Film 101

Film 101 - Unit 1

Hi my name is Alfie Dobson and I'm 17 years old, I joined Film and TV hoping to spark a new interest in Cameras and Films in general. The part of this course i am looking forward to is Radio and Podcast section since I'm interested on how they are made and the following two years I hope i can gain enough skills to get a job I genuine  enjoy. The knowledge I intend to gain from this is how to set up the cameras and learning more about film in the process. The grade I am hoping for a is a pass or if I'm lucky a merit since I unconsciously lose focus on what's in front of me and it goes in one ear out the other, although i don't have a particular favourite movie but I liked Annulation the Thriller Sci-fi film with Oscar Isaac in it since some scenes made me shiver and some questioned on what was going on in front of me I think it appealed to the audience since it made them ask questions like what's the lighthouse look like now and what happened to the other team. If I had a device I often use often would be my phone so i can watch shows and films on it like Netflix and Disney plus.   

Basics on Set - Task 1

On Set Calls is commands what is said on set you must always follow these commands when said so that the scene is smoothly playing as it should be. The first command is Recording in which is said when the cameras is ready to start the footage this is to ensure the camera is on before Action is said.

Action is the command to tell the actors to begin and the scene to start. Another command is Quiet on set in which means that the whole crew should be silent so that no outside noise can be heard in the shot this is said by the assistant director since they say most of the calls because the director is busy with other things. And finally there is Cut which means stop recording and everyone can relax and start preparing the next shot this is said by the Director because its there vision and they have the final say when they wants things to stop.  

    Location Recce is when finding a location to shoot and checking it over to see if things to be added or taken away so that little to nothing can go wrong, for example if theirs a step and the camera is going backwards there should be a ramp their so they do not  get hurt in the process things that should be checked would be the hazards the transport and just the overall space to make the scenes.

And finally there is  Risk Assessment in which is to find potential risks to yourself, your crew and the general public this is important so nobody gets hurt and eliminating it so it can never happen.  

Shot Sizes - Task 2

Shot Sizes is how much of a scene is included in a picture like Types it also has different versions in which could show different things on the screen.

Close Up  is when the the camera focuses on the character in frame facial expressions this can be used to show types of emotions like Joy, Sadness and Rage. An example of this is below

An Establishing Shot is when a scene shows a new place of interest, to show the audience where the action is so they don't get confused it can also show the landscape to get a feel for the location. To show this is an example.

Master Shot is when the characters are all in one view and covers scenic points of interests. This shows the characters interacting with each other and it usually its in wide view. An example of this is.

Extreme Close up is when the camera is focusing on a the subjects eyes or a another part of the body, this is used to show an intense scene like in the movie Killbill it also gives the same feeling to the audience that the subject is feeling. This is a photo of this.

Mid Long shot also known as the Cowboy shot is when the camera is positioned to show the subjects knees and up its used a lot in cowboy films like the Good Bad and the Ugly, this helps immerge the audience in the current scene.

   

Wide Shot/Full Shot this is when the subjects entire body is shown in frame this is to shows the subject in their entire environment this is to show where they are and also what they are wearing. It could also show the subjects loneliness as they walk for a long distances this is an example of one.

    

Mid Shot is when the camera is positioned at the waist and it makes the audience focus on the subjects and there surroundings in one view this is an example of this one.

  

Long Shot is when the subject on screen is entirely on screen and often used as an establishing shot and is often used to create the world the subjects are in this is a photo of this.

And Lastly the Mid Close up usually used when two subjects are talking to each other and this could 

be used with the Over head shot or OHS for short this is a picture for it.

This was an activity to show my understanding of Shot Sizes 

Shot Types 

Shot types is the type of angle where characters are positioned on scene they are many types of types which could affect how the scene is shown and how it expresses the dynamic of the characters on the screen.

There is the Single Shot in which the name implies it only shows one character on the screen, This shot could mean many things like loneliness. To show an example of this 

Two Shot is when two people is when two people are in full vison of the screen this could show the connection the characters have. In the shot below it shows the are comfortable with each other since they are close proximity with each other. 

