Lecture 3

This lecture explored some aspects of film and in particular cine-speak which is the language of the cinema. We learned a lot of the important camera shots. These included the 'very long shot/wide shot', 'long shot', 'medium long shot', 'mid shot', 'medium close-up', 'close-up', 'big close-up' and the 'extreme close-up'. Another thing that was explored was using shots as words. This was to tell the who, what, when, where, why and how of the story. For the question of who, the close up is used as it shows the character in detail. The mid shot answers the what question as it shows the subject performing an action. The long shot is used to answer where and is often called an establishing shot at the beginning of a scene. To answer the question of when both the wide shot and the close up can be used. Why is answered through an extreme close up as it can reveal more about the character and their actions and lastly the question of how is explored with a single medium close up or a series of close ups.

Another important aspect that was learned was about head room in a shot. It is important to have good headroom as to much or to little headroom can make the shot look off balance.
Talking room is also important as the shot can become uneven and confusing if it is not right.

The rule of thirds was also discussed. This means breaking the image down into thirds so that there are nine parts. This helps it become nicely balanced and easy on the eye. Another rule was the 180 degree rule. This rule means that two characters in the same scene should constantly have a left right relationship to one another. When this is not the case and the camera passes over the axis it is 'crossing the line'.

Lastly a very important point that was given in the lecture was that every shot needs to be able to drive the narrative forward and make a statement.