Friday, 21 September 2012

Taking our own Shots: Camera Angles

























At school on the 21/09/12 our class set out to take some photos of typical shots to help give us a better idea of the style of shot and subject positioning. I have used a photo manipulation program to develop the still images into horror film style with screen letter boxing, 'cool' colour correction and blurring of what should be unfocused areas. I had to blur the areas that should not be in focus as i had taken the photos with an iPod touch fourth generation, which has multi-point focus so everything in the screen is supposedly in focus. The blurring of imaging also add field of depth which adds to the 'reality feel' of the shot. All of the photos were taken in day, i want to make this clear as some of the colour corrections may darken the images to give a more spine chilling effect of horror genre


The extreme close up shown below almost gives an artificial feel to the shot, in that it completely magnifies what the human eye would see in reality; the zoomed-in style shot takes all the the viewers attention off of the background and focuses their attention on the subject of the shot (in this case the face) making the viewer concentrate on them. I have used a radial blur to block out the background on the right (as this shouldn't be a point of focus for the audience) and have added a 'cool' colour correction instead of warm. This is because as we are studying horror in class and it seems fitting that I continue the theme in my shots.
The eye near middle of the shot is grabbing, as the high contrast of black (iris and pupil) contrasts with white background of the eye (the sclera) making it stand out - thus attracting our eyes to this actor, and not the blurred out background. Natural lighting is used in this image as this was considered most appropriate, the shine of light coming off of only the nose shows that the lighting of this shot isn't that off artificial as that would have reflected in the eye of the actor used and made the shot look 'fake'.

















This close up image (shown below) is a magnification of the subject of the image who is placed left-centered shot. It takes us into the mind of the individual as in reality we only let people we know and are comfortable to be with get that close to our face. This camera shot allows us to become intimate with the character on screen and bond with them through this. The use of low saturation in the colour correction gives a more grey scale look to the shot, taking most of the colour from view this gives us the impression not everything in this scene will be represented as happy and 'all in bloom' , it may have a dark, evil and corrupt side to it .
The actor presented on the white background makes them stand out from the rest of the frame, presenting them as the favorable character (as white background will portray the character as angelic and superior as actor Jim Carey is presented as God in Bruce Almighty in this image). Lighting in this frame comes from an overhead recessed lighting source (where the bulb isn't seen and is given out through a beam of plastic) which lights up the whole of the characters face on one side, this could suggest that the character has multiple personalities or spirits within as the other side of his face is heavily shadowed towards the center of the frame which makes this even more noticeable.
















The mid-shot (shown below) shows the actor in the right third of the screen, this off centered technique allows the viewer to see behind the actor for if there were to be something behind them, and not leaving the shot dull and uninteresting as if the subject was centered.  The medium shot shows above the waist which is all we need to see to get enough detail about them. If we were to look at the actor we would only take notice of the top half of him so replicates what the viewer would see if they were there in that moment. Ceiling lighting lights up a path of lights which seem follow the subject - suggesting that they are superior and leaving good in their trail. This medium shot gives a strong sense of depth as the subject is shown waist up and infront of a long corridor
















This very long shot allows us to see the length of the hallway with the actor's shadow reflecting on the shiny floor vinyl. The use of lighting allows reflections to cast onto the floor which adds to the confusion and disorientation of the shot, a common technique used in horror to make the viewer feel uneasy. Long shots are generally used to show the whole body of the subject of the shot so this is one of the many variations called the very long shot.
















The very wide shot of the car park shown below is categorized as a very wide shot over an establishing shot as an actor is actually in the shot somewhere (hard to see but near the middle of the screen to the right). This shot shot is naturally lighted as lighting it otherwise would be very hard as the area is so huge. The post shooting colour correction includes a blur vignette to soften the harsh contrast between black and whites and an orange hue tones the image to warmer colours. The use of warmer colours like this could be used towards the end of the horror film when the story line is being resolved or good overcomes evil. The shot is broken up into two thirds land and horizon and one third sky, adding complexion and sophistication to
















This establishing shot (shown below) shows the whole of our school playing field, it's the type of shot would begin a scene, establishing the whereabouts of where the scene is set. The shot shows the full width of the field, and uses the trees in the background to darken the scene. I added a dark, vignetted colour correction, which furthermore adds to this mysteriously powerful shot. This establishing shot reveals enough to know where the 'action'  is happening but at the same time does't reveal too much as the darkness conceals the details of the shot. The only lighting used is the natural lighting of the sun, which makes the shot seem 'not setup' thus giving the audience a more true and powerful viewing experience. The white light coming from the sun in the center of the frame contrasts with the trees before it, giving a large contrast in colour. This high contrast that we can see from left to right all the way across the shot does not focus our attention on only one spot but over the horizontal class of white on black - 'keeping our eyes busy'.
















This high angle shot makes the audience feel that this character is less significant as she is being 'swallowed up' by the surrounding image which is elevated above the actress. This shot gives us a general overview of the shot, as we can see the subject of the shot and whats behind them. However what the high angle shot in this case conceals is where the actress is looking, this makes the viewer wonder and question what they are looking at or for. I have again used a high contrasting, low saturation vignette colour correction. This is the typical horror / thriller look is used to create a cold and tense atmosphere which keeps the audience on edge. Natural light which is reflected off of the tiles on the left hand side of the frame looks artificial in that it is exceedingly bright - this bright white reflection of light juxtaposes the dark tiles and gloomy grass that it borders, creating a clash of supposedly good and evil of which the actress is seperating.
















This wormseye shot gives a sense of character insignificance as the worms eye shot has a point of view feel to it, as if the subject of the shot is superior to that of the character who's position we are looking from. This camera angle makes the subject of the shot seem strong, mighty and overpowering as we have to 'look up to him'. The light on the right hand side of the shot lights up the frame and gives the subject of the shot a dark shadow on the side nearest to the camera.









A Canted shot is where the camera is tilted to suggest instability, this is very commonly used in horror as this can overlap the effects of a POV (Point Of View) shot, almost seeming to be the eyes in what in this case could be some kind of spirit or force as the actors positioning and facial expressions show they aren't aware the 'eyes of the camera' being there. The parting in the trees matches that of the actors which suggests there is a gap somewhere socially between the characters on shot. The slight camera rotation is significant enough to notice there is abnormal activity occurring in this shot, portraying the same abnormality in an apocalyptic or possessive sensation for the viewer.
















The POV shot (Point Of View Shot) shown below is commonly used in horror movies to give the viewer a closer feel the the actor, this action can make the viewer feel closer towards the thoughts and sights of the characters whose perspective we are seeing from. The lighting used comes front the front of the actor, so in this particular frame comes from the top shadowing the palm and under the hand. This us of artificial light infact makes the shot look more realistic as the shadows cast look legitimate. The use of the ring binder in the shot (towards the very left of the frame) gives a very high contrast of white and black - improving the overall finesse of the shot as horror movies have strong colour schemes like this to exageerate the difference between dark and light.
















This over the shoulder shot is a variation on the medium shot, in which we can see over the actors shoulder and by the side of their face, revealing another actor standing in front of him. The use of the rule of thirds again adds character to the shot, allowing the viewer to see a more structured shot than that of a centered subject. The vignette wraps the shot nicely and makes the hallway on the right of the frame seem darkened out, thus rendering the impression that 'dark lies within' this area. Lighting as we can see illuminates the back right side of the shot casting shadows to the forward left. This clever lighting technique portrays the actor in the white shirt and black tie to be the definite target of the shot, as the actor whose shoulder we oversee is darkened out of the frame. The use of the over the shoulder shot here helps the viewer establish what the actor will see from the position shown in the still, giving a very strong character bond between viewer and character - improving the way we feel about what we see on screen.
















By Rhys Mcevoy
AS Media
G321

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