Cinematic techniques

Cinematic techniques are methods employed by film makers to communicate meaning, entertain, and to produce a particular emotional or psychological response in an audience. A film director, or filmmaker, is a person who directs the making of a Film. Psychology (from Greek grc ψῡχή psȳkhē, "breath life soul" and grc -λογία -logia) is an Academic and

1 Cinematography
- 1.1 Size of shot
- 1.2 Camera angles
2 Mise en scène
- 2.1 Movement and expression
3 Camera view, angle, movement, shot
4 Lighting technique and aesthetics
5 Editing and transitional devices
6 Special effects (FX)
- 6.1 Lighting
7 Sound
- 7.1 Sound effects
8 Techniques in interactive movies
9 External links

Cinematography

Main article: Cinematography

Cinematographic techniques such as the choice of shot, and camera movement, can greatly influence the structure and meaning of a film. See also Filmmaking Cinematography (from Greek: kinesis κινησις (movement and grapho γραφω (to record is the discipline

Size of shot

Examples of shot size (in one filmmaker's opinion)

The use of different shot sizes can influence the meaning which an audience will interpret.

The size of the subject in frame depends on two things: the distance the camera is away from the subject and the focal length of the camera lens.

Common shot sizes:

Extreme close-up: Focuses on a single facial feature, such as lips and eyes.
Close-up: May be used to show tension. In Film, Television, and Still photography a close-up tightly frames a person or an object
Medium shot: Often used, but considered bad practice by many directors, as it often denies setting establishment and is generally less effective than the Close-up. In Film, a medium shot is a Camera shot from a medium distance
Long shot
Establishing shot: Mainly used at a new location to give the audience a sense of locality. In photography film and video a long shot (sometimes referred to as a full shot or a wide shot) typically shows the entire object or human figure and is usually In Film and Television, an establishing shot sets up or "establishes" a scene's setting and/or its participants

Choice of shot size is also directly related to the size of the final display screen the audience will see. A Long shot has much more dramatic power on a large theater screen, whereas the same shot would be powerless on a small TV or computer screen.

Camera angles

These are used extensively to communicate meaning and emotion about characters:

Low-angle shot: Looking up at a character or object, often to instill fear or awe in the audience;
Straight-angle shot: Looking at an eye-level angle to a character or object, giving a sense of equality between subject and audience;
High-angle shot: Looking down on a character, often to show vulnerability or weakness;
Canted or Oblique: The camera is tilted to show the scene at an angle. This is used extensively in the horror and science fiction genre. Horror films are Movies that strive to elicit Fear, Horror and terror responses from viewers The audience will often not consciously realize the change. This is most often referred to as a 'dutch' angle, or 'going dutch'. The most obvious and frequently referenced use of this technique is found in the 'Batman' TV show and original movie (when the villains were on screen, the camera would show them at a canted angle).

Mise en scène

"Mise en scène" refers to what is colloquially known as "the Set," but is applied more generally to refer to everything that is presented before the camera. Mise-en-scène (mizɑ̃sɛn is an expression used in the theatre and film worlds to describe the design aspects of a production With various techniques, film makers can use the mise en scène to produce intended effects.

Movement and expression

Movement can be used extensively by film makers to make meaning. It is how a scene is put together to produce an image. A famous example of this, which uses "dance" extensively to communicate meaning and emotion, is the film West Side Story. West Side Story is a 1961 film directed by Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins.

Provided in this list of film techniques is a categorised (and then alphabetised) list of techniques used in film (motion pictures).

Camera view, angle, movement, shot

Lighting technique and aesthetics

Editing and transitional devices

A Roll
B Roll
A and B editing
Cross cutting
Cutaway
Cut in
Dissolve
Editing
Establishing shot
Fast cutting
Flashback
Insert
Jump cut
Keying
L cut ("split edit")
Master shot
Match cut
Montage
Point of view shot
Screen direction
Sequence shot
Slow cutting
Split screen
SMPTE time code
Shot reverse shot
Talking head
Wipe
- Clock wipe
- Heart wipe
- Matrix wipe
- Star wipe

Special effects (FX)

Lighting

In cinematography, the use of light can influence the meaning of a shot. Aerial shots are usually done with a crane or with a Camera attached to a special Helicopter to view large landscapes " American shot " is a translation of a phrase from French Film criticism, " plan américain " and refers to a medium-long ("knee" In Film, a Bird's eye shot refers to a shot looking directly down on the subject In Film, Television, and Still photography a close-up tightly frames a person or an object In Motion picture terminology, a crane shot is a shot taken by a camera on a crane The dolly zoom is an unsettling in-camera Special effect that appears to undermine normal Visual perception in Film. A Dutch tilt, Dutch angle, oblique angle, German angle, canted angle or Batman Angle is a cinematic tactic often used to portray In Film and Television, an establishing shot sets up or "establishes" a scene's setting and/or its participants Follow shot is a specific camera shot in which the subject being filmed is seemingly pursued by the camera Forced perspective is a technique that employs Optical illusion to make an object appear farther closer larger or smaller than it actually is A freeze frame shot is used when one shot is printed in a single frame several times in order to make an interesting illusion of a still photograph. In Film, a high angle shot is usually when the camera is located high (often above head height and the shot is angled downwards (in contrast to a Low-angle shot In photography film and video a long shot (sometimes referred to as a full shot or a wide shot) typically shows the entire object or human figure and is usually A long take is an uninterrupted shot in a film which lasts much longer than the conventional editing pace either of the film itself or of films in general usually lasting several In Cinematography, a low-angle shot, is a shot from a camera positioned low on the vertical axis often at knee height looking up A master shot is a Film recording of an entire dramatized scene from start to finish from an angle that keeps all the players in view For the technique of creating backgrounds see Matte painting. In Film, a medium shot is a Camera shot from a medium distance Panning refers to the horizontal movement or rotation of a film or video camera or the scanning of a subject horizontally on video or a display device A point of view shot also known as POV shot or a subjective camera) is a short Film scene that shows what a character (the subject is looking at (represented A reaction shot is a term used in Motion picture production and Cinematography referring to a basic unit of film grammar in which an Actor or A long take is an uninterrupted shot in a film which lasts much longer than the conventional editing pace either of the film itself or of films in general usually lasting several Shot reverse shot (or shot/countershot) is a Film technique wherein one character is shown looking (often off-screen at another character and then the other character A SnorriCam (also chestcam, bodymount camera, bodycam or bodymount) is a Camera device used in Filmmaking that is In Motion picture terminology, a tracking shot (also known as a dolly shot or trucking shot) is a segment in which the camera is mounted on a wheeled platform The Trunk shot is a camera angle used in cinema when one or more characters need to retrieve something or someone from the trunk A Two shot is a type of shot employed in the Film industry in which the frame encompasses a view of two people (the subjects A film frame, or just frame, is one of the many single photographic images in a motion picture. A whip pan is a type of pan shot in which the camera moves sideways so quickly that the picture blurs into indistinct streaks The background light is used to illuminate the background area of a Set. Cameo lighting in film is a spotlight that accentuates a single person in a scene In television film stage or photographic lighting a fill light (often simply fill) may be used to reduce the contrast of a scene and provide some illumination for the areas High-key lighting is a style of lighting for Film, Television, or Photography that aims to reduce the Lens flare is the light scattered in lens systems through generally unwanted image formation mechanisms such as internal reflection and Scattering from Low-key lighting is a style of lighting for Photography, Film or Television. See also Filmmaking Cinematography (from Greek: kinesis κινησις (movement and grapho γραφω (to record is the discipline Rembrandt lighting in Photography is a lighting technique that is sometimes used in studio portraiture Modern stage lighting is a flexible Tool in the production of Theatre, Dance, Opera and other Performance arts Soft light refers to light that tends to "wrap" around object casting shadows with soft edges In Film and Video, footage is the raw unedited material as it had been originally recorded by video Camera, which usually must be edited to B-roll or B roll is supplemental or alternate footage intercut with the main shot in an interview or documentary Cross-cutting is an editing technique used in films to establish continuity Film editing is an art of storytelling practiced by connecting two or more shots together to form a sequence, and the subsequent connecting of sequences to form an In Film and Television, an establishing shot sets up or "establishes" a scene's setting and/or its participants Fast cutting is a film editing technique which refers to several consecutive shots of a brief duration (e In history film television and other media a flashback (also called analepsis) is an interjected scene that takes the narrative back in time from the current A jump cut is a cut in Film editing where the middle section of a continuous shot is removed and the beginning and end of the shot are then joined together Compositing is the combining of visual elements from separate sources into single images often to create the illusion that all those elements are parts of the same scene An L cut, also known as a split edit, is an edit transition from one shot to another in Film or video where the picture transition does not occur coincidentally A master shot is a Film recording of an entire dramatized scene from start to finish from an angle that keeps all the players in view A match cut or raccord is also called a 'metaphor cut' It is a cut in Film editing from one scene to another in which the two camera shots' compositional Film editing is an art of storytelling practiced by connecting two or more shots together to form a sequence, and the subsequent connecting of sequences to form an A point of view shot also known as POV shot or a subjective camera) is a short Film scene that shows what a character (the subject is looking at (represented " Screen direction " is a term used in motion picture and video editing and refers to an underlying concept of cinematic grammar which involves A long take is an uninterrupted shot in a film which lasts much longer than the conventional editing pace either of the film itself or of films in general usually lasting several Slow cutting is a film editing technique which uses shots of long duration. SMPTE timecode is a set of cooperating standards to label individual frames of video or film with a Timecode defined by the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers Shot reverse shot (or shot/countershot) is a Film technique wherein one character is shown looking (often off-screen at another character and then the other character In Film editing, a wipe is a gradual spatial transition from one image to another In Film editing, a wipe is a gradual spatial transition from one image to another In Film editing, a wipe is a gradual spatial transition from one image to another In Film editing, a wipe is a gradual spatial transition from one image to another See also [[stereoscopy]] In film the term 3-D (or 3D) is used to describe any visual presentation system that attempts to maintain or recreate moving images 3D computer graphics (in contrast to 2D computer graphics) are graphics that use a three-dimensional representation of geometric data that is stored in the computer Chroma Key is the name under which ex- Dream Theater Keyboardist Kevin Moore records Chroma Key is the name under which ex- Dream Theater Keyboardist Kevin Moore records Bullet time (or bullet-time) is a computer enhanced simulation of variable speed (ie Computer animation Computer-generated imagery (also known as CGI) is the application of the field of Computer graphics or more specifically 3D computer graphics Digital compositing is the process of digitally assembling multiple images to make a final image typically for print motion pictures or screen display Compositing is the combining of visual elements from separate sources into single images often to create the illusion that all those elements are parts of the same scene The illusions used in the Film, Television, Theater, or Entertainment industries to simulate the imagined events in a story are traditionally called Stereoscopy, stereoscopic imaging or 3-D (three-dimensional imaging is any technique capable of recording three-dimensional visual A stop trick is a Film Special effect. It occurs when an object is filmed then while the camera is off the object is moved out of sight of the camera then the Stop motion (or frame-by-frame) animation is an Animation technique to make a physically manipulated object appear to move on its own See also Filmmaking Cinematography (from Greek: kinesis κινησις (movement and grapho γραφω (to record is the discipline For example, film makers often portray villains that are heavily shadowed or veiled, using silhouette. A silhouette is a view of some object or scene consisting of the outline and a featureless interior with the silhouette usually being black

Techniques involving light include backlight (silhouette), and under-lighting (light across a character form).

Sound

Sound is used extensively in filmmaking to enhance presentation, and is distinguished into diegetic ("actual sound"), and non-diegetic sound:

Diegetic sound: It is any sound where the source is visible on the screen, or is implied to be present by the action of the film:
- Voices of characters;
- Sounds made by objects in the story; and
- Music, represented as coming from instruments in the story space. Diegesis is the (fictional world in which the situations and events narrated occur and telling recounting as opposed to showing enacting
- Music coming from reproduction devices such as record players, radios, tape players etc.
Non-diegetic sound: Also called "commentary sound," it is sound which is represented as coming from a source outside the story space, ie. its source is neither visible on the screen, nor has been implied to be present in the action:
- Narrator's commentary;
- Voice of God;
- Sound effect which is added for dramatic effect;
- Basic sound effects, e. g. dog barking, car passing;
- Mood music; and
- Film Score

Non-diegetic sound plays a big role in creating atmosphere and mood within a film. A film score is a broad term referring to the music in a film which is generally categorically separated from songs used within a film

Sound effects

Main article: Sound effect

In motion picture and television production, a sound effect is a sound recorded and presented to make a specific storytelling or creative point, without the use of dialogue or music. For the album by The Jam see Sound Affects. Sound effects or audio effects are artificially created or enhanced Sounds The term often refers to a process, applied to a recording, without necessarily referring to the recording itself. In professional motion picture and television production, the segregations between recordings of dialogue, music, and sound effects can be quite distinct, and it is important to understand that in such contexts, dialogue and music recordings are never referred to as sound effects, though the processes applied to them, such as reverberation or flanging, often are. Reverberation is the persistence of Sound in a particular space after the original sound is removed Flanging is a time-based Audio effect that occurs when two identical signals are mixed together but with one signal time-delayed by a small and gradually changing amount

Techniques in interactive movies

Main article: Interactive movie

New techniques currently being developed in interactive movies, introduce an extra dimension into the experience of viewing movies, by allowing the viewer to change the course of the movie. An interactive movie is a Video game presented using full-motion video of either animated or live-action footage An interactive movie is a Video game presented using full-motion video of either animated or live-action footage

In traditional linear movies, the author can carefully construct the plot, roles, and characters to achieve a specific effect on the audience. Interactivity, however, introduces non-linearity into the movie, such that the author no longer has complete control over the story, but must now share control with the viewer. There is an inevitable trade-off between the desire of the viewer for freedom to experience the movie in different ways, and the desire of the author to employ specialized techniques to control the presentation of the story. Computer technology is required to create the illusion of freedom for the viewer, while providing familiar, as well as, new cinematic techniques to the author. A computer is a Machine that manipulates data according to a list of instructions.

External links

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