film genre production. module number 104 aad

7/30/2019 Film Genre Production. Module Number 104 AAD

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Film Genre

Production

By Richard Davis

Module Title: Film Genre Production

Module Number: 104 AAD

Module Lecturer: Ian Killick


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Film Genre Production

Introduction to Social Realism

Social Realist Cinema addresses the stresses and issues of daily life in a serious

fashion, cinema in which the conflicts that occur are every day events; its about

the reality of life.In Italy in the 1940s, Italian neo realism was born. The Bicycle Thief Directedby Vittorio De Sica was considered to be the birth of social realism. The story is

about a poor family in the post World War II depression. The family saves to buy

a bike so the farther can get to work, they are very proud of the new bike and

when its stolen he desperately searches the streets for it. With the bike gone forgood, he decides to steal one but is caught by an angry crowd and humiliated in

front of his son. This is a simple story, real everyday characters, the films highsand lows are found in mundane situations, there is little escapism for the

audience; its a drama about city life.

Straight angled, open framed, medium shot and a Deep focus shot from

The Bicycle Thief (1948)

Taking a brief look at the Social Realist Cinema style and form in The Bicycle

Thief through its Cinematography I found the film predominantly containsmedium shots. These shots give us the sense of being an observer, looking in to

the world of the characters. The medium shot is a very natural shot, its as if we

are standing in the scene and its how we would view the characters if we werereally there, as in real life we rarely view and interact with a situation from far

away or extremely close up. So as the viewer we are simply observing thecharacters. Medium two shots are often used which allows us to see both

characters, we get to see the actions and reactions of the actors, which is very

humanizing and observational. The film principally makes use of straight angledshots, this being a very natural angle we can identify with, keeping shots realistic

and again observational. Looking at the composition and perspective of the film I

found it relied on deep perspective and the flat framing of shots, the deep focusallows us to look right into the scene; its as if the camera is being used to shoot a

documentary, left in deep focus to capture all the action of a scene. This shootingstyle lets us know the environment is just as important as the characters. The

lighting in the film appears to be very natural with no use of dramatic lighting or

high contrast shots. The Bicycle Thief is comparable to an aestheticdocumentary.


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Introduction to British Social Realism

Kes (1969) directed by Ken Loach

Ken Loach is a figurehead for British social realism. He was influenced by

Vittorio De Sica's The Bicycle Thief and said of it:

"It made me realise that cinema could be about ordinary people and their

dilemmas. It wasn't a film about stars, or riches or absurd adventures."Ken Loach (2010)

Ken Loachs film Kes is the story of a young boy from a working class family,who spends his time with his pet falcon. This is a challenging family film, its

gripping, full of documentary realism and naturalism, dealing with lots ofcomplicated issues, and even though its a family film it has a lot of bite.

Chris Menges was the cinematographer on Kes he chose to film in a verynaturalistic way with a propensity for medium shots. This is not a character

driven narrative here the story is more important than the character. Menges

also shot some wides, letting us see the environment the character inhabits andare still very observational. Like the Bicycle Thief, almost all of the shot angles

are straight, level and naturalistic. This style for shooting is not drawingattention to its self; the camera is not a character, just an observer.

A flat, open, medium framed shot, at a

straight angle, there is no fancy lighting;

we are simple observing the interactionbetween two characters. The flat

framing does make the shot look a little

life less adding to the films bleak nature.

Again an open framed, straight angledshot. Here we can see that the camera is

not dictating the shot, the action

appears to the happening naturally, thecamera simply observing the scene as it

unfolds from its position.

Shots are composed using flat framing, which makes the scenes appear

compressed and closed in on themselves. There is no music to evoke emotion;

you read the scene on your own, not influenced by camera movements or a

somber music score to pull at your heart strings. The characters dictate the

movements and positions of the camera; its movements chase the actors addingto the observational quality.


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Looking at the characters and the environment, I found that even though the

characters are very dominant, the center of attention, the environment theyoperate in is of critical importance as many of the shots are dictated by the

environment, so I would say both the characters and the environment are in

balanced.

With the open framing we find

that the environment begins to

take over some shots. A great

example here shows the teacherin the gym between the changing

rails, this shot gives us no senseof the depth of the scene.

In Kes open framing shots are

heavily used, which lends to thedocumentary style of the film.

