are communicated to the audience. Also, in class you need to communicate your ideas well.  
• Balanced: Make sure you put similar efforts into all aspects of learning about film and not just focus on the parts you find the most interesting.  
• Inquirers: People should ask questions about films and try to find out new things about it. 
• Open-minded: A film may mean something different to different people, so people need to be able to understand and accept other’s viewpoints and interpretations. Someone also need to keep an open mind when they are learning about new ideas.  
• Thinkers: People should be engaged with what is happening and be thinking about what is happening.