Video Language Media Concepts The Spill Resource Page

About Video Language n Shot – is a single, uninterrupted visual recording, a length of tape during which the camera has operated continuously. n Video Language -Frame – letter -Image - word -Shot - sentence -Scene - paragraph -Sequence - chapter The Spill Resource Page

Camera Angles n Camera Angles – a distinctive, identifiable way of framing subjects from a particular position at a particular image size. Usually, angles are named for one of several sets of characteristics: -Subject distance -Horizontal camera position -Vertical camera position -Lens perspective -Shot purpose -Shot population The Spill Resource Page

Subject Distance n Extreme Long Shot – Figure 6-2 n Long Shot – Figure 6-3 n Medium Long Shot – Figure 6-4 n Full Shot – Figure 6-5 n Three-quarter Shot – Figure 6-6 n Medium Shot – Figure 6-7 n Medium Close-up – Figure 6-8 n Closeup – Figure 6-9 n Big Closeup – Figure 6-10 n Extreme Closeup – Figure 6-11 The Spill Resource Page

Horizontal Position n Front Angle – Figure 6-13 n Three-quarter Angle – Figure 6-14 n Profile Angle – Figure 6-15 n Three-quarter Rear Angle – Figure 6-16 n What’s in a Name? Page The Spill Resource Page

Vertical Angle n Shots may be labeled by the vertical angle form which the camera views the action. Clock Hand Figure n Bird’s Eye Angle – Figure n High Angle – Figure n Neutral Angle – Figure n Low Angle – Figure n Worm’s-eye Angle Figure The Spill Resource Page

Lens Perspective n Wide-Angle – exaggerates apparent depth and dramatizes movement toward and away from the camera. n Normal – lens renders perspective approximately the way human vision perceives it. n Telephoto – compresses apparent depth and de-emphasizes movement toward and away from the camera. n Figure 6-24 and The Spill Resource Page

Shot Purpose n Master Shot – to record all or most of a scene in a full shot or even wider, capturing the action from beginning to end. Figure 6-26 n Establishing Shot – to orient viewers to the general scene and the performers in it. n Reverse Shot – show action from a point of view nearly opposite that of the main camera angle. Figure n Over-the-shoulder Shot – to include part of one performer in the foreground while focusing on another performer. Figure n Cutaway Shot – to show the audience something outside the principal action, or to reveal something from an on-screen person’s point of view. Figure The Spill Resource Page

Shot Purpose n Insert Shot – to show a small detail of the action, often from the point of view of a person on the screen. Figure n POV Shot – to show the audience what someone on the screen is seeing. Figure n Glance-object pair – glancing off screen then show what performer was looking at. Figure The Spill Resource Page

Shot Population n Single Shot – showing one performer n Two-Shot – showing two performers n Three Shot – showing three performers n Figure 6-32 The Spill Resource Page

Creating Continuity n Every time viewers notice a new angle they are briefly distracted from the program content; so the goal is to make the action appear to happen in a single continuous flow. n The key is matching action – making the incoming shot appear to begin at precisely the point where the outgoing shot ends. n Apparently uninterrupted action is an illusion created by a collaboration between the director and the editor. The Spill Resource Page

Varying Shots n Editors use the term “cut together” to describe how successfully one shot follows another. n Jump cuts – an edit in which the incoming shot is too similar visually to the outgoing shot. Figure 6-34, 36, and 37. n To make a smooth edit, the technique is to match the action closely, while decisively altering the camera angle. Figure 6-35 n Generally to achieve this, you must change at least two of the angle’s three major characteristics: camera position, camera height, and subject size. To achieve a smooth edit, a new camera setup should change two angle traits, most often the image size plus either the camera position or height. Figure 6-38 and 39 The Spill Resource Page

Matching Action n While the angle should change decisively from one shot to the next, the action should be closely matched, to make the second shot seem to begin exactly where the first shot ends. There are two basic ways to match action -First is to have the performer repeat part of the action from the first shot in the second shot. Figure Second is to conceal the matching point. Figure The Spill Resource Page

Making Transitions n Transitions between “Chapters” or sequences of video. -Classic Hollywood Transitions Fade In – Figure 6-42.Fade In – Figure Fade Out – Figure 6-42.Fade Out – Figure Dissolve – Figure 6-43.Dissolve – Figure Wipe – Figure 6-44.Wipe – Figure Modern Transitions – Digital Video Effect (DVE) FlipsFlips Fly-InsFly-Ins RotationsRotations Commercials and Music Videos - Figure 6-45.Commercials and Music Videos - Figure n Video Language in Action – Page 101. The Spill Resource Page