FILM 708/412CAMERA SPEED AND THE “LONG TAKE”wolfe-scad-film708.blogspot.com

CAMERA SPEED• Image we see on the screen has both spatial and

temporal dimensions.• LENGTH can be as important as any other

characteristic.

• A SHOT =one uninterrupted run of the camera• no convention governs or dictates what length it

should be.• can (and should) run as long as is necessary to

effectively do it’s part in telling the story

• CONTROLLING THE LENGTH OF SHOTS• enables each shot to do it’s work

• establishing setting, character, cause of a following event

• controls the relationship of each shot to the othersand thus to the RHYTHM of the film

SHOT LENGTH• SHOT LENGTH is controlled by 3 Factors:

• The screenplay• amount of dialogue and action written in each shot

• The Cinematography• the duration of what is actually shot

• The Editing• what remains of the length of the actual shot after film has been

cut and assembled

• Movie Audience is aware of two kinds of time:

• Real Time• time as we ordinarily perceive it in life outside the

theater.

• Cinematic Time• time as it is conveyed to us through the movie.

SHOT LENGTH• SLOW MOTION

• Decelerates action by photographing it at a ratefaster than normal speed (24fps)• takes place in cinematic time less rapidly than in

reaction that took place before the camera.

• WHEN TO USE “SLO-MO”• To Emphasize the Power of Memory• To Emphasize Heightened Awareness• To Reverse Audience Expectations

• FAST MOTION• Accelerates action by photographing it at less than

normal speed (24fps)• takes place on screen more rapidly.• Thus fast motion often depicts the rapid passing of

time.

SHOT LENGTH• LONG TAKES

• One of the most elegant cinematographic techniques.• Has the double potential of preserving both real space

and real time.

• A SEQUENCE• A series of edited shots characterized by inherent

unity of theme and purpose.

• A Long Take is also known as a SEQUENCE SHOT• Enables filmmaker to present unified pattern of

events within a single period of time in one shot.

• Permits the internal development of a story usingtwo or more lines of action without use of editingtechniques (“crosscutting”)

Touch of Evil

Goodfellas

The Player

True Detective