There is information outside of theframe, making us ask questions. A

few closed shots are also present, I

found they essentially showed thesolitary existence of the main

character and allowed us to see

more of the storys setting.

In Britain we are a class and culture obsessed society, so the social realism genre

is prevalent, and with the social realism genre in film we stand back and observe.


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Sweet Sixteen (2002) directed by Ken Loach & The Hurt Locker (2008)directed by Kathryn Bigelow

In these two great films, Cinematographer Barry Ackroyd was employed

because of his filming style. Having worked on movies such as United 93 (2006)

and Green Zone (2010), Ackroyd continues to be one of the bestCinematographers when it comes to capturing the look and feel of documentary

realism on film.

When comparingSweet Sixteen and The Hurt Locker Barry Ackroyd adapts his

realist approach to reflect the different types of story being told.

Sweet Sixteen is filmed hand held using mostly medium, straight angle shots, I

did see a couple of occasions when close ups were used to focus on the maincharacter. The films style has many similarities to Kes, the camera flows

through the scenes; its a spectator, the camera always finding the space. I

thought the medium shots used were a little more intimate; we get that pinchcloser to the characters. The characters are being observed and are not driving

the narrative forward. The edit was also quite paced; the scenes are allowed toplay out, which allows us take in the scenes setting.

The Hurt Lockers camera movements are much quicker in contrast to that ofSweet Sixteen, the camera whip pans around, we see POV shots often used with

zooms really heightening the intensity of the action and this is combined with amuch faster edit. The documentary style of shooting goes into over drive, the

camera actions are greatly accentuated, the camera becoming a character points

to its self. Here the camera work and editing affect our viewpoint on the action; itgets involved with the scene instead of just observing it. This is Hollywood

realism, its macho, bigger and punchier. American cinema tends to be character

driven and in The Hurt Locker we find Barry Ackroyd often uses close ups of thelarger that life characters. The topic here is subject specific and the films shots

look like they could have come from a news camera crew, which is what we areused to seeing on the TV and it makes it appear strikingly real.


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The different between American and British realist mode is that an American

narrative is more about strength and action, where a British narrative is aboutstory and feeling. Both have emotion; but the camera work in an American film

will tend to be related to the tension of the scene and focus on the main

character where as in British film, the camera follows and watches the action, it

stands back and observes. American/ Hollywood films are character driven,British films are story driven.

British Social Realism - Films that encompass lower class, vehemently exposing

British social issues. Hollywood films are physical, fantasies, the conflicts are

resolved through action, in British social realism the conflicts are social, and thisis absolute reality.

Progressive filmmaking - What we start to see in the British surrealist mode isthat things become a little more fantastical, we see this in the work ofAndrea

Arnold and DOP Robbie Ryan. Her work (with Ryan) starts to move towards a

dream like, fantastical state. Director Lynne Ramsays films go even further andbecome more fantasy than reality.

Looking at the work of DOP Robbie Ryan.

Robbie Ryan Cinematographer.Robbie Ryan has worked with director

Andrea Arnold as the DOP on most of

her films, which include Wasp (2003)Red Road (2006) Fish Tank (2009)

and Wuthering Heights (2011). Andrea

Arnold specifically chose to work withRyan because of his filming style, she

knows what how she wants her films to

look and know Ryans techniques willgive her film the look she is after.

Robbie Ryan has many filming traits these include the use of very tight close ups,

distinctive hand held work, Shallow focus employed and very rarely will you see

a wide shot. He has his trademarks but he still sticks to many realist conventions.Comparing his work with Andrea Arnold to the Cinematography of Barry

Ackroyd in Sweet Sixteen (2002):Similarities Medium shots, hand held camera work, open framing, Intimate

shots and straight angle shots.

Differences use of wide shots, Arnolds symbolic cutaways to wasps etc, Ryanscamera work is frenetic. Ackroyd uses more flat framing, making the world feel

like there is no depth in it, where as Ryan uses shallow focus and blurring in his

shots.For genre and realist films to grow and survive, they need to adapt, and we see

this adaptation in both these Cinematographers work.


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Wasp (2003) directed by Andrea Arnold. DOP - Robbie Ryan.

