Cinematography – The art of photography and camera work in film making.

Cinematographer – A person who oversees or directs photographer and camera work in film-making, especially someone who operates the camera.

There are many different aspects of a film that can make the film good. For example the theme, screenwriting, visual design, cinematography, editing, acting, directing, sound and music. These are the main aspects of a film. If all of these are done well, then the film will be good and will be successful.

For me personally, one of the main things that makes a good movie is the acting. A movie having good well known actors makes the movie more successful because people will watch a movie if it has good actors in it. Actors also need to suit the character that they are playing or portray the character in a way that makes the viewer feel like that it’s a real person. If the acting is poor it ruins the entire movie for me because it makes the movie look fake. Another important thing that makes a good movie is, having a good storyline. The storyline has to draw the attention of the audience and make them want to carry on watching and not make them become bored. To make a good storyline it needs to include a good plot, setting and conflict that goes along with the theme.

Movies which includes good/unique characters can sometimes make the movie ten times better. A characters main purpose is to control the viewers emotions whether they are positive emotions such as love and relatability, or negative emotions like hatred or just despising a character. For example if the Pirates of the Caribbean had no Jack Sparrow, the movies would be completely different and wouldn’t be as successful as they are. Visuals are an another major part of making a good film. Having interesting camera shots and lighting that fits the mood of different scenes, both play a big part in making the film have good visuals.

https://www.studiobinder.com/blog/ultimate-guide-to-camera-shots/

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Work in groups of three – someone on camera/director, someone playing Joker and someone playing the social worker.

Consider the mise en scene for this scene – find a suitable location.

One page of screenplay = one page of screen time.

Use hand held, single take camera techniques to cut down on the need to edit – consider actor “blocking”

An example of excellent mise en scene is in the hunger games; especially the makeup and costume department. The costume designer Judianna Makovsky did an incredible job portraying the culture of the different districts with their clothing. This is extremely relevant during the reaping at the beginning of the movie, where the capitol is introduced. An immediate contrast between the pure white uniforms and the dull grey tones of district 12 is created; which shows the huge divide between power and wealth. When Effie is first shown, her extravagant outfit clearly sets her apart from district 12 and tells magnitudes about her character at first glance. Her huge wig and luxurious purple outfit immediately show her as eccentric, wealthy, and obnoxious, which is the first impression the audience receives of the capitol’s people. First impressions of a character/group usually represent their core features and their role within the story, so in this case, the audience can infer that the capitol is the antagonist just from how they act.

The composition here is also incredibly significant, with the capitol officers front and high up, and the district 12 population low and behind. This visual hierarchy further reinforces the divide between them, emphasising the tone of fear and tension among district 12. They are packed tightly together similar to sheep in a pen surrounded by capitol officers, which creates a sense of captivity, thus implying how the capitol always has control.

JAMES MONACO

Performance arts- Dance show

Representational arts- Novel

Recording arts-Music video

A Film that blurs the boundaries

A film for me which blurs the boundaries from the conventional format of horror/thriller movies would be ‘Midsommar’ (2019, Aster). This is due to that fact that even though it follows in the footsteps of many other horror films with its hallucinatory scenes it is completely different to any other as most horrors are filmed in dark gloomy light do portray and lonesome feel throughout, and maybe to help with jump scares. Midsommar is shot in a high key light which just completely sets the film apart from any other.

SUMMER TASK 

WHAT MAKES A GOOD FILM?

There are many things that can make a film good, however its not a very simple question due to the fact that there is a large variety of film genres. Whether its romance or horror and everybody has there own personal preference when it comes to what they enjoy watching. This means that many people may think that what someone else things makes a film top tier may make a film rubbish in their opinion.

First of all, for me, what makes a good film would be the cast. If the cast do not fit the fit or the characters or portray the character in a way that makes the viewer feel like that it’s a real person, for me it just totally ruins the movie. This is the same, I believe, when it comes to actors speaking with accents to fit the role of their character as when the accent is off it doesn’t sit right and takes away the sense of realism within the characters role in the film.

Next I would say is the costume of the characters. I think that when the film is set in a certain era in a certain place I think the costumes should be exactly as the people in that era and place would wear. This is because if the cast isn’t in the right costume it just sways the whole direction of the film and everything just seems wrong and very unprofessional.

Another thing would be if it was a film where there is CGI affects they need to be of extremely good quality, which today isn’t as much of a problem, but in the past it was more of an issue due to not as advanced technology. The problem with CGI nowadays is more down to the amount that film makers use it, as sometimes it can be over used. When it gets overused it sort of makes the film seem much more unrealistic.

400 words

• Choose one key scene from the film where elements of Mise-en-scene are used effectively. ​
• Remember to go into detail explaining which particular elements of mise-en-scene are being used e.g. costume, set design, props etc. and talk about the “effect” on the viewer.​
• Create a blog post of 500-800 (spell-checked) words + illustration for your response.​
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