 

Three Shot is three people on screen in which they are all visible in the scene together. This is an example of this.

Four shot is when four shot is when four people are visible in frame this is expressed in the shot below.

A Crowd shot is when a lot of people is shown in the shot. This could show the scale of a scene to make it more impactful. An example of this is below.

 

An Over the Shoulder shot is when the camera is positioned above the back of the head and shoulder of a character to present a conversation between two people this is shown below.

  

A POV shot is when it shows a perspective of a specific or even a camera like the Blare Witch project to explain this is a shot below.

 An Insert shot is when the camera is only showing  a specific thing to catch the viewers attention on a specific detail. An example of this is below.

This is Task that we completed in class to show my understanding of Shot Types.

Shot Angles

Shot Angle is to specify where the camera is placed in a shot, they are many like before in which I will go over them in turn. 

Firstly there is the High Angle shot in which the camera is points down from a subject who is above this could mean the subject feels confident but it can also imply danger and the incoming tension of the scene This is an example of this. 

Then theirs the Eye level in which the camera is directly looking at the subjects eyes, this is the most normal angle and is the commonly used angle this is an example of this one.

  

  

There is Overhead Angle in which the camera is set above the subjects head this angle can be used for crime scenes and if you want to show Skyscrapers. This can be also called birds eye view and Gods eye view. This is an example of this. 

There's Ground level in which the camera is positioned at the subjects feet this could be used to see how they feel through their movements, this is an example. 

There is also the Low angle Shot is when the camera is looking up at the subject below the eye line this is used to make the audience to feel small and vulnerable this is a photo of this.

Another angle would be the Dutch angle where the camera is slightly tilted so you disorientate your audience this could be used when the subject is highly stressed or they could just be climbing a mountain. 

 

The Shoulder angle is when the camera is placed over the shoulder of the subject often used within 

 conversations this is an example of this one.

The Hip Angle is when the camera is positioned on the hip here's a representation of this.

 

This is the work we had to do to show that we understood all the different types of angles  

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Mise En scene - Task 3 

Mise En Scenes are what the stage design and the actors involvement in the mean for the story of the shot for example a character could be running through trenches in WW1 and the lighting is cold and dark shows what situation the character is in I will be showing two photos of mise en scenes and how it has an effect on the audience.

This is a photo of a mise en scene it tells a lot about the character dynamic through this, they are very close due to the fact that they are closely next two each other and the lighting has a warm to it showing how close they are . 

And this one shows how lonely this character is due how dark his surroundings are and also how his only light is of the billboard in front of him.  

180 angles and Rule of Thirds - Task 4

 This a representation of the 180 degree rule that doted line is supposed represent the line the camera should reside in. It is used so that you don't disorientate your audience and show they are talking to each other for example subject A would look left and and subject B would look right this is the 180 degree rule, although you can change that by making the camera move to other side of the subjects shoulder in which the rule was bent. To easier explained just think that the subjects are on a stage and the cameras are in the audience.

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Editing - Task 5

Editing is an important part of film making as a whole the reason for this through editing you could turn raw footage into something entirely new, I will go over each basic editing tool and its purpose in editing. Firstly there is the Cut tool in which is used to snip out a certain part of the footage you do not want for example there could be outside noise that disrupt the whole scene this is when its useful, then there's Colour grading this is when you want a scene to look a specific way if the scene is to dim you turn up the brightness or even make the colours inverted if you so desired. Then there's adding Images and Music in which is self-explanatory meaning its exactly what it sounds it is. Then there is Effects in which is adding effects to your footage to make it look better to the audience. And also  there's Importing Footage in which is transferring the new footage somewhere else to save. Lastly there's Adding Text in which is adding text when needed.

This a photo of one of the tutorial footage on Premier pro and I slightly alerted it with Colour grading to make it look new, this shows my basic understanding of editing since I was able to change how it looked through Pro.

This is a video of a tutorial video I slightly edited