Robbie Ryans British social realist filming techniques in Wasp:

The camera work in Wasp is very animated, shaky, and nervous, but this is still a

controlled shooting style. The camera gestures give the film a buzz, its almost

hysterical, we constantly feel as if something is going to give and the story isabout to explode. His heavy use of close ups is a step away from the realist,documentary style shooting of classic British social realism. This is much more

intimate and makes you feel slightly

uncomfortable. The camera whip pans, and

the cuts are fast, intensifying the story, thisis emotional directing.

Left Open framing. Frequent close upsstrengthen our emotional connection to the

characters. The films colour pallet is very

bland but also glaringly bright, noting isconcealed, and its very open.

As with most British social realist filmsopen framing is extensively used, giving it

that familiar documentary feel. Blurring inand out of focus adds to the slightly dream

like stare of the film, as if this is a fairy tale

(a grim one). This story has been seen and

told many times before, so its filmed in

such a way as to breathe new life into thetale.

Above An extreme close up, this is not

natural; it breaks away from social realistconventions and moves towards a fantasy

style.

Left - Closed and flat framing. Here theclosed framing points to the mothers view

of her children, they are a single entity. Theflat or zero perspective compresses the

environment and the children look veryalone and isolated.

Andrea Arnold uses a lot of subliminalmessaging in her films, the wasp in

window, pictured right, a sign of the

womans longing for freedom. We also

see the children with a toy baby in pushchair, a reflection of the mothers

situation. Arnold uses lots of cutaways

and relies on metaphors, this istransgressive cinema.


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Red Road (2006) directed by Andrea Arnold. DOP - Robbie Ryan.

This has aspects of Social realism, but its also a crime thriller. The camera work

here reflects the story. Shallow focus shots give the film a dreamlike quality. We

see blurry, open framed shot, with characters blocking out action so we cant see

the space they occupy. Ryan often tracks and follows characters on the Z axis,going into the frame, moving in to the scene. Again straight angled shots are usedand often the world is flat framed, there is no way out for the character. This film

is set in the world of social realism, but it nudges towards the world of a crime

thriller and Noir.

A tight close up Open framing and clever

use of light, this gives it a Noir film ascetic.

The camera is positioned behind bars; theenvironment affecting the scene, the

camera is not dictating the shot.

Again the open frame and the characterbehind the window shows her trapped in

her world, its claustrophobic.

The camera follows the character; often

she obscures half the frame. This is anobservational stylistic trait of Robbie

Ryan. He tracks the character, moving

into the scene.

A beautifully composed closed frame

shot, with clever use of lighting. Thecharacter appears very alone, lost in the

frame.

The character blocking out action so we

cant see the space she occupies. Herethere is a valid link between camera work

and content.


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Fish Tank (2009) directed by Andrea Arnold. DOP - Robbie Ryan.

When looking at ratios we find 2.35:1 is used in more Hollywood for genre based

films, where as 16:9 or square 4:3 ratios are used in human dramas, it gives a

more naturalistic view of the world. Fist Tank is a metaphor for the premise of

the film and thats why the aspect ratio 4:3 was chosen. The 4:3 ratio also meanscharacters are more centrally framed; the circle of action is focused. Herecharacters are often blurred, closed framing is used to compress the characters

world and shallow focus predominant. Again Arnold uses animals as metaphors.

This is realism being pushed in the fantasy world, progressive cinema in action.

The characters are often blurred and out

of focus, this leads us to look at thecharacters surrounding. Here the out of

focus shots are held for much longer than

in Arnolds other films.

Closed framing often appears in Fish

Tank this is could be to do with the

choice of aspect ratio, 4:3, the squareframe allowing for more whole body

shots to be captured, but still keeping

that enclosed feel to the shots.

Andrea Arnold regularly uses metaphors connected to animals in her work. A

horse trapped behind bars, shallow focus, and a close up of a fish out of water,

dying representing the characters desperate struggle to survive.

The Robbie Ryan trade mark following

shot, Z-axis movement, moving with the

character into her world. The light and

colour throughout is very natural.


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Here Arnold uses a slow motion out of focus

shot, this is very stylized and totally out ofplace in a social realist film, it would be rare

to find this type of shot in a Ken Loach

realist film. This is fantasy, imaginative

conceptualizing of a characters thoughts orfeelings.

This use of slow motion happenedthroughout the film and I believe its

represents a time or moment when themain character, Mia, is content, at peace and

has a connection with the something in the

scene. Left - here time slows down as shejumps on the back of her mums boyfriend,

Connor, who she has fallen in love with.

