Film 2200 - Quiz 2

Cinematography

Manipulations of film images in camera and in post—during lab processing or DI (digital intermediate) finishing process

3 Aspects of Cinematography

Photographic Aspects, Framing, Duration 

Depth of Field

Range of photographed planes in sharp focus 

Lens

Throw soft or sharp focus on objects being photographed 

Fields of Space

Foreground, middle ground, and background 

Selective/Shallow Focus

Only a few specific planes in focus (objects on other planes have hazy contour lines) 

Deep Focus

All or Most Planes in focus (all or most objects have sharp contour lines) 

Deep Space

Multiplanar Space that goes very deep 

Deep Staging

Staging that happens deeply in the frame 

Focal Length

Distance from center of lens to the point where light rays meet on the picture plane (measured in millimeters) 

Wide-Angle Lens

Creates illusion of exaggerated spatial depth; objects closer to the camera seem enlarged; straight lines near edges may curve; short focal length; takes in wider angle of view, deeper focus (ex: real = 10ft, lens = 30ft) GREAT Z-AXIS DEPTH 

Telephoto Lens

Opposite of wide-angle; creates illusion of exaggerated flatness; compresses planes of space; long focal length; “slow” lens, so focus tends to be selective; narrower angle of view; result: “pancake” effect, working against perceived depth 

Normal Lens

No overt exaggeration; middle-range focal length; also “slower” lens, so tends to create selective focus; result: depth-wise, akin to the naked eye... 

z-axis depth, size diminution 

This refers to how objects appear smaller the further away they are from the camera

Rack Focus

In a selective focus shot, shifting focus from one plane to another in the same shot (redirects viewer attention w/o cutting

Follow Focus

In a selective focus shot, shifting focus to follow a moving figure 

Extreme Long Shot (ELS)

Small Figure, Setting Dominates 

Long Shot (LS)

Headroom between top and bottom of figure and the frame 

Full Shot (FS)

Framed from ankles or bottom of feet up 

3/4 Shot or Medium Long Shot (MLS)

From knees up

Medium Shot (MS)

From waist up 

Close Shot (CS) or Medium Close Up (MCU)

From chest up 

Close Up (CU)

Usually tops of shoulders are visible, head fills frame 

Extreme Close Up (ECU)

Magnifies part of head or other body part 

Straight-on Angle

Directly at head level with the actor, or just like straight ahead 

High Angle

Camera above, looking down 

Low Angle

Camera below, looking up 

Camera Height

Head, Waist, Foot Level (3 Camera Heights) 

Canted Angle

Camera tilted on its head 

the realist function of style + wide angle lens w/ anti-reflective coating in Citizen Kane

24-28mm lens, create the effect of sharpness from 2ft-infinity. Creating deep focus that creates focus in all planes of space 

Tilt

Camera head tilts up and down, scanning space vertically

Pan

Camera head swivels left or right, scanning space horizontally

Whip/Swish Pan

Rapid pan, creates blur

Track/Dolly

Entire camera moves through space smoothly on a track or truck 

Crane/Drone

Entire camera moves up or down on a device that travels smoothly above ground (camera height) 

Reframing

Slight movement to keep the figure in the center of the frame 

Handheld

Entire camera held by a person 

Steadicam

Developed in the 1970s; a handheld shot that uses a harness to create the smoothness of a tracking shot 

Bodycam

Developed in the mid-1960s; camera rigged to the body of the actor, usually with wide-angle lens + “shaky” 

Axial Movement

Directly forward/backward along lens axis 

Diagonal Movement

Diagonally along plane of space 

Arcing

Circular motion with camera using rotambulator 

Lateral Movement

Camera movement left to right 

Vertical Movement

Camera movement up and down 

Motivated Camera Movement

Camera movement that follows figure movement

Unmotivated Camera Movement

Camera movement not dependent on figure movement 

Aspect Ratio

Proportional Ratio between the frame width and height

Academy Aspect Ratio

1.37:1

Widescreen Aspect Ratio

2.35:1

Two-Shot

Framing of two figures in the same MS, CS, or CU 

Irises

Circular Masks that move to transition between shots (iris in and iris out) 

Splitscreen

Creating 2 or more frames within the frame 

Onscreen space

On the screen 

Offscreen space

offscreen stuff 

5 Places for Offscreen Space

4 edges of frame, behind space of the scene

Long Take

a take that remains uninterrupted for more than 30 seconds