Assignments
Kuleshov Effect
What is it all about?
What does it look like?
Rhythmic editing
Definition:
Rhythmic editing manipulates the length of time each shot remains on the screen. When the length of a series of shots (i.e. the pace and rhythm of the editing) is varied, different effects can be achieved or enhanced.
Uses:
A steady editing rhythm of relatively equal-length shots maintains the flow of a narrative; an accelerating rhythm of shorter-length shots heightens the tension or action; while an irregular rhythm can create an element of uncertainty within a scene. Each series of shots, while having its
own rhythm, also contributes to the overall pace of a film.
Task: Create a 90 second rhythmic montage synchronized with a chosen piece of theme appropriate music.
You should film yourself and objects in the natural environment and use the audio from these to make your montage. You may dub music overtop but your final project should include sounds you record yourself (see the second example below)
Examples
Creating a Montage
A montage is a technique in film editing in which a series of short shots are edited into a sequence to condense space, time, and information
Soviet montage theory is an approach to understanding and creating cinema that relies heavily upon editing (montage is French for “putting together”).
.View:
“SOVIET MONTAGE”
Task: Create a short (45 - 60 second) montage that relies on 1 of Sergei Eisenstein's Montage techniques.
Your montage should maintain continuity throughout.
Continuity is a film term that suggests that a series of shots should be physically continuous, as if the camera simply changed angles in the course of a single event. For instance, if in one shot a beer glass is empty, it should not be full in the next shot. Live coverage of a sporting event would be an example of footage that is very continuous. Since the live operators are cutting from one live feed to another, the physical action of the shots matches very closely. Many people regard inconsistencies in continuity as mistakes, and often the editor is blamed. In film, however, continuity is very nearly last on a film editor's list of important things to maintain.
Technically, continuity is the responsibility of the script supervisor and film director, who are together responsible for preserving continuity and preventing errors from take to take and shot to shot. The script supervisor, who sits next to the director during shooting, keeps the physical continuity of the edit in mind as shots are set up. He is the editor's watchman. If shots are taken out of sequence, as is often the case, he will be alert to make sure that beer glass is in the appropriate state. The editor utilizes the script supervisor's notes during post-production to log and keep track of the vast amounts of footage and takes that a director might shoot.
Teams of 2 - 3 max
Due: end of class on Thursday - uploaded to YouTube - Labelled with names & type of montage
Public Service Announcement (PSA) Examples
Your PSA needs to be aproximately 60 seconds long with at least 6 separate shots that you plan out in advance on your storyboard. Storyboards are due on Friday and finished clips are due by Monday.
Still images
Video
First lets watch this video!
Shots Based on Camera Position:
Extreme Long Shot/ Establishing Shot – Used to establish the setting of a project. It might be the outside of a building or a landscape and is often the first scene in a project.
Long Shot - Shows the entire object or human figure and is usually intended to place it in some relation to its surroundings.
Medium Shot - A “normal” camera shot filmed from a medium distance. It usually refers to a human figure from the waist (or knees) up.
Close Up/Bust Shot - A shot taken from a close distance. Often it is a person’s head from the shoulders or neck up. It could also be a tight shot of an object that fills almost the entire frame.
Extreme Close Up – This shot frames only part of an object in close-up detail. It might frame only a part of a human face (an eye or the mouth) or a detailed part of an object (the petal of a flower).
High Angle/ Tilt Down – The subject is filmed from above and the camera points down on the action, often to make the subject small, weak and vulnerable.
Low Angle/Tilt Down – The subject is filmed directly from below and the camera points up at the action, to make the subject appear larger, more formidable and menacing.
Over the Shoulder Shot - Framed so that the viewers have the perception that they are participating in the action by peering over the shoulder of the subject. Used most often in interviews.
Depth Shot – Creates depth in the scene by adding objects to the foreground, middle ground, and background. We see different levels of action to create a 3D effect.
Macro Shot – The camera is positioned very close to an object to show detail. You are not zooming in, but instead placing the camera very close to an object.
Unstable Horizon – The camera angle is skewed so that the horizon line is not parallel. Often referred to as an MTV look.
Shots Based on Subjects:
One Shot – Shot of a single person, maybe an interviewer or guest. Usually a medium shot or tighter.
Two Shot – Shot of two people, maybe talking to each other. Usually a medium shot or tighter.
Three Shot – A medium shot that contains three people.
Shots Based on Camera Movement:
Pan – A horizontal scan, movement, rotation or turning of the camera in one direction (to the right or left) around a fixed spot. You are standing still but the camera is moving to capture an entire panoramic scene.
Zoom In/Out – Using the zoom feature of the camera to make the subject fill more or less of the frame.
Dolly In/Out – Moving the camera to physically get closer or further from a subject. You may have the camera mounted on a dolly, or you may be walking towards or away from the subject.
Dollying Along (Tracking) – The camera is moving along beside the subject. You may have the camera mounted on a dolly, or you may be walking towards or away from the subject.
Head On - The action comes directly toward or at the camera.
Tails Away – The action moves directly away from the camera.
