An Introduction To Media Language (Cinematography And Editing)

An Introduction To Media Language

(ps. I got super confused with the web 2.0 tools so that's why I didn't embed any in this blog.)

Cinematography ......(Camera Shot + Camera Movement)

Over The Shoulder

-Looks over the shoulder of a character to reveal what they're looking at.

Extreme Closeup

-A small section of an object/character .

-It emphasises the object.

Close Up

-Usually neck and face of people.

-It emphasises the object/person.

Medium Shot (mid shot)

-Waist and up in people (usually).

Long Shot

-Whole body is visible.

Wide Shot

-Shows a vast area.

-Depending on where it appears in a sequence, it is sometimes called an 'Establishing Shot'

(at the beginning.... (establishes the setting)).

Point Of View Shot

-Allows us to see through the eyes of the character.

Low Angle

-Camera looking up.

-Puts the character in position of power to make the audience feel inferior.

-Camera is looking up at character.

High Angle

-Camera looking down.

-Makes the character seem venerable which puts the audience in a position of power.

Pan

-Moving from left to right/ right to left.

Tilt

-Moving up and down.

Tracking Shot

-Tracks movement.

-Camera is on a track.

Crane Shot

-Camera moves up or down on a crane.

-Makes character look inferior.

Steady Cam

-Camera is hand held.

-Camera is following something.

-Juddery/wobbly.

-Used in a lot of horror films.

-Makes the viewer feel disorientated to reflect the character's feelings.

Editing

Speed Of Editing....creating pace

-If film makers want the audience to feel anxiety and suspense, the editing will be quick the scenes/shots/cuts will change quickly.

-In a romantic scene, less cuts will make the audience feel relaxed and at ease.

-Sometimes there are continuous shots for depending matters of time.

-Trailers usually have lots of cuts to jam pack the audience with lots of clips and information under a short amount of time.

-Fast shots grab your attention, confuse you, make you feel disorientated.

• Scenes at the beginning of a film/ as it begins to tell the story must be long enough for us to be able to understand where we are and what's going on. It's also slow to introduce the main character.
• As the film progresses, scenes may become shorter as the editing cuts between tell two or more storylines at the same time.

Cross Cutting

-To cross-cut is to edit together two sequences that the audience need to know are connected in some way.

-Something is happening at the same time in different locations.

-A character reliving a memory.

-Cross-cutting can be used for drama to increase tension/anxiety.

Style Of Editing

-How shots are linked together

-The movement from one shot to the next called a transition.

Straight Cut

-The most common and 'invisible' form of transition

Fades

-A gradual darkening or lightening of an image.

Dissolves

-Dissolves one shot off the screen whilst another shot is dissolving in.

Wipes

-One image is pushed off the screen by another.

-Images can be pushed left or right.

Advance Editing

Continuity Editing

• Eye-line match: -We see a character looking at something off screen and then we cut to the shot they're looking at.
• Match On Action: -We see a character start an action in one shot and then we see the action continue in the next shot.

180 Degree Rule

-The 180 degree rule is a basic guideline that states two characters (or other elements) in the same scene should always have the same left/right relationship to each other.

-If the camera goes over the imaginary axis connecting the two subjects, it is called 'The Crossing Line' (to disorientate the viewer).

Shot Reverse Shot

-Used to show conversations/arguments.