1. Film Appreciation Notes
The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences Curriculum

2. Unit 1 - Classroom Unity Freedom Writers

3. Unit 2 - Introduction to Film History
The Jazz Singer
Singing in the Rain
The Wizard of Oz
The Artist

4. The Language of Film - “Script”
Unit 3 - Screenwriting
The Language of Film - “Script”
Review Memory Aide

5. Unit 4 - Cinematography

6. Test Question - Cinematography Definition: Capturing Images On Film
Teach memory aide song / action

7. The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences (source of our class curriculum) has produced the following study guide that will focus on cinematography, one of the many craft areas involved in creating a motion picture.

8. Program Objectives
To enhance student interest in and knowledge about the motion picture development and production process.
To encourage students to use critical thinking, creative writing and language skills as they learn how cinematographers contribute to the process of creating a motion picture.
To engage students in an exploration of film as a medium of communication.
To help students become more visually literate (to be able to interpret and make meaning from information presented in the form of an image).

9. List 3 facts – group discuss together
Cinematography What is it? (5 minute clip)
List 3 facts – group discuss together

10. The following films have won Academy Awards for best cinematography and have been suggested by the Academy for students to view:

11. Titanic (original screenplay, 1997)

12. Dances with Wolves (adapted screenplay, 1990)

13. A River Runs Through It (adapted screenplay, 1992)

14. Schindler’s List (adapted screenplay, 1993)

15. Sense and Sensibility (1995)
The following films were nominated for Academy Awards and are also suggested by the Academy to view:
Shakespeare in Love (1998)
Evita (1996)
Sense and Sensibility (1995)
* Howards End (1992)
A Little Princess (1995)
Fly Away Home (1996)

16. What does a cinematographer do. https://www. youtube. com/watch
What does a cinematographer do? (3:40 minutes)

17. The path to become a cinematographer. https://www. youtube. com/watch
The path to become a cinematographer? (4:43 minutes)

18. Lighting the Scene (convey mood and tone)
Framing the Shot Film Storyboards Cinematographer Teams & Responsibilities (film vs. digital) Angling the Camera - Point of View
Examples of Basic Cinematography Camera Shots (panning, tilting etc) The Psychology of Cinematography
Basic Film Equipment
Lighting the Scene (convey mood and tone)

20. Digital Film Capture vs Recording On Celluloid Film WHICH FORMAT IS BETTER?

21. Cinematographer (modest title) vs. Director of Photography https://www
Cinematographer (modest title) vs. Director of Photography (3:06 minutes)

22. The cinematographer, or director of photography (DP), has an extremely complex and challenging job. He or she must translate the ideas of the director and the writer onto film. The cinematographer must know how to use the camera to capture the images in the most effective way possible, and consider lighting, composition, camera moves and angles, different types of film, lenses and cameras, use of color, etc., when framing and filming each shot.
In composing a shot, the cinematographer must consider how each image relates to the images that came before it, and how it will relate to those that will follow it. Most shots are filmed several times to ensure that the end result will be just right. Each of these filming segments is called a “take.” The resulting takes are edited together to create the film’s sequence of action that, in turn, moves the story forward.
Creative Spark Movie Clip - Editing a Cinematographers “Takes” to Create Story (4:30 Min)

23. Before a film editor can “sculpt” the captured video “takes” to create an engaging motion picture - those images must first be captured or recorded.
Enter cinematographers who job it is to work closely with directors to “capture images on film.”

24. ROLE PLAY ACTIVITY - 7 Actors Needed
Cinematography Teams
A team of cinematographer must work closely with the director to compose the images that are captured on film.
Talks with director - communicates to team
Mount the camera & establish angle
Load the film / transfer complete film
Focus the lens (hitting your mark)
Operate the camera - do the actual filming,
ROLE PLAY ACTIVITY - 7 Actors Needed

25. Framing the Shot
The “framing” of a shot simply indicates where the cinematographer has placed the borders of an image.
For every individual shot in a film, the director and cinematographer must work together to decide where the camera will be in relation to the actors and the space they are in. Their decisions about the movement of the camera are critical in telling the story effectively.
STORYBOARDING =
A TIME TO IRON OUT ALL THE WRINKLES

26. Like cinematographers,
animators must
work together to
decide each POV
angle, lighting and
framing of the shot.

27. COLLABORATION AND TEAMWORK REQUIRED
Toy Story Pitch = 0:42 seconds
STORYBOARDING DONE RIGHT!
Tarzan Storyboard to Final Movie Comparison with MINIMAL Differences = 3:18 minutes

