SINGLE CAMERA TECHNIQUES - TASK 1 IPSITA NARULA

FORMATS

FORMAT

Usually there are different formats of drama, which are made and aimed for different audiences. The different formats would include;• TV Serial• Series• Short Films

FORMATS - EXAMPLES

Brooklyn 99 is a form of TV Series. This is usually broadcasted on Fox (channel). Since the show was successful, there are more and more episodes coming out. This is a form of TV Serial. It is under the genre, of Crime and Comedy

A Serial is when a single story is broken into different episodes whereas a Series has the same characters throughout the episodes but a different story each time.

SERIES VS SERIAL

• Series Drama ExampleBeverly Hills 90210

• Serial Drama ExampleGame of Thrones

TV SERIES / DRAMA

• A TV Series is split up into different seasons and different episodes. There is a never ending narrative. Therefore every episode will have sort of a new plot, however the plot will have to link back to some of the previous episodes plots. This is so that the never ending narrative keeps going.

• Example of a TV Serial: Pretty Little Liars

• The genre is mystery thriller

GENRE

• A genre is a style of art such as films or music. There are many different Genres. For example thriller, romance and more. However, Action is NOT a Genre, but it is a Form.

• The different genres would have different audiences. Therefore there are many different genres which exist and therefore

Genre Form

Romance AdventureHorror ActionSci-Fi ComedyThriller Drama

GENRE - EXAMPLES

There are many examples of serials, and films with different genres. • Romance • Horror • Crime • Sci-Fi • Comedy

SINGLE DRAMA

These are not very popular nowadays however they were very popular in the olden days. These are almost like short films, which have an episodic touch to them. It is basically a one off story for TV.

Example:Dirty War(This released in2004 and is a movieabout a terrorist attackin London)

PERIOD

Period is a type of Drama, like historical drama. Its when it refers to a work set in the earlier time period. Usually in the form of a film or TV series or TV Serial.

Examples:

Film: Les Miserable. TV Series: Downton Abbey

DRAMADOC

Example

TV series:Blonde Charity Mafia

A dramadoc is is basically a Drama Documentary. It is a type of genre of radio and TV, which feature as films or staged theatres. On stage it is sometimes known as Documentary Theatre.

SOAP OPERA

Soap Opera is a TV or radio drama serial which deals with mainly the daily events in the lives of the same group of characters.

Examples: (TV Serials)

Coronation Street All My Children

CRIME

Crime is another type of Genre, which is mainly about criminals and their motives, additionally also has a factor of mystery in them.

Movie (Crime): Inferno

TV Series(Crime):CSI:Cyber

TV Series(Crime):The Fall

Movie (Crime):The Dark Knight

COMEDY

Comedy is also a type of form however can be considered as a Genre. This is when there is a main focus on humor. These are made to make the audience

laugh and enjoy the film or TV series.Film

(Comedy):White Chicks

Short Film (Comedy):The Lemonade Stand

TV Series (Comedy):Modern Family

NARRATIVE STRUCTURESSection 2

WHAT IS A NARRATIVE STRUCTURE

A Narrative Structure is all about the content of a film or TV Serial or TV Series or short films and different forms when used to tell the story. It is when a writer chooses the different styles or different structures to place different parts of the story at the different times. There are many different types of Narrative Structures which you will come across. Some are more complex than others too.

VARIETY OF NARRATIVE STRUCTURES

• Linear / Non Linear• Sequential / Non sequential • Flashback• Realist / Non Realist• Open / Closed

TODOROV’S THEORY

• Todorov’ theory suggests that most narrative structures are followed by the 3 part structure. Where it begins with the Equilibrium, which would show the normal lifestyle of a person. Until something or someone disrupts the whole lifestyle, which is called the Disequilibrium. And then there is the New Equilibrium which is when everything goes back to normal or the plot may be renewed which means that there maybe a new plot.

Equilibrium

Disequilibrium New Equilibrium

TODOROV’S THEORY - EXAMPLE SHORT FILM: PICTURES

Equilibrium:Here is the beginning of the short film. It starts of with showing the normal life of this lady, she is just painting her walls. And asking her friend for tips between the colors like a normal person would. (Happy)

Disequilibrium:In this part the whole normal lifestyle gets disrupted by a problem. Which is that the lady starts getting images of the future. As seen in the photo, on her phone there is an image of someone’s hand, which suddenly appears in real life. (Not Happy)

Equilibrium:Here is the beginning of the short film. It starts of with showing the normal life of this lady, she is just painting her walls. And asking her friend for tips between the colors like a normal person would. (Happy)

New Equilibrium:Here is the new problem which occurs. The lady asks this guy for help but he gets killed by a car running over him on purpose, and she doesn't know why he got killed. She was being attacked before but now it was this innocent guy who got killed. (Everything has changed)

LINEAR / SEQUENTIAL

Linear is another type of narrative structure. Linear Narratives show stories in a logical manner like A – C. This is done by telling the audience what happens time to time without the use of Flashbacks. Linear Narratives could also be called Sequential Narratives because it follows a sequence which is the same, like A – C.

LINEAR EXAMPLE

Most films are Linear (sequential), as they go in order. Inferno is an example as it does not have any flashbacks and follows the sequence.

Inferno

NON - LINEAR / NON - SEQUENTIAL

Non – Linear Narratives are also known as Non Sequential Narratives, this is because they do NOT follow a sequence for example, A, C, B. It is when time is NOT chronologically in order to present the wanted effects. In Non – Linear Narratives Flashbacks are used, this often happens at the beginning of films / short films. It is mainly done to show the past and come back to the present.

NON – LINEAR EXAMPLE

Pretty Little LiarsPretty Little Liars is a TV Series, under the genre of mystery thriller. Throughout the seasons and episodes, they tend to change the plot again and again which, also throw in flashbacks. This shows that it is a non linear narrative because there are a bunch of flashbacks used throughout.

FLASHBACK

Flashbacks are often used in Non-Linear Narratives. A Flashback is a scene in a film or short film which is set in a time earlier that the main story is. These are very powerful as they can make big differences to different plots. However sometimes, a use of too many flashbacks in one film can ruin the effect of it.

FLASHBACK EXAMPLE

• This is a short film called The Answers. This film is about this guy who is dead and is in hell. He gets to know about his past throw a bunch of flashbacks. Everytime he asks a question, he gets the answer through a few seconds of images or times in the past which he had.

The Answers (Short Film)

REALIST

A Realist is another type of narrative. It can be defined as realism too. In narratives, such as realism, it attempts to show the lives, appearances, problems customs and more mainly of the middle and lower class. It is an illustration of contemporary life or of nature.

REALIST EXAMPLE

An example of a Realist Narrative Film is Lion. This movie is based on real life and situations which makes it a realist film.

Lion

ANTI REALIST

• This is the opposite of a Realist structure. The films would be completely out of the reality. This would make it harder to understand the ideas as audiences are not likely to relate to it. The ideas which are used are not bound around the real world. This would usually be used in the genres Horror and Sci-Fi. Often in these narrative structures there are supernatural elements.

ANTI REALIST EXAMPLE

This is a film which is very famous and has an Anti Realist narrative. It is based on an alien. The main character of the movie was the alien, ET, and was friendly. Since it involved aliens it is an element of supernatural, which makes it an Anti Realist.

E.T.

TECHNICAL

CINEMATOGRAPHY / CAMERA

There are many different types of camera shots and movements of cameras used when filming. The following slides have examples of different types of movements of cameras and shots.

CINEMATOGRAPHY / CAMERA

Camera Shots:• Close-up shots – when a shot tightly

frames a person or an object• Wide Shots – one step further than a

close-up, so when the background / surrounding is seen more

• Hand Held Shot – this is a more free shot and is more natural, also mainly used in low budget situations.

• Over-the-shoulder shot – this is a shot in which the camera is placed on someone's shoulder to get a small part of their shoulders while focusing on the person or object in front of them

Camera Movements:• Drawing camera backwards – this

movement is straightforward as it is basically when someone is walking backwards steadily with the camera.

• Zoom – this is when the camera is zooming into a person’s face or into an object to emphasize on the main subject.

• Tilt – this is the movement of a camera tilting slowly to show unbalanced situations (mainly used in horror movies)

CINEMATOGRAPHY / CAMERA EXAMPLES

On this slide, these are examples from a TV Series called Stranger Things, with the different techniques used with

cameras and screenshots. Close-Up shot Medium shot Over-the-Shoulder

shot

EFFECTS OF THESE SHOTS

Close-Up shot

Medium shot

Over-the-Shoulder shot

The effect of this shot is to create suspense, enigma and fear. Since it is a close-up, it would be a type of a zoomed in shot and it would show or focus just on the face of a person or an important object

The effect of this shot is to keep some focus on the character or relevant object however show the setting as well, perhaps to emphasize on the surrounding or environment.

The effect of this shot is to create suspense and enigma. Also to show who are the two people who are having a conversation in a simpler way.

LIGHTING

Lighting is a very important factor when filming. This is because it can give very different effects and create different atmospheres or surroundings for the particular scenes. There are many different types of lightings used too, these will be discussed further in the next slides.

DIFFERENT LIGHTING STYLES

As mentioned there are many different styles of lightings, some of these are:• Natural Lighting (these are used only when the scene / shot needs a

natural look and feeling to it, therefore there wont be any artificial lights being used for example flashes.)

• Ambient Lighting (this is a combination of light reflections from different surfaces to produce an illumination style light)

• Key Light (this is one of the most important type of lighting, its function is highlight the main subject and it usually includes a 3 point setup)

DIFFERENT LIGHTING STYLES

• Chiaroscuro Lighting (this is an Italian term which describes the dramatic effect of the contrasting, light and dark lights.)

• One Point Lighting (this is they key light which focuses on the dominant character or object most of the time)

• Practical Lighting (this is the use of light on purpose which achives an aesthetic effect on the atmosphere)

• Artificial Lighting (this is when there are different types of lights being used for example, a variety of light fixtures or lamps)

EDITING

There are many different styles and techniques of editing. Editing is very important in the Films industry as it can help assemble and make cuts or scenes look better. For example if it is a single camera production there would need to be a lot of editing done in order to make the transitions flow better in the film.

DIFFERENT EDITING STYLES AND TECHNIQUES Different Editing techniques:• Cut on action (this is when a scene is cut on a

particular or specific action to show emphasis)• Shot Reverse Shot (this is mainly done with

conversations scenes so that the audience can follow on what is going on and what the characters are talking about)

• Cross Cutting (this is used when one scene cuts to another one, also it helps to make it look and flow more smoothly and to keep relevance to the story)

SCRIPTING / BUILDING A SCENE

Scripting is when a writer makes or writes a story or plans out dialogues when they are trying to build scenes. Scripting could also be used as a list of movements and all the things which are happening on the set, once again this also links with building a scene. In order to build a successful scene there needs to be a proper script.

SCRIPTING / BUILDING A SCENE

La La Land La La Land is a great example for scripting. This is because the movie is mainly about songs and dances. Therefore for the lyrics and dance movements, a script would be vital. This film has won many awards and has been very successful. Also, the script would’ve helped a lot to build the different scenes in the movie.

BUILDING A STORY

When you are building a story, it is important to keep in mind about the settings, venues, cast, and the time in which it is set in. In this process, storyboards could be handy. Storyboards are simple sketches or drawings which help you lay out all the scenes of you story, while building it.

EXAMPLE OF A SHORT FILM WITH SHORT ANALYSIS

THE CROSSING

This is a short film which has won awards, and is in the Horror category. Since this is a horror movie, it has been filmed at night, because Horror movies are mostly filled with darkness, and bad things happen at night. This short film does have enigma, also is a three part narrative therefore follows Todorov’s theory. The equilibrium is when the women is talking to her husband and casually walking. The disequilibrium is when she enters a subway and comes across supernatural senses. The New equilibrium is when she gets trapped and has a new style of life. There is enigma because the audience doesn not know why this was happening to her. The setting of the story takes place majority of the time in the dull and haunted subway.

THANK YOU FOR WATCHING!