Check out the framing in this extract from 'The Good, the Bad and the Ugly'. Here Sergio Leone uses shot distance to create tension - it is an absolute classic and although dated in style, can not be missed!
Thursday 14 October 2010
Panning Shots
Panning shots usually either allow a panoramic view of the film world OR they focus on the speed of passing objects - as this shot type sees the camera stay on a fixed point, the panning arc creates a background that flashes past the lens, giving the movement the prime place in the 'frame'.
In this sequence from 'Bullitt" (1968), there are a variety of shots - the sequence is famous and contains elements of under-cranking - recording film too slowly so that on playback at normal frame rate the action appears speeded up/speedier. (Over-cranking is the opposite - recording frames too fast means on normal playback movement is slowed.) Obviously this technique is not used so often these days with so much work done in post-production.
There are some clunky edits here but in its time it was ground-breaking and set the bar for car chase sequences (and their editing) for many years. It's worth youtubing the 'French Connection' for the car chase sequence which came about 10 years later and is also considered to be groundbreaking. It's also worth watching to the end - although the sequence is a bit too protracted perhaps, the focus on the burning bodies in the car is quite graphic and still a bit shocking - a classic example of scopophilia (pleasure derived from looking) in the cinema.
In this sequence from 'Bullitt" (1968), there are a variety of shots - the sequence is famous and contains elements of under-cranking - recording film too slowly so that on playback at normal frame rate the action appears speeded up/speedier. (Over-cranking is the opposite - recording frames too fast means on normal playback movement is slowed.) Obviously this technique is not used so often these days with so much work done in post-production.
There are some clunky edits here but in its time it was ground-breaking and set the bar for car chase sequences (and their editing) for many years. It's worth youtubing the 'French Connection' for the car chase sequence which came about 10 years later and is also considered to be groundbreaking. It's also worth watching to the end - although the sequence is a bit too protracted perhaps, the focus on the burning bodies in the car is quite graphic and still a bit shocking - a classic example of scopophilia (pleasure derived from looking) in the cinema.
Tracking Shots
Focuses on the object(s) in the frame whilst the background goes by...in the case of car chases/car journeys - quite fast. Tracking can also be about moving toward, away from or around a scene or object. Called tracking because it usually is shot by placing a camera unit on a trolley that runs on rails, a tracking shot could be filmed using a steadicam or crane on a truck...The best way to look for a tracking shot is to think of how it focuses rather than how it is physically shot.
The opposite to a tracking shot is a pan.
LONG TRACKING SHOT - first long track, Orson Welles - tracking on a lorry/crane rig
'Touch of Evil' 1958
The more modern camera will move more and generally switch around frequently. The direction can be changed although the 180˚ rule is still rarely broken. The Fast and the Furious (the original movie) has lots of examples of clear tracking shots but in the following example, the camera switches across the line, showing just how technical camera work is becoming...
In this final example, the tracking moves across a landscape and no particular object or scene is in focus. The way to distinguish a track from a pan in this case is to think about a PAN SHOT itself - the camera point stays fixed in place and the camera swings around in an arc or part arc.
The opposite to a tracking shot is a pan.
LONG TRACKING SHOT - first long track, Orson Welles - tracking on a lorry/crane rig
'Touch of Evil' 1958
The more modern camera will move more and generally switch around frequently. The direction can be changed although the 180˚ rule is still rarely broken. The Fast and the Furious (the original movie) has lots of examples of clear tracking shots but in the following example, the camera switches across the line, showing just how technical camera work is becoming...
In this trailer, you can see a mix of various camera movements - look for tracking, pans and crane shots amongst others
Godzilla Teaser Trailer
In this final example, the tracking moves across a landscape and no particular object or scene is in focus. The way to distinguish a track from a pan in this case is to think about a PAN SHOT itself - the camera point stays fixed in place and the camera swings around in an arc or part arc.
'The Mummy' 1999
Thursday 7 October 2010
Shot Distances - Framing
Long Shot - Low Angle
Two shot - Low angle
Close up - Focus on object in frame
High angle - long shot
High angle mid shot
Back-lighting - silhouette and medium long shot
low placed long shot
High angle crane shot (long)
Long shot
Long Shot
close up - focus on expression
Long Shot - low camera
medium long shot - notice use of colour
Crane long shot (overhead) (and use of colour)
backlighting - silhouette
close up and high angle
low angle long shot
mid shot
Use of colour - Opening of Phantom of the Opera
Look carefully at this extract for the use of colour but also for a very effective use of lighting and Mise-en-Scene, to an effective starting of the movie in a different time frame, to giving a back story to the events about to take place in the film's narrative and as an excellent example of an opening of a film.
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