Making Media Third Edition

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For my students—such amazing makers who have taught me so much.

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Making Media FOUNDATIONS OF SOUND AND IMAGE PRODUCTION

Third Edition

JAN ROBERTS-BRESLIN

AMSTERDAM • BOSTON • HEIDELBERG • LONDONNEW YORK • OXFORD • PARIS • SAN DIEGO

SAN FRANCISCO • SINGAPORE • SYDNEY • TOKYO

Focal Press is an imprint of Elsevier

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Focal Press is an imprint of Elsevier 225 Wyman Street, Waltham, MA 02451, USA The Boulevard, Langford Lane, Kidlington, Oxford, OX5 1GB, UK

© 2012 Jan Roberts-Breslin. Published by Elsevier, Inc. All rights reserved

No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. Details on how to seek permission, further information about the Publisher’s permissions policies and our arrangements with organizations such as the Copyright Clearance Center and the Copyright Licensing Agency, can be found at our website: www.elsevier.com/permissions .

This book and the individual contributions contained in it are protected under copyright by the Publisher (other than as may be noted herein).

Notices Knowledge and best practice in this field are constantly changing. As new research and experience broaden our understanding, changes in research methods, professional practices, or medical treatment may become necessary.

Practitioners and researchers must always rely on their own experience and knowledge in evaluating and using any information, methods, compounds, or experiments described herein. In using such information or methods they should be mindful of their own safety and the safety of others, including parties for whom they have a professional responsibility.

To the fullest extent of the law, neither the Publisher nor the authors, contributors, or editors, assume any liability for any injury and/or damage to persons or property as a matter of product liability, negligence or otherwise, or from any use or operation of any methods, products, instructions, or ideas contained in the material herein.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Roberts-Breslin, Jan. Making media : foundations of sound and image production / Jan Roberts-Breslin. – 3rd ed. p. cm. ISBN 978-0-240-81527-5 (pbk.) 1. Multimedia systems. 2. Sound–Recording and reproducing. 3. Image processing–Digital techniques. I. Title. QA76.575.B74 2011 006.7–dc23 2011030041

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

ISBN: 978-0-240-81527-5

For information on all Focal Press publications visit our website at www.elsevierdirect.com

11 12 13 14 15 5 4 3 2 1

Printed in the United States of America

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1 Content and Preproduction 1

The Primacy of Content 1

Developing Story Ideas 1

Preproduction Process 9

Ethical and Legal Responsibilities 21

Conclusion 26

Putting It into Practice 27

Key Concepts 27

2 Composing the Frame 29

Seeing the World Through a Frame 29

The Still Image 29

Controlling the frame 30

What’s in the Frame and What Isn’t: Shot Sizes 35

The Weight and Magnetism of the Frame 39

Conclusion 46

Putting It into Practice 47

Key Concepts 47

3 Reproducing the Frame 49

Creating the Image 49

Lens 49

The Frame Applied to Different Media 60

Conclusion 75

Putting It into Practice 75

Key Concepts 76

C O N T E N T S

Acknowledgments ix

Introduction xi

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4 Depth and Movement in the Frame 77

