Style and the Camera (Discussion)
From Screenpedia
Review topics from Television
Depth of field
- Explain what depth of field is -- using the textbook illustrations.
- What is the difference between deep focus and deep space (as in mise-en-scene) -- using the textbook illustrations?
Focal length
- Explain what focal length is -- using the textbook illustrations.
- How does a zoom in/out look different from a track in/out?
- How does the Vertigo effect illustrate the impact of focal length on the illusion of depth in an image? View clip (starting at 35 seconds)
Aspect ratio
- Explain what aspect ratio is -- using the textbook illustrations.
- Also explain letterbox, pillarbox and pan-and-scan.
Framing, height, and movement
- Explain the significance of camera framing, height, and movement -- using the textbook illustrations.
- When might movement be used that does not follow a character?
- How is a Steadicam shot different from a handheld shot?
- See Steadicam examples from ER: behind-the-scenes and the resulting shot.
DP exercise
If you were a DP reshooting shots from Stranger Things and New Girl (see screen shots below), how might you change their cinematographic aspects?
- Describe a cinematographic element's use in these two screenshots. I.e., start by describing the frame's depth of field (Group 1), focal length (Group 2), aspect ratio (Group 3), and framing/height (Group 4).
- Imagine changing that element's use in the moment captured in the screenshots below.
- Groups 3: these screenshots use different aspect ratios: 2x1 and 16x9 (1.78x1). Which is which? What if the DP choose to shoot these shows in 2.35x1 (anamorphic) or 1.33x1? How would that change the impact of the shot?
- Group 2: how might a zoom lens (a variable focal-length lens) be used in this shot?
- How would such a change affect the scene's impact or the viewer's understanding of it?
Screenshot from Stranger Things. View clip (starting at 14 seconds).
Screenshot from The New Girl. View clip.
Bibliography
- Butler, Jeremy G. Television: Visual Storytelling and Screen Culture. New York: Routledge, 2018.
External links
- Illustrations from Television chapter 9.
- New Girl clip
- Northern Exposure clip (on Blackboard)
- Hitchcock's Vertigo effect — also on YouTube
- Vertigo effect in Jaws — also on YouTube