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Cinematography Examples & Best Practices

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Life of Pi - Oscar, Best Cinematography - 2012

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1931 - Gone with the Wind (Color) 1961 - West Side Story (Color) 1969 - Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid 1991 - JFK 1993 - Schindlers List 1994 - Legends of the Fall 1995 - Braveheart 1997 - Titanic 1998 - Saving Private Ryan Other notable winners of Best Cinematography from the Oscars 2001 - Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring 2006 - Pans Labyrinth 2008 - Slumdog Millionaire 2009 - Avatar 2010 - Inception 2011 - Hugo

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Introduction to Cinematography 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

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What is Cinematography? cinematography | sinm tgrf| 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 composition when filming your videos.

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Areas of Cinematography Shots Composition (Rules) Subject Distance (Basic Camera Shots) Camera Angle (Height) Shot Purpose Camera Movement

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Composition Rules Headroom Lead Space Rule of Thirds When you follow the first two, the Rule of Thirds will naturally occur Distracting Background Mergers

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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 subjects head

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Viewers want to see where moving things are going, so enough space must be allowed between the subject and the edge of the frame. moving You must adjust your shot to give a bit more room in the direction of the movement. Lead Space

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Rule of Thirds Subject is offset in frame for visual interest Shot is divided with two evenly spaced lines horizontally and vertically

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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: Then Put the subject on the intersection of the lines or the horizon along a line.

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Rule of Thirds Place points of interest in the intersections or along the lines. The image becomes more balanced. This will enable a viewer to interact more naturally with the image. 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?

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Distracting Background 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.

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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

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What composition do you SEE?

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You find a good and bad example of each of the 5. Save the images, put into a presentation, and label. NOW...

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

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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

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Medium Shot This is a waist up shot of person Place person in context or on location Works for someone who moves hands while they are talking Problems not much detail in subject too much background information that can be distracting

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Close-up Shot Shot includes a little room above the head, all of the persons 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

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Extreme Close-up Includes just the persons 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 details i.e. sweat, wrinkles

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Camera Angle Birds Eye View Neutral Angle (NA) Worms Eye View

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High Angle/ Birds Eye Gives the audience the perception they are superior to the subject Give the power to the audience Low Angle/ Worms Eye Gives the audience the perception they are inferior to the subject Gives the power to the person in the shot

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Shot Purpose Cutaway/ Insert Shot Point-of-View Shot Reaction Shot

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Something other than the current action or subject. This shot is used as a "buffer" between shots (to help the editing process), or to add interest or information. They are mainly used in reference to objects, a clock, or actions, opening a locker. Cutaway/ Insert Shot

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Point-of-View Shot This shot shows a view from the subject's perspective. It is usually edited in such a way that it is obvious whose POV it is.

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Reaction Shot A shot showing one or more characters reacting to an action or statement.

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Camera Movement Pan Shot Tilt Shot Arc Shot Zoom In (ZI) Zoom Out (ZO)

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Pan Shot Tilt Shot 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 moving the camera. Pivot your camera up or down from a fixed position. Like nodding your head.

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Tips & Tricks for Successful Pan & Tilt Tip #1: Move the camera slowly. Tip #2: Have a good reason to choose that shot. Tip #3: Hold the camera still for a few seconds at the start and at the end of the shot. Tip #4: Practice before recording the shot, making sure you know where to end the shot.

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Arc Shot A shot in which a moving camera circles around the subject. Must have good control of camera to be successful. Great way of introducing a character to a story.

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Zoom In Zoom Out Concentrate the viewers 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. 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.

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YOUR Homework Watch TV Watch Thriller in class. Complete Analyzing Video Assignment together and then complete at home

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YOUR Filming Assignment