What are the basic elements in film language?

★camera

★sound

★editing

(the way the material shot for a film is organized)

Camera

camera shots

camera angles

what is in the camera frame

ShotShot 1. A single run of the camera 2.The piece of film resulting *

“一段连续放映的影片中的形象，看来是由一台摄影机不间断的一次拍摄下来的，无论这段多么长都叫做一个镜头（即画面） (《电影观念》 19页 ) 。

Or

镜头：从摄影机开机到停机连续拍摄的画面；未经剪辑的影片

Camera Shots

wide shot （全景）often the first shot of a sequence (establishing shot), giving the viewer a clear sense of location and time of day. Wide shots of people will usually frame them in their entirety

medium or mid-shot （中景）

usually frames people from the waist up; emphasizes more details of people and objects

close-up （近景）

used for particularly important moments or reactions. Close-ups of people's face are usually framed from the neck up, emphasizing the face

wide shot

close-up

medium

Camera angles

High angle: a shot taken from above the subject

Low angle: a shot looking up at the subject

High angle:

when used as the character’s point f view creates an impression of great height of the character or the smallness of the object looked at

Low angle:

Create the impression of great high or when it is used as the character’s point of view, the smallness of the character

FrameFrame The rectangular area that is bounded on all sides by darkness and contains the projected image.

画幅 /画框：银幕图象的边缘与影院黑暗环境之间的分界线。

What is composition

• The arrangement of people and objects within the space of the film frame

• Objects and people (and the camera’s relation to them) can be arranged in many ways. Understanding a film’s spatial relations is a way to understand its human relations and their meanings.

• A tool that helps the filmmaker to create and communicate meaning.

Composition in the frame• People in relation to people

– Lan Yu (mirror)

• People in relation to objects – Chungking Express

• People/object in relation to setting – Metropolis

– Raise the Red Lantern

Composition out of the frame

• Although it is not part of the image and we cannot see anything in it, offscreen space does exist as part of many films, esp. in those that want viewers to feel that they are peering through a window at life itself, not at a painting or a piece of art distinct from life.

Composition out of the frame

• Off-screen space is created by showing incomplete images in the frame, requiring audience to fill in emotionally or mentally, extending the image out of the frame.– Raise the Red Lantern Raise the Red Lantern (the male presence)– Citizen KaneCitizen Kane– Horror films Horror films (face in horror with the threat out

of frame- room for imagination and suspense)

The Image: tone

• Not only physical objects, but also emotional effects or atmosphere:

• A subtle accumulation of various elements, dictated much more by the overall effect produced by the quality of the image

• Film stock + lighting

Film Stock（胶片）• Black-and-white filmBlack-and-white film

– High speed film*: grainy, high contrast, associated with true events, used to authenticate 快速感光胶片：对光线非常敏感，容易产生粒面图像

– Slow film/stock: producing fine-grained, slick looking image慢速感光胶片：图象清晰，细节鲜明

• Color can be controlled: muted or exaggeratedColor can be controlled: muted or exaggerated• Black-and-white vs. colorBlack-and-white vs. color

– Color revealing emotional state of the character (Happy Together)

– B/W and color contrast for aesthetic reasons (The Scent of Green Papaya)

Lighting

• Basic functions

• Light qualities and directions

• A basic lighting setup

• Lighting Contrast

• Meaning through lighting

Lighting: basic functions

• Directs attention: the eye is naturally drawn to the brighter areas of the frame.

• The direction from which light strikes influences how an object is seen.

• Creates moods: different qualities of light, just like changes in the sky, evokes different feelings.

• Create the atmosphere: The Godfather

• Portray the character: The Last Emperor

• Create the rhythm: The Waterloo Bridge

Lighting: qualities and directions• Hard lightHard light

– Clearly directed beam

– From a single source

– Produce clean, hard shadows clearly outlining the shapes of objects

– Harsh, brings out textures

• Soft lightSoft light– Diffuse, less

directional– Emanates from all

parts– Dull and indistinct

shadow, broad and even glow

– Gentle, smoothes out textures and features

Lighting: qualities and directions• Front light (正面光 )

– From the direction of the camera– Minimizing dimensionality and surface texture– Flattening

• Side light (侧面光 )– Indicating texture (表现纹理 )– Can be dramatic, Producing shadow cutting across frame

• Back light (逆光 )– From behind the subject– Outlining shape– Producing an edge or halo on hair or shoulder– Moody and romantic

• Top lighting & under lighting vs. 40 degrees from the floor

Lighting: a basic setup• Key light (主光 )

a) The brightest, primary sourceb) Usually softened with diffusion materialc) Off the axis/Adequately high

• Fill light （辅助光） Fill in the shadows produced by the key without

casting its own

• Back light (逆光 ) Now mostly subtle

• Set light (布景灯 )

Lighting

• Modification of the final image through effective lighting takes place strikingly.– Low-key lighting (Happy Together)

– High-Key lighting

• Normal lighting is not so normal: spotlights*, floodlights, filters, carefully placed to produce the illusion/naturalism

• Specific use of light adds to the meanings of an image, causes us to respond emotionally and physiologically– Clear contrast (Bonnie and Clyde)

– Evolving slowly, shaping our response (Citizen Kane)

Lighting for reference

• Spotlight (聚光灯 ): A luminaire in which light from a contained source is directed by means of a reflector and lens into a relatively narrow beam.

• Floodlight: lights that can cast wide beams of light.• Reflector: A surface used to direct reflected sunlight or

artificial light onto the subject matter to be photographed, used to either soften and diffuse harsh light or to enhance available light.

• 滤色镜： a device used to change the natural quality of light or color. 放在摄影机镜头前的玻璃片或塑料片，用来改变进入摄影机的光线的质量，从而改变图象的质量。 (The Scent of Green Papaya)