A shallow focus, slow motion kiss. Clever use of flat framing makes it appear as if

Connor is moving in for a kiss, again time slows down and it reflects Miasattraction to Connor.

So, does the content of the film dictate what a social realist film is? Or is it simplythe way in which its filmed? When we look at Sweet Sixteen and Fish Tank

they are both British Social Realist films but they are captured in very differentways. I am personally more inclined to believe that its the content of thenarrative which dictates weather its a British Social Realist film or not, but

sticking to some of the realist codes and conventions is essential. I guess its allabout learning the rules so you know how to break them, as Andrea Arnold does

so well.

This led me to another question; a DOP is picked for his style, can he ever get out

of this or is he trapped by his own proficiency at a certain genre or style?Hummm..

After watching Isolation (2005) a horror film Robbie Ryan worked on, its clear

a DOP can work in other genres but he was obviously picked because of his styleand its clear its him filming.


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Where fantasy meets reality, the interior and exterior collide.

Morvern Callar (2002) Lynne Ramsay

This film moves away from the social realist genre. In Morvern Callar the social

class moves up a level, away from typical lower class stories of British social

realist films like kes or Sweet Sixteen. This film is set in a bohemian class, witha character that lives and acts free of regard for conventional rules and practices,its an unconventional and offbeat story, and these things lead the film towards a

genre based, fantasy narrative.

This film is about a characters struggle between the real and fantasy world. She

lives in a dream like state, struggling between her interior and exterior world,and the shots and camera work reflect the characters dual personalities. The

films sound track is very important; the music is heavily connected thecharacters frame of mind.

In Morvern Callar we find many different framing and composition techniquesused by cinematographerAlwin Kuchler, and these techniques reflect the

realist/fantasy mood within the film. The Photography reflects the fractured

nature of the character, this leads us to ask the question, is she in the real worldor dream world?

Realist framing and composition techniques - Open framing, medium shots, handheld camera work, natural lighting (as the light appears to present in the scene).

Fantasy framing and composition techniques- Lots of close ups, shallow depth of

field, Vignette (used to center our attention), slow motion, un matched audio,clever use of light (as I said above the light appears to be natural, as it seems to

be present in the scene but its designed in such a way that its very dominant and

intense and this elaborate lighting pulls us away from a realistic view).

Open Framing is used a lot, theseshots are very personal, they echos

Morverns thoughts at intimatemoments. Morvern appears to be

extremely internalised in these

compositions.

Tilted camera work (Dutch angles).

The drink and drug fuelledcharacters at a party; a montage of

shots, slow motion is used, the sound

is not in sync with the characters,camera work here is hand held and

much more intense and erratic, thecamera work reflects the characters

condition.


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A static camera shot, this reflects the

characters mood and thoughts. Thishappened throughout the film, I found

that the camera was predominantly

hand held when the character was more

internalized, in a dream like state. WhenMorvern, was calm, in the exteriorworld, the camera moved to tripod static

shots, these shots being more composed.

Above - A very personal shot, open framed, reflecting her thoughts andconnection to things within the scene. I found a lot of the shots were centered on

the physical attributes, body parts, hands touching and searching within the

frame. This could reflect the characters connection to the world or maybe the

characters dissociation from the real world; maybe she is trying to understand itthrough physical touch.

Above - Stylized closed frame compositions. Morvern is present in theexterior/real world in these shots. Above left she has just had a phone

conversation with a complete stranger; this has drawn her out of her internalworld, forcing her to make a connection with the real world. She leaves for home

and abandons the idea of running away. Above right She opens Christmas

presents from her dead boyfriend; this forces her to connect with objects in the

physical world, her mind in calm and so is the camera.


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Many of the shots in the film shiftin and out of focus, and I believe

this heavy blurring is used here to

mirror Morverns disconnection

from the real world. This is herpersonal focus shifting betweenthe real world and the dream

world.

Frame blocking, this is a realistframing approach, its as if we are in the

scene simple observing, characters

obscuring parts of the shot as if the

camera was not there.

Here we can see the beautiful

lighting. The Christmas lightsbehind Morvern, contrast the

harsh light from the computermonitor. A lot of care and

attention was given to the films

lighting, The Christmas lightscombined with their sound, act

like a warning alarm throughout thefilm, letting us know something here is very wrong.

