Video & Sound Production | Exercises
Nadia Chong Wen | 0355736 | Bachelor's of Design (Honours) in Creative
Media
Exercises | Video & Sound Production
Lecture Notes
Week 1
Shot Size:
Extreme Long Shot (ELS) or Extreme Wide Shot (EWS)
- An extreme long shot (or extreme wide shot) make your subject appear small against their location. You can use an extreme long shot to make your subject feel distant or unfamiliar.
Long Shot (LS) or Wide Shot (WS)
- In other words, there should be a good deal of space above and below your subject. Use a long shot (or wide shot) to keep your subject in plain view amidst grander surroundings.
- The wide shot also lets us see the beautiful background imagery, as well as the onlookers which will make any big moment more cinematic.
- Of the many camera shots, a long shot gives us a better idea of the scene setting, and gives us a better idea of how the character fits into the area.
Full Shot (FS)
- So, technically, this shot begins in a wide shot, moves to full shot (seen above), and eventually ends in a cowboy shot.
- Of all the different types of camera shots in film, full shots can be used to feature multiple characters in a single sho
Medium Wide Shot (MWS)
- A medium long shot (aka medium long shot) frames the subject from roughly the knees up. It splits the difference between a full shot and a medium shot.
- You can always frame camera shots from any angle as well, so don't be afraid to think about medium long shots when behind a character.
Cowboy Shot (CS)
- A variation on this is the Cowboy Shot, which frames the subject from roughly mid-thighs up. It’s called a “cowboy shot” because it is used in Westerns to frame a gunslinger’s gun or holster on his hip.
Medium Shot (MS)
- Reveals your subject in more detail.
- The medium shot is one of the most common camera shots. It's similar to the cowboy shot above, but frames from roughly the waist up and through the torso. So it emphasizes more of your subject while keeping their surroundings visible.
- A medium shot can often be used as a buffer shot for dialogue scenes that have an important moment later that will be shown in a close-up shot.
Medium Close Up Shot (MCU)
- The medium close-up frames your subject from roughly the chest up. So it typically favors the face, but still keeps the subject somewhat distant.
- The medium close-up camera shot size keeps the characters eerily distant even during their face-to-face conversation.
Close Up (CU)
- You know it’s time for a close-up shot when you want to reveal a subject’s emotions and reactions. The close-up camera shot fills your frame with a part of your subject. If your subject is a person, it is often their face.
Extreme Close Up (ECU)
- An extreme close-up is the most you can fill a frame with your subject. It often shows eyes, mouths and gun triggers. In extreme close-up shots, smaller objects get great detail and are the focal point.
Establishing shot
- An establishing shot is a shot at the head of a scene that clearly shows us the location of the action. This shot often follows an aerial shot and is used to show where everything will happen.
Composition:
What is composition?
Composition refers to the way elements of a scene are arranged in a camera frame. Shot composition refers to the arrangement of visual elements to convey an intended message. It can be used to indicate intention.
The Rule of Thirds
- Firstly, the rule of thirds is one of the most common camera framing techniques used in film or photography. It's about positioning a character to show their relation to other elements in the scene.
Balance and symmetry
- Understanding frame composition rules is invaluable knowledge for directors and cinematographers. And so is knowing when to break them.
- Shooting a perfectly symmetrical shot, breaking the rule of thirds, is used for very specific reasons. It causes tension and increases focus, drawing the eye to a certain place.
- Leading lines are actual lines (or sometimes imaginary ones) in a shot, that lead the eye to key elements in the scene.
- Artists use this technique to direct the viewer’s eye but they also use it to connect the character to essential objects, situations, or secondary subjects. Whatever your eye is being drawn to in a scene, leading lines probably have something to do with it.
- Eye-level framing positions the audience at eye-level with the characters, which plants the idea that we are equal with the character. Leading the eye and the mind to consider how we would feel if we were there, because it almost feels like we already are.
- It helps the viewer empathize with character because it lets them see "eye-to-eye."
Week 2
Instructions
Week 1
Quiz Results:
Exercise 1 - "Mint":
We were tasked with editing the clips into a video.
Exercise 2 - "Doritos":
The clips in this file were scrambled and we were tasked with figuring out the sequence of clips, edit them and combine them together.
Week 2
Quiz Results:
Exercise 1 - Shooting Exercise:
During this tutorial, we learnt about the uses of each shot when it comes to a video and as an exercise we were paired us up to take video shots of different shot techniques found in film. I paired up with Edlin in class and here's are the list of techniques that we were instructed to do:
- Close Up Shot
- Frontal MCU (Soft Background)
- Frontal MS (Soft Background)
- Extreme Close Up Shot
- Side Angle MS Shot
- 3/4 angle MCU shot (Soft Background)
- Low Angle Wide Shot
- Eye-Level Medium Wide Shot
Exercise 2 - Questions (Lalin):
1. Which part is act 1, act 2, act 3 respectively? Describe each act with ONE paragraph only.
- Act 1 of Lalin introduces us with the protagonist, a internet celebrity of a masked lady. Despite the internet fame that she has garnered over the years, she still feels unsatisfied and yearns for to accept herself and to show her true self behind the saturated face filters. This is due to the bullying she had to endure in high school with nicknames like "Miss Meteorite"
- In Act 2, Lalin gets a chat from Nut regarding a translation of his newest book and they start to befriend each other more from messages to video calls. Nut then asks if Lalin can show her face without the mask until he surprises her with a text of him in Sapporo.
- In Act 3, a chance encounter brings Lalin and Nut face-to-face. However, Lalin's insecurities, stemming from a hidden struggle with acne, lead her to push Nut away, asking him to leave. The fallout reveals a shocking truth: Nut is someone from Lalin's past, someone who recognized her all along. He had been working tirelessly to better himself, hoping for a chance to reconnect with her. Heartbroken, Lalin races after Nut, desperate to catch him. But time runs out, and she watches helplessly as he boards a departing train, leaving her behind.
2. What is the inciting incident in the movie?
- When Nut or "Astronaut Nut" texted Lalin about a Japanese translation of his Graphic Novel.
3. What is the midpoint scene in the movie?
- During the montage of Lalin and Nut conversing each other with messages and video calls.4. What is the Climax scene in the movie?
5.What is the theme of the movie?
- When you are so used to focusing on minor things, you tend to miss out on opportunities that comes by.
Watching this movie taught me a lot about the simple ways of filmmaking can still create a fantastic piece of work like Lalin. I also learned of how a story structure is when it comes to film making. I found that it could be applied in other forms of media as well.
Week 3
Quiz Results:
Reflection:
Storyboarding is really effective on seeing whether a scene will work. It was really interesting to see more of what I had originally read and learned about and see why and how storyboards properly work within a film.
Week 4
Reflection:
Storyboarding is really effective on seeing whether a scene will work. It was really interesting to see more of what I had originally read and learned about and see why and how storyboards properly work within a film.
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