Camera Techniques - Evaluation

In this blog i am going to be discussing camera shots and angles that i used in my camera techniques footage. Camera techniques that me and my group used was;

• Long shot
• Close up
• Medium shot
• High angle 
• Pan 
• Rolling shot 
• Low angle
• Tilt 

To start with we used long shots, we used long shots to show mine and Sarah's body language to make it come across that we was rushing trying to find each other also this showed a lot of our sorroundings within the shots to show that Me and Sarah was in the same places at different times this showed how close we were to each other without actually knowing it. 

We didnt use close ups in this footage however we did look into this shot it is a good camera technique to use when trying to give of a characters facial expressions as it really shows what a character is feeling and gives this effect of to the audience also close ups are good if you want to focus on  particular objects.

we also used a medium shot when i was rushing down the stairs and it cut half my body out this is a good technique to use if you want to show more body language in the top half of a characters body for example if i was to cross my arms it would show i wasn't feeling comfortable, in the case that our group used a medium shot it looked effective due to it making me look like i was rushing more and showed more expression but not too much on my face.

High angles are shots to show a character in less power or no power this can show weakness or fear in a character and creates more tension in the scene this is normally seen in scenes were someone is seen as weaker than another for example in fight scenes we can see an high angle if a person in the fight has been hurt to show that they are weak. We used a high angle in the scene were the camera was pointing down on Sarah showing her outside this could have been seen to an audience that Sarah wasn't going to find me however we used this angle to test it out whilst filming to see how much better using different shots made filming look.

Low angles are used the opposite to high angles so instead of showing no power it shows the person having loads of power again with the fight scene example however it will be shown on the person that is winning. Both these angles are really effective when being used together due to they are most likely to change between each charecter with the angles changing keeps the tension going and this keeps the audience interested in whats going on. We used a high angel of Sarah walking down stairs however due to our story line not being dramatic we didn't show any power we just thought that it looked creative and gave the footage a better effect however it did add to the dramatic music and led to the chase of finding each other start.

We also used a rolling shot in our footage this made the footage more dramatic and more creative it showed that my character was confused on the fact i couldnt find Sarah this really helped our footage due to thats the emotion we was trying to give of as it was suppose to come across as being dramatic with our characters confused.


Overall i think that trying these camera techniques out really helped us to see how better they made a piece of footage look and to see the different effects they give off and after doing this we discussed what ones we could possibly use in our thriller which really helped due, however due to there not being much of a story line in the short bit of footage we produced there wasn't much camera techniques that we could do to give of what they are meant to but rather to just make the footage look better and more creative because if we didn't use different camera techniques and just done straight shots we knew how boring it would have been so these shots helped with the confused effect we was trying to give of.

Practical Camera Techniques Exercise

Me and two class mates in my group made this footage to show camera shots and angels in this footage we showed different camera shots and angels such as; 

• Long shot
• Close up
• Medium shot
• High angle 
• Pan 
• Rolling shot 
• Low angle
• Tilt 

Analysis - Casino Royale

In this post I will be looking at Mise-en-scene in Casino Royale, I will be comparing two different scenes which are Bonds first two kills.

To start with we can see how the lighting changes in the different scenes. In the first kill we see how brightly lit the shots are, this makes this scene a lot more dramatic and eye catching towards the audience the fact that the scene is so lightly lit is also informing the audience that the first kill is seen in a flash back, although in the second kill the lighting is much more dim the contrast of the lighting in the two scenes also reflex's on the change in bond as in the first scene we can see how Bond killing people was all new to him and you could see this with the fact the light was so brightly lit and white can represent innocents and the audience can see this. In the second scene the audience can see how much killing has changed Bond as a person this makes the audience see a much darker side to Bond then before. The fact that both scenes are in black and white also gives of a cold effect on the characters, however in the second scene the fact it is very dim and the colour effect can come across and that Bond has become rather cold from his first kill showing that it has scared him and really effected him as a person.

