Point of View Element

In the last part of the seminar we looked at the final element we have to include within our film which is a point of view sequence. Point of view determines who the viewer identifies within a scene and relies heavily on framing and editing to make it clear to the audience who is the focus of the scene. There are a few different styles of point of view shots and sequences which are continuously used in almost every film made that involve one or more characters.
There are 3 types of Narrative Point of View in films which show whos point of view the narrative is being told from, and they are:

• First person POV -Character tells the story through their own eyes. When the camera shows the subjective view point of the character, conventionally hand held/shaky cam e.g Peep Show.
• Third person restricted POV - Presents the action and narrative through an observer. The camera is not the view point of one of the characters, conventionally a static camera or a pan of characters movement. Used in hundreds of films e.g Saving Private Ryan (opening scene on the beach).
• Omnicent POV - We know what the character is thinking, camera can be doing either examples above but is usually combined with a voice over e.g Layer Cake (Daniel Craigs character).

Camera techniques are a very powerful way of showing what point of view the film is in as well as who the audience should be identifying with in the scene. This is done predominantly through the position of the camera in relation to the characters and their eye lines. The most common sequence used to establish this identification is:

1. The first shot shows the main characters eye line and the direction they are looking in from a third person restricted POV.
2.  The next shot shows either a first person or over shoulder shot of the first character and the object/subject they are looking at.
3. The final shot normally shows a close up of their face straight on from the object/subject they were looking at, but can be a modified subjective, where the eye line is slightly off so the character isn't looking straight down the camera lens.

The film Vertigo by Alfred Hitchcock is a classic example of a whole scene that uses this technique religiously throughout.

This is an effective way of showing who the audience identifies with due to the types of framing used on the male character, as well as the 1st person point of view shot (2nd shot) showing the audience who's perspective they are viewing the scene from.

Sequence Shot Element

In this seminar we looked at the final two elements we need to include in our films which were a long take/sequence shot and a Point of View sequence.

Sequence Shot
A sequence shot, or long take, is single uncut shot that extends for a whole scene or sequence. It is normally used to allow the audience to get a whole sense of a setting or situation by allowing them to take in everything that is happening within the scene with no breaks in it. It is conventionally done using a steadicam or dolly but can also be a static shot and there are three different ways the sequence shot can be done:

1. Where the camera is static and the subject or subjects move around in the scene and this is normally used to allow the audience time to absorb what they are seeing in the frame. e.g Michael Haneke's Hidden.
2. Where the camera moves around a static subject(s) normally to show the scene the subject is surrounded by or to create drama through an almost point of view style sequence. e.g Quentin Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs.
3. Where both the subject and the camera move and this tends to be a tracking shot of one or two subjects through a scene. e.g Martin Scorsesse's Goodfellas

Issues that can arise when attempting a sequence shot are mainly:

• Choice between static or moving
• Focus
• Exposure

These issues can normally be controlled when shooting internally or in a studio due to the ability to control light intensity and space to move in when filming. However problems occur, especially with exposure, when shooting externally as you may shoot facing the sun and then move to the shade, the clouds may block out some sunlight whilst shooting or you even may go from an external setting to an internal one within the shot. To get around these problems, the crew will normally consist of a camera operator, a focus puller and someone to change the exposure and this crew will have to work when the scene is being filmed to adjust the variables to make the shot as professional as possible.

We looked at some examples of these different types of sequence shots in the seminar and how well they had been executed as well as why the directors had used them in the way they had done.
The first film we looked at was What Time Is It Over There? (2001) by Ming-liang Tsai which uses an internal, static sequence shot looking through a few doorways in a house.

The shot is about 3 minutes and 20 seconds long and uses around 3 focus pulls which draws the focus into the 3 joining rooms. The use of the long take here is so the audience can observe and absorb what setting this is filmed in as well as focus what the character is doing in all the different rooms.

The second film we watched was La Haine (1995) by Mathieu Kassovitz which includes a internal steadicam sequence shot that circles around two main subjects to give off a interchanging, mobile third person POV stile shot.

