Month: September 2020

For whom do we make our media for? Sure, we can say the product is for us to enjoy and some people make their product for their own enjoyment. This is not the most cases, for the main reason many people make a product is for an audience to consume it.

Now, What is an Audience? the group of spectators at a public event; listeners or viewers collectively. They can be of any age group, gender, race or nationality.

I also thought that this video helped a little in understanding about audience

Defining the Audience | media studies | Quick Intro by Grant Abbitt

There are many types of audiences, and for this I studied theories about audiences. The first theory is

Passive Audience :

Researchers investigating the effect of media on audiences have considered the audience in two distinct ways. A passive audience is an audience that merely observes and event rather than actively responding it.

The earliest idea was that a mass audience is passive and inactive. The members of the audience are seen as couch potatoes just sitting there consuming media texts – particularly commercial television programmes.

It was thought that this did not require the active use of the brain. The audience accepts and believes all messages in any media text that they receive. This is the passive audience model.

This is defined by

The Hypodermic Model

The Hypodermic Needle Theory is a linear communication theory which suggests that media messages are injected directly into the brains of a passive audience. It suggests that we’re all the same and we all respond to media messages in the same way.

the hypodermic needle theory by Grant Abbitt

In 1957, an American theorist, Vane Packard, who was working in advertising, wrote an influential book called The Hidden Persuaders. This book suggested that advertisers were able to manipulate audiences and persuade them to buy things they may not want to buy. This suggested advertisers had power over audiences. In fact, this has since proved to be an unreliable model, as modern audiences are too sophisticated.
This theory stems from a fear of the mass-media, and gives the media much more power than it can ever have in a democracy. Also, it ignores the obvious fact that not everyone in an audience behaves in the same way. 

Cultivation Theory:

According to the theory, people who watch television frequently are more likely to be influenced by the messages from the world of television. The influence goes to such an extent that their world view and perceptions start reflecting what they repeatedly see and hear on television. It states again and in favour of passive audience that the audience consue what they see.

Cultivation Theory: Media Theories by Mr. Sinn

Two Step Flow Theory

The two-step model says that most people are not directly influenced by mass media, and instead form their opinions based on opinion leaders who interpret media messages and put them into context. Opinion leaders are those initially exposed to a specific media content, and who interpret it based on their own opinion.

Active Audience:

This newer model sees the audience not as couch potatoes, but as individuals who are active and interact with the communication process and use media texts for their own purposes. They are prosumers (producers and consumers). Active audience theory argues that media audiences do not just receive information passively but are actively involved, often unconsciously, in making sense of the message within their personal and social contexts.

We behave differently because we are different people from different backgrounds with many different attitudes, values, experiences and ideas.

Active audience consists of different theories too, one of them being

Uses and Gratifications Model

This model stems from the idea that audiences are a complex mixture of individuals who select media texts that best suits their needs. The users and gratifications model suggests that media audiences are active and make active decisions about what they consume in relation to their social and cultural setting and their needs.

This was summed up by theorists . This means that audiences choose to watch programmes that make them feel good (gratifications), e.g. dramas and sitcoms, or that give them information that they can use (uses), e.g. news or information about new products or the world about them.

‘Media usage can be explained in that it provides gratifications (meaning it satisfies needs) related to the satisfaction of social and psychological needs’. Blumler and Katz in 1974

This video sums up this theory well

Why do we watch TV? | Uses and Gratification theory explained by The Media Insider

Blumler and Katz (1975) identified four main uses:

• Surveillance – our need to know what is going on in the world. This relates to Maslow’s need for security. By keeping up to date with news about local and international events, we feel we have the knowledge to avoid or deal with dangers.
• Personal relationships – our need for to interact with other people. This is provided by forming virtual relationships with characters in soaps, films and all kinds of drama, and other programmes and other media texts.
• Personal identity – our need to define our identity and sense of self. Part of our sense of self is informed by making judgements about all sorts of people and things. This is also true of judgements we make about TV and film characters, and celebrities. Our choice of music, the shows we watch, the stars we like can be an expression of our identities. One aspect of this type of gratification is known as value reinforcement. This is where we choose television programmes or newspapers that have similar beliefs to those we hold.
• Diversion – the need for escape, entertainment and relaxation. All types of television programmes can be ‘used’ to wind down and offer diversion, as well as satisfying some of the other needs at the same time.