This shot from the opening scenehas been given a vignette. A

strange choice as it does not (tomy knowledge) appear anywhere

else in the film. The real reason

why this is in the film may only beknown to director Lynne Ramsay,

but after viewing the film a few

time my best guess is that thisshot is a turning point for Morvern. The next shot after this is a repeated action,

we she her turn her head, then it cuts to another angel and we see the sameaction performed again, this is very unnatural. I think the vignette represents a

captured moment in time where the character, Morvern, changes, steppes out of

the reality of the situation and into a world where having a dead body in yourliving room is acceptable. The film steppes into a dream like state. This and other

techniques like the switching from hand held shot to static composed shots, ishow Lynne Ramsay is using the edit to get us further into Morverns psyche.


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Without a doubt this is

one of my favoritecompositions. These type

of compositions give us

lots of information, we can

see they space they live in,we can see its Christmas,we know someone is dead,

we also know someone

appears to be fine with

this, its disturbing andpulchritudinous.

Morvern filmed in slow motion

as she walks into work. The

sound plays an important role,as Morvern listens to a song

which could have been in a John

Ford movie; its as if she juststepped into a western, the low

angle shot as if she is a gunslinger walking into a saloon.

Archipelago (2010) directed by Joanna Hogg.

Anotherrealist film, but set in an upper middle class culture.

Archipelago is shot very

naturalistically, almost all of thetime the camera is static with very

few edits within scenes. JoannaHogg wanted to give the audience

time to explore the frame, and

become intimate with it.

A close-up doesnt necessarily mean intimacyJoanna Hogg (2010)

She also used sound to create adifferent sense of intimacy, even

though the characters in shot maybe

far away from the camera, we hearthe audio as if we were right next to

them. This reflects the charactersactions in the story, they are

connected but they keep their

distance.Above - Intimacy at a distance.


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A closed frame shot, equal

importance is given to theenvironment.

The photography changes in this

film because the content has

changed. The camera reflects theworld in which the characters ofthe story live in.

The awkward static shots mirror thecharacters, feelings and repressed

emotions. Again like most Britishrealist films the farther figure is

absent. The family squabbles but here

in this upper class things are notresolved with violence but with

violent words.

After watching many British social realist films covering different social classes,

from underclass in Sweet Sixteen to middle/upper class in Archipelago itsclear that similar themes run throughout these films. No matter the class, we see

similar problems occurring but characters approach and deal with these issues

differently. Genre films are plot driven, its about the mechanics of plot and howit drives the narrative forward. Social realist films like Kes and Fish tank are

not particularly plot driven, they dont drive a narrative forward, they are

character studies, and dont look to solve the characters problems, just observethem. The camera work reflects this as we see with Morvern Callar as it moves

away from realist to fantasy, so the camera work changes.

Ratio Moving to 2.35:1

In summary,by and large, social realist films are character driven pieces, whichtechnically employ a documentary observational style and the ratio 16:9 is

predominantly used as is focus on the characters. Now we are moving towards

plot driven genre films, here we will see the 2.35:1 ratio in effect; its all aboutthe wide expansive environment.

Harry Brown (2011) Directed by

Daniel Barber

The 2.35:1 aspect ratio is a morecommercial way to shoot a film and

as with all ratios, when used

correctly they can convey a lot ofmeaning and add new depth to a

storys narrative. Here in HarryBrown the character, Harry, looks

lost in the frame, the environment is dominant and oppressive. This said, even

though the environment is dominant, this is still about the character, he is smalland insignificant in the world, this reflects his feelings.


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Eden Lake (2008) directed by James Watkins

An opening shot from Eden Lake. This shotsignals to an audience that this is a

commercial film. This could be attributed to

the idea that we see the world through our

eyes in a ratio closer to 16:9, it more natural,so the 2.35:1 ratio is maybe unnatural,certainly Andrea Arnold would not use 2.35:1

to film a realist piece as its too wide. The

whole point of this shot is to show off the vast

scale of the setting, in this case, London, thelandscape is sweeping and alive with color.

Both Ken Loach and Andrea Arnold want to

show us the characters, let us connect with

them, in a film like Harry Brown we see thecharacters in their environment but there is

less connection, in fact we just want to kill

them (the hoddies that is).

Right - Here in Kill List (2011) this shot iswillfully stylized, the landscape is centered,

there is symmetry this symmetrical look is

very commercial.