28. Basic Camera Shots for Filmmakers Clip - 5:30 minutes
ANGLING THE CAMERA
For each shot in a film, the cinematographer must plan how far from the subject the camera will be, what kind of lens is necessary and the angle from which the shot will be made.The cinematographer can create very different effects by varying the angle—or point of view—of the shot.
Basic Camera Shots for Filmmakers Clip - 5:30 minutes
Composition & Framing

29. Interested in learning more?
Information, Worksheets & Activities
Aerial shot: A shot taken from the air, as from an airplane, helicopter, balloon, etc., or a high-angle shot from a camera mounted on a crane.
Deep focus: The photographic technique of keeping the entire image—no matter how far from the camera—in sharp focus.This allows action to occur at different distances in the same scene.
Shallow focus: (The opposite technique), uses a small depth of field to create a shallow focal plane. It is often used to direct the viewer’s attention to something specific.
Slow motion: A shot that makes people or objects appear to be moving more slowly than normal.This is achieved by moving film through the camera more quickly when filming but projecting it at a normal speed.
Soft focus: Reducing the sharpness of the image by changing the lens or by placing material such as gauze between the lens and the object being photographed.
Tracking shot: A shot in which the camera moves from one point to another—either sideways, in, or out.This is also known as a traveling shot.

30. LIGHTING THE SCENE
There are various styles of lighting that a cinematographer can use. Lighting style is generally determined in consultation with the director (and often the production designer), and depends on the setting, mood and character of the story or the scene. Basic styles of lighting are
High-key lighting: bright with few shadows used in comedies
Low-key lighting: light casts darker shadows used in dramas, soap operas etc

31. Lighting also is used to create the illusion of depth and dimension, and to illuminate different contours and textures = backlight, side light, adding gels etc...

32. THEATRE CONNECTION - It’s a little complicated...
Multiple lights and “looks” required to create the needs of a show
CONSTANT MAINTENANCE - LOTS OF WORK!

33. Washed out, sick looking actors caused by bad lighting We have to “add the color” back into their skin tones by using gel…
Lighting the stage = Warm (amber), Cool (blue), Neutral (no gel) Lots of preparation, documenation and paperwork = MAINTAIN COMMUNICATION

34. WATCH LIGHTING VIDEO FOR THEATRE EXAMPLE OF LIGHTING EFFECTS
Begin at 43:30 to 46:36 (Basic Lighting Design – Angles of Light) = 3 minutes

35. Noted filmmaker, author and teacher Kris Malkiewicz describes lighting as “the most important element in cinematography…the task to which a cinematographer gives his primary attention.” The cinematographer must know how to manipulate the lighting—using the right quality of light and distributing it in just the right way—to create the mood that is required for each scene in the film.The cinematographer must know how and when to use hard light (light that travels directly from its source undiffused, creating sharply defined shadows) and soft light (light that bounces off another source or is diffused through a translucent material, such as tracing paper, thereby softening the shadows). He or she also must consider the angle of the throw (the path the light follows). This is important in creating the mood of a scene and suggesting the time of day. Additionally, the cinematographer must be able to communicate clearly to those who set and focus the lighting instruments precisely how he or she wants a scene lit. The primary source of light outdoors is sunlight. Although often supplementing sunlight with artificial lights, when shooting outdoors the cinematographer must consider how the angle of the sun at different times of day affects the setting and changes its mood and appearance.
IT’S COMPLICATED. PERIOD RETAKES? OH MY GOSH = HEADACHE

36. Basic Film Equipment
A stationary camera can be rotated on the axis of the camera mount (panning); it also can be moved up or down in a 90-degree arc (tilting).

37. Basic Film Equipment
When a camera is mounted on a dolly it can be rolled
forward, backward and sideways.

38. Basic Film Equipment
Cameras also can be mounted on power-operated cranes that allow for even more flexibility.

39. Basic Film Equipment
Lightweight hand-held cameras also are used, at least in part, on many films.

40. Lighting the Scene (convey mood and tone)
Framing the Shot Film Storyboards Cinematographer Teams & Responsibilities (film vs. digital) Angling the Camera - Point of View
Examples of Basic Cinematography Camera Shots (panning, tilting etc) The Psychology of Cinematography
Basic Film Equipment
Lighting the Scene (convey mood and tone)