Reception Analysis

Reception analysis is an active audience theory that looks at how audiences interact with a media text taking into account their ‘situated culture’.The theory suggests that social and daily experiences can affect the way an audience reads a media text and reacts to it.

Hall suggests that an audience has a significant role in the process of reading a text, and this can be discussed in three different ways:

• The Dominant or Preferred Reading. The audience shares the code of the text and fully accepts its preferred meaning as intended by the producers.
• The Negotiated Reading. The audience partly shares the code of the text and broadly accepts the preferred meaning but can change the meaning in some way according to their own experiences.
• The Oppositional Reading. The audience understands the preferred meaning but does not share the text’s code and rejects this intended meaning. This can be called a radical reading that may be, say Marxist or feminist or right wing.

The general difference between Passive and Active audience:

To sum it all up, A passive audience accepts the message in the way the media outlet intended it while an active audience questions what they see and independently form their own opinions.

All of this research would difinitely help me consider what type of film opening I am going to create and what audience I am going to target. Which brings me to my last point.

What is Target Audience? _{A target audience is the intended audience or readership of a publication, advertisement, or other message.}

I will go in more detail in my next post for target audience and what my target audience will be.

My first analysis was based on the 4 elements, camera, sound, editing, and mise-en-scenes. This analysis is based on the codes and convention of film and for this I chose A Quiet Place (2018) because this film had to portray emotions and deliver the story to audience without any dialogue, and although they used subtitles and sign language, it made me focus more on the expressions and movement more than anything. Also this film is a thriller, which is also the genre of my film opening.

A Quiet Place (2018):

Action and Events

The film starts with showing us the main location where all of the crisis takes place. The whole lane, with surrounding shops and buildings, is abandoned, no movement and sound is seen or heard anywhere, which clearly gives the audience an idea about how something terrible must have happened. After establishing the whole situation and the environment, we get to our main characters, with the sudden but silent pacing of a child.

We only see the silhouette of the pacing child, and by focusing on the naked feet, we slowly start to get a clearer picture that the people have to stay silent and make as less noise as possible.

Introduction of Characters

We are introduced to our main character with the help of light, as the child was not clear, but the girl is, showing us how who is going to play a more major part. Another emphasis on the sound is by showing us the body movements, how they have to take every step carefully.

Then we are introduced to the rest of the characters, and even though we are not told what is happening in the scene, we clearly can tell from the expressions, the gestures and the posture that the boy is sick and also from the shot of pharmacy. The convention is used as more focus is on what we are watching instead of listening, and the film maker not using any sound, making the audience focus on the visual aspect more. What we don’t know at the moment, is if the all the characters are related to each other, which makes us anxious, creating suspense and making the curious, maintaining their interest, hence using another convention.

Action and Events

The woman is shown checking the bottles of medicines, but through her careful movement and the effort to not make a sound, the idea is emphasized on how the main enemy is sound. They made sure to make the audience realize the importance of sound. All of this delivered by her expressions and gestures.

The girl from earlier, moves into the frame, and the hearing aid that was shown before comes in full circle when she uses sign language. The audience also relaxes considering they know each other. The conversation is minimal and is solely based on the expressions and signs.

The child and the girl, now united, have a conversation without any dialogues, and what started as a child like question and wonder, we feel the sorrow through the expression of the girl, the surrounding silence also plays a part in enhancing the emotions. Foreshadowing, another convention is used here, as the filmmaker show a contrast between reality, by showing the girl, and the fantasy, by showing the audience the wonder in his expressions and solemness in her’s, and show us the rocket thoroughly which ultimately ends up causing the death of the child.

The rocket is then again used to foreshadow the ending of the opening sequence, but now we realise how the girl is the only one who the kid has expressed his views about the rocket, and the whole saving the kid comes to a full circle when the one who saves him ultimately leads him to his end. This is also where we are introduced to our final character, the father.

In most movies, suspense is created through a rising beat, but all of the tension is created is without any sound, hence the main reason why I chose this film. The use of silence is used in such a way where so much is conveyed with so little noise.

We finally get to know every character, as the main girl goes from the mother and brother, to the youngest to the the father. The exchange between the father and the daughter is again portrayed via a channel of emotions, by their soft expressions which shows that they have a good bond with each other.

While the whole family unites, and the mother’s concern on the sun going down, we are shown the youngest playing with something while walking towards the rest of them.