This shot is only about 1 minute 30 seconds long and contains a large number of focus pulls which change from the characters faces to action happening in the background of the scene. The reason it does this is to give a contrast of the reactions and emotions of the two characters to what is happening around them as well as serving as a point of view shot of the two characters as they rotate their heads around to take in what is happening in the room.

The final film we looked at was Elephant (2003) by Gus Van Sant and this film uses a steadicam tracking sequence shot which follows the main character around a school.

This shot is about 5 minutes 20 seconds long and uses a variety of techniques throughout such as focus pulling and exposure adjusting. This is because the sequence consists of varied distances between the camera and the main subject, as well as focus on other characters around the main one plus the shot takes is from an external environment to and internal one and in again twice which all in one shot can be very demanding to execute professionally. There are a few hiccups in this shot especially with the transition from inside to outside in terms of overexposure, but the shot is used to give the audience a view of the setting of the film as well as setting up a later shot that mimics this one.

All three types of sequence shot are effective in their respective ways but practically the easiest to accomplish would be the first style, where the camera remains static and the subject moves within the scene, and the hardest would be the final style where both camera and subject are moving. When we get to Grindleford on Thursday, we will assess what we want to film and then experiment with what style of sequence shot would be best suited for it.

Let the Right One In Analysis

Let The Right One In (2008) by Tomas Alfredson is about a lonely, bullied child (Oskar) who finds both love and revenge when a new and strange girl moves in next to him who turns out to be a vampire. This film has been credited by a number of critics to have very unique and effective cinematography which is why I decided to analyse it so I could pick up techniques used, in my own film. I tried to analyse all the main techniques used in the film and relate them to the 4 elements I need to incorporate in my own film; these are Use of colour as a narrative and symbolic element, lighting change as a narrative device, a sequence shot and a point of view sequence.

The most notable cinematography technique used is the shallow depth of field which is used in almost every scene in the film. It is used predominantly when framed on Oskar or Eli’s heads or when the scene is focused around them and it is done here to give a sense that both the characters want to be wrapped up in their own protective bubble and their own worlds. For example the scene where Oskar gives Eli his Rubik’s cube, as the dialogue progresses and the intimacy between the characters intensifies, the shots get a more shallow depth of field and the background becomes less and less clear. This is connotes the safety and friendship between these two characters as it shows that nothing in the frame is important compared to the two subjects that are in focus and this is a very effective technique because it forces the audience to just watch what is going on in the foreground so they are not distracted by anything else (such as the falling snow) and focus their attention to the relationship between the characters instead.

The second technique I picked up on was the use of colour throughout the film especially when relating to characters and the underlying themes they carry with them. For example, Eli, the vampire, is always wearing a light, dull coloured top or dress normally pale blue, white or grey. This connotes that Eli is innocent and vulnerable which makes the audience feel sympathy towards her, even though she is technically the ‘monster’ in the film. The reason this is done is because it supports the main narrative, the love story between Oskar and Eli, by making the audience empathise with both characters whilst also connoting that even though Eli has to kill people and drink their blood, she only does it because she has to survive.

The colour of Oskar and Eli’s hair also seems very deliberate as it connotes their type of character profile. Oskar has the bleach blond and almost white hair so we see him as a very young, innocent child who is misunderstood and neglected by his parents, whereas Eli with dark black hair, is shown to have a more evil and dangerous side. Obviously these conventions wouldn’t be obvious without the narrative but they definitely enhance the way the audience subconsciously judges the characters.

Second Seminar - Lighting Element

This seminar session focused on the use of lighting and how important it is in cinematography and film. We started with a brief introduction of different lights we would come across and what their functions, advantages and disadvantages were which would help us decide where and when to use them on a set.

Properties of Light
Firstly we were told about how lighting is classified according to their colour temperature in units of Kelvin (K). The sun is about 5000 degrees K and a tungsten light (normal household light-bulb) is about 3200 degrees K. These measurements are used to determine what types of light and intensity of light will be used within a scene depending on its surroundings (exterior or interior) to help get the desired colour. Lights can also be classified by how much electricity they consume, e.g a 1000 Watt spotlight = 1k tungsten spot, and this helps you know where to position lights on a set using the Inverse Square Law - double the distance = 4x less intensity.

