Cinematography: final blog tasks

Cinematography: final blog tasks


Watch the following extract from Lawrence of Arabia (1962), directed by David Lean.

1.Discuss how the use of long shots creates tension and suspense in the sequence.
The cinematographer significantly uses Long shots to generate tension and suspense since the audience are unable to identify the character which creates enigma codes. The audience are unaware of the situation as well as the two characters closer to the camera. Furthermore, the frightened and confused look on the main character creates tension since the same emotion is reflected on the audience. 

2. Who are the audience encouraged to identify with
The audience are more engaged with the main character Lawrence due to the numerous of closeups of him. The producer wants the audience to identify and have personal relationship with Lawrence since hes the main image of the movie and determines the decisions made in the storyline.

 
Watch the following extract from Citizen Kane (1940), directed by Orson Welles.

1.Discuss the various shots and camera movements and their effects.
The clip mostly consists of establishing shots however moves closer to median and close up shots. Tracking and pan shots are shown when showing the whole landscape in an establishing shot. The clip is very dull and dark creating an eerie and spooky atmosphere. 

2.How does the cinematography work with other aspects of film language you have studied to create 
 meaning?
The dark and dull atmosphere created by the lighting reinforcing it with long shots, really intimidates and frightens the audience since they do not know what is inside that house.  



Watch the following extract from Moulin Rouge (2001), directed by Baz Luhrmann.

1.Comment on how the various shots and camera movements help to introduce the story.
The various of shots and camera movements shows binary opposition since in the beginning, closeup shot is taken to see the powerful and sad emotions expressed. Whereas, in the other scene, tracking shot is taken to capture everyone dancing full of joy while the man cries.

2.How does the cinematography work with other aspects of film language?
A very dim lighting is used when there is a close up of the man typing. This changes the whole mood and reinforces the emotion the man is exhibiting. Whereas, in the other location, alot of high key lighting is used to express realism while the people dance happily.   

 Watch the following extract from Three Colours: Blue (1993), directed by Krzysztof Kieslowski.


1.How does the use of close-up shots enhance our understanding of the narrative?
The tires moving at a very fast pace foreshadows something terrible in the future as it builds tension and suspense as continues to its destination. The close up of the worried little girl creates enigma codes for the audience to resolve and understand the narrative. 

2.Discuss the emotional impact of the sequence. How do the close-ups contribute to this? 
The close up of the little girl's worried look evokes sympathy from the audience since they are unaware of the reason why shes upset. This creates an emotional atmosphere since the audience are worried for the girl's well being as well as conveying their thought and feelings towards the scenario that is going to happen which they know is inevitable.  

Editing blog task

In the begin of the clip '21 jump street' it starts of with an establishing shot of the school then changes when the the transition moves to focus on what is happening inside the school. A reverse shot is taken place to show the strong chemistry between the two main characters. The sequence draws the audience's attention straight to the two boys using a quick over the shoulder transition between their conversation. This allows the audience to have a firm idea who the protagonists are and who needs to be sympathised when hurt or in danger. Later on in the clip, the editor uses wipe effect from one shot to another to emphasis their history and bond they have created through past experiences. The first 20 seconds of the clip demonstrates a flashback of their memories together at school, this will force the audience to generate vicarious pleasure when watching the clip since friendship and loyalty is shown to their man strive to success. The audience will be intrigued by their past life and relationship and eventually show emotional attraction towards them. The clip moves on from them arguing to a match on action scene of them two wrestling. The smooth and perfect shot movement from two clips convey clever editing skills as two emotions are exhibited when a long shot changes two median/close up. This quickly generates another emotion from getting slammed to showing the facial expressions of the person feeling the outcome of the action.

In addition, at 0:42, there is a long shot of two gang members creating a very negative atmosphere, then shifts to a close up of them holding a cigar. The editor significantly uses dip to black continuous amount of times to create fast pace editing while shots being taken from a low angle. The low angle connotes the character being intimidating and overpowering; the fast pace editing emphasises their superiority over the thugs and depicts that the two men in police uniform oppress any crime breaking the laws of society. Furthermore, the scene located at 1:07 demonstrates a point of view shot shifting from one perspective to another. This fast pace dialogue creates tension and foreshadows a terrible moment where this undercover work they are undergoing is going to end up horribly wrong. This informs the audience that mistakes in this mission will lead to many action codes. This leads on to them preparing for the mission therefore the editor uses jump cuts as soon as one reloads one gun to another at 2:37. This portrays their immense power they now control after being in possession with heavy rifles. The quick jump cuts reinforces their body language as they are starting to become more mature with what the scenario has escalated to.