And the way the father deals with the a simple toy, with the whole family visibly scared and moving behind, we realize the kind of situation they are living in, the kind of childhood these children are living in, where even a toy can be so dangerous to their life. The way this is portrayed by showing the child in the centre of the frame while the other characters being on the opposite side, already creates kind of an invisible wall between the five.

The main idea is clear to us by now, that there can be no noise, and this idea is yet again confirm by the readings on newspaper, and the sand and no shoe, where even the sound of a footstep can be hurtful. The whole family moves out, into the abandoned street, where our feelings are again changed into sympathy, it makes us question about what happened? and how did the family survive so far? The whole setting keeps the audience intrigued. One of the convention used is how the filmmakers have started the film from the middle of the story, not giving the audience on how the conflict came into being also makes the audience engaged.

All of these questions are answered at the end of the sequence. The expressions on everyone’s face really makes you shiver, how a mother cannot scream even though her child is moments away from death, how the defeat is shown on the father’s face when he couldn’t reach a few seconds earlier. The camera movement is what really explains the situation really well, the camera movement is shaky when showing the family who knows what’s coming but the camera movement is stable while showing the kid, who has no idea what’s happening.

What the most intriguing part is, the creature is never shown clearly, so we know that the antagonist is the sound itself. We do not see the conflict, but we also know what really is the cause of all the havoc. The filmmaker introduced the creature in a way where the audience gets the gist but do not fully know what is happening.

Titles

The title is not revealed until the end the whole sequence, which ties the whole sequence together, by showing us the title in a dark theme and the name quite literally giving us the meaning of the whole movie.

Cinematography

Also worth mentioning is the cinematography used in the film, the way the framing makes the family look small and alone in the surrounding, and how they merge with the environment, in order to make less sound. The close up of only the foot, supporting the no noise claim and making it stronger.

Genre

The genre this film has are Horror, Science Fiction, Drama, Thriller

Again, this film has a genre common with what my film opening has, Thriller. Drama also goes along the lines of my film opening but one of the reasons why I chose this film opening for analysis was the genres too. It does not establishes what the opposing force is and keeps the tension throughout the opening, making it a well-off Thriller film. The horror part also comes in at the last, with the tension finally colliding with the monster the family has been avoiding the whole film opening.

Theme and Topics

Although it is predominantly classified as a horror movie, at its heart, it tells a melodramatic story of the strong love in familial bonds, with touching themes of strength and sacrifice. This is established in the first few minutes as we already know there must be an antagonist as opposed to our protagonists, and the horror aspect comes in view as their seems to be an unknown force which is haunting the family in a way where they cannot make a single sound and this theme is yet again touched upon when they lose a family member for merrily doing something any child would do at this age. The second theme, which lays beneath all the horror, is the family’s bond and strength. The moment the family feels something is wrong, they do not hesitate to sacrifice and run for help. The starting also shows the bond between the family members and how they get along.

Sound

The main reason I wanted to analyze this movie was how they used sound and showed it’s importance. The silence is what completes the whole sequence as only visuals are the main focus. Even before the first tragedy, we do not hear any diegetic sound, only the non-diegetic sounds which in my opinion emphasizes more the tension rising. Sound is molded in a way which works for the film makers to enhance a sequence and feel what the family in the film must be going through.

Enigma Code

It does leave the audience in a frenzy as so many questions are answered. Why the family live the way that they do? Where is everyone else? What are the creatures? What happened? How they came into being? What will happen next? The whole sequence is built in so detail, most of your questions are answered in the first 10 minutes or so but still so many questions remain, resulting in the audience continuing to watch the rest of the film. The conflict, the main characters are already introduced in the first 10 minutes, which makes it a great film opening. The use of expressions, props and the surrounding really helped the meaning play out.

And all this concludes my second film opening analysis.

Since my project is based on film opening, I thought it was important for me to know how what I have learned so far is used in film openings. Therefore, I decided to analyze a film opening. While this is my first film opening analysis, it won’t be the last, I will do a few more to better understand how to convey ideas through them.

For this analysis, I chose The Dark Knight (2008), a film that combines the genre of crime, thriller and action.

The Dark Knight (2008):

Studio Company Logo

Introduction of Characters

Action and Events

The next few scenes follow the same pattern, with the men killing each other after the work being done. The camera remains shaky through most of the scenes, and stables when it comes on the man who starts shooting the robbers. It indicates what he’s being calm and steady, and what he’s doing is right in his mind.