Types of Lights/bulbs

• Common Tungsten bulbs - 2900 K
• Tungsten-Halogen bulbs - <3200 K
• HMI (Halogen- Metal- Iodide) bulbs - 5600-6000 K
• Spot lights - Vary in colour temperature
• Inky - 250 Watts
• Baby - 500-1000 Watts
• Junior/Deuce/2kW - 2000 Watts
• 5k - 5000 Watts
• Tenner/10k - 10,000 Watts

•  Flood lights
• Isolated lights

 Lights Filming Qualities
The qualities of light on a film set can be spread into 6 categories.

1. Intensity - Hard/soft.
2. Direction - The position the light is coming from onto the subject (see list below).
3. Quality - Harsh/flattering.
4. Colour Tone - Warm/cool.
5. Spread - Spotted/isolated/flood.
6. Duration - Constant/flickering.

Functions and Positions of Light On Set

• Key Light - Main light that gives a subject definition, form and shape and tends to determine the exposure of the shot
• Fill - Used to balance the effect of the key light and fill in the shadows it causes whilst reducing the contrast.
• Backlight - Place behind the subject and is used to separate it from the background to add more dimension to the framing. Very similar to a Rim.
• Kickers - Placed to the side of the subject in order to produce a 'kick' on the flesh tone.
• Eyelight - Often found on the camera, it lifts exposure in and around the subjects eyes to highlight them.
• Practical Lights - These are lights that can be seen in shot and are used for decoration as well as sources of light that show its direction within the scene and are usually kickers or backlights.

Changing Qualities of Light
To get the desired quality of light in a scene, you have to control all the different factors that could affect it. In a studio this is very straight forward as you only have the lights you set up as the variable and this is a list of how you change each quality and what effect it will give you.

• To change the intensity of light, you can use ND filters, a dimmer or move the light source away/closer to the subject (use the inverse square law)
• To change the direction of light, simply move the stand left/right or up/down.
• To change the quality of light, you can diffuse it with diffusion materials called gels which can cause softer shadows as well as decreased intensity.
• To change the colour tone of light, you can use filters again for example CTB (colour tone blue), or CTO (colour temperature orange).
• To change the spread of light, use the barn doors on most lights as well as the focus of the light.
• To change the duration of light, you can use a flag (panel used to block out light), a cutter to show the light in intervals or a net which controls the amount of light in certain areas.

Reflection on the Seminar/Scene Analysis
This seminar has caused me to consciously think about the effect that light has in all films and television I watch, and what light can connote by being used in specific ways.
A specific scene that comes to mind when thinking about use of lighting is the interrogation scene in The Dark Night (2008).

This scene starts out with The Joker being illuminated by a single Practical lamp which is positioned to the side of him on a table. The light itself is likely a modified common tungsten bulb as it is very quite dim, but with the use of a reflector, which is also in shot (the metal table) it gives the light source a focus point on the bottom right of his face (the bottom left of the screen).

This connotes themes of evil and fear as you can only see half of his face and not his hair which does the same effect that a low-angle shot would have as being imposing, mysterious and unnerving as you don't know what his surroundings are and as you can't see the rest of his body, you question what is he wearing, holding, is he standing or sitting etc. This is also due to there being no backlight or key light in the frame so the subject is almost blended with their surroundings, which is unsettles the audience because of the mystery surrounding him.

As the scene progresses and close ups are used, the light is enhanced/changed to produce a more harsh kicker effect which really outlines the details of the subjects face and casts a harder attached shadow on the other half of it. This connotes violence, power and codes of enigma in the way it is lit as well as the way it is framed (with his face on the left of the screen and not centred) due to how the details are much clearer which makes the audience feel more wrapped up in the narrative as if they were in the room interrogating him as well and when this is mixed with the dialogue, we see how irrational and psychotic the character really is.
I will take the conventions used here into consideration when planning how to use the lighting element within our brief and how to use only one or two lights to create a desired connotation and not just using the conventional 3-point light technique.

