Camera Angles

In this blog post, I will be looking at camera angles. There are 5 key camera angles and they are as follows: 

• Worm's eye view
• Low view
• Neutral view
• High view
• Bird's eye view

Here is a diagram of these 5 vital camera angles, just to make it clear:

So lets start from the bottom and work our way upwards. 

1) Worm's Eye View   

A worm's-eye view is a view of an object from below, as though the observer were a worm, the opposite of a bird's-eye view. A worm's eye view is used commonly for third perspective, with one vanishing point on top, one on the left, and one on the right. Directors use the worm's eye view to get some detail of the subject and this angle is used to make the viewing audience feel small in some cases. 

2) Low-Angle Shot

A low-angle shot, is a shot from a camera angle positioned low on the vertical axis, anywhere below the eye line, looking up. The effect of the low-angle shot is that it makes the subject look strong and powerful. The image on the left shows the final scene from Tarantino's 'Inglorious Bastards'. This angle makes the two characters look in a position of power and authority. 

3) Neutral View

This shot is when the camera is level or looking straight on with the subject. A neutral view angle has little to no psychological effect on the viewer. As you can see in the image on the left, the viewing audience is level with everything on the screen, giving them a sense of balance and normality. 

4) High-angle shot

A high-angle shot is a shot in which the camera is physically higher than the subject and is looking down upon the subject. The high angle shot can make the subject look small or weak or vulnerable. This angle works well in horror movies, when characters are made to look helpless and vulnerable. On the left, you can see James Bond looking in a vulnerable position, he is displayed to look in trouble and not a in a controlled situation. 

5) Bird's Eye View

This angle is used to set a scene, and display the whereabouts of a character in a setting. It is often used as an establishing shot, because the viewing audience can see where the character is. 

Camera Shots

In this blog post I will be looking at the most vital and most widely used camera shots. 

Extreme close up 

Extreme Close Up 
The extreme close up shot is used to reveal very small details in the scene. For example, it may be used to reveal horror in a subject's face. It may show a character screaming, as she or he screams. It might also be used in a romance film to show the emotion on a character's face during an intimate moment between two characters on the screen. It may also be used in a detective/mystery film to show some detail that a detective has picked up on a clue. 

Close up shot

Close Up 
This kind of shot is used to reveal detail in a character's face. If you are shooting the character from the shoulders up (shoulders not being shown), this can easily be identified as a close up shot. They are the most commonly used shots in film, as they can be simply used to display emotion in a characters face, but not as much detail as the extreme close up. These shots are used in all genres, whether its in horror films, romantic films or documentary films. 

Head and shoulder shot

Head and shoulders 
The head and shoulders shot is used mostly in news broadcasts. If you imagine yourself watching the 10 o'clock news, you will realise that this shot reveals enough detail to see the subject's lips move and the expression on his or her face. I have seen this shot used a lot in James Bond films. Imagine a shot when Bond climbs out of his Aston Martin, and looks around at his surrounding area, wearing his aviators. This shot shows detail on the face of the subject, but shows the background. 

Bust Shot

Bust Shot
The 'bust shot' shows your subject from above the knees to above the head. It is often used when the subject of the shot is doing something that requires the audience to see some detail. An example of this shot is evident in Saving Private Ryan, when the soldiers are walking across an open field, and Tom Hanks stops to read a map, while looking around at his surroundings. You can see the look on his face, and you can see that he is reading a map, while seeing the background setting. 

Medium Shot

Medium Shot
The medium shot is from just below the waist to above the head, as you can see from the image on the left. There is more headroom than in the bust shot. This shot is used if the person is animated with their hand movements. This shot is used in many films. For example, if you are watching a thriller film, this shot might show a secret agent walking down a corridor, doing something with his hands as he walks, like pulling out a weapon for example. 

Medium Long Shot

Medium Long Shot
In this shot, you can view the subject from the knees up, and you can see the detail of the surrounding setting. With the medium long shot, you can still see expression on the character's face, while taking in the information from what is going around the person. This shot is effective in a film where a character is walking into a new setting. You can see the character walking, you can see the facial expression of the character and you can also pay attention to all the things going on around the character. 

Long Shot

Long Shot
This shot is very useful for a character that is walking or moving. In this shot, you can see the whole character, as well as the setting that surrounds them. A classic example of this shot is in the mockumentary film; Borat. When we are introduced to the town where Borat lives, and we are introduced to the people who live there, there is a long shot of Borat walking, being followed by the townspeople, while he speaks about the film you are about to watch. You can focus on him, as well as everything going on around him. 

Extra Long Shot

Extra Long Shot
Also known as the establishing shot. This extra long shot gives the viewing audience some perspective as to where the subject is. This is very important if the subject is moving to a new location or a different time period. It lets the viewing audience know where the filming is taking place. As you can see in the image on the left, my mum is in the conservatory, but where? This shot allows us to see the location where the room she is in is located, in a house. 