The lightening indicates the shift in the two places, with the bank being lit and having high-key lightening while the basement having low-key lightening, indicating the mood shift, but mostly high-key lightening is used which seems unusual and unsettling for a heist, because most heists take place in the dark, but here it completely makes sense because it sets up the story with being something unusual and not like most.

The framing also gets congested and tight when on joker, while the rule of third mostly applies to Joker, and he is the one who is in the line of third mostly, while others are in the centre.

This, in my opinion, targetted the people who are young adults or adults, with the age ranging anywhere from 18-30. The genre can be shown via the suspense created from the framing to the quick and chasing sound.

Genre

The film portrays plenty genres such as Action, Thriller, Mystery, Crime Film and Drama

Even though not all of these genres collides with what my film opening have as a genre, it does have a common ground as thriller and mystery, which is why I decided to do the analysis of this film first. It portrays it’s genres clearly using different conventions.

Themes and Topics

The film itself may have many themes and topics, but the theme and topic which the film opening touched upon was mainly justice and corruption. The bad guys and our antagonist, which we see clearly as his motives comes in as an opposing force, are introduced in the first few minutes and we are given the idea that there must be someone opposed to the antagonist. The theme again, is touched as the Joker turns against his own people which at the end shows how no one can be trusted and just how corrupted is this world as compared to a fair world,.

Sound

The Non-diegetic and Diegetic sounds merge, with the sequence opening with an eerie music and then merging with the car’s. It shifts throughout the sequence, with music and all the background sounds. The significant change in the music we hear is when the Joker’s identity is revealed and that’s the climax where the build up ends up and sums up the whole sequence which is followed up by silence. The silence is for the audience to grasp what actually happened in the scene and that makes the audience concentrates on their thoughts and the visuals. Other than the music, all other sounds are non-diegetic like gunshots or dialogues.

Enigma Code

The question which makes the audience intrigued is how the antagonist will be stopped, what happens next and who stops him. All these questions are common but it simultaneously attracts the audience and since nothing is answered in the first few minutes, the audience are not left with many options except to watch the remaining movie to see how the story ends.

And all this concludes my first film opening analysis.

Since my task is to create a film opening and Mise-en-scène is an integral part of every frame in a film, I deem it necessary for me to know what Mise-en-scène is, and therefore, I am uploading this post, explaining Mise-en-scène, so that I know what the frames of my film opening should consist of.

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

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

Two main types of lightning are;

1. Low Key,
2. and High Key.

Low Key lightning is created by using only back and key lights, it produces sharp contrasts between lit and dark places, and it creates deep and distinct shadows and silhouettes.

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.

High Key lightning is natural and realistic to our eyes since it is bright and everything is clearly visible.

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

Three Point Lightening.

Three-point lighting is a traditional method for illuminating a subject in a scene with light sources from three distinct positions. The three types of lights are key light, fill light, and backlight

Colors have many connotations as well and are used to create different environments and give different meanings to objects, people or the frame in general. For e.g. green connotes nature, red can connote danger, threat or love, and blue creates a calm environment and is also used to represent freedom (color of the sky) and water etc.

Facial Expression and Body Language: they are used to clearly show how a person is feeling and when used together they can show the characters feelings, emotions and even the reason behind them. Body language can also indicate the relation between two people.

Costume, Hair and Make-up: They can immediately tell the audience about the occupation and financial status of the characters. They also show what time period the film is set in and they are also used to indicate the personality of the characters. Costumes can also be an identifying tool of certain characters, for e.g. the bat suit or a waistcoat and Sheriff’s badge for the Sheriff of a Wild West village.

Position of characters/objects in the frame: Positioning can draw attention to certain objects or characters; it can also show the importance of certain objects or characters. Furthermore, the positioning of two characters can show the relationship between them.

This sums up my general understanding of Mise-en-Scene and how it is used in Films.

The general meaning of editing can be as simple as Editing is the process of selecting and preparing writing, photography, visual, audible, and film media used to convey information. But that is not the only thing we need to know before analysing and using the editing skill in our film opening.

There are many effects and methods used in editing to make the final product look presentable with respect to it’s continuity.

Cuts & Transitions 101 by RocketJump Film School

Cut

A transition where one shot is instantly followed by another.

