Year 9 Media Studies CAT 2Revision

Genre

Action

Drama

Horror

Science fiction

The Western

There are many other genres.

Action

Quick, forward motion

High key lighting – everything lit up evenly

Action shooting & angles

Use of multiple quick camera angles

Quick, faced paced thematic editing, often matched to a thumping soundtrack

Drama

Use of lighting to emphasise the characters’ emotions, such as silhouette lighting (a type of low key lighting)

Shots should add to the feelings and moods of the characters by:

Use of low and high camera angles (low for powerful subject, high for weak subjects);

Use of lots of close-ups to emphasise the characters’ emotions

In the editing process, the filmmakers will draw out the length of a scene beyond its real length so that the audience can contemplate the characters’ feelings.

Horror

Use of shadows to hide the villain, by lighting specific areas within the frame, rather than the whole frame.

Shaky shots, crooked angles and lots of fast cuts to create an atmosphere of suspense.

Lead room – the filmmakers frame the subject with space in front of their head so that we expect the baddie to come out them from in front – but then the baddie emerges from behind, surprising the audience.

The element of surprise is created by not showing the antagonist – only showing fragments or flashes of them, to further create an atmosphere of fear

Thematic editing – quick cutting to the beat of a soundtrack to carry the story along

Audio is very important to create the tense atmosphere.

You will be allowed to take in an A4 double sided, handwritten cheat sheet. You can use this PowerPoint to help you prepare it.

What is genre?

Fictional films are usually categorized according to their setting, theme topic and mood. The setting is the environment where the story and action takes place. The theme or topic refers to the issues or concepts that the film revolves around. The mood is the emotional tone of the film. An additional way of categorizing film genres is by the target audience.

http://quizlet.com/15837257/lighting-sound-and-editing-flash-cards/

Production elements

Camera – the range of camera shots, angles and movements we’ve studied throughout the year

Sound – refers to dialogue, the film’s soundtrack or score, sound effects. Can be divided into diagetic and non-diagetic sounds.

Lighting – three point lighting; high key and low key lighting; expressionistic, naturalistic and high contrast lighting.

Editing – the various transitions which are employed to manipulate time and space within the filmic world.

Camera Shots

Extreme Long Shot: An establishing shot taken from far away

Long Shot: A life size image that shows a full shot and the background

Medium Shot: A shot from the knees or waist up; used for dialogue scenes

Close-Up: Shows little background and shows either a face or a detail. This allows us to see a character's expression or a small detail up close

Extreme Close-Up: A shot that magnifies beyond what the eye would experience in reality

Camera Angles

Bird's-Eye View: A scene shot from overhead at an extreme angle

High Angle: A shot elevated above the action

Eye Level: A shot positioned in a natural position as though a human were seeing the scene

Low Angle: A shot in which the background is the sky or ceiling; the figure on the screen dominates the image.

Oblique/Canted Angle: A tilted shot, usually with a handheld camera

Camera Movements

Pan: Camera moves horizontally (left-right/right-left) on a fixed axis.

Tilt: Camera moves vertically (up-down/down-up) on a fixed axis.

Tracking: Camera physically moves, following the subject.

Zoom: The camera lens changes quickly from a long shot to a close-up, or from a close-up to a long shot

Editing transitions

Fade in/fade out: Shot fades in from black or white, or out to black or white. This one often signals the beginning and end of a scene or the passing of time.

Cross-dissolve: The next shot overlays the previous shot. Provides a seamless transition between shots.

Cut: The most basic and common transition. Shot simply ‘cuts’ from one shot to the next.

Wipe: Next shot enters from one side of the frame and the previous shot exits from the other side of the frame. George Lucas used lots of them in the original Star Wars movies.

Lighting

Three point lighting - a common lighting technique that uses three lighting instruments for each person or object photographed: a key light, a fill light, and a back light

High key lighting - illumination that creates comparatively little contrast between the light and dark areas of the shot. Shadows are fairly transparent and brightened by fill light.

Low key lighting - illumination that creates strong contrast between light and dark areas of the shot, with deep shadows and little fill light

Expressionistic lighting - using very dramatic, artificial lighting patterns to express character psychology-usually in a studio

Naturalistic lighting - derive from a natural source or setting like the sun, or a candle in the room.

High contrast lighting - style of lighting emphasizing harsh shafts and dramatic streaks of lights and darks. Often used in thrillers or melodramas

Elements of sound

Diegetic sound - sound that is logically heard during a scene, including dialogue, music and sound effects corresponding to what we see on screen.

Non diegetic sound - sounds/music that characters can't hear; sounds that don't actually occur in the world of the film. Is not seen, heard, imagined, or thought by a character. Example: music

Dialogue - the lines spoken by characters in drama or fiction

Film score - music written and composed specifically for a film scene; usually done after shooting and editing has been completed.

Sound effects - audio effects other than music or speech that are enhanced or artificially created and added in post-production

Editing Cut - The most common type of transition in which one scene ends

and a new one immediately begins.

Fade in/out - starts from black screen then gradually appears, or starts with screen and gradually dissolves

cross dissolve - this transition involves a gradual change from the first clip to the second. The first clip changes from 100% opacity to 0% opacity while the second clip simultaneously changes from 0% to 100% over the same time period. If one of the clips is a slug, this transition has the effect of creating a fade in / out.

Wipe - an optical effect in which one shot appears to "wipe" the preceding one from the screen.

Jump cut - an elliptical cut that appears to be an interruption of a single shot. Either the figures seem to change instantly against a constant background, or the background changes instantly while the figures remain constant.

Continuity editing - a style of editing marked by its emphasis on maintaining a continuous and seemingly uninterrupted flow of action.

Cross – cutting - the alternating of shots from two sequences, often in different locales, suggesting that they are taking place at the same time.