Below I have taken a simple shot of a bridge over a road. The 16:9 shot is very

natural, the 2.35:1 ratio instantly makes it look more commercial, it focuses thecircle of action; working with the X axis we scan the shot horizontally.


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(Pictures above) Again shifting from 16:9 to 2.35:1, its clear that our attention is

focuses along the horizontal line; it allows the director to show us specific partsof the environment and makes for a far more symmetrical, commercial look.

Symmetry = commercial intent. In the same way Fist Tank used 4:3 to focus our

attention on the characters using the Y Vertical axis, this can also restrict our

view, 2.35:1 can focus on the environment along the X axis and the wider ratiogives us more information.

The2.35:1 ratio allows us to see from left to right the width of the space the

characters have to travel in. Film making on this ration, paints pictures in a

slightly over stylized way. Really there are two types of films making, reality andfantasy, as these are shots we dont normally see and they are fantasy.

The 4:3 ratio makes it very hard to get two characters on screen at the same

time. The 4:3 lets you observe one character in detail, but in the 16:9 and even

more focused in the 2.35:1 ratio it lets us see multiple characters in shot, thisallows the narrative to drive plot forward, creating dynamic tension on screen.

A dirty shot, close up which pushsplot along. In 4:3 in old days they did

not use close ups often as then hadto pull back to show characters.

Here we have on screen opposing

forces, characters pushing plotforward. We see one characters

relationship to another character in

the same scene.

The close up. 2.35:1 allows thecharacters to clash on screen, even

up close and personal they can drive

the plot and it increases thedramatic tension of the scene.

What we have to remember is thateven though these films are shot in

2.35:1 they still use many traits of a

social realist genre film. For instance -

Shots are still observational, thestraight angle shot is used, seen above

in The Disappearance of Alice Creed(2009) and right in Kill List (2011),

both filmed in 2.35:1 but using reality

filming techniques as we are still in arealist setting.


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When filming a fantasy/genre film a director can start to play with ratios and

different codes and convention to let us know this is a film, signaling to theaudience the commercial intent of the film.

There can be no doubt that the 2.35:1 ratio convey much more dynamic imagery,

with the wider aspect ratio working to enhance the dramatic impact of the film

upon the viewer.

In this shot form The Disappearance

of Alice Creed the environment has a

threat to it, an agoraphobic quality, as

the environment enveloping thecharacter.

A director can spreads his actionacross the entire frame to enhance

the tension and the visual impact of

the scene, resulting in a much moredramatic image.

What a difference a ratio makes!

A Few Good Men (1992) shown here is 2.35:1 and 4:3 (Cinema and TV) - A

perfect example of the difference ratios can make to a scene. In the wide screenshot deep space is used to create dramatic tension, and as we can see in the 4:3

version we lose one of the characters altogether.

Filming People in their EnvironmentLetterboxing - Personal examples


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Here Dane travels from the classroom to the canteen. The image is very dynamic

and the environment here is much more dominant, Dane looks almost lost in the

frame. The shots are much more stylized, I composed symmetrical shots, useddifferent high and low angles and adjusted the colour in Premier Pro. I made the

image a little warmer and gave the colours more punch to give it that commerciallook. All the shots are locked down static shots similar to those found in The

Disappearance of Alice Creed and it makes the environment look oppressive as

it envelops the character.

Pillarboxing

Next I filmed a short piece in a similar style to cinematographer Robbie Ryan. I

shot is 16:9 but the picture was Pillarboxed using Adobe Premier Pro and the

crop feature. The colour was not adjusted as I wanted the colour to be very

natural having that slightly washed out look that we are not used to seeing inHollywood movies.


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This footage was shot around collage, here Dane, walks from the canteen to the

class room. The 4:3 ratio focuses the action on Dane, allowing us to get up close;

its all about him as he dominates the frame. I feel the Pillarboxings closed viewmakes Dane look very internalized, we connect with him much more because of

his dominance of the frame which forces us to reflect on the character and his

thoughts. The ratio also leaves us with the idea that something could existoutside the frame which we dont know about, and presents its own kind of

tension. All the shots were straight angle shots, no high or low angles I wanted tokeep the visuals all very natural.

Close upsThe wide screen gives you some more option when shootings. Its more

dynamic, allowing more characters in frame which lets you create dynamictension on screen, the characters can bounce off one another and this

emphasizes the plot driven nature of a genre film.