Moreover, at 2:46 , the action scenes become very intense which is advocated with very fast pace editing. The action scenes then lead to a jump cut to something really loud and explicit. This is shown through match on action where a plate is smashed on a person's head resulting him to fall on the floor. The fast pace editing with all those variety of shots build tension towards the audience then ends the intensity with a huge bang. This will leave the audience with shock and confusion since the audience weren't told the reason for the action therefore, will create enigma codes that the audience will need to resort to by watching the whole movie to find out. Later on in the clip, at 2:55, there's an establishing shot taken place to get everyone's reaction towards the situation. The editor cleverly shows the damaged caused by the violence on the main character however, cuts the shot whenever the character speaks. This builds suspense since audiences are waiting to find out 'what hes feeling' or is 'he going to faint' but the scene shows binary opposition due to the explicit scene being shown and the happy atmosphere being projected when everyone starts jumping.  

Editing video

https://youtu.be/hZwhFbdXxbs

Script

1. At home, girl1 waiting for boy1 to come home . Boy1 walks through the door while girl1 is sitting down with a dirty look on her face.
                                                           Kam
                                        Where the Ouff* have you been
                                                         Carlos
                    None of that matters now, What matters now is you getting out of the country
                                                         Carlos
                                             So take the Ouff* money
                                                          Kam 
                                     What do you mean take this money                   
                                                         Carlos
                               Why don't you understand that your life is in danger
                                                         Carlos
              Ahh i'm running out of time, Take the money and your yourself and Angela out of                                                             the country quick as possible

 2. Boy1 walks out of the room and slams the door behind him.

Shot List

Shot No.	Shot	Filmed?
1	Median shot of boy1 dropping on the floor while boy2 stands behind the victim.	y
2	Point of view shot of boy1 walking towards the door.	y
3	Close-up shot of the handle being opened and boy1 walking past	y
4	Median/close up of girl1 saying “Where the ouff have you been”	y
5	Point of view shot of girl1 facing towards boy1. Boy1 replies saying “none of that matters now”	y
6	Over the shoulder shot of boy1 to see a clear emotional breakdown of girl1	y
7	Long shot of boy1 walking away and a tracking shot follows him while he gets up.	y
8	Close-up of the phone rings and boy1 hesitates to pick up.	y
9	Median/close up of boy1 on the phone.	y
10	Over the shoulder shot of boy2 walking towards boy 1 quietly.	y
11	Close-up shot of boy2 grabbing on to boy1	y
12	Median shot of boy1 dropping to his knees	y
13	Pan shot of boy2 pulling out a knife and using it on boy1	y
14	Closeup of boy1 dropping to the floor	y
15	Median/longshot of a flashback of boy1 punching boy3	y
16	(flashback)Point of view shot of boy2 walking up to his son(boy3)	y
17	Closeup of boy2 crying on boy3’s shoulder	y
18	Closeup shot of boy1 dropping to the floor in slow-motion.	y

Cinematography blog tasks

1) Write an analysis of the cinematography in the opening sequence. Highlight your use of media language and try to cover camera shots, angles and movement using the terminology we have learned in lessons.


The trailer consists of variety of shots at a fast pace due to many intense shots; A lot of long shots are taken since there is numerous of people at a location. This shot fits the genre very well since many iconographies are happening in a large area due to the enormous shark attacking the whole population. Whenever there is a depressing scene or when someone is saying his/her final words, over the shoulder shot or a reverse shot is taken to emphasis both of the character's feelings. Long shot is consistent in this movie since the main villain which is  enormous compared to the victims therefore, the audience must see the whole body of the character and see how much fear is represented not just in the face. 

2) How does the camerawork give the audience clues about the setting, narrative and character?
Different cameraworks exhibit different emotions such as a low angle shot wouldn't be used for a romantic genre film. Furthermore, an establishing shot shows a great view of where the setting will be and for example a big close up only shows the eyes of a character therefore creates suspense since the audience still don't know who the ac

3) Find and analyse four film or TV stills. Embed the images in your blog and analyse the camera shot/angle and what they communicate to the audience. tor is. 

This is a low key angle emphasising his power and authority over the person who's on the floor. This depicts to the audience that this character is terrifying and  oppresses the heroes.


