Film Techniques Revision

1. G321/G322 Technical Aspects of
Moving Image

2. Mise en Scene
Mise en scene is a French term meaning
‘everything in the frame.’ Elements that make up
mise en scene include:
Setting and Location
Props
Costume
Performance and Movement

3. Cinematography
Refers to the visual aspects of a films language.
Camera shots and movements can give us clear
indicators of emotion, motive and give audiences
clues as to things that may be about to happen.
It is important that you can identify shots and
consider how the choices made impact on the
narrative.

4. PERFORMANCE AND
MOVEMENT.
This refers to the meanings conveyed by
actors through their physical
performance. Meaning can be conveyed
through the following means:
Facial expression
Gaze
Gesture
Posture
Body Contact
Appearance
Spatial behaviour

5. Analyse the Mise en Scene of this image

6. Analyse the Mise en Scene of this image

7. LIGHTING
There are two main approaches to the use
of lighting in film these are:
Realistic lighting (high key). This
involves the use of a key light (the main
source of light), fill light and back lighting
to create a natural look to the scene (this
is called three point lighting).
Lighting can be adapted to suggest
different times of day eliminate shadow
and pick the subject out from the
background

8. Lighting
Expressive lighting is predominately
low key.
A key light is used with little or no fill to
create high contrast and shadow to convey
a dark expressive mood.
Subjects are sometimes back lit only to
create a silhouetted figure.
Expressive lighting may also involve the
use of single hue ‘gels’, filters and other
optical effects to create a specific mood.

9. three point lighting
Click here for more on three point lighting

10. High key lighting
The Virgin Suicides (Coppola, 1999)

11. Low key lighting Citizen Kane
(Welles, 1941)

12. Red hue Mean Streets (Scorsese,
1973)

13. Camera
In looking at camera work the following areas
need to be considered:
Angle
Movement
Position
Composition
Depth of field

14. ANGLE
High and low angle shots can be used by a
filmmaker in order to convey meaning. A
filmmaker may also use a titled angle
(sometimes called ‘dutch’ or ‘canted’) to create a
skewed frame.

15. High angle
Fargo (Coen Bros, 1996)

16. Low angle
Citizen Kane (Welles, 1941)

17. Dutch angle
Fallen Angels (Wong Kar-Wai, 1995)

18. MOVEMENT
The use of camera movement allows the
filmmaker to alter the framing of an image
whilst filming. Different types of camera
movement include:
pan – horizontal movement of the camera
from a static position.
tracking – camera moves on tracks to follow a
subject at close proximity. This effect can also
be created using a dolly (a platform on wheels)
or a steadicam (a camera mounted on the
body which uses weights and balances to
create smooth movement). Click here to see a
steadicam used in The Shining (Kubrick,
1980)
tilt – a subtle movement on the vertical (up or
down)

19. MOVEMENT
crab – a subtle movement on the horizontal (left or
right)
crane – the camera is mounted on to a crane so
that it can move dramatically up or down and from
side to side. Sometimes cranes are put on tracks to
create spectacular tracking and craning movement.
Click here to see a tracking and craning shot
from Touch of Evil (Welles,1958)
handheld – a shaky movement the follows the
movement of the camera operator. Often used to
create realism, urgent and sudden figure
movement or to create a point of view shot (we
are seeing things through the eyes of a character).
Click here to see the use of handheld camera in The
Blair Witch Project (Myrick/Sanchez,1999)
zoom lens – creates the illusion of movement by
altering the lens length.

20. Position
Position
The distance between the camera and the
subject. The position selected relates to the
information the filmmaker is trying to
communicate. Camera distances can be defined
as follows. All the examples below are from
Fargo.

21. extreme long shot

22. long shot

23. medium shot

24. close up

25. extreme close up

26. COMPOSITION
The way a frame is composed can help to convey important
information. A basic convention of composition dictates
that a framing should be balanced according to the
principle of the rule of thirds. The rule of thirds is a
compositional rule of thumb in photography.
The rule states that an image can be divided into nine
equal parts by two equally-spaced horizontal lines and two
equally-spaced vertical lines.
The four points formed by the intersections of these lines
can be used to align features in the photograph.
Proponents of this technique claim that aligning a
photograph with these points in mind creates more
tension, energy and interest in the image than simply
centering the subject would. Click here to find out more
about this technique.

27. Rule of thirds Dead Man
(Jarmusch, 1995)

28. DEPTH OF FIELD
A frame’s depth of field refers to the focal
length.
Where a frame shows everything sharp or in
focus this is called deep focus.
When a particular part of the frame is picked out
and the rest of the frame is blurred or indistinct
it is called selective focus.
When the focal point changes within the frame
this is called pull or ‘rack’ focus.
To get an idea of how this works put your
finger in front of your face and concentrate
on it. The finger will appear in focus and the
background blurred. Now concentrate on the
background, the human eye ‘pulls’ focus
from the foreground to the background.

29. Selective focus
Elephant (Van Sant, 2002)

30. Deep focus
Citizen Kane (Welles, 1941)

31. EDITING
Editing in film is a process of cutting and
assembling film footage to produce a finished
product.
The role of the film editor includes organising
transitions between shots making decisions
about shot duration and maintaining
continuity.

32. TRANSITION
The process of cutting from one shot to
another usually involves a simple
straight cut. However there are other
means of transition available to a film
editor
Fade to black
Dissolve/cross fade
Wipe

33. FADE – THE PRECEDING SHOT FADES INTO BLACK
FROM WHICH THE FOLLOWING SHOT EMERGES.

34. FADE – THE PRECEDING SHOT FADES INTO BLACK
FROM WHICH THE FOLLOWING SHOT EMERGES.

35. FADE – THE PRECEDING SHOT FADES INTO BLACK
FROM WHICH THE FOLLOWING SHOT EMERGES.

36. DISSOLVE OR CROSS FADE – THE PRECEDING SHOT
MERGES INTO THE FOLLOWING SHOT, RESULTING IN THE
TWO SHOTS BEING SUPERIMPOSED. THE LONGER THE
DISSOLVE THE MORE NOTICEABLE THE SUPERIMPOSITION
BECOMES.