Over Shoulder Shot

Over Shoulder Shot
The over the shoulder shot reveals one subject as seen from over the shoulder of another subject. It simulates a view of the subject as from a second pair of eyes, which are situated behind the character. This shot is often used in conversations between two people where the director wants to focus on the person speaking. Usually these shots are head shots (close-ups of the speaker). These shots are often used in documentaries when the documentary maker/presenter is having an interview with someone who is related with the documentary question.

Textual Analysis - Vicky and Sam (Romance)

In this post I will be executing a textual analysis of a classic Romance film called 'Vicky and Sam'. The film is about two young people meeting in a video store, then falling in love over their passion for film. While Vicky and Sam fall in love, three film makers sit in a diner discussing a plot for their own film, as they do this, the story they are telling is being replicated to the word by Vicky and Sam. In many ways, in terms of sound, editing, mise-en-scene and camera work, this film is a classic love film. I will begin with looking at the muse-en-scene of the film. For example, in most of the shots in the montage that shows the two characters being very much in love, the lighting is quite low-key and this is typical of a romance film because low-key lighting represents a mood of love and relaxation. 

Sound 
The use of non-diegetic music allows the viewing audience to share the emotions felt by the two characters, Vicky and Sam. The music is typical music that you would expect to hear in a romance film, as its played by an orchestra and its in a major key, meaning it sounds joyful and happy. 

Editing
Like in every love film ever made, there is a montage of shots of the couple doing things together like getting coffee, sharing their first kiss, and playing around on the bus in each others arms. This montage allows the viewing audience to get a glimpse of what the couple has been up to over a long period of time, but the audience see little pieces of their time together, summing up what the couple have done over the space of weeks into under 30 seconds. 

Camerawork
When the two characters are in the video store, both of them are shown on either side of the bookcase using a medium long shot. There is a shot of Sam looking at films, and then there is a shot of Vicky sorting through DVDs. Both these shots represent that the two characters are made for each other because of mutual love for film. After this, when they spot each other through the shelves, there are some close up shots of both Vicky and Sam as they walk towards the end of the isle of films. They stare at each other curiously, as you can see below:

Watch the film below! I recommend. 

               

Get off my land

Here is the link to the short film that I analysed in my last post!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/filmnetwork/films/p00gs4yj

Get Off My Land - Textual Analysis

In this blog post, I will be doing a textual analysis of a professionally made short film called: 'Get Off My Land', a film about two walkers who encounter a farmer that wants more than just the people to get off his land, he wants their lives, and he takes them. I will look at the sound, camera work, editing and mise-en-scene of the film. 

 In terms of sound, there is no non-diegetic sound added to the film in the post-production process, and this adds to the simplicity of the film that makes it so good. The only sound is the sound that is 'visible' on screen, this of course being the diegetic sound. At the beginning of the film, all you can hear is the sound of the characters walking along and scaling the fence, while the female character waits and sighs in a disappointed manner. This use of only diegetic sound makes the film seem more life-like; you feel like you are there, listening to the background noise of the countryside and hearing the two characters. Also, the use of only diegetic sound represents how where they are walking is really remote area, and they are all alone. 

Now I will look at the editing in this short film. At the beginning, numerous shots from different locations are shown, showing the able female and the male character who is represented in a way that shows him as someone who clearly does not enjoy long country walks. For example, when the woman climbs over the fence, she walks on and then stops, turning back towards back to the direction fence. The man shakes the fence and mumbles, as it cuts to the woman looking extremely disappointed. These cuts between the two characters show the contrast between them. 

Lets move on to camera work. When the man is shot after challenging the farmer to fight for the land, there is a close up shot of the woman's face which is covered in the blood of the man that has just been murdered by the farmer. As the farmer walks off, the woman begins to weep excessively, while the camera is focused on her face. Eventually, there is an extreme wide shot of the a tree line. You can faintly hear a gunshot, and all you can see are some birds flying away, due to the shock of the gunshot. Another example of the camera work is when the man and the farmer are discussing how the land they are standing on came to be in ownership of the farmer. As they talk, there is a medium close up shot of each character, showing the emotions upon each of the character's faces.

Finally I shall look at the mise-en-scene of the short film. Location wise, the film is chilling because an event like this could happen in real life in that exact kind of rural location. Looking at costume, all the characters are wearing normal every day clothes. This means that the film appeals to anyone because it shows it can happen to anyone who goes out for a walk in the countryside. Scary stuff. 

Film names

I am thinking about names for my film and I have came up with a few ideas. One name I came up with is Instinct, as in my film it is human instinct to believe that the dog is under the bed licking the girl's hand, but in a matter of fact, it's the escaped serial killer. 