Continuity Editing

Visual editing where shots are cut together in a clear and linear flow of uninterrupted action. This type of cutting seeks to maintain a continuous sense of time and space.

Continuity Error

When the action or elements of a scene don’t match across shots. For example, when a character breaks a glass window but in a later shot the window is shown undamaged.

Cross Cutting

Technique used to give the illusion that two story lines of action are happening at the same time by rapidly cutting back and forth between them.

Cutaway

The interruption of a continuously filmed action with a shot that’s peripherally related to the principal action.

Dissolve

When the end of one shot overlaps the start of the next one to create a gradual scene transition.

Editing

The process of taking raw footage to select and combine shots to create a complete motion picture.

Establishing Shot

A shot that gives viewers an idea of where the scene is taking place. These usually involve a shot from a long distance, such as a bird’s eye view.

Eyeline Match

A technique based on the idea that viewers want to see what on-screen characters are seeing. For example, if a character is looking intently at an off-screen object, the following shot will be of that object.

Fade

A visual effect used to indicate a change in place and time. This involves a gradual brightening as a shot opens or a gradual darkening as the shot goes black or to another color. Sound also fades in and out to convey the change.

Iris

A wipe that takes the shape of a shrinking or growing circle, depending on if the scene is opening or ending. Rarely used today but very common during the silent era.

J Cuts

An editing technique that allows the audience to first hear audio from a shot, and then see it.

Jump Cut

An abrupt cut that creates a lack of continuity between shots by leaving out parts of the action.

L Cut

An editing changeover between one shot and another in film, where the visual and audio shift at different times. Also called a split edit.

Matched Cut

A cut joining two shots with matching compositional elements. This helps to establish strong continuity of action. One of the more notable examples of this technique is from a famous scene in “2001: A Space Odyssey.”

Montage

A sequence of shots assembled in juxtaposition of one another to create an emotional impact, condense a story,  or convey an idea. A famous example is “Psycho’s” shower scene. WARNING: This scene contains graphic violent content and may be disturbing. hereView the scene .

Roll

Graphics or text that moves up or down the screen. This technique is typically used for credits by having text move from bottom to top.

Rough Cut

The first editing pass done for a film. (The former sentence is not entirely accurate as an Assembly Cut is the first editing pass done for a film, but it depends on how one defines editing, so I think this is o.k.).  A rough cut receives further polishing and editing before making its way out to audiences.

Sequence Shot

A long take composed of one shot that extends for an entire scene or sequence. Usually requires complex camera movements and action.

Shot Reverse Shot

The alternating of over-the-shoulder-shots, usually used during a conversation between two characters.

Sweetening

The process of adding sound effects and music and/or enhancing the existing audio with effects.

Wipe

The transition from one shot to another with a visible pattern or element. No longer used in today’s films but very common in early cinema.

Another component is 180 Degree Rule:

In filmmaking, the 180-degree rule is a basic guideline regarding the on-screen spatial relationship between a character and another character or object within a scene. By keeping the camera on one side of an imaginary axis between two characters, the first character is always frame right of the second character.

And Rule of Thirds:

The rule of thirds is a concept in video and film production in which the frame is divided into into nine imaginary sections, as illustrated on the right. Points (or lines) of interest should occur at 1/3 or 2/3 of the way up (or across) the frame, rather than in the centre.

These are some of the main aspects and concepts of editing in media which helps the product come into it’s final form.

The second component in this is Sound, one of the most main component is Sound. Although film is sometimes thought of as a purely visual art-form it also relies heavily upon audio.

Even in the days of silent film, movies were usually screened with live performances from musicians who would play in time with the action on screen.With the invention of sound, film-makers in the late 1920’s were suddenly able to add a new dimension to their stories.

Actors could be heard to speak, actions could be highlighted with the use of vivid sound effects, and music could be used to give extra emotional life to films.It is now impossible to analyse cinema or to make films without understanding how film-makers use sound.

Different types of film sound include:

Diegetic Sound

The word ‘diegetic’ means to come from the world of a story.

It is sound which the characters on screen can hear and can include sound effects, the sounds made by movements and actions of characters, background noise and spoken dialogue.

Non-diegetic sound

Non-diegetic sound is any sound which does not come directly from the world of the story onscreen.

Traditional film music and voice-over narration are typical examples of non-diegetic sound. The characters in the film are unaware of these sounds, because they don’t exist in their world.