In the two scenes of Casino Royale, Bonds facial expressions and body language change to show the change in charecter for example, in the first scene you can see how the camera concentrates a lot on Bonds facial expressions showing close ups this shows the audience the guilt and fear in his eyes also in the first scene Bonds body language is shown much more this is to show the struggle and fear that Bond is feeling when trying to kill. In the second scene Bonds facial expressions show how dead he is inside and the fact that he is not really bothered about the fact that he is going to kill a man this also shows the audience how massively Bond has changed by killing one person the close ups of his face to show his facial expressions really show the audience how he is dead inside .In the first scene Bonds body language is very shook up and intense to show the audience that he is new to killing people, we also see how he is very hands on action in the first scene this shows the audience how he don't really know what he is doing and also to give off how nervous he is tho is a complete contrast to Bond in the second scene with he's second kill as we see how Bonds shoulders are very laid back and he's body language shows us that Bond is very calm which shows  he now knows what he is doing now due to this the audience can see that unlike the first kill Bond now knows how to kill people in a easier way and he don't feel sympathetic or have a fear for killing people either.

Bonds facial expressions in the first kill scene. 

Bonds facial expressions in the second kill scene.

   

Looking at camera shots in these two different scenes we see that in the first scene there is a lot of long shots to show the action going on between Bond and the first bad guy. This shows Bonds body language in the first scene and how dramatic the fight for his life this made the audience feel the tension in the room of these two men, although in the second scene  medium shots were shown more to also show how laid back he was now with killing people. throughout both scenes there was a lot of high and low angles, in the second opening of the scene we see the low angle on the bad guy as we see that he has a gun in his draw which shows hat he was in power although it completely changed when we see Bond stole the bullets out the gun already after this we see that bond was in power and the low angle shots was on bond instead of the bad guy. Another example was the low angle in the first scene when Bond was drowning the bad guy in the bathroom sink this showed the audience how bond was struggling to stay in power through shaking when trying to drown the bad guy. This also made the audience feel more laid bad within the second scene due to the fact in the first scene due to the power being swapped around with Bond and the first bad guy as we see in the low and high angles who had the power, the audience felt the tension and didn't know who was going to stay alive although due to the medium shots we could see less body langauge and due to how laid back this made Bond appear the audience automatically know that bond is going to kill and it won't back fire so the audience automatically feel as laid back as Bond was actually feeling.

Analysis - North by North West

In the thriller North by North West we are looking at camera shots in the movie and how they create a certain atmosphere for the audience. In this post we are looking at three different camera shots and comparing the movie to another thriller called Hannah.

In North By North West they use many close ups to focus on hands, one scene showing this is the seen were Mr Vandamm  strokes the back of  Eve Kendalls neck. This shows to the audience how Mr Vandamm try's showing how he is in control of Eve Kendall and it also shows how Eve Kendall is feeling uncomfortable with him doing this, this makes the audience feel hate and disgust towards the bad guy in this scene and it also makes the audience feel sympathy towards Eve Kendall  even though she just betrayed  the good guy.
The scene were mr Vandamm strokes the back of Eve Kendalls neck

In North By North West they also use a point of view shot this is to show the audience how dangerously Rodger Thornhill is driving  this brings the pace up a bit as we fill we are in his shoes so it makes the audience fell anxious on the fact he might kill himself because how badly he is drunk.
The scene we see how drunk Rodger Thornhill is from a Point of view shot

Finally in North By North West they also have a lot of medium shots, medium shots show a lot of facial expressions in facial expressions we see how the actor is feeling and it also concentrates a lot on eye contact this makes the audience feel sympathy towards Rodger Thornhill as even before knowing that Rodger is actually not Mr Kaplan the audience see the fear and innocence in his eyes with medium shots because of his facial expressions and eye contact which makes the audience know Rodger is innocent even before being informed.

