1Cinematography (1)

Chapter 1 Cinematography

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Cinematographer transforms ideas in the mind and the words on paper into moving images on film

Responsible for Lighting, Camerawork and an overall look of the Motion Picture

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This process has three pre-requisites: 1. Technical knowledge

2. Artistic sensibility

3. Open and vulnerable on ideas for the collective end result

The head of a production unit is the director, and all films bear his imprint first and foremost. But the Cinematographer is the vital link in getting the director's idea on to the screen and can make or mar the final result.

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Left Rameshwar Dayal Mathur with K.Asif

Above, Subrata Mitra with Satyajit Ray

Preparatory WorkPreproductionConceptual Research and Design

– Discuss all aspects of script and director’s approach to picture– Analyze script and the story structure– Analyze characters– Decide on the research period– Discuss and come to agreement with production designer– Discuss and come to agreement with technical advisers– Determine the visual style of the picture – Make practical planning for the film to come in on schedule– Budget - a crucial element

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Preparatory Work

Preproduction

Practical Research and Design– Prepare the budget requirements– Help create and approve storyboard– Scout and approve locations– Check local weather– Review, discuss and approve set plans, props– Review, discuss and approve spotting plans for stages– Design lighting-plot plan – Walk locations and stages with all departments to discuss requirements– Approve set colors and textures– Approve costume colors and textures– Approve makeup and hair– Make practical preparations for the film to come in on schedule

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Preparatory WorkPreproduction

Implementation and Testing– Walk locations and stages with director and device shooting plan– Work with assistant director on shooting schedule (order and days required for

each scene)– Visit cast run-throughs and rehearsals– Advise and back up director on any problems– Shoot tests for style– Shoot tests for camera and lenses– Shoot tests for lighting

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Creating a MoodThe overall aim of the cinematographer is to create a mood and an atmosphere appropriate to the subject. Imagination, Visualization and Realization

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Photographic StylePhotographic style is controlled by:

1. Character of the Lighting

2. Character of Colour tones

3. Use of composition

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Decisions taken at the preparatory stage about the visual style of fi lm has to be carried out in detail

Visual Style

Every single scene or sequence presents varied problems of staging and lighting that it is only too easy to forget what follows and what precedes it.

Vital to maintain continuity of, colour tones, lighting mood and style with scenes that may have been shot weeks before in a totally different place, or that have not yet been shot at all.

"Every frame a Rembrandt" is therefore not a satisfactory ideal to aspire to in motion picture shooting.

Lighting of a scene can be characterized, by terms: High Key & Low Key

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High Key - a high general light level, with dark shadows fi lled-in to light or medium grey with a low overall contrast

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Low Key - the contrast is relatively high, shadows are allowed to go black or very dark and highlights are maintained at full brilliance

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Further variation of Photographic Style: Use of refl ected, rather than direct light

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Further variation of Photographic Style: Available light with only the minimum supplementary photographic lighting units. This combined with natural interiors rather than sets, gives rise to a distinctive style similar in atmosphere to a TV reportage.

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Further variation of Photographic Style: At the other end of the stylistic scale lies a glossy, glamorous technique, making use of spotlights under studio conditions.

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Composition Largely a matter of individual taste

Good frames and compositions are created, Seldom found

At its most basic level, composition is a conscious and deliberate arrangement of elements / Images on a given space or within a scene to create a pleasingly "balanced" picture.

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Composition At its best, composition enhances the photographer's message, building an emotional as well as physical dimension in an image.

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The Rule of Thirds

A basic technique can help realize the underlying structure of good composition.

Imagine that the viewfi nder is divided in a grid of thirds along both the horizontal and vertical axis, forming nine equal rectangles.

Use these lines as references for the placement of grounds, horizons or other large features.

The space near the points where the lines intersect can be used for the placement of the subject or a critical element of the subject.

Composition is governed by this classic rule in painting and modifi ed by the additional factor of movement.

*The Rule of Thirds is a useful aid to realize a good composition, but rules are made to be broken

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The Rule of Thirds

An equally divided frame allows only formal balance

- usually dull and monotonous.

Divide screen in 2:3 or 3:5 ratio to achieve a far more pleasing balance

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Few hours before the shooting begins

Cameraman tours the proposed locations, stating the numbers and types of lighting required Note - Economizing here can cost dearly, for though lamp hire is expensive, being short of light at the time of shooting is a disaster.

