Unit 21 Single Camera Techniques - Weeblycaoimhemclaughlin.weebly.com/.../2/41124721/single_ca… · Web viewCamera Shots and Angles: The type of shots in film and television programmes

Unit 21 Single Camera TechniquesTutor: Conor Glynn

Student: Caoimhe Mc Laughlin

ND Media Production Y2Semester 1

Unit 21 Single Camera TechniquesTutor: Connor Glynn


Single Camera Techniques Outcome 1

Introduction:

In a single camera production only one camera is used to capture each shot, this means that when the director wants to get multiple angles then the scene has to be reshot with everything in the same place and position. It is a somewhat difficult process and can be extremely time consuming although it does allow the director to focus more on each individual shot rather than having to manage multiple cameras at the same time. Lighting and prop placement are also factors that must be considered when doing a reshot. This technique is commonly used in film production rather than television production because you typically require multiple cameras for the shooting of a TV programme. Whenever a single camera is used in television production it is mainly used for primetime drama, advertisements and music videos. “Desperate Housewives” and “How I Met Your Mother” have both won Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Comedy Series.




Camera Shots and Angles:

The type of shots in film and television programmes can be used to portray a particular atmosphere to the viewer. Listed below are various different examples of how camera angles can affect a scene.

Angles:

• Low Angle: In cinematography, a low-angle shot is a shot from a camera angle positioned low on the vertical axis, anywhere below the eye line, looking up at the subject matter. Psychologically, the effect of the low-angle shot is that it makes the subject look strong and powerful.

• High Angle: A high-angle shot is a cinematic technique where the camera

looks down on the subject from a high angle and the point of focus often gets "swallowed up." High-angle shots can make the subject seem vulnerable or powerless when applied with the correct mood, setting, and effects. This is the opposite of a low angle shot.




• Dutch Angle: The Dutch angle, also known as Dutch tilt, is a type of camera shot where the camera is set at an angle on its roll axis so that the shot is composed with vertical lines at an angle to the side of the frame, or so that the horizon line of the shot is not parallel with the bottom of the camera frame. This type of angle can portray a sense of anxiousness to the viewer.

Bird’s Eye View Angle: This angle is a more intense version of the high angle. A bird’s-eye view is an elevated view of an object from above, with a perspective as though the observer were a bird. This type of angle is typically used to establish the landscape and the actor’s relationship to it.




Eye Level Angle: This angle is the most natural and is used the most often in film. You can get this angle by positioning the camera at eye level. This is as though it is a human actually observing a scene and is normally used during conversational scenes.




Shots:

Extreme Close Up: A photograph or a movie shot in which the subject is tightly framed and shown at a relatively large scale. Extreme close up focuses the audience's attention on a particular detail. It has the effect of intensifying and concentrating an idea, emotion or atmosphere.

Wide Shot: In this shot the subject takes up the full frame. These shots are typically used to show a character walking or running.




Extreme Wide Shot: These shots are more commonly known as establishing shots and are used to highlight the location in which a scene is about to take place.

Mid Shot: This is a shot taken at a medium distance. These are always used in television and film during a conversation between characters. This gives the audience a chance to see the character’s facial expressions and also body language.

Point of View Shot (POV): This is a scene that shows what a character is looking at represented through the camera.




Over the Shoulder Shot: In film an over the shoulder shot is a shot of someone or something taken from the perspective or camera angle from the shoulder of another person.




Genre:

Genre is a way of describing a piece of media like a book or a film. The genre of a piece of work is based on things like themes, setting and story. There are various types of genres as listed below.

Comedy: A comedy is about a series of humorous and lighthearted events. They are made with the intent to make the audience laugh. This genre is very opened and consistently mixes with others. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending. It’s one of the oldest genres in film and some of the very first silent movies were comedies.

Action: This genre typically requires the lead getting into various types of jeopardy, which always entails fight scenes, bomb explosions and general violence. Acton films tend to feature a resourceful character struggling against incredible odds, which include life-threatening situations, a villain or pursuit which generally concludes a victory for the hero.

Crime: This genre is always about a crime that has been committed or is being committed. It can be told from the view of a policeman, a criminal or a blameless




passer-by caught up in a crime. It is usually distinguished from mainstream fiction and other genres such as historical fiction or science fiction, but the boundaries are indistinct.

Adventure: This genre commonly involves the lead going on a journey to faraway places to achieve something. However, throughout the film the protagonist generally comes across problems before they get to where they planned. This is a very open genre and usually mixes with others, for example romance or action.

Fantasy: Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary plot element, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic and magical creatures are common.