This a medium shot demonstrating the two student's emotions in the scenario. The audience may feel sympathetic towards the two men. A medium shot is used so the producer can show they are in school. This may create personal identity since the audience can relate to the situation.

This is a long shot showing the whole army (all a part of the avengers) The audience will be astonished to see such a huge army to take down one man.

This scene is a high angle shot implying that the girl is vulnerable and fragile The high angle makes the girl look weak in front of the audience's eyes. The audience may believe that the some else is much more superior than her at this scene.

Mise-en-scene blog tasks

Mise-en-scene Blog task


The costume, visible to the eye is a black coat connoting danger and mystery. The clothing blends in with the dark and dull background suggesting the genre is horror. This allows the audience to believe something terrible or terrifying is to appear. Also the clothes has synergy between her expressions. Her facial expressions seem to be confused and quite curious in the situation that is being held as if something has terribly spooked her. There is no makeup being shown therefore she is not the victim  of a horror film yet a target. The look on her face makes her skin look pale since she is in a vulnerable position. I believe the makeup is being revealed through her expression as her face looks concerned which can be made through make up. Furthermore, the high key top lighting enhances her  expressions as it draws the audience immediately to her face. The setting is very ambiguous as it only shows the ceiling that is being projected with top lighting. There is a sense of realism portrayed from the high-key lighting. The image also shows back lighting creating a contrast of light and dark imagery. As u see in the image, some of the skin is covered in darkness due to back lighting



The costume that consists in this trailer is casual clothes that are acceptable in a school environment and police uniform since the two victims are undercover cops. The trailer is mostly set in a school therefore, the lighting is always bright due to the support of the sun. The scenes mostly consist of top lighting to enhance the actors facial expressions. Top lighting is predominately used to make the film stars look glamorous therefore, 21 jump street has perfectly used that to its advantage. A lot of tracking and pan shots were used to track the movements of the two main actors.  The placements of different actors was well placed and appropriate to the shot since the audience don't feel disorientated when watching the film due to the placement of actors. Cars , weapons were the most used props since the genre of the movie is action/comedy. There is a school party in the movie therefore, the props used for that had to be food, cups and drinks. The setting is mostly situated in a school due to the undercover cops investigating a school.
Since it is a superhero movie, the costume consisted in this movie is the superhero suit for aquaman and his companions. The movie uses mostly under lighting to show more of the facial expressions that are used when actors give dialogues. When under lighting is used, it makes the character seem superior and dominant due to the bright light being placed predominately on his face. Also a lot of high key lighting is used to show realism when there is a fight scene underwater. Aquaman's scenes are mostly fast paced therefore the movement of actors are very quick to build tension for the audience. For example, in a fight scene the main characters move really fast due to the super powers so the camera movement needs to be quick and shaky to patch the speed of the characters. When a shot is taken, the placement of the actors are correctly placed. In this movie, there is a tribe who live underwater and look different from any other human living above. This means that to differentiate the two species, make up must of been applied to show contrast between them. The setting is situated on earth but also underwater. Usually in other movies the main setting is either a school or a building however, in this movie the main setting is underwater due to the narrative plot. 
The wolf of wall street is based on a business company therefore, the costumes that are involved are suits and other formal clothes that associate with a business man. Lighting is not that effective in this movie since the movie is situated indoors however, there are some scenes where the film uses high-key lighting to emphasis the realism when an actor is effected by some sought of drug. The audience should see the effect of a drug and how painful it is; Wolf of Wall Street depicts that with high key lighting. There are many creative camera angles one which makes the actor seem intimidating and the other making him/her seem vulnerable. This is further evident with the positioning of the actor. The props used in this film is especially drugs which is the driving force of the narrative and exchange of money. Money is also very valuable in this movie since its all based on earning a ton of income. The setting is situated in a building full of workers and that is where all the magic happens. Another setting was in the mansion which is earned through the income created in the CEO building.

High-Key and Low-Key Lighting

Image 1
In this image, high key lighting is being shown due to the smoke which is appeared to be much realistic and vividly conveys a dark meaning behind the shot. The top lighting used perfectly, draws the audience to the face of the victim. This suggest something significant about the character as the lighting brings attentions towards the woman's face. Her features powerfully emphasis the evil nature of the character shown and creates enigma's about this mysterious woman. furthermore, the realism is clearly shown as the smoke gradually fills half of her face in. The other half is projected by the top lighting portraying some importance.