In the film Hannah they use a medium shot to show how hurt she is which like north by north west has a main focus on her eye contact although in the film Hannah this makes us feel sympathy towards her as we see how much she misses her father and how worried about him she is.



https://youtu.be/GiNP82dVSIQ

In Hannah there is a lot of long shots in the same scene to show the audience how powerful this young girl is as there is a lot of action in this long shot however in the beginning of this scene we see a medium shot of her and the audience begin to feel hopeless for her as the audience see her as a pure, innocent and weak little girl although this opinion changes when the long shot takes place as the audience see how powerful Hannah is as she uses her body language to show this in this action scene and makes the audience feel hope and happiness towards her. 

  



Gender representation

Gender Representation 

Gender representation is the way men and women are portrayed in the media, in Mad Men it can be seen that women are portrayed as weak. “ Its so easy even a women could do it”. This shows how in Mad Men they show how in these days women were seen as less capable then men at doing simple things like working a type writer, this also made women believe this was the matter as a lady worker said this to Peggy, so women were told by men they was not as intelligent as they were and they actually started to believe it.

Mad men is also very sexist . “I will not let a women talk to me like that”. In the 60’s they didn’t feel that women had a right of freedom of speech in this business scene you see how Rachelle Menken had a very good idea yet Don Draper wouldn’t listen to her just because she was a lady not a man, if her father showed up instead of her with the same idea they would probably have taken it. This shows that in mad men, men think they are better then women and see women as having no intelligence.

Mad Men show women just for sexual appeal. “She needs to find a way to make her ankles sing” women are seen to give men in these days a sexual appeal and that’s it there wasn’t a lot of love seen between men and women, men only seemed to get married to women for there own needs for example when Pete Cample married Trudy Vogel it was only to marry into a rich family and was simply for the money. 

Men in mad men are shown as being disrespectful towards women. " working his way up from the ankles" this shows that Pete Cample is clearly using his soon to be wife for her money and not for love, in mad men the men just use the women and see them as just an object that they own and use them for their own needs rather than to care and cherish them. You really can see this is this part of the clip due to how much the men lack the respect.


Conclusion 

In conclusion i think Mad Men represents gender roles in the way it was seen in the 1960's which is seen in a negative way for both men and women. I think has presented gender role like this as it is more realistic in the day and age it was set but most importantly to show the changes in comparison of the present to show how there is much less lack of respect for women and they are much more independent not needing to rely on a man anymore and how women in today can get as much as a good job as a man can. It also shows the change in how strict things were back then such as how marriage was such a big thing and you was seen as dirty if you was sleeping with someone without having a ring on your finger. The fact you can see how much has changed in result to this you can also see some similarities when it comes to everyone wanted to fit in with society which should change.


I

The Brief

The Brief 

 You have been asked to produce the titles and opening sequence of a new fiction film in thethriller genre

The sequence should last a maximum of two minutes.

You may work in a group of 2 - 4 students.

As acting is not assessed you are free to use actors that are not members of your group.

The film is worth 60% of your coursework grade.

The accompanying blog is worth 40% of your coursework grade

Together the Foundation Portfolio is worth 50% of the overall AS Level

Welcome

My name is Shelby Poll I am studying Media for an A - Level I also done it in GCSE and figured out I had a passion for it I came out with an A grade and I'm hoping the same for my A - Level grade.

I enjoy going on social media such as Facebook , Twitter, Tumblr, YouTube and Instagram  I am fascinated by people with YouTube channels and think it would be really fun to start one and I hope to do so sometime in the future. I also enjoy watching TV series such as Breaking Bad, Gossip Girl. Pretty Little Liars, Empire, Benidorm, Friends, and Once Upon a time I think some of these shows are different which shows how I have an interest in different types of genre's I also enjoy watching films such as Think like a man, Last song, If i stay, Friends with benefits,  Kick ass, Stuck in love and White chicks I enjoy chick flicks and films that make me laugh I also love Disney films and my favourite is The lion king, I also have a interest in zodiac signs and I can research them forever when I'm bored. When I am older I wish to go into a job with the media because it is what a really enjoy a long with acting.