Horror: Horror is a film genre seeking to evoke a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's fears. Horror films have been around for over a century now. Horror films often deal with viewers’ nightmares, fears, revulsions and terror of the unknown. Horror films include ghosts, vampires, monsters, psychopaths and serial killers, etc.Political: This genre is often based on political events and theories and can either be real or fictional. Political fiction is a subgenre of fiction that deals with political affairs.

Mystery: The mystery genre is a type of fiction in which a detective, or other professional, solves a crime or series of crimes. Despite this, mystery and crime are two very dissimilar genres altogether.

Romance: This genre focuses on passion, emotion and the affectionate romantic involvement of the main characters and the journey that true love takes them on. This is one of the most popular genres and it typically has ‘happy endings’ where the protagonist ends up with their love interest. Romances are often combined with comedies to create ‘romcoms’. These are very popular for young woman as they have the romance element but in a more light-hearted way.

Science Fiction: This genre is similar to fantasy but replacing magic with scientific components. A film in this genre usually has a storyline where a scientific discovery happens in the future.

Satire: This genre uses irony and humour to expose and talk about something that can range from celebrities to government.

Thriller: This genre uses suspense, tension and excitement as its main elements. Thrillers really alter people’s moods as it gives them a sense of anticipation and adrenaline to the point where they are sitting at the edge of their seat.




Speculative Fiction: This genre refers to any fictional story that includes characters and settings whose features are created out of human imagination rather than based on reality.

Formats:

Series: A television series is a sequence of episodes of a programme, which is broadcasted in regular intervals with a long break between each series; typically a year between each. For example “Prison Break” usually has around 22 episodes per series whilst “Made in Chelsea” typically has 11 episodes per series.

Prison Break is an American television serial drama created by Paul Scheuring, it was broadcasted on Fox for four seasons, from 2005 until 2009. There is also a new season coming up in 2016. The series revolves around two brothers. One brother has been sentenced to death for a crime he did not commit, and the other devises an elaborate plan to help his brother escape prison and clear his name. The series was produced by Adelstein-Parouse Productions; in association with Original Television and 20th Century Fox Television.

Made in Chelsea (abbreviated MIC) is a BAFTA award-winning, structured-reality television series broadcast by E4 in the United Kingdom. Made in Chelsea chronicles the lives of affluent young people in the West London areas of Belgravia, Kings Road, and Knightsbridge




Serial: A television serial is very much the same as a series but with fewer episodes. A serial allows more time for the story and characters to develop in comparison to a single drama. Worldwide, the soap opera is the most prominent form of serial dramatic programming. Examples of serial programmes would have been “Pride and Prejudice” and also “Ja’mie: Private School Girl”.

Pride and Prejudice is a six-episode 1995 British television drama, adapted by Andrew Davies from Jane Austen's 1813 novel of the same name. Jennifer Ehle and Colin Firth starred as Elizabeth Bennet and Mr Darcy. Produced by Sue Birtwistle and directed by Simon Langton, the serial was a BBC production with additional funding from the American A&E Network.

Ja'mie: Private School Girl is an Australian comedy television series set at an exclusive private girls' grammar school in Sydney's extremely wealthy North Shore district, written by and starring male comedian Chris Lilley. The ABC confirmed that Lilley's six-part half-hour comedy series would screen in 2013.




Single Drama: This is a one-off TV show. These are often based on real life events or problems that are more suitable for television rather than cinema. An example of a single drama television show would be “Common”.

Common is a 2014 BBC One 90-minute made-for-television drama, written by Jimmy McGovern, directed by David Blair and starring Michelle Fairley, Nico Mirallegro and Michael Gambon. It seeks to question some of the issues and challenges raised by England's common purpose legal doctrine.




Narrative Structure

Narrative structure is about two things: the content of a story and the form used to tell the story. Two common ways to describe these two parts of narrative structure are story and plot. Here are a few examples of the different narrative structures used in single camera techniques.




Linear: A linear narrative structure is where the storyline happens in sequential order and does not include any flashbacks, etc. An example of a linear narrative structured film is “Clueless”.

Clueless is a 1995 American coming-of-age comedy film. It is loosely based on Jane Austen's 1815 novel Emma. It stars Alicia Silverstone (in the lead role), Stacey Dash, Paul Rudd, and Brittany Murphy. The film is set in Beverly Hills and was written and directed by Amy Heckerling and produced by Scott Rudin. It was released in the United States on July 21, 1995.

Non-Linear: A non-linear narrative structure is where the storyline does not happen in sequential order and can be done in various ways like the scenes being arranged in a random order or there can be multiple flashbacks. An example of a non-linear structured film is “500 Days of Summer”.