Media Illusions 77

Creating Visual Depth 78

Movement 83

Movement Considerations in Different Media 93

Animation and Motion Graphics 95

Conclusion 97

Putting It into Practice 97

Key Concepts 98

5 Light 99

The Importance of Light 99

Understanding Light 100

Lighting Concerns of Different Media 123

Conclusion 128

Putting It into Practice 128

Key Concepts 128

6 Sound 131

The Importance of Sound 131

Understanding Sound 132

Reproducing Sound 135

Sound Variations 146

Types of Audio Media 154

Conclusion 158

Putting It into Practice 158

Key Concepts 158

7 Sound and Image 161

A � B � C 161

Sound Recording for Different Media 165

Conclusion 168

Putting It into Practice 168

Key Concepts 169

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Contents vii

8 Time 171

Time and Space 171

Sounds and Images Existing in Time 175

Conclusion 180

Putting It into Practice 180

Key Concepts 180

9 The Theory of Linear Structure 183

Putting the Story Together 183

Issues of Structure in Preproduction 184

Approaches to Structuring Film and Video 185

Applications of Structure 200

Conclusion 204

Putting It into Practice 204

Key Concepts 204

10 The Practice of Linear Structure 207

Sound and Image Transitions 207

Live Editing 208

Postproduction Editing 212

Digital Nonlinear Editing 223

Issues of Convergence and Compatibility 235

Conclusion 237

Putting It into Practice 237

Key Concepts 237

11 Nonlinear Structure 239

Understanding Nonlinearity 239

Interactive Media 242

Putting the Pieces Together 253

Conclusion 258

Putting It into Practice 258

Key Concepts 258

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12 Approaches to Production, Exhibition, and Distribution 259

Traditional and Convergent Trends and Predictions 259

Determining Your Approach 259

Distribution and Exhibition 268

The Future 269

Conclusion 270

Putting It into Practice 270

Key Concepts 271

Glossary 273

Index 289

COMPANION WEBSITE

Visit the companion website at www.makingmediabook.com for addi-tional resources. The site features interactive exercises to demonstrate concepts in this book, flashcards to help you learn the terms, and addi-tional information.

INSTRUCTOR MATERIALS

Visit the companion site above to be directed to the online instructor materials, including a test bank, questions for discussion, and sample syllabi for ideas on how to implement this book in your classroom.

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A C K N O

With the third edition, the list grows of people whose contribu-tions were integral to the completion of Making Media . I am grate-ful to friends and colleagues and students who contributed examples of their creative work. Anya Belkina, EJ Massa, and Melissa Rogers join contributors from previous editions: Brooke Knight, Jeff Talman, Karla Berry, Roberto Carminati, Sanjeev Chatterjee, Michelle Citron, Christopher Outwin, Jean Stawarz, Robert Todd, Shun Liang, and Michael Petroff.

Special thanks to those who took the time to review the proposal and manuscript and offered so many good suggestions—Jeffrey Goodman, Phil South, Elizabeth Coffman, Anthony Tenczar, and Daniel Tillman.

So many students and friends have appeared in photographs or videos and helped with research—Mala Syal and Melissa Campbell join Manuel Abady, Sandy Prudencio, Kamil Can Akat, Kathryn Hall, Yael Bowman, Adam Catino, Gaia Chiesa, Joshua de la Fuente, Thomas Gallagher, Megan Hanceford, Eric Holland, Rashika Kaul, Shun Liang, Arlette McNeill, Edward Ryan, Wael Sayedalahl, Allyson Sherlock, Sharon Stafford, D. Rand Thomas, Takayuki Yukawa, and Ben Erlandson. Thanks to you all.

Thanks to my Emerson colleagues for their development of the course design on which this book is based and to Emerson College for many forms of support. A special thanks to Claire Andrade-Watkins for her support and great knowledge of African cinema.

Finally, thanks to those at Focal Press, including Elinor Actipis, Anais Wheeler, Lauren Mattos, and Laura Aberle for their help and patience.

W L EE D G M E N T S

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Introduction

Making media has become something that almost everyone does, whether it’s recording video on your cell phone, writing a travel blog, or creating a playlist of your favorite songs. There is a democ-ratization of media production the likes of which we have never seen before. That creates interesting questions for “professional” media makers and for those who choose to pursue the practice as the focus of their education. What does it mean to be a professional when everyone is doing it? Is it simply a matter of whether you are paid for your efforts? Or is it a matter of the cost and sophistication of your tools? It can’t be the size of your audience when “amateur” YouTube videos draw millions of viewers and a professionally produced feature film or documentary may be seen by only hundreds or thousands. Perhaps the professional versus amateur distinction doesn’t really work anymore.

This book won’t answer that question for you; nor will it predict what the media landscape will look like 10, 20, or 50 years from now. What it does is explain the aesthetic concepts, technical processes, and ethical considerations that you will face when making media. It discusses the forms and structures of media content that are used and suggests how those forms are merging and changing. And most importantly, it challenges you to create media that changes minds and elicits emotions. Learn the rules, then break the rules. Adapt to the changes, innovate and inspire. The goal is to practice the artistry of manipulating sound and image, master the tools of media production, and respect the responsibility that media makers have to tell their sto-ries with honesty and passion.

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