My Beast Friend

Here is my textual analysis of a professionally made short film titled 'My Beast Friend', a film about Ed who has a fully grown man in the form of a cat, but he is the only one who can see the cat in this form. Everyone else seems to see him as a normal cat, but he is far from normal! I would class this as a comedy and I will not textually analyse this film. Looking at sound, there is only dialogue, and the added sound of a purring cat when the girl picks the cat up. This adds to the hilarity of the situation because the woman hears the cat as a normal cat, but Ed, the male character, hears the cat as a grumpy Scottish man. Looking at the camerawork, when all the characters are talking at the same time, the mid-shot is used to get all the characters in the shot, and this allows the viewer to feel like they are in the room with the characters. Also, close up shots are used to show the expression of the cat's face multiple times during the clip. This highlights the hilarity of the cat, as you can clearly see whiskers that are hand drawn on his face. Looking at editing, like a usual comedy short film, there are straight cuts between shots and the shot lengths are quite long, there are no quick cuts between shots, and this is typical of a comedy short film. At the end, before the cat swears, the image is cut, along with the sound, and the credits roll. This abrupt ending of the cat's dialogue makes the film very funny, because we can all guess what the cat is going to say anyway! Finally I will look at the mise-en-scene. The cat costume worn by the grumpy Scottish man is effective and it adds a significant degree of comedic value to the film. Location wise, the film is shot in one space and this is typical of any comedy production. For example, in Peep show the main location is Mark and Jeremy's flat, in the Inbetweeners its in the school, and in this short film, the main location is Ed's hallway. 

Watch this excellent film below. Enjoy!

Spider

In this blog post I will be analysing a short film called 'Spider', a dark film about a dispute between a couple which is resolved and then their process of making up is abruptly ended when the woman is hit by a car. You can watch this short film at the bottom of this post. 
I will be analysing the sound, camera work, editing and mise-en-scene of this film. 

Starting with sound, in the first few minutes of the film, only diegetic sound is used when the couple is sitting in the car having a conversation, which has obviously followed a heated argument between the two people. You can hear character's dialogue and the sound of objects in the car such as the indicator when she signals to turn into the garage and the handbrake that she puts on when she comes to a stop at the garage. For the duration of this time, you can hear the typical background noise of a busy road, full of cars travelling in different directions. This use of only diegetic sound adds to the sense of realism, and you do feel as if you are sitting in the car with the couple. You are not left with the traditional non-diegetic background music. In the scene where the man throws the toy spider at the girl and she jumps into the road, being hit by the car, there is no non-diegetic sound for a while and the background noise continues, but the use of no non-diegetic sound adds to the harrowing silence in which the male character looks on to the road in shock at his partner. However, when he gets out of the car and begins to realise whats happening, non-diegetic music is played. This music is dark and harrowing, matching the situation that he is now in. In addition to this, as he walks towards the body of his partner, the screen goes black for a moment while the sound of an ambulance plays loud and clearly over the top, giving us time ourselves to recover from the shock of what just happened. This use of the ambulance sound just adds more panic to the situation, making it more intense, and therefore more engaging for the audience to watch. 

Moving onwards, I will look at the camera work in the film. At the beginning of the film when the two characters are talking, the camera is in the back of the car filming the couple. When one character talks, there is an over the shoulder close up shot of them as they speak. Equally, when each character waits to hear what the other person has to say, the same shot is used to show the reaction of the character. So filming from the back seat of the car allows the viewing audience to feel like they are there in the car, witnessing and hearing this couple as they talk. The use of the close up and over the shoulder shots allow the audience to see the expression of different emotions upon the faces of the two characters, and allows the viewing audience to share the same emotions. For example, when the woman says: "You always take it to far", we can see the face of the man who looks puzzled and we can see the expression of confusion on his face. This makes us ask questions such as: what is the woman talking about, or what did the man say to provoke this statement?

In terms of editing, I will look at the scene when the paramedics are attempting to revive the female character who was hit by the car. When this is going on, there are straight cuts between shots of the calm ambulance crew attempting to save the life of the injured woman and the man (who threw the spider) who is clearly in a distressed state. This order of shots between the man and the ambulance crew shows the contrast in emotions that are flooding the situation. To add to this, the transitions between shots occur rapidly, which adds to the intensity of the situation and mimics the fast rate at which the ambulance crew is working at to save the life of the injured woman.

When looking at mise-en-scene we must look at lighting, costumes, props and location. In terms of lighting, throughout the whole film, the lighting is high-key and this adds to the realism of the film as the film being shot outside in the sunlight during a busy day makes it real because it its a reconstruction of a life-like event, that could easily happen. In terms of costume, props and location, the film is just made more realistic because the costumes are normal costumes that you see everyday, the props are everyday things (e.g. flowers, chocolates and a card), and finally the location is a busy street side, which is very effective place to shoot this film because it makes it life-like.

Watch the this film below! WARNING: I don't recommend this if you are squeamish.