500 Days of Summer (stylized as (500) Days of Summer) is a 2009 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by Marc Webb from a screenplay written by Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber and produced by Mark Waters. The film stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel, and employs a nonlinear narrative structure, with the story based upon its male protagonist and his memories of a failed relationship.

Flashbacks: Flashbacks are points in a storyline where it goes back in time to present the audience with something that happened in the past or set in a time earlier than the main story. An example of a film that includes flashbacks would be “Titanic”.




Titanic is a 1997 American epic romantic disaster film directed, written, co-produced, and co-edited by James Cameron. A fictionalized account of the sinking of the RMS Titanic, it stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet as members of different social classes who fall in love aboard the ship during its ill-fated maiden voyage.

Realist: A realist narrative is a storyline that is established in reality and is very believable to the audience. It could also be based on a true story but the story does not have to be real. Realist narratives usually revolve around An example of a film with a realist narrative structure would be “A Little Princess”.

A Little Princess is a 1995 drama film directed by Alfonso Cuarón and starring Eleanor Bron, Liam Cunningham (in a dual role), and introducing Liesel Matthews as Sara Crew with supporting roles done by Vanessa Lee Chester, Rusty Schwimmer, Arthur Malet, and Errol Sitahal. Set during World War I, it focuses on a young girl who is relegated to a life of servitude in a New York City boarding school by the headmistress after receiving news that her father was killed in combat.




Anti-Realism: An anti-realism narrative is basically a storyline that is not established in realty and is evidently fictional. Anti-realism narratives usually revolve around fantasy and science fiction. An example of a film with an anti-realism storyline structure would be “The Dark Knight Rises”.

The Dark Knight Rises is a 2012 British-American epic superhero film directed by Christopher Nolan, who co-wrote the screenplay with his brother Jonathan Nolan, and the story with David S. Goyer. Featuring the DC Comics character Batman, the film is the final installment in Nolan's Batman film trilogy, and the sequel to Batman Begins (2005) and The Dark Knight (2008). Christian Bale reprises the lead role of Bruce Wayne/Batman, with a returning cast of allies: Michael Caine as Alfred Pennyworth, Gary Oldman as James Gordon, and Morgan Freeman as Lucius Fox.




Endings: Ending is when the narrative and the storyline come to an end. These are often the best part of a film or TV programme. There are two main types of endings:

1. Closing Endings: These are the most common types of endings that are used in a narrative. It typically shows how the protagonist overcomes a problem and they can see what will happen to them, these endings are definite. All the loose ends should be revealed at the ending. An example of a film with a closing ending would be “The Martian”.

The Martian is a 2015 American science fiction film directed by Ridley Scott and starring Matt Damon. The film is based on Andy Weir's 2011 novel The Martian, which was adapted into a screenplay by Drew Goddard. Damon stars as an astronaut who is mistakenly presumed dead and left behind on Mars, and who then fights to survive. This film ends with all questions being answered and the astronaut finding his way off Mars and back to Earth; after living there for a couple of years creating his own food and water.

2. Opening Endings: These are not as common in narratives. An opening ending will begin with the ending at the start of the film but will not have a




definite ending when the film comes to an end. These endings leave the audience perplexed and curious as to how the film should end. An example of a film with an opening ending would be “Black Swan”.

Black Swan is a 2010 American psychological thriller-horror filmdirected by Darren Aronofsky and starring Natalie Portman, Vincent Cassel, and Mila Kunis. The plot revolves around a production of Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake ballet by a prestigious New York City company. This film starts with its ending which can be very confusing as the actual ending of the film is different than the ending we see at the beginning.

Technical




Camera: A camera is very important when shooting any type of film or television programme. It is a boxlike device for holding a film or plate sensitive to light, having an aperture controlled by a shutter that, when opened, admits light enabling an object to be focused, usually by means of a lens, on the film or plate, thereby producing a photographic image.

Lighting: Lighting is absolutely crucial for any type of scene that is going to be shot. It generates an atmosphere and adds more to the scene. It can change the aura of the scene and there are many types of lighting; a few examples are:

High Key Lighting: This is a style of lighting for film, television or photography that aims to reduce the lighting ratio present in the scene. This was originally done partly for technological reasons, since early film and television did not deal well with high contrast ratios, but now is used to suggest an upbeat mood.

Low Key Lighting: This is also a style of lighting for photography, film or television. It is a necessary element in creating a chiaroscuro effect. Traditional photographic lighting, three-point lighting uses a key light, a fill light and a back light for illumination.

Ambient Lighting: This is a combination of reflections from numerous surfaces to create an illumination. It’s usually present in the scene from natural light appearing in from a window or outdoors.