Image 2
In this image, the high key lighting is used to brighten and emphasis the fear in the woman's face. As it clearly shows the audience are immediately drawn to her face due to the use of top lighting, since it gives a clean image of the pain she is going through. There may be low key lighting used as well because there is a contrast of light and dark imagery demonstrating a horror scene or something dramatic.

Image 3   
Back lighting being produce to give a bright and vibrant look at the background. High key lighting used to bring out the facial expressions of the character being shown. The lighting is especially used to create meaning towards his expression to the audience, to give an insight that the man is royal and dangerous.  The back lighting also creates shadow around his eyes generating a very ominous and eerie look towards the audience.

Image 4
In this image the low key lighting deliberately used to portray contrast from black to white as the rain pouring down on his shoulders signifies light. on the other hand, the black costume signifies dark and aggression. The back lighting gives off two appearances from the light and dark imagery as one is extremely dark and the other pure but unaffected. Focused on the image you can also notice that there is high key lighting used since the gun leaves off smoke. That lighting shows realistic features of the weapon and the creases in the outfit.

Image 5  
In this image the back lighting creates an ominous lighting projected from the back. The light and dark imagery portrays an eerie sense of feeling as if its shot for an horror genre. her frightened look is enhanced further from the low key lighting projected from the back strengthening the shadow.  Looking at the image, one side of the wall is darker than the other suggesting the light is reflected of the wall. This express much deeper emotions of the character since all the light is bounced of to the woman.

Image 6  
In this image, the back lighting used creates a light and dark shadow through the blinds. This may generate a romantic scene using the light as a clear but also an ambiguous tool. Furthermore, the lighting used reflects of the character making his face more visible compared to the girl's face. This is effective as the audience may think the scene is using effects but the light is producing that image. 

Image 7
In this image, back lighting is definitely used as it creates a shadow due to the light being projected from the back. Back lighting if used correctly in the dark will brighten the object is being targeted at and leave the background pitch black. In this image, there is a use of contrast between light and dark. This is very effective as it makes the image quite ominous and thrilling to see.

Image 8
The back and top lighting have been used very effectively to enhance the woman's fear by creating a dull and ominous shadow which reflects on the woman's frightened look. The back lighting also enhances her terrified aura around the woman portraying an eerie atmosphere.

Image 9
This image demonstrates an under lighting to express the emotions of the woman much more clearer. The bright light being projected at her face emphasises her feelings and the audience are able to connect with the actor's feelings much easier. Furthermore the under lighting makes the woman feel superior since the shot was taken from a low angle shot.

Image 10
The image here also demonstrates an under lighting giving the scene a very distorted effect. In the image, only the man is shown whereas the whole room is dark. This suggests that the scene uses low key lighting to emphasis the light and dark imagery depicted. This effect is also known as chiaroscuro where the dark and light expresses a deeper meaning when applied to a scene.

Image 11
Top lighting is demonstrated here to accentuate the features of the characters. This lighting is used to make the film stars look more glamorous . In this shot, it is done perfectly since the scene shows a romantic couple therefore, the top lighting enhances the romance that is being depicted.

Cinematography video feedback/learner response

Cinematography video feedback and learner response

Teacher's Feedback

WWW

• Editing 
• Dissolves between shots
• Some interesting shots 
• High angle from stairs 
• Use of music- effective 
• Humour  

EBI

• Label shots 
• Two shot( framing : closer together)
•  Narrative ending(closure and better sense)

Student's Feedback

WWW

• Different angles, comical high angle shots.
• Very funny and good
• Great action comedy and use of song. 
• Good story line 
• Good editing 

EBI

• Use various of locations 
• Music didn't go 
• Make the framing larger next time 
• Not many shots, very short 
• Label each shot

From my opinion, my first WWW(what went well) would be i created a video that met my requirement which was too make everyone laugh when watched. Another WWW would be i have used different variety of shots that convey emotion relating to the song. My last WWW would be i have shown a narrative through cinematography; Most people weren't able to exhibit a narrative plot through their shots therefore, i have shown that mine different from others in a positive way. 

5) Many students have used point of view shots ( first person shot) to enhance their video. Since i had a fighting scene in my cinematography video, i should used a point of view shot to make the fighting scene seem more intense. 

Another tip that i have gained from watching people video is many students labelled their shots to show what each shot represents. Makes it easier for a non media student to understand each shot when named. 

Lastly a couple students used shaky camera to create suspense when the shot video was pacing up. this generated a sense of realism for the audience as they feel they are in that situation them selves.