DIFFERENT CAMERA TECHNIQUES

 Camera techniques can be used to show things in a different light with a different aura, They also add to the cinematography and make your work look more flavorful and professional. The 14 basic camera techniques are:

• Extreme long-shot: This shot size captures a very wide area to show the scale of subject(s) in relation to their environment like a man standing in a street. It is often used as an establishing shot when changing from one big area to another
• Long-shot(also known as full or wide shot): It is closer to the subject in comparison to the extreme long shot, but still not close enough to be emotionally involved in the scene. Subject is far enough from the camera to have their full body view in the camera.
• Mid-long shot: Move a bit more closer and you'll get a mid shot. Here the subject is shown from the knee up i.e. the character is shown from head to knee. This is better to be used when 2-3 people are to be shown in the scene.
• Mid shot: This shot allows viewers to see more closely, but in a more informative way than emotional. The frame usually features the subject from waist up and is used for general group scenes with dialogues and interviews. To show the subject's emotions and facial expressions the camera can be moved in a bit closer, this is the Mid close up.
• Close-up shot: This shot allows the head to chin or head to neck view to feature to allow the the viewers to feel more engaged with the scene and affected by the subject's emotions. By featuring less background and more of the subject's face an impact can  be created by the subject's facial expressions.
• Extreme close-up shot: This shot is used when the emotional intensity of the scene has to be increased, This shot focuses closely on one feature of the face like eyes or may even be focused on hands, it also works well for objects such as a clock ticking or stroking of a brush. These shots lack content but work amazingly to set the mood or environment of the scene.
• Bird's Eye shot(bird view shot):  This shot shows a massive scale from a very high angle, it starts showing the whole location like a map. This shot is used as an establishing shot to show the setting and time of the scene.
• Dutch angle shot: To execute this shot the camera needs to be rotated to either side until vertical things such as buildings or trees, are a little tilted and the horizontal side is not parallel with the bottom of the frame. This shot is used rarely and is used to show unsteadiness, disorientation and uneasiness. It can be used to portray a character's confused or uncomfortable emotions or mental instability or describe the unsettling feeling of a particular scene.
• OTS(Over-the-shoulder) shot: This shot shows an out of focused shoulder and head in the foreground while showing the scene taking in front of the in the background in focus. This shot is used when a person has to be shown trying to emotionally connect to someone, plus it also helps to make a conversation between two people look as natural as possible to the audience. It is one of the most essential shots in narrative film making.
• Tilt shot:  Tilt shot: A camera tilt is a vertical movement in which the camera base remains in a fixed location while the camera pivots vertically. Tilting is useful for  establishing shots that contain tall vertical scenery or introducing a character in a dramatic way.
• Panning shot: It is the horizontal equal of the tilt shot. It can be simply used to show surroundings or can also be used to show cinematic shots of  an action scene with smooth and accurate movements.
• Zoom/ Dolly shot: This shot increases or decreases focus on the subject by changing the distance from it. Jerky, fast zoom can be used of the viewer has to be distracted from the subject but a slower and smoother zoom creates a more natural zoom effect without distracting the viewers. Dolly zoom shot can also be used to create a 'vertigo effect' which makes it look like the subject is not moving but the background is, this can be done by moving closer to the subject while zooming out the camera and vice versa.
• Crane shot: This shot is used to capture the vertical translational motion by moving the camera up or down by a couple feet. It was used to be done using huge cranes, but now can be easily achieved using drone cameras. This shot isn't necessary enough to be included in every film, however it does add production value to your work.
• Tracking shot: It is the shot which tracks the subject as it moves, an important shot for tis technique is dolly or a wheeled cart which moves along the rail so the subject can be tracked smoothly.
• POV(Point of view) shot: The POV shot is when the subject's point of view i.e. what the subject is seeing , is shown. This can be used to make the audience see through the eyes of the subject and makes them feel like a part of the movie.

HISTORY AND EVOLUTION OF FILM

 The first public Kinetoscope demonstration took place in 1893. By 1894 the Kinetoscope was a commercial success, with public parlors established around the world. The first to present projected moving pictures to a paying audience were the Lumière brothers in December 1895 in Paris, France.

By 1917, several national film industries were established, Europe, Russia and Scandinavia were the dominant most at this time. As more people paid to see movies, the industries around them invested more money into the film making industry for the production, distribution, exhibition, so large studios were established and cinemas were built. Unfortunately the Europe's film industry was greatly effected by the first World War, Whereas the American Industry relatively grew in importance.

The first 30 years of Film  were characterized by growth and consolidation of an industrial base, the establishment of the narrative form, and the refinement of technology.

COLOUR ADDING:

Colour was first  added to black-and-white movies through hand colouring, tinting, toning and stenciling.

By 1906 the principle of colour separation was used to produce the so called "natural colour" moving images with British Kinemacolor process, first presented to public in 1909.

The early Technicