GRAPHOLOGICAL FEATURES – THE VISUAL ASPECTS OF HOW A
TEXT APPEARS
TYPOGRAPHICAL FEATURES – THE TYPE OF TEXT USED – ITS
FONT, SIZE AND COLOUR
CAMERA ANGLES
Camera angles and movements combine to create a sequence of
images, just as words, word order and punctuation combine to
make the meaning of a sentence. You need a straightforward set
of key terms to describe them.
Describing Shots
When describing camera angles, or creating them yourself, you
have to think about three important factors
— The FRAMING or the LENGTH of shot
— The ANGLE of the shot
— If there is any MOVEMENT involved
When describing different cinematic shots, different terms are
used to indicate the amount of subject matter contained within a
frame, how far away the camera is from the subject, and the
perspective of the viewer. Each different shot has a different
purpose and effect. A change between two different shots is
called a CUT.
Framing or Shot Length
1 . Extreme long shot
Extreme Long Shot
This can be taken from as much as a quarter of a mile away, and
is generally used as a scene-setting, establishing shot. It normally
shows an EXTERIOR, eg the outside of a building, or a landscape,
and is often used to show scenes of thrilling action eg in a war
film or disaster movie. There will be very little detail visible in the
shot, it's meant to give a general impression rather than specific
information.
The extreme long shot on the left is taken from a distance, but
denotes a precise location - it might even connote all of the
entertainment industry if used as the opening shot in a news
story.
Long Shot
2. Long Shot
This is the most difficult to categorise precisely, but is generally
one which shows the image as approximately "life" size ie
corresponding to the real distance between the audience and the
screen in a cinema (the figure of a man would appear as six feet
tall). This category includes the FULL SHOT showing the entire
human body, with the head near the top of the frame and the feet
near the bottom. While the focus is on characters, plenty of
background detail still emerges: we can tell the coffins on the
right are in a Western-style setting, for instance.
Medium Shot
3. Medium Shot
Contains a figure from the knees/waist up and is normally used
for dialogue scenes, or to show some detail of action. Variations
on this include the TWO SHOT (containing two figures from the
waist up) and the THREE SHOT (contains 3 figures...). NB. Any
more than three figures and the shot tends to become a long
shot. Background detail is minimal, probably because location has
been established earlier in the scene - the audience already know
where they are and now want to focus on dialogue and character
interaction. Another variation in this category is the OVER-THE-
SHOULDER-SHOT, which positions the camera behind one figure,
revealing the other figure, and part of the first figure's back, head
and shoulder.
Close up
4. Close-Up
This shows very little background, and concentrates on either a
face, or a specific detail of mise en scène. Everything else is just a
blur in the background. This shot magnifies the object (think of
how big it looks on a cinema screen) and shows the importance of
things, be it words written on paper, or the expression on
someone's face. The close-up takes us into the mind of a
character. In reality, we only let people that we really trust get
THAT close to our face - mothers, children and lovers, usually - so
a close up of a face is a very intimate shot. A film-maker may use
this to make us feel extra comfortable or extremely
uncomfortable about a character, and usually uses a zoom lens in
order to get the required framing.
Extreme Close Up
5. Extreme Close-Up
As its name suggests, an extreme version of the close up,
generally magnifying beyond what the human eye would
experience in reality. An extreme close-up of a face, for instance,
would show only the mouth or eyes, with no background detail
whatsoever. This is a very artificial shot, and can be used for
dramatic effect. The tight focus required means that extra care
must be taken when setting up and lighting the shot - the
slightest camera shake or error in focal length is very noticeable.
Camera Angles
The relationship between the camera and the object being
photographed (ie the ANGLE) gives emotional information to an
audience, and guides their judgment about the character or
object in shot. The more extreme the angle (ie the further away it
is from eye left), the more symbolic and heavily-loaded the shot.
1. The Bird's-Eye view
This shows a scene from directly overhead, a very unnatural and
strange angle. Familiar objects viewed from this angle might
seem totally unrecognisable at first (umbrellas in a crowd,
dancers' legs). This shot does, however, put the audience in a
godlike position, looking down on the action. People can be made
to look insignificant, ant-like, part of a wider scheme of things.
Hitchcock (and his admirers, like Brian de Palma) is fond of this
style of shot.
A cameraman, raised above the action, gets a high angle shot
2. High Angle
Not so extreme as a bird's eye view. The camera is elevated
above the action using a crane to give a general overview. High
angles make the object photographed seem smaller, and less
significant (or scary). The object or character often gets
swallowed up by their setting - they become part of a wider
picture.
3. Eye Level
A fairly neutral shot; the camera is positioned as though it is a
human actually observing a scene, so that eg actors' heads are on
a level with the focus. The camera will be placed approximately
five to six feet from the ground.
4. Low Angle
These increase height (useful for short actors like Tom Cruise or
James McAvoy) and give a sense of speeded motion. Low angles
help give a sense of confusion to a viewer, of powerlessness
within the action of a scene. The background of a low angle shot
will tend to be just sky or ceiling, the lack of detail about the
setting adding to the disorientation of the viewer. The added
height of the object may make it inspire fear and insecurity in the
viewer, who is psychologically dominated by the figure on the
screen.
5. Oblique/Canted Angle
Sometimes the camera is tilted (ie is not placed horizontal to floor
level), to suggest imbalance, transition and instability (very
popular in horror movies). This technique is used to suggest
POINT-OF-View shots (ie when the camera becomes the 'eyes' of
one particular character, seeing what they see — a hand held
camera is often used for this.
Camera Movement
A director may choose to move action along by telling the story as
a series of cuts, going from one shot to another, or they may
decide to move the camera with the action. Moving the camera
often takes a great deal of time, and makes the action seem
slower, as it takes several second for a moving camera shot to be
effective, when the same information may be placed on screen in
a series of fast cuts. Not only must the style of movement be
chosen, but the method of actually moving the camera must be
selected too. There are seven basic methods:
1. Pans
A movement which scans a scene horizontally. The camera is
placed on a tripod, which operates as a stationary axis point as
the camera is turned, often to follow a moving object which is
kept in the middle of the frame.
2. Tilts
A movement which scans a scene vertically, otherwise similar to a
pan.
3. Dolly Shots
Sometimes called TRUCKING or TRACKING shots. The camera is
placed on a moving vehicle and moves alongside the action,
generally following a moving figure or object. Complicated dolly
shots will involve a track being laid on set for the camera to
follow, hence the name. The camera might be mounted on a car,
a plane, or even a shopping trolley (good method for independent
film-makers looking to save a few dollars). A dolly shot may be a
good way of portraying movement, the journey of a character for
instance, or for moving from a long shot to a close-up, gradually
focusing the audience on a particular object or character.
4. Hand-held shots
The hand-held movie camera first saw widespread use during
World War II, when news reporters took their windup Arriflexes
and Eyemos into the heat of battle, producing some of the most
arresting footage of the twentieth century. After the war, it took a
while for commercially produced movies to catch up, and
documentary makers led the way, demanding the production of
smaller, lighter cameras that could be moved in and out of a
scene with speed, producing a "fly-on-the-wall" effect.This
aesthetic took a while to catch on with mainstream Hollywood, as
it gives a jerky, ragged effect, totally at odds with the organised
smoothness of a dolly shot. The Steadicam (a heavy contraption
which is attached a camera to an operator by a harness. The
camera is stabilized so it moves independently) was debuted in
Marathon Man (1976), bringing a new smoothness to hand held
camera movement and has been used to great effect in movies
and TV shows ever since. No "walk and talk" sequence would be
complete without one. Hand held cameras denote a certain kind
of gritty realism, and they can make the audience feel as though
they are part of a scene, rather than viewing it from a detached,
frozen position.
A crane in use, following the path of a balloon floating into the sky
5. Crane Shots
Basically, dolly-shots-in-the-air. A crane (or jib), is a large, heavy
piece of equipment, but is a useful way of moving a camera - it
can move up, down, left, right, swooping in on action or moving
diagonally out of it. The camera operator and camera are counter-
balanced by a heavy weight, and trust their safety to a skilled
crane/jib operator.
6. Zoom Lenses
A zoom lens contains a mechanism that changes the
magnification of an image. On a still camera, this means that the
photographer can get a 'close up' shot while still being some
distance from the subject. A video zoom lens can change the
position of the audience, either very quickly (a smash zoom) or
slowly, without moving the camera an inch, thus saving a lot of
time and trouble. The drawbacks to zoom use include the fact
that while a dolly shot involves a steady movement similar to the
focusing change in the human eye, the zoom lens tends to be
jerky (unless used very slowly) and to distort an image, making
objects appear closer together than they really are. Zoom lenses
are also drastically over-used by many directors (including those
holding palmcorders), who try to give the impression of
movement and excitement in a scene where it does not exist. Use
with caution - and a tripod!
7. The Aerial Shot
An exciting variation of a crane shot, usually taken from a
helicopter. This is often used at the beginning of a film, in order to
establish setting and movement. A helicopter is like a particularly
flexible sort of crane - it can go anywhere, keep up with anything,
move in and out of a scene, and convey real drama and
exhilaration — so long as you don't need to get too close to your
actors or use location sound with the shots.