The 2.35:1 ratio used on a frame frommy short film Cozen. The ratio allowsus to see two characters in shot, the

environment and we can feel the space

between the characters.

Right - This shot is in 4:3, its much

harder to get a close up and include twocharacters in this ratio.

When comparing the 4:3 and 2.35:1 Idont believe either one is simply better

than the other, but that they obviously

have their own unique advantages, weuse one over the other in relation to the narrative and what we are looking to

achieve. The 4.3 lets us focus on the characters, we can get more of a singlecharacter on screen in a close up, the 2.35:1 gives us the scope we need for

stylized shots, it allows us to put more information in the frame and drive plot,

but we could just as well switch this on its head. As film makers we look to

capture an image that tells a story, gives us information about the story or thecharacter and we choose a ratio that helps us achieve this.


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Another Dirty shot In the second image I have added Blur to the character in

the foreground using After Effects, this is to give the image that Hollywood,

cinematic aesthetic through the use of shallow focus.

To get this effect first I open the file inAfter Effects and drag it to the time line next I copy the layer

Then I select the toplayer and select the pen

tool -

Using the pen tool I create a maskaround my target

Now I choose effects from the Effects barand add them to the layer -

The mask I created above was for my short film (image above) where I needed to

darken the light in a window as the light changed as the day went on. Thefinished film was graded in black and white and it made the shift in light

unnoticeable.


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Quick Colour Correction - Giving the shot a colder feel and warmer feel.

This is a quick method for giving your shots a warmer or cooler look. First I openthe original shot in Adobe Premier. After pasting the picture to the time line, I

look under the effects tab: Video Effects Color Correction - I then drag and

drop Brightness & Contrast and Fast Colour Correction to the picture on the

time line.

Now I can adjust the many aspects of the images

appearance. To make the image warmer I decrease the

saturation slightly (A), increase the contrast (B) andadjust the Hue Balance and Angle wheel (C).

This shot has been made

to look cold; it really

changes the dynamic ofthe shot. I personally

prefer the original butmaybe thats because I

took it in Scotland, if I

was using this shot in afilm I would pick the one

that would best suit thefilms narrative.

A

C

B


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Bibliography

Brown, B (2002) Cinematography: Theory and Practice. Focal Press.

Katz, S.D (1991) Film Directing, Shot by Shot. MWP.

Lamont, T (2010) "Films that changed my life: Ken Loach". London: The

Observer.Thompson, R, Bowen, C (2009) Grammar of The Shot. Focal Press.Thurlow, C (2008) Making Short Films. Berg.

Van Sijll, J (2005) Cinematic Storytelling. MWP.

Ward, P (2000) Digital Video Camerawork. Focal Press.

Filmography

Arnold, A (2003) Wasp. FilmFour

Arnold, A (2006) Red Road. BBC Films

Arnold, A (2009) Fish Tank. IFC Films.Arnold, A (2011) Wuthering Heights. Artificial Eye.

Barber, D (2009) Harry Brown. Lionsgate UK.

Bigelow, K (2008) The Hurt Locker. Voltage PicturesBlakeson, J (2009) The Disappearance of Alice Creed. CinemaNX

De Sica, V (1948) The Bicycle Thief. Produzioni De SicaGreengrass, P (2006) United 93. Universal Pictures

Greengrass, P (2010) Green Zone. Universal Pictures

Hogg, J (2010) Archipelago. Wild Horses Film CompanyLoach, K (1969) Kes. Kestrel Films Ltd.

Loach, K (2002) Sweet Sixteen. BBC Films

Ramsay, L (2002) Morvern Callar. BBC FilmsReiner, R (1992) A Few Good Men. Castle Rock Entertainment

Watkins, J (2008) Eden Lake. Rollercoaster Films

Wheatley, B (2011) Kill List. Rook Films

Webography

www.imdb.com

www.thedigitalbits.comwww.vimeo.com

www.youtube.com
http://www.imdb.com/http://www.imdb.com/http://www.thedigitalbits.com/http://www.thedigitalbits.com/http://www.vimeo.com/http://www.vimeo.com/http://www.youtube.com/http://www.youtube.com/http://www.youtube.com/http://www.vimeo.com/http://www.thedigitalbits.com/http://www.imdb.com/

film genre production. module number 104 aad

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