CinematographyExamples & Best

Practices

Introduction● What are the secrets to creating a

quality shot? ● No magic button to push on the

camera to get high quality results ● But, techniques are learnable and

doable ● This lesson will show you how to

create shots that look like the pros

What is Cinematography?

● cinematography |ˌsinəәməәˈtägrəәfē| noun the art of making motion pictures. ● Cinematography: is the making of lighting and camera choices when recording

photographic images for the cinema. It is closely related to the art of still photography. Many additional issues arise when both the camera and elements of the scene may be in motion, though this also greatly increases the possibilities at the same time.

● Using photographic composition techniques in videos. ● Remember to always follow good compositon when

filming your videos.

Types of Cinematography Shots

● Subject Distance (Basic Camera Shots)

● Composition (Rules) ● Camera Movement ● Camera (Height)

Angle

● Lens Perceptive ● Shot Purpose ● Horizontal Camera

Angle

Basic Camera Shots● Long Shot ● Medium Shot ● Close up Shot ● Extreme Close up

Shot !● Natural Cut off

lines

● Don’t place person at the bottom of your frame.

● Frame your shots to include the area slightly above or below natural body joints.

● Shot will look awkward if you don’t supply enough visual information for your viewers to project what lies outside the frame.

Long Shot ! ! ! ! ● A shot that shows all of something: a room, a

building, a mountain ● Help viewers get a sense of location: Where is

this scene taking place? ● Most TV shows start with this shot also known as an establishing shot

Medium Shot● This is a waist up shot of person ● Place person in context or on location ● Problems ● not much detail in subject ● too much background information that can be

distracting ● Works for someone who moves hands while they are talking

Close up Shot● Shot includes a little room above the head, all

of the person’s head, and down to their armpits. ● Fill most of the frame with head ● Why this shot? ● To capture facial expressions, makes it personal, to see the emotion

Extreme Close up Shot● Includes just the person’s facial features: ● Eyes, nose, mouth and chin ● The top of the head and shoulders are not included

● Can be disturbing shots, because they show all the detail, i.e. sweat

Composition Rules

●Headroom ●Lead Space ●Rule of Thirds ● When you follow the first two the third will

naturally occur

●Distracting Background ●Mergers

Headroom● The space above the subjects head in a

close-up ● The perfect balance is needed: ● Too much and the shot looks off balance ● Too little cuts off the subject’s head Clip

Lead Space● Viewer’s want to see where moving things are

going so enough space must be allowed between the subject and the edge of the frame.

● You must adjust your shot to give a bit more room in the direction of the movement.

Rule of Thirds● Subject is offset in frame for visual

interest ● Shot is divided with two evenly spaced

lines horizontally and vertically

Rule of Thirds● The basic principle is to imagine

breaking an image down into thirds (both horizontally and vertically) so that you have 9 parts. As follows:

Rule of Thirds Clip

Rule of Thirds● If you place points of interest in the intersections or along the lines that

your photo becomes more balanced and will enable a viewer of the image to interact with it more naturally.

● When using the most important questions to ask yourself are:

▪ What are the points of interest in this shot? ▪ Where am I intentionally placing them? !

Distracting Backgrounds & Mergers

Distracting Backgrounds ● Try to avoid ● Always check the

background of the shot you are framing

● Background clutter or distracting objects can usually be avoided by repositioning your camera or moving the subject.

● Clip

Mergers● Another form of distracting

background ● Background objects or

strong vectors (lines) that visually merge with your subject can be distracting

● Reposition the camera or subject to avoid mergers

● Clip

Camera Movement

●Pan ●Tilt ●Arc ●Pedestal

●Trucking ●Dolly ●Zoom In ●Zoom Out

Pan● The horizontal

pivoting of the camera from a fixed point, moving left to right or right to left.

● It is used to follow screen action or to reveal more of a location without zooming of moving the camera.

● Tip #1: Move the camera slowly while panning.

● Tip #2: Have a good reason to choose a pan.

● Tip #3: Hold the camera still for a few seconds at the start and at the end of the pan shot.

● Tip #4: Practice before recording the shot, making sure you know where to end the shot.

Tilt, Pedestal, & ArcTilt Shot● Pivot your camera up or

down from a fixed position.

● As with a pan, a tilt should start and end with a stationary shoe that is held for a few seconds.

● The same tips described in the pan should apply to tilts as well.

Pedestal Shot● The vertical or up & down

movement of the camera. ● Camera angle does not

change.

Arc Shot● Shooting while moving in a

semi-circle around your subject.

● Must have good control for camera to be successful.

Tracking Shots

Trucking Shots● The lateral movement of

the camera at right angles to the subject.

● Makes the background of the shot appear to move.

● Might be used to follow two people in conversation as they walk along a path.

Dolly Shots● Performed by moving the

camera toward or away from the subject.

● A dolly shot has the effect of bring your viewer closer or further away from the subject, while zooming reduces or magnifies the subject and field of view.

ZoomingZoom In Shot● Concentrate the viewer’s

attention to a particular subject or detail not evident in a wider shot.

● It is more dramatic than a cut from the wider shot to the zoomed in view, but takes longer to get there.

● Have a good reason for making your audience wait.

Zoom Out Shot● Serve to reveal the

location or context of the thing that is framed at the start of the shot.

● DO NOT follow ACTION. ● A young man with several

piercings is sitting in a room. The camera slowly zooms out from a close up to reveal the other people in the room, who are all senior citizens in formal attire.

Camera (Height) Angles● A variety of camera angle can add

interest to your stories. ● Showing them the world from different

perspectives can help emotionally draw your viewers into the story.

● When you change the height of your camera in relationship to your subject, you are providing your viewers a new perspective.

● The perspective you choose can have a stunning psychological effect on viewers.

● Bird’s Eye ● High Angle ● Neutral Angle ● Low Angle ● Worm’s Eye

High & Low Angle● High Angle ● Gives the audience

the perception they are superior to the subject

● Give the power to the audience

● Low Angle ● Gives the audience

the perception they are inferior to the subject

● Gives the power to the person in the shot

Do Not Be a Run on Sentence.

● The video maker will stand in one spot with the tape running, wave the camera from one side of the scene to the other, up and down, merrily zooming in and out, trying to capture the entire scene in one shot, somewhat like the sentence you are reading.

● The effect is like a run on sentence. ● A better approach is to think of it like writing a story

with well thought out sentences. ● Each Shot should be one sentence. ● Example: Mom filming your 10th Birthday!

Shoot to Edit● The ability to edit what you shoot. ● Same compositional tools as the pros. ● Requires you to think about how your shots will be

combined together before you take them . ● Storyboarding ● Record your shots for a linger amount of time than you

think you will use. ● Add time at the start and the end of each shot. ● Will give you more flexibility in editing. ● You can always trim excess.

The best tips I give you are…

● Get in close, use the Rule of Thirds when possible, and keep your shot length short

● The closer your camera is to the subject the more depth and detail your shot will have. So bring your camera too the subject DO NOT ZOOM IN.

● Rule of Thirds what else can I say? ● Shoot short shots from many different angles,

many different times, it will add interest to your video.

Your Assignment:● Film a video using at least 25 of the

33 different shot types from the list provided.

● You must include one shot type from each of the 7 categories.

● You have only until the end of the quarter to complete all aspects of this video from planning, filming, and editing.