Cinematography - shot and movement

Question 1

pre-production

Answer 1

everything leading up to the actual filming.
(costume, set making, hiring, etc)

Question 2

cinematographer/director of photography (DOP)

Answer 2

advises director on camera angles and in charge of camera technique

Question 3

aspect ratio

Answer 3

shape of image and proportion of height to width.
(first used was 4:3)

Question 4

frames per second (fps)

Answer 4

how fast the frames play per second to give illusion of movement

Question 5

extra long shot/establishing shot (ELS)

Answer 5

to show a panoramic view of where the film is set - usually exterior location. Cinematographer’s equivalent to a landscape painting. VERY IMPORTANT

Question 6

Long shot (LS)

Answer 6

shows whole body of mc/mcs but also offers background. useful to tell us who the mcs are and to introduce them

Question 7

medium long shot (MLS)

Answer 7

cuts character off at the knees - good for walking, dancing, etc

Question 8

medium shot (MS)

Answer 8

shows character from the waist up - implies certain intimacy if two figures in one shot

Question 9

two shot

Answer 9

two central characters not necessarily side by side. can be in foreground or the background or one in each. depth of field can be used to draw focus

Question 10

medium close up (MCU)

Answer 10

directs viewer’s attention entirely onto one character - only head and shoulders
(can be used to deliver emotional lines of dialogue)

Question 11

close up (CU)

Answer 11

most important shot - moment the power is taken away from the viewer. Director controls where attention is drawn to

Question 12

extreme close up (ECU)

Answer 12

almost too close to actor, allowing viewer into character’s intimate space to reveal subtle emotions

Question 13

deep focus shot

Answer 13

great depth of field from front to back, all remaining in focus

Question 14

shallow focus shot

Answer 14

one plane in focus and everything else is out of focus

Question 15

depth of field

Answer 15

distance between the nearest and furthest objects in a scene that are in sharp focus in a shot

Question 16

shot types

Answer 16

which viewpoint we see from the camera
(where the camera films from)

Question 17

camera movement

Answer 17

how camera moves around action - helps to avoid making and edit (more smooth)

Question 18

aerial shot

Answer 18

often an establishing shot - birds-eye-view
(can break the ‘spell’ of a film)

Question 19

overhead shot

Answer 19

taken from high up looking down and most frequently used as an establishing shot - often moves down to zoom into a specific place

Question 20

eyelevel shot

Answer 20

most natural - helps spectator identify and empathise with this character

Question 21

over the shoulder shot

Answer 21

used to shoot a conversation - positioned behind the shoulder of one of the characters while filming the other

Question 22

shot reverse shot

Answer 22

jumping between the two characters in a conversation - focusing the camera onto one person, then the other, etc

Question 23

high angle shot

Answer 23

taken from roughly head height - good at making someone look small/insignificant but not always

Question 24

low angle shot

Answer 24

lower than eye-level - makes character dominate the frame

Question 25

objective vs subjective

Answer 25

objective = viewing the scene from an unseen observer - viewpoint doesn’t belong to any of the characters (impersonal)
subjective (POV) = camera replaces one of the characters or placed in the action - draws audience in

Question 26

fixed axis - camera is attached to a fixed axis (stays rooted to the spot but can turn)

Answer 26

a pan = camera moves left to right (usually) - used to follow a person as they walk across the room/swing from one part of the frame to another
a whip pan = same as pan but faster - blurs image
a tilt = moves lens up and down

Question 27

shifting axis - whole camera moves (precise direction)

Answer 27

dolly shot = camera on wheels moved in a smooth, straight line - can only be used on a smooth surface
tracking shot = dolly mounted on a track to follow a very specific route

Question 28

zoom/crash zoom

Answer 28

zoom = lens moving - creates illusion of movement zooming in/out
crash zoom = same but faster

Question 29

crane shot

Answer 29

camera mounted on a crane and is lowered/raised/swung sideways - like a vertical tracking shot (can be a drone instead of a crane)

Question 30

handheld

Answer 30

wasn’t until 1950s that cameras were light enough - good for verisimilitude (sense of reality) or cinema vérité (shaky, realistic filming)