Tests are often made of artistes and of make-up and costumes to be sure that every thing captures as expected.

Determines the placing of the lighting units and rails on the sets and also prepares for any special camera or lighting rostrums that could be needed

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Maneuvers the dolly during the tracking shots Does most of the heavy work in getting the camera into position.

The Shooting Floor�Director

Cameraman

Camera operator

Clapper/Loader

Focus puller

Cameraman is the key person on the fl oor after the director The fi nal look of a sequence and time taken to shoot it depends on him

Selects the camera position together with the director and his own second-in-command, the camera operator and then lights the scene.

Camera operator works out the details of the camera set-up and movement that has been decided upon, and operates the camera during the shot. ��

His main function is to keep the shot continually in focus.

He also changes the fi lm magazines and is in charge of all the camera equipment.

Loads the fi lm into the magazines Keeps the camera notes or sheets Announces the scene number before clapping to ensure a synchronized audible and visible signal with the clapper board.

Grip

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Shooting script is written not in terms of shots but of master scenes which is broken down on the fl oor into actual set-ups for shooting.

This work, called the decoupage, is done by the director, the camera person and the camera operator.

The director indicates how he wants the action to be staged, and the characters to move

Camera person makes suggestion as to the most effective and economical way of covering this in set-ups and camera movement.

Some directors consider breaking down the scenes into fi lm shots with the key-frame and plan out in larger details

21Setting up

It is at this stage that the scene as it fi nally appears on the screen is created.

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Any given scene can be staged in many ways for the camera - in long shot, medium shot, over-shoulder shots and close-ups or in one continuous tracking and panning shot

Here the director's as well as the cameraman's style shows itself.

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What happens and What you see24



Detailed planning and hard work required to achieve the original design

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What is a Shot?



26What is a Shot?

A framed image placed on record by a cameraman who thinks it holds a meaning.

What to include and what to exclude? Why, How and What often depends on the intent and approach

�Framing: boundaries of an image that limits how much we see of the scene that it depicts

27What is a Shot?

Basic division of a fi lm into elements within which spatial and temporal continuity is preserved.

Shots are characterized according to camera angle and distance between camera and subject

In each case the kind of synthesis of which they would form a part must be borne in mind

28Shot Characteristics

Extreme Long Shot (XLS): An overall shot which depicts a very large area. Often fi lmed from a high vantage point to set a scene.

Establishing Shot: A long shot which establishes the whereabouts of a scene, or shows a group of actors who take part in a scene.

Extra Long Shot (ELS): Less than XLS

Long Shot (LS): An establishing shot which contains all the actors in a scene; a shot in which the object of principal interest appears distant from the camera.

Full Length Shot (FLS): Entire body plus short distance above and below

Medium Long Shot (MLS): Intermediate in distance between a medium shot and a long shot.



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Extreme Long Shot (XLS), Extra Long Shot (ELS), Long Shot (LS), Full Length Shot (FLS) & Medium Long Shot (MLS)

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Medium Shot (MS): Shows a scene at normal viewing distanceClose Medium Shot (CMS): Close medium Shot, Waist ShotMedium close-up (MCU): frames actors from head to chest. Two-Shot: A medium shot in which two people appear



31Close-Up, Close Shot (CU, CS): Gives closer view of subject than a medium shot.

Extreme close-up (ECU): the actor's head only.

Very close-up (VCU): Face Shot, From mid forehead to above chin

Reaction Shot (RS): A shot which shows the effect of an actor's words on his hearers. Usually a close-up and shot silent.

Knee Shot (KNEE): Three quarter length shot - cuts just below the knee

Zoom: shortening or lengthening the focal length of the lens to give a closer or wider view. This also affects the fi gure-ground relation, making the background appear to be coming closer or moving further away

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Big Close Up: extremely tight shot



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Dolly Shot: A shot in which the, camera moves bodily from one part of the set or scene to another on a dolly. Also called a trucking or tracking shot. The term crane shot is similarly used.Moving Shot: A shot from a moving vehicle.

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Pan Shot: A shot in which the camera pans or sweeps across the scene rotating sideways (laterally) parallel to the ground (12)

Tilt: where the camera rotates upwards or downwards at right angles to the ground



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Scene is a combination of shots



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1Cinematography (1)