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Film Techniques and Their Uses

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Factors That Affect How We Perceive a Film:

Content: what is being shownDesign: how the content is presentedColour & Light: emphasis, colour

symbolism and associationsLine & Focus: clear, fuzzy, thick,

thin, defined, etc.Composition: how the image is

presented within the frame

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Factors That Affect How We Perceive a Film:

Angle: looking up, down, sideways, or straight ahead

Movement: image or camera movement

Size of Frame: distance between the camera and the image

Transitions: progression of the film from scene to scene

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Camera Angles

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Low Angle (Looking Up):

The camera and the viewer look from below the object being viewed.

The psychological impact of this angle is that the camera mimics the eye, and the viewer is less powerful than the thing being viewed.

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High Angle (Looking Down):

The camera and the viewer look down from above the object being viewed

The impact is that the object being viewed is less powerful than the viewer

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Use of High and Low Angles:

For example

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Side Angle (Looking Sideways):

This shot is looking at something from the side

The effect of this shot implies another person’s perspective

The object or person is being watched, but is not necessarily aware of this

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Eye Level (Looking Straight Ahead): This shot has the viewer

looking directly toward the subject at the same height as the subject

The psychological effect is that this shot is honest and sincere

The implication is that the viewer sees the image or person “eye to eye”

For example

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Looking from a Canted Perspective:

This shot is when one side is lower than the other, and gives the effect that the viewer’s head is tilted so that one ear is higher than the other

The effect of this shot is disequilibria or confusion

For example

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Frame Size

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Wide Shot (a.k.a. Long Shot):

The action is seen as if the viewer is standing far away

It shows a lot of information that includes people’s bodies from head to toe, plus the scenery that surrounds him or her

Movements are large and expressive, if they are detected

Images this far away have a psychologically distancing affect – you get the “big picture”, but little connection

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Wide Shot (a.k.a. Long Shot):

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Medium Shot:The action shows people from around the

waist or chest upTwo or three people can fit into this shotMovements are more natural, with the

viewer a body’s length from the actionImages of this size are as close as watching

your teacher lecture at the front of the class

You can connect, and see context, but you are still free to focus on various parts of the image

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Medium Shot:

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Medium Close-Up:

The action shows a character’s face and shoulders only

There is usually only room for one person in the shot

This shot is like having a close and personal conversation

The effect of this shot is intimacy – someone is just talking to you and you should listen to what they are saying as it’s important

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Medium Close-Up:

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Extreme Close-Up:

We are so close that you can see only part of a person’s face, like the eyes

This shot uses very subtle movements, and every expression has meaning

The psychological effect is intensityIt is too close for context, and you

can’t help but be drawn into what the character might be thinking

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Extreme Close-Up:

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Movement

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Movement Within the Frame:

People or objects move within a stationary frame

Movement can be seen as if a viewer is looking out a window

Action happens within the frame, but the viewer and camera remain stationary

The head also stays in the same place, but the eyes will still be drawn to what is moving in the frame

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Movement Within the Frame:

The psychological effect is that the movement is important and always draws our focus

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Pans and Tilts:

The camera stays in one spot, and moves from left to right, right to left, up to down, or down to up on a pivot

It is as if you stand in one spot and move your head left and right, or up and down

By keeping your feet where they are, you are watching, but not participating in what is happening

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Panning Left and Right:

The viewer can follow action or see a larger area than can fit into frame

Movement implies there is a reason to change your view

Where you are led to look is more important than what you are leaving behind, and the new view reveals something about how you see the whole picture

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Tilting Up and Down:

The viewer is provided more information than fits into the frame

When you look down upon an image, it implies the image has little power

If you are looking up at an image, it has the psychological effect of making the image seem powerful

Movements that go up or down reveal information about power structures

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Tracking, Dollying & Craning:

The camera moves from one spot to anotherRather than stand in one place, the viewer

moves left to right, right to left, back and forth, or forward and back

Perspective can also lift into the air or be brought down from a high place

Movement gives the sense that the viewer is participating in the action rather than watching it

It brings the viewer deeper into the experience

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Tracking Side to Side:

In tracking, the camera rolls on tracks from left to right or right to left

It “tracks” or follows a moving subject across a landscape, or shows a moving perspective

It is like running with someone or watching the view from a car

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Tracking Side to Side:

This shot is dynamic, and moves with the action

Tracking is more intimate than panning, and it is more likely that the viewer will sympathize with the person or object being tracked

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Dollying Forward and Back:

In dollying, the camera moves on tracks from far to near or near to far away, or follows action forward or back

It is like walking to or from someoneThis shot is dynamicDollying is different from zooming in

or out

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Dollying Forward and Back:

It implies the viewer’s increasing or decreasing isolation from the person or object being filmed

By moving toward a person, the viewer “comes closer” to the person’s thoughts and beliefs

Moving away has the opposite effect

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Craning Up and Down:

Craning is as if you are on an elevator and you are watching something while you move up and away from it or down toward it

This shot is dynamicCraning up or down is more

dramatic than tilting

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Craning Up and Down:

It can go very high, making the subject appear smaller in the frame to distance the viewer

It can also move down to pinpoint what is most important to focus on and to pull the viewer into the story

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Transitions

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Montage:

A sequence of images edited into progressive shots to create a mood or to show that a lot of time is passing

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Cutaway:

A shot inserted in a scene to show an action in another location

It is usually brief

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Jump Cut:

A transition that is very abruptThis is usually done to create

confusion or move the film along quickly

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Dissolve:

A transition where one shot fades away while another begins

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Fade In/Out:

The gradual appearance or disappearance of an image on the screen, from or into darkness

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Reaction Shot:

A shot that cuts away from the main scene or speaker to show a character’s reaction to something

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Use of Sound

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Real Sound:

Sounds that can be heard by the characters, even if they are recorded later

Examples include weather, traffic, crowds, etc.

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Added Sound:

Sounds that cannot be heard by the characters that are included for the benefit of the audience only

Examples include the sound of “quick wind” when a character runs or records scratching for awkward moments

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Voice Over:

Audio recordings of characters thoughts that provide the viewer with a glimpse of the internal processes of the character

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Narration:

A seen or unseen voice that provides explanation and additional information to the story

As in writing, narration can be first or third person point of view that can be either omniscient or limited in perspective

Narration can be presented as a voice-over, monologue, or dialogue

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Sound Effects:

Manufactured sounds used to link visual images to audio components

Used to create atmosphere and realism

Sound effects can be as simple as footsteps and raindrops to complicated explosions and battle scenes

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Real Music:

Music that appears to be a natural part of events – stereo on in an apartment, music in a club, etc.

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Added Music:

This can be popular music or composed music

Music is added to enhance emotion, develop character, or reinforce theme

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Silence:

Can heighten the awareness of the picture or change atmosphere in a film

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Film Techniques & Literary Connections

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What to Look For:

Are there any recurring symbols?Are there any recurring motifs?What do the colours suggest in

different scenes?How does the setting connect with the

characters?What traits are revealed about

characters?What do the costumes suggest?

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What to Look For:

What themes are evident in different scenes?

What factors contribute to the theme?Is there contrast of any kind in specific

scenes?Where is there irony used in the film?How does the director use dramatic

irony to create tension?Do you recognize any allusions?