37. DISSOLVE OR CROSS FADE – THE PRECEDING SHOT
MERGES INTO THE FOLLOWING SHOT, RESULTING IN THE
TWO SHOTS BEING SUPERIMPOSED. THE LONGER THE
DISSOLVE THE MORE NOTICEABLE THE SUPERIMPOSITION
BECOMES.

38. DISSOLVE OR CROSS FADE – THE PRECEDING SHOT MERGES INTO
THE FOLLOWING SHOT, RESULTING IN THE TWO SHOTS BEING
SUPERIMPOSED. THE LONGER THE DISSOLVE THE MORE
NOTICEABLE THE SUPERIMPOSITION BECOMES.

39. SHOT DURATION
The duration of a shot will usually reflect the
narrative context.
Generally speaking short shot duration
conveys action and urgency (say in a chase
sequence). Click here for a chase sequence
from Die Another Day.
Whilst long duration conveys intensity and
intimacy within the narrative, it allows us to
focus upon facial expression and other
aspects of mise en scene which would
otherwise be missed. Click here for a scene
with long shot duration from Secrets and
Lies (Leigh, 1996)

40. SHOT DURATION
A shot can be further lengthened or shortened
by over cranking or under cranking.
Over cranking involves speeding up the
camera so that when it is projected at normal
speed the movement appears slower. Under
cranking does the opposite slowing down the
camera speed so that it appears faster when
projected at normal speed.
The effects of this process are called slow
motion and fast motion. Click here to see the
use of slow motion in Blade Runner
(Scott,1982)

41. CONTINUITY
In Classic Hollywood cinema the purpose
of editing is to maintain continuity within
the narrative. In other words the editing
process is smooth and does not detract
from the story. There are various
techniques used by editors in order to
maintain continuity including:
180 degree ‘rule’ – this convention helps
to maintain continuity by ensuring that
the action within a sequence takes place
in front of an imaginary 180 degree line. If
the line is crossed the change in
perspective can be disorientating and
confusing for the audience.

42. IN THIS EXAMPLE, THE TWO CHARACTERS APPEAR TO HAVE
SWAPPED PLACES WHEN THE 180 DEGREE LINE IS CROSSED.
180 DEGREE LINE
Click here to see this ‘rule’ explained further.

43. 30 DEGREE ‘RULE’
this convention dictates that when film is cut
the camera should move more than 30 degrees
otherwise it creates an awkward abrupt cut
known as a jump cut. Click here for an
example from Breathless (Godard,1959)

44. eye line match
a common convention to maintain continuity, a
character looks at something and in the next
shot we see what they are looking at.

45. Match on action
The Maltese Falcon (Huston,1941)
a similar technique where
two shots are linked by an
action. For example in the
preceding shot we see
someone walking towards
someone and then in the
next shot they are
completing the movement.
Shots can also be matched
through dialogue, by
cutting mid sentence.

46. Shot/reverse shot
where the camera cuts
from one subject to
another back and forth
to follow the flow of a
dialogue or interaction.
Eye line match
during a shot/reverse
shot sequence The
Maltese Falcon
(Huston, 1941)

47. Other continuity devices
crosscutting – a devise used to convey the
impression that two or more events are
occurring simultaneously. This involves
cutting back and forth between different
locations.
split screen – where the frame is split into
sections so that we can see different events
occurring at the same time. This technique
was used recently on the TV series 24.
sound bridge – playing the same soundtrack
over two or more shots is sometimes used to
aid continuity. Sometimes a cut may coincide
with a particular sound and then a similar
sound occurs in the next shot.
Click here for more on continuity editing in
the film V for Vendetta (McTeigue, 2005)

48. MONTAGE
Montage involves a rapid succession of shots
used in conventional cinema to show specific
detail within a context, show a rapid passage of
time or to convey frenzy or panic. Sometimes
used in alternative filmmaking to break
continuity, or to build thematic and/or symbolic
links between shots.

49. SOUND
Sound has existed in film since 1927.
Sound is used conventionally to create a more
involving and believable narrative.
http://www.theidentgallery.com/player.php?
id=E4-2007-ID-BARN
There are two main types of sound in film:

50. Diegetic
Diegetic – ‘diegesis’ is the Greek term for
‘world’ and is used in film analysis to describe
the ‘narrative world’ of a film.
Diegetic sound is any sound we would expect
to hear if we were part of the ‘narrative world’,
footsteps, doors opening and closing etc.
Diegetic sound can be subdivided into:
dialogue – speech
sound effects – footsteps, doors closing,
gun shots etc.
ambient sound – background noise,
distant chatter, wind, traffic etc.

51. Non- Diegetic
 Non-diegetic sound is sound which has been added to
support the mood and atmosphere that the filmmaker is trying
to convey.
 This is usually in the form of added music, e.g. the ominous
music that signals the approach of the shark in Jaws. Jaws
(click here).
 Non-diegetic sound is usually used to support what is going on
in the narrative (parallel) although sometimes non-diegetic
sound is used which contrasts the images (contrapuntal).
Click here for an example of contrapuntal sound from A Clockwork
Orange (Kubrick,1971)
 Don’t confuse this distinction between sound that is
recorded in production and sound that is added in post
production! Sound effects e.g. the sound of gunfire, is often
added in post production but it is still diegetic, i.e. we would
here gunfire if we were there.
Click here for more on Sound