Music and musical scores

Music plays an important role in cinema. It can make action scenes feel more exciting, happy scenes more joyful and frightening scenes more suspenseful. Film scores are non-diegetic and cannot be heard by the characters on screen.

Sometimes, however, films will feature diegetic music. If a character is listening to music playing on a radio or if characters are singing or playing a musical instrument, then that music is diegetic.

Sound effects

A sound effect is any sound, other than speech or music, which has been recorded specifically for the film.Sound effects are usually tied to specific actions on-screen and recorded during post-production to enhance a scene.

A director might, for example, ask their sound designer to record high impact punching sounds to make a fist fight feel more exciting.

Some examples and thorough explanation is done in the following videos about how some of these sound effects are made.

How The Sound Effects In ‘A Quiet Place’ Were Made | Movie Insider by
Insider

How Animal Sounds Are Made For Movies And TV | Movies Insider by Insider

Dialogue

The term dialogue simply means the words that are spoken by the characters on screen. The amount of dialogue in any given film can vary. An action film may have very little spoken dialogue but a character based drama may have a lot.

For film-makers it is important that dialogue is always well recorded and clearly audible.It’s also important to never used dialogue if the story information being discussed can be shown visually.

How Character and Story are Hidden in Dialogue by James Hayes

Foley sound

Foley is the word used to describe replacement sounds recorded in post-production. Foley artists can also enhance or replace an original sound – if a character’s footsteps were not loud enough they might record the sound of their own footsteps and have that audio inserted into the film instead.

The Magic of Making Sound by Great Big Story

Sound bridge

A sound bridge is a technique in which the sound from a previous scene carries over into the opening of the next one.

In a horror movie, if one scene ended with a character screaming, the director might use a sound bridge to have that scream extend into the opening of the next scene.

A sound bridge can also be used to have audio from the next scene begin before the film-maker has cut to it.

Wild track

The term ‘wild track’ refers to sound that is recorded during a film shoot, but separately from the main production audio and without any accompanying film footage being shot.

Examples of wild track might include:

• recording a loud scream which might be heard off-screen during a scene
• re-recording sections of dialogue which may not have been recorded clearly during the day’s filming

The most common use of wild track is to capture ‘room noise’ or ‘atmos’ which is short for atmosphere.

Atmos is the background noise which can still be heard in a room or location even when no-one is speaking.

Recording a minute or more of this noise allows film-makers to edit audio more effectively by using that background track to cover gaps which might otherwise be noticeable.

One of the integral parts of every film is camera work, without which no film can be made. To make a film you need to shoot its scene and well, you cannot do it without a camera of any sort. However, shooting a scene/s is not so simple, you need to thoroughly think the camera angles, camera movements and shot types and maybe later on change them if the ones you thought of don’t give the desired impact.

Camera movement, angles and shot types can greatly influence every frame and even completely change the tone and sometimes even the meaning of the scene. Therefore, it is very important to know about the different shot types, camera movements and the impact that different angles create. Since I have got to make a film opening, it is necessary for me to be aware of them.

The different Shot Types:

The Distance Shots:  These shots are divided according to the distance between the camera and the character/s or object/s of focus in the frame. Usually the mid-shots and close-ups are utilized for the purpose of showing character driven scenes whereas, the long-shots and wide-shots are used to convey more about the action and themes.

The distance shots are;

• Close-ups: This shot shows the character or object up close, usually in the case of a character, only the head or head and shoulders fit in the frame. This is used to put more focus on the expression or reaction of the character and the details of the object, in case the close-up is of an object. They reveal the character’s feelings and thoughts and are used to reveal the truth about the character.
• Extreme Close-up: This is when a specific body part or a specific part of an object is shown up close. It is used to give more significance to the body part or the detail/part of the object which is shown in the frame. It also increases the emphasis the audience puts on the part.
• Mid-shot: This is one of the most common shot types, and it, while focusing on the character or object, also gives background information. In case of a character, it is usually from the waist to the top of the head.
• Long-shot: This type of shot is from a distance and is mostly used as an establishing shot to set the scene in the film. In case the long shot is of a character, it includes the full body of the character.
• Wide-shot: This shot is usually captured with a wide angle lens and packs a lot of visual information into the scene for the audience to properly comprehend it and get a good idea of what’s going on.

