Style, Camera and Editing This powerpoint lecture was distilled from Chapter 6 - Style and the Camera, and Chapter 7- Style and Editing from Jeremy Butler’s book Television: Critical Methods and Applications

Style, Camera and Editing A number of factors related to the camera determines what the audience sees –These factors involve Aesthetic issues Economic issues Technical issues –Television is largely comprised of images produced by either video or film cameras

Style, Camera and Editing The camera - although electronic or mechangical - fundamentally changes the objects it reproduces –Three dimensions are reduced to two –Colors of nature are converted to film or video –What the viewer ‘sees’ is determined by the aspects of the camera lens Interestingly as we move towards HD, television and film are getting closer in their look

Style, Camera and Editing The focal length of the lens is one of the key factors determining what the audience will see and how it will be portrayed –We generally speak of focal length as camera angle Wide angle - (produced by a short focal length) Normal - (produced by a medium focal length Telephoto - (produced by a long focal length) –As we move from wide to telephoto our view narrows

Style, Camera and Editing Lenses have two dimensions - horizontal and vertical Normal lenses produce images that seems to duplicate the style of perspective developed during the Renaissance of the 1500s Wide angle lenses produce a perspective that is wider horizontally than it is vertically - giving the impression of a panorama Telephoto lenses produce a narrower view of the scene and (can help) focus our attention…they appear to make distant images seem closer Zoom lenses produce continuously variable views (often) from wide to narrow

Style, Camera and Editing Focus is the characteristic of the lens that produces an image that appears sharp. Television images are mostly ‘in focus’ and (unless it’s a sporting event) a lack of focus is sometimes used to create an effect or add atmosphere to a scene Selective focus can be used to create a frame where part of a scene is in focus and part is not. This use of focus draws our attention to a portion of the screen where focus is occurring or has occurred.

Style, Camera and Editing Shallow focus means that the amount of clarity in front and behind the primary object of interest is relatively small. –Shallow focus allows the director to show us what is important in a frame Deep focus means that most of the picture, both in front and behind the main object will be sharp and clear. –Deep focus is more like human perception –Deep focus preserves continuity of space by maintaining a visual connection between objects and their environment

Style, Camera and Editing Camera Framing - frame is important. It is what we choose to show. We (often) chart the frame based on the human figure. –XLS - Extreme long shot - human figure is small, in the distance –LS - Long Shot - entire body is visible, there is surrounding space around the body –MLS - Medium long - actor body mostly –MS - Medium Shot - actor is framed from waist or thigh up –CU - Close up - actor is from chest to just above head –ECU - Extreme CU - Actor’s head may be cut at forehead

Style, Camera and Editing Environment feeds our understanding of character (and helps position the character within her/his environment) –Establishing shot - LS that establishes character or setting –MS are used for conversation Two shot - framing two characters from knees up - helps establish the relationships between characters Three shot - same as two shot but with three

Style, Camera and Editing Aesthetics of framing follows certain conventions of function –Close-up is the dominant framing in a television program give the small screen size –Soaps reliance on the CU coincided with the evolution of acting style which favors facial expression over large body gestures –Sports and action favor medium shots to facilitate movement

Style, Camera and Editing Camera angle has an effect on how the viewer perceives both character and situation –Normal camera height is ‘eye level’ action. It is transparent to the viewer and taken for granted –Low angle is lower than the filmed object –High angle is where the camera is above the object/person being shot. Looking at a character from below gives the illusion of strength and power. Shooting someone from above makes the character appear less powerful

Style, Camera and Editing Principle functions of camera movement –To establish a space, a specific area –To establish a relationship between people and or objects within a certain space –To follow action –To emphasize (or de-emphasize) one portion of a space or object

Style, Camera and Editing Camera movement –Panning/ tilting - moving the camera head from side to side or up and down –Dollying, tracking, and trucking - moving the camera itself left or right (tracking) or toward/away from the object (dollying) –Zooming does not move the camera but changes the focal length of the lens

Style, Camera and Editing Craning and pedestaling –Craning is moving the camera head through space (similar to the way a crane moves objects through space). Crane shots can establish location –Pedestaling moves the camera straight up or down without changing the fixed position is space.

Style, Camera and Editing Directors utilize many techniques to make aesthetic presentations of the story or action. However, there is a real difference between (standard) film and television regarding aspect ratio –Standard TV - 4 units wide by 3 units high ratio –Widescreen - 16 units by 9 units ratio –Masked Widescreen - 16 units by 9 units ratio letterbox –Anamorphic widescreen - roughly 28 units by (sometimes called CinemaScope) HD television can produce any of the first three configurations for transmission

Style, Camera and Editing Pan and Scan reduces the 2.35 anamorphic frame to televisions 1.33 ratio by selecting the most important elements from the picture. –Pan and scan can alter a films look and the rhythms or the original edit.

Style, Camera and Editing Color and Black and White –Color characteristics are described similarly in both film and video. Hue - the color tint Saturation - the amount of color (chroma) in a picture Brightness - the amount of dark or light in the picture

Style, Camera and Editing Black and white provides a different look to a project and today is used to indicate a dream sequence or flashback in drama –In B&W, lighting can be used effectively to create mood and intone meaning for characters –In Color - lighting tends to be more flat although there are many different variations on some basic lighting techniques

Style, Camera and Editing Special effects –In film - special effects were created optically, today many are created using software technology –In TV - special effects are generated electronically (DVE) and with software technology Chroma key is an example of a special effect

Style, Camera and Editing