Assignment
Camera Angles Assignment
Instructions: You will work as a group to complete this project. You will be given one video camera to film with as a group. Read each definition carefully. Film someone saying which angle you are filming, and then setup your shot to film the angle. Assuming there are 4 members in each group, and there are 16 angles to film, you will each take turns filming 4 shots. If there are less than 4 members in your group, each person is to film a minimum of 4 shots or break up the shots as evenly as possible. If it is not your turn to film a shot, you must help prepare in setting up the shot and must appear on the videotape for that shot. This will be a group grade. If you finish before class is over, you must all review the videotape and agree that all shots were filmed correctly. If you see a shot that was not filmed correctly, you should have time to re-film that angle at the end of the videotape.
Do not lose this sheet as you will have a test on these definitions.
You will also be using these angles to film other projects for this class. (32 Points total – 2 Points per angle)
1. Eye-level angle - One of the most commonly used shots is the eye-level shot. Why? Because it's the perspective most familiar to us - we usually see things from our own eye-level. If you're shooting a person, and you want to make it an eye-level shot, make sure you shoot at their eye-level, not yours.
2. Low Angle - In this shot the camera looks up at the subject, making it seem important, powerful, or perhaps larger than it is to the viewer. For example, you might be sitting on the ground looking up at someone who is standing.
3. High Angle - In this shot the camera looks down on the subject, decreasing its importance. The subject looks smaller. It often gives the audience a sense of power, or makes the subject seem helpless. In this case, you'd be higher than the other person (maybe they're sitting, or maybe you're standing on a desk) looking down on that person.
4. Wide Shot - This shows the whole scene. Frequently you'll see video pieces begin with this shot. It's helpful because it sets the stage - the viewer gets oriented to where s/he is. These shots are also good if there's a lot of movement because there is plenty of room to move around. This shot might show a small crowd of people. To get this shot, you may need to zoom back as far as you can.
5. Medium Shot: This shot shows less of a scene than the wide shot. The camera seems closer to the subject (although it may not be if you use your zoom lens). For example, if you were interviewing someone, this shot would show them from about the waist up in a medium shot. Use this when you want a closer look at your subject, or when you need to transition between wide shots and close-up shots (it is difficult for the viewer to follow what you are doing if you go straight from a wide shot to a close-up shot).
6. Close Up Shot - This shot shows an even smaller part of the subject or scene. It's great for showing detail, like a person's emotional face or individual leaves on a tree. If you were interviewing someone, this shot would show the person from the top of the chest or shoulders up.
7. Extreme close up: is used to reveal very small details in the scene. It might be used to reveal horror in a subject (extreme close up of the subject's mouth as she/he screams). It might also be used in a mystery to show some detail that the detective picks up on or to show some small clue. Camera Angles/Shots/Movements Group Rotation
8. Over the Shoulder : A cutaway is a shot away from the main action. For instance, if you are interviewing someone, a cutaway could be a shot of the interviewer, who can be listening, nodding, or responding to the guest. This is used a lot in interviews to show the person who's asking the questions. This particular shot is also called "over the shoulder" because the photographer is literally shooting video of you over the shoulder of the person you are interviewing. (An over the shoulder shot is a type of cutaway). These are very useful when editing because they give you an easy way to transition. This shot is often used in conversations between two people where the director wants to focus on the person speaking. Usually these shots are head shots (close ups of the speaker).
9. Head and Shoulders Shot: is used in news broadcasts. If you think about the television news you will realize that this shot reveals enough detail to see the subject's lips move and the expression on her/his face.
10. Torso - This shot shows your subject from above the knees to above the head. It is often used when the subject of the shot is doing something that requires the audience to see some detail.
11. Sequence: a term used in gathering video and editing. It refers to a series of related shots. For example, a sequence could be a wide shot of the Bay, followed by a medium shot of a few windsurfers, followed by a single windsurfer zipping through the water. Basically you need to film a series of different shots and pause the camera in between shots before filming the next scene.
12. Length of shot - How long you show each shot depends on what's going on in the shot, and what you're trying to accomplish. If there's a lot of action or movement in a shot, you may use 20 seconds of it or more. If nothing is happening in the shot and you're showing a still scene, you may only use three seconds. When deciding how long to make a shot, keep in mind that your goal is to gain and hold the audience's attention and understanding. Keep the viewer) interested in watching this for more than 20 seconds.
13. Pan - A shot taken moving on a horizontal plane (from left to right, right to left). If you want to show a frisbee flying across a field, you might use this shot to follow the frisbee from one person to another.
14. Tilt - Camera movement in a vertical plane (up or down). If you want to show a tall building but you can't get it all in your shot, you might start at the bottom of the building and go up to the top.
15. Zoom - This shot moves you closer to the subject, into a Medium Shot or Close Shot. If you are looking at the Golden Gate Bridge, and you want to see individual people walking across it, you might zoom in.
16. Reverse Zoom -
This shot moves you farther away into a Medium Shot or a Wide Shot. If you
have a close up shot of a flower, and want to see the entire field that the flower is in, you will reverse
zoom.
Groups of 4 people maximum. Due date - end of class on Wednesday, October 27
Watch - 17 most widely used camera shots