Young Eyes Reformed - Short film by Nathan Harkin

Over summer, I made a short film that I wanted to create to reflect my childhood memories and contrast them with the reality of today. I used my recently purchased Nikon D5100 to film it with after taking an number of photographs of the location (my garden) and used that to create a story board with. My lack of equipment (tripod and all sound equipment) meant that I knew the film wouldn't be as professional as I would have liked in terms of quality, but I hoped the experimental style of filming would create a powerful narrative and theme within the short film and that would outshine the other pitfalls. My main focus in this film was to focus on testing out different compositions and how the depth of field could be used in a creative way for shots such as focus pulls and foreground focused images. I attempted to experiment with colour and content in post production as well, by making the more shaky shots more blue to connote a flashback POV sequence, and the more static shots vibrant and green to connote natural beauty and innocence. I used a variety of different shot styles and post-production techniques in order to create the narrative of reflection on a simpler time. I wanted to use specific songs for it, but in the end decided to record my sound no-sync with my phone which is why the quality of it is quite poor.

However, I am quite pleased with the final film as it shows my ability to use a variety of techniques to connote the themes and emotions I wanted as well as create a narrative through the use of cinematography alone and without the use of dialogue, much like the film Regen (1929) by Joris Ivens. Although I'm not completely satisfied with the final draft of the film due to the lack of equipment I had, I believe it is an fairly good attempt at a short film and has kept my skills up to scratch ready to carry into my second year.

First Seminar - Colour Element

In this seminar we were given the brief of the module which was to create a 10 minute film that used four key cinematic devices; Use of colour as a narrative and symbolic element, lighting change as a narrative device, a sequence shot and a point-of-view sequence which privileges the 'non-active' participant.

My Reaction to The Brief
I really enjoy that the brief is very broad and open to interoperation in terms of narrative and themes as this will give me a chance to personalise the film and create it with very little limitations. The cinematic devices are also very interesting and I look forward to learning more technical information about them in our upcoming seminars, however I was already familiar with all of them apart from the use of colour as I have at least subconsciously attempted to use them all in previous films I have made. I'm looking forward to using different cameras and equipment compared to last year (Sony Z1) as it will be another learning experience for me to see how different cameras produce different images, such as a DSLR's depth of field.

Seminar Analysis/Breakdown
We were taught about the role colour has in films, as the first element we have to use in our own 10 minute one, and how it is used and what it connotes with whilst looking at examples of it in certain feature films. It surprised me how often it is used in films to help enforce the themes and/or the characters emotions and what impact this has on the viewer. We focused on the primary colours of Red, Blue and Green and what these colours could be connoting in different films, for example a 'powerless blue' is a theme throughout all of Shawshank Redemption as all the prisoners wear these colour clothes and they have no authority in the film. We also looked at the Munsell Colour System, what Hue, Chroma and Value mean within it and how it is used in post-production to get the desired colour to help the implicit themes of the shot or scene.
My own example of a film that uses colour very effectively is Sunshine (2007) by Danny Boyle. The main colour scheme in this film is of red yellow and orange as the film is about a crew on a spaceship heading to the sun. During the scenes at the start of the film that use this rich orange/yellow colour scheme connote warmth, mystery and wonder which mimics the feelings of the crew as they all want to gain this experience of travelling so close to the sun, as well a supporting the implicit themes of the film throughout.

image : http://keithmoonshine.wordpress.com/2011/08/08/sunshine-review/

 However near the end of this film the theme changes to panic and pain but still keeps with the implicit theme of mystery as the narrative changes from a normal sci-fi to a horror/thriller movie and there is an introduction of an antagonist that sets out to destroy the mission.

Image : http://www.bbfc.co.uk/case-studies/sunshine

This film therefore shows the use of colour orange/yellow as a Narrative and Symbolic element which changes through the duration of the film to add even more symbolic elements and I will take this into consideration when producing my own film and adapt this technique of alteration to make the film more entertaining and complex.