How does tone work in film?
Questions:
What else can we call tone in a film?
Another way we can call tone is brightness.
What are the 3 main elements of tone?
The 3 main elements of tone are lighting, exposure and art direction.
How and why does Coppola use tone in the classic film ‘The Godfather’?
He uses underexposure and brightness to show contrast.
How can directors control the feelings of the scenes?
Directors control the feelings by controlling the brightness.
How does the over the shoulder shot work?
Questions:
What is the effect of an over-the-shoulder shot?
Over the shoulder shot connects the characters together.
What film aspect shows a disconnection between characters?
Single-shot disconnects the characters.
How does the director of this scene show the disconnect of the characters?
The director shows a disconnection to the scene by transitioning to an over the shoulder shot to a single shot.
What eventually totally isolates the female character?
The waiter and everybody else stops except for the female character and she is shot with a single shot.
How does film blocking work in film?
Questions:
What are the 3 ways directors use blocking in a film?
The 3 ways directors use blocking are spaces, shapes and lines.
What are the 3 basic shapes for film blocking?
The 3 basic shapes are circles, squares and triangles.
What are the emotions associated with these shapes?
Circles create an emotion of safety and inclusive, squares create limited space and triangles can feel aggressive.
What two things can blocking help with?
Blocking can help with sub-text and contrast.
How does camera movement work in film?
Questions:
What are the purposes of the whip pan and the slow pan?
The whip pan creates a jolt of energy, while the slow pan helps to take in the landscape.
What is the purpose of the tilt shot?
The purpose is to reveal something or suddenly redirect our attention to something.
What does the reverse dolly zoom help show?
It helps to show the character’s intense internal feeling or experience.
What the difference between a steadicam and dolly shot?
The difference between the two is a steady cam can easily glide through a certain space stabilised on a camera operator while a dolly shot is shot while attached to a track.
What can the hand-held shot help create for the viewer?
It creates a feeling of anxiety.
What should directors ask themselves with their camera movement?
If the audience has something they are following.
Camera movement should be doing what?
Catching the attention of the audience.
How is contrast used in a film?
Questions:
What are the ways directors can contrast in a film?
Directors can contrast in a film by contrasting in tone, art direction, blocking, camera movement and in colour.
What is contrasted in Spike Jonze’s ad?
He starts off in a dark moody tone without colour and with minimal lighting then as the character goes back home the mood and tone changes into a brighter one.
Why did he contrast these things?
To grab attention, and to show meaning and emotions.
How is the dutch angle used?
Questions:
The Dutch angle does what?
To signal something disorienting.
What is the Dutch angle?
A dutch angle is shot with a noticeable angle on the x-axis.
Who and when created the dutch angle?
It was created and used by German expressionists during the late 1900s.
What 3 things do directors need to consider for the Dutch angle?
The 3 things the directors consider are identifying the moment, considering the moment and enhancing the moment.
What 4 things can enhance a Dutch angle?
The 4 things that can enhance the dutch angle shot is the degree of the shot, the camera angle, the lens choice and the depth of field.
How do visual motifs work in film?
Questions:
What is a motif?
A motif is any reoccurring element that has a symbolic significance to the movie.
Why are they important?
They ensure that the stories can work.
What makes a great work of art?
Catching different things and feelings from the same film after watching again and again.
How does a POV or POT shot work?
Questions:
What is a POV shot?
A shot to show us what a character sees.
What is a ‘point of thought’ shot?
A point of thought shot is a shot to make us relate to the character thoughts.
Why are they important?
It is important because it shows us the characters thoughts and what they see and it makes us relate to them.
How does the insert shot work in film?
Questions:
What is an insert shot?
An insert shot focuses on a specific detail on a scene.
What is the purpose of an insert shot?
It is to direct people on something specific.
What are the 3 main aspects of the insert shot?
The 3 main aspects of the insert shot are composition, colour and timing.
What 3 things help the audience feel about the insert shot?
Composition of the insert shot helps with what in a film?
Colour in the insert shot helps with what in a film?
How long you dwell on the insert shot helps show what?
How does production design work in a film?
Questions:
What is production design?
The production design is the overall look of the movie.
What makes up production design?
What are the 3 main things production design can help reveal?
It can help reveal the mood, characters state and the story’s theme.
How does colour work in film?
Questions:
How does colour in a film affect people?
Colours have a psychological effect on people and can create different emotions.
What are the 3 factors in determining colour?
The 3 factors are hue, saturation and brightness.
Why is the hue in ‘The Matrix’ mostly green?
It’s because it takes place inside of a digital world.
Why do some films desaturate?
It gives a feeling of cold, rude and gritty and it takes us back in time.
What can brightness and a lack of brightness show in a film?
A lot of brightness can be seen as lively and exciting on the other hand lack of brightness is seen as dramatic.
How do establishing shot work in film?
Questions:
What is an establishing shot?
It establishes a scene.
Why is it used?
It shows the relationship between the subject and the location.
Why are establishing shot usually the most expensive?
Establishing shot are usually expensive because you can see everything.