The Movement Shots: In these shots, the camera moves and the movements can be of multiple different types. The camera can also be static, which means that it doesn’t actually move. Such shots are usually of a short duration but highly effective.

The different types of movement shots are:

• Zoom Shots: The camera stays static but gives the impression that it is moving either towards or away from the object/character in focus, this is done through either zooming in or zooming out. These shots can have several purposes and also, they can be kept very subtle or made very obvious as well.
• Pan Shot: In a pan shot, the camera moves horizontally while staying in one place; it is just like standing in a place and then turning your head from left to right.
• Tilt Shot: This is like a pan shot, the difference being that instead of a moving horizontally, the camera moves vertically. They are sometimes used to move between low and high angle shots.
• Tracking Shots: In a tracking shot, the entire camera moves and to keep the movement smooth, the camera is usually mounted on a dolly, earning them the title of dolly shots as well. There are different types of Dolly Shots;
  • Character Dolly: this is most often used to focus on one or more characters in a scene. It also has a secondary name, push-in. the shot begins with a full or sometimes mid-shot and the camera pushes forward. It can be sometimes pushed all the way to an extreme close-up as well, if the scene requires it. They increase the seriousness of the scene and highlight a character’s emotions and feelings as well. By keeping the pace of the movement high, comical impact can be delivered as well.
  • Pull-Back Reveal: This is the reversal of a Push-In or character dolly, in a pullback reveal, the camera is set in a close-up and the shot pulls back to reveal the surrounding and it is mostly used to show the enormity of the situation
  • Expand Dolly: In an expand dolly, the camera is following a character whose pace is faster than the pace of the camera. This gives the impression that the character is moving away and creates a sense of distance as the audience feels distanced from the character. It can be used to end a scene and can be reversed to introduce a character.
  • Contract Dolly: In a contract dolly, the camera moves forward, with the character simultaneously moving towards the camera. This increases the drama in even a simple effect due to the usage of two opposite actions.
• Crane Shots: In these shots, the camera is either mounted on a crane or a mechanical arm that is able to lift it above the ground. It is not necessary that they must be very high shots but have great flexibility for shots. They can be used dramatically to simulate flying or swooping through a scene.
• Canted Angle Shots: The camera is placed at a specific angle to record the action. It can be used as a point of view shot or to create interesting speed images
• Aerial Shot: They are used to give a bird’s eye view of the scene, the sensation of flying or to create extreme long-distance establishing shots. They are usually shot through a helicopter or plane.
• Handheld Shots: In these shots, instead of being on a stable surface, the camera is held by a person. Such shots are used to create a bumpy look and were made popular by films like ‘the Blair Witch Project’. They are mostly used to give a sense of reality and for point of view shots.

Moving on to the different Angle Shots, they are;

• Eye Level Angle or Straight on Angle: Such shots create a real life effect. The camera is on the same level as the subject and this brings the audience on the same level as the subject as well, involving them in the action.
• High-Angle Shots: These shots are used to make someone look weak, inferior or intimidated. This is done by keeping the camera above the head and making them look upwards to look at the camera
• Low-Angle Shots: These are the opposite of the High-Angle shots, both literally and figuratively. They are used to make someone look powerful, superior and intimidating to the audience. This is done by placing the camera below their head level and making them look down on the camera.

Some shots serve a specific purpose and can be attained by different shot types; therefore, they are described by the purpose they serve instead of the type of shot. They are;

• Point of View Shot: This shot is a first person shot and is what the character would be seeing in the scene or frame. It can be any kind of shot and it puts the audience into the mind of the character and the camera usually moves according to the movement of the character’s head.
• Over The Shoulder Shot: This shot is used for the purpose of filming conversations. The camera films from over the should of one person and it films what the other person is saying to him. It is usually combined with a reverse angle shot to show what the person whose shoulder we saw replied.
• Two Shot: This is the shot of two people talking to each other and it shows the relation between them. It can be used to show the dialogues with Over the Shoulder Shots and/or close-ups.

These are the main camera angles, shot types and camera movements which one should know if he plans to make a film, or in my case, a film opening.

Some important facts to know about the shots in a film or TV Show is that each shot has a specific reason for being chosen and each shot has a certain effect on the audience. The effect of the shot can be about understanding the theme, characters or the story. The effect can be discovered and analyzed for its role to the audience’s understanding of the the scene and of the idea of the film as a whole.