Sound: Sound is vital in any narrative, a few examples are:

Diegetic Sound: This can be either on screen or off screen depending on whatever its source is within the frame or outside the frame. Another term for diegetic sound is actual sound.

Non-Diegetic Sound: This is neither visible on the screen nor has been implied to be present in the action. Another term for non-diegetic sound is commentary sound.

Sound Effects: A sound other than speech or music made artificially for use in a play, film or other broadcast production.

Ambient Sound: These are the background sounds that are present in a scene or location. Common ambient sounds include wind, water, birds, crowds, office noises and traffic.

Voice Over: A piece of narration in a film or broadcast, not accompanied by an image of the speaker. These are common in documentaries.

Synchronous Sound: This is when sound that matches the action can be synchronized together perfectly.

Asynchronous Sound: This is the opposite of synchronous sound. It is when that does not match the action and is completely out of time to the action that is taking place.




On Screen Sound: This is sound that can create the scene. It is used to capture the audience’s attention and draw them into a certain scene.

Off Screen Sound: This is sound that is created off screen. This may be used to make the audience horrified and is commonly used in horror films for screams etc.

Editing: During post-production, every production company must go through editing as it is crucial in case of any mistakes during production. It is to make sure everything goes according to. It gathers all footage that was shot on the day or at another time and any mistakes can be erased or fixed by using editing software (e.g. Final Cut Pro).

Building a Scene: When building a scene for a film or TV programme it is vital that the scene fits the scenario that you want to create. This is where costumes and location come into play. E.g. In a romance film, the woman could be wearing a beautiful, red dress and the man could be wearing a fitted, white shirt with shiny black shoes, sitting outside a café with a cup of coffee, all the while grinning at each other, with their sunglasses sat upon their heads and with the sun high in the sky. They also may have close-ups on the man’s face to show emotion or emphasising the woman’s laughter by creating silence around her.

Building a Story: When building a story for a film or TV programme, it’s absolutely vital to know which setting you would like.

Audience

Audience Profiles: Audience profiling is basically finding out the profile of your audience beforehand. This is to get your message across to everyone in the best way to get the best outcome. This could possibly include some elements like age, gender, education, financial background, religion, interests, mood, orientation, food habits and health condition.

Audience Categorisation: This is when a production company categorises the public using social status and mode of address. Social status is when a production company will categorise people on their social status, the most common ones are:

Middle Class: The social group between the upper and working classes; including professional and business people. They also have a 3rd level education.

Working Class: The social group consisting of people who are employed for wages, especially in manual or industrial work.




Lifestyle: When production companies will target their product to people with certain lifestyles. This is categorising the audience for their lifestyle.

Geographic: This is when a production company will categorize their audience according to their geographical locations.

Mode of Address can have numerous different meanings such as:

Where the production is taking place. E.g. In a TV studio. How actors/presenters are dressed in a television programme. E.g.

Casual or formal. The language that is used throughout a programme. E.g. Slang

words to target a younger audience.

Mode of Address can depend on the type of audience that is being targeted for either a television programme or a film.

Conclusion:

By looking at the many techniques and formats I believe that they are all a vital part of any production and if implemented correctly the production should work without any issues.




https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desperate_Housewiveshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/How_I_Met_Your_Motherhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prison_Breakhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Made_in_Chelseahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ja%27mie:_Private_School_Girlhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prison_Breakhttp://broadcastawards.co.uk/best-single-drama/http://thecinematheque.ca/education/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/LanguageofFilm01.pdfhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clueless_(film)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/500_Days_of_Summerhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Titanic_(1997_film)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-realismhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Little_Princess_(1995_film)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dark_Knight_Riseshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Martian_(film)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Swan_(film)http://www.slideshare.net/rdtwilson/single-camera-production-19068571?next_slideshow=1

http://www.slideshare.net/rdtwilson/single-camera-production-19068571?next_slideshow=1

http://www.slideshare.net/rdtwilson/single-camera-production-19068571?next_slideshow=1

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Swan_(film

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Martian_(film

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dark_Knight_Rises

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Little_Princess_(1995_film

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-realism

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Titanic_(1997_film

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/500_Days_of_Summer

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clueless_(film

http://thecinematheque.ca/education/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/LanguageofFilm01.pdf

http://thecinematheque.ca/education/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/LanguageofFilm01.pdf

http://broadcastawards.co.uk/best-single-drama/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prison_Break

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ja'mie:_Private_School_Girl

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Made_in_Chelsea

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prison_Break

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/How_I_Met_Your_Mother

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desperate_Housewives

Documents

Unit 21 Single Camera Techniques - Weeblycaoimhemclaughlin.weebly.com/.../2/41124721/single_ca… · Web viewCamera Shots and Angles: The type of shots in film and television programmes