Movie reviews film studies

Cinematography:

This is the combination of the techniques described below. These techniques include camera angles, camera shots, camera movement and lighting.

Film techniques

Camera shots

A camera shot is the amount of space that is seen in one shot or frame.

Camera shots are used to demonstrate different aspects of a film's setting, characters and themes. As a result, camera shot are very important in shaping meaning in a film.

An extreme Long shot contains a large amount of landscape. It is often used at the beginning

of a scene or a  film to establish general location or the setting. Long shot contains landscape but  gives a viewer a more specific idea or setting. A long shot may show the viewers the building where the action will take place. A full shot contains a complete view of the characters. From this shot, viewers can see characters’ faces more clearly as well as their interaction with other characters. A close up contains just one character's face. This enables viewers to understand the actors’ emotions and also allows them to feel for the character.

An extreme close up contains on part of the characters face or other object. This technique is quite common in horror films. This type of shot creates moods and provides interaction between the audience and the viewer.

When analysing a film you should always think about camera shots and why they are being used.

Camera angles

It is important that you do not confuse camera angles with camera shots. Camera angles

Are used to position the viewer so that they can understand the relationships between characters. These are very important in shaping meaning in film.

. A birds eye angle is an angle that looks direct down upon a scene. This angle is often used an establishing angle, along with an extreme long shot, to establish setting.

. A high angle is a camera angle that looks down upon a subject. A character shot with high angle will look unreliable or small. These angles are often used to demonstrate the audience a perspective of a particular character.

. An eye level angle puts the audience on an equal footing with the character.

This is the most commonly used angle  in films so the viewers feel comfortable with the characters.

.A low angle is a camera angle that looks up at a character. This is the opposite of a high angle and makes a character look more powerful. This can make the audience feel vulnerable and small by looking up at the character. As with camera shots, you will be able to see many examples of camera angles in films. Think about the different camera angles and how they affect the way you feel about the characters.