Pre-Production
Funding - Screenplays - Writing - Filmmaking Links - Ideas - Storyboarding
Production
Cinematography - Acting - Lighting - Sound - Crew
Post Production
Distribution - Editing - Festivals - Online Screening
Forum
Articles - Projects - Profiles
Background
Books - Films - History of Film - History & Genres - News & Reviews - Glossary - Short Film Competitions
Animation
Photography
Home
Elements of cinematography:
-Film itself – properties and characteristics of different types of raw stock, or of the digital camera.
-Composition – position of visual elements within a frame.
-Illumination – character and quality of the lighting of each scene.
Composition
-Key is motion
-Primary goal of film composition is to project a sense of depth
More subtly, the audience must be drawn into the frame, they must not feel like the film is taking place on a flat screen in front of them.
-Film allows the filmmaker to control and direct the attention of the audience, both within the mise en scene (by pointing the camera at a particular person or object) and within the frame itself.
There are three key factors involved in composition:
(1) Placement of people and objects within the frame
-The important factor is “relationship”
-Large foreground objects can attract or divert attention depending on how they are used
-A full-face CU in sharp focus in the foreground will divert attention from a soft focus full figure in the background
-A figure in soft focus in the foreground can occupy more than half the frame and yet attract less attention than a smaller figure in the background
-The “extended image”; the overlapping of person and objects with the periphery of the frame, can also be used to enlarge the audiences’ perception
-When the frame is totally enclosed, the audience is limited to a “stage” view of the action. By reaching beyond the physical enclosure, the filmmaker enlarges the audiences perceptions and strengthens the concept of cinematic composition. e.g. David Lean’s epics
-There is a theory that the right side of the screen has a greater "strength" than the left, and that a smaller object on the right can balance a large object on the left.
-It is through the arrangement and control of all visual elements that the filmmaker can control the thoughts and emotions of the audience. A scene comprised of elements that are “just there” permits the audiences' attention to wander and lapse.
-The image must, in the same way as lighting, be approached as a 3D box. If the filmmaker thinks of the image as a flat screen, then it will be difficult to give depth to the image. If it is thought of as having three dimensions, then this approach will be more likely to translate effectively to the screen.
(2)Movement of people and objects within a fixed frame
-Whenever there is movement within a frame, the composition changes. The motion picture is a constant flow of ever changing images. The composition of the cinematic image must be considered in a different way to photography.
-In-depth movement is one technique used to overcome the two-dimensional limitation of film. A figure moving from the foreground of the frame directly away from the camera draws the eye of the audience into the frame. The audience believes in the depth of the image, and thus a sense of reality is achieved.
-This is a key concept and one that is seldom understood. The frame has boundaries around the edges, but the only limit in depth is that created by the filmmaker.
-Figures moving suddenly towards the camera heighten drama; figures moving languidly away from the camera increase a sense of sadness or romance. Objects and people moving across seem to move more rapidly than those moving in depth.
-Although it should probably not be used just to tighten up a slack, boring scene, depth and movement can be used to sustain the interest of the audience.
(3) Movement of the frame itself
-Perhaps the most important basic element of cinematic composition is the ability of the frame itself to move.
-The mobility of the camera enables the filmmaker to change his vantage point in an instant. It allows action. Even more importantly, it enables the filmmaker to change the character of the image as the action evolves by simply moving the camera in, out and around the players.
-Few filmmakers have ever used composition to its full potential. The concept of the ever-changing image seems difficult to execute because it involves the three basic elements of composition, all of which must be controlled simultaneously. The filmmaker, unlike the photographer and the theatre director, creates his visual compositions in a flexible, ever changing arena.
-Composition in the art of film is never static; it is a process of continuous change created by the control of its three basic elements and by the understanding that the audience must be projected into the frame.
Feedback and Submissions screaming_reels@yahoo.co.uk
Remember to add the site to your favourites.
A Short History of Film
Pt. 1: Silent Cinema 1895-1927
Pt. 2: Studio System 1927-1945
Pt. 3: Post-War 1945-1959
Pt. 4: New Waves 1959-1975
Pt. 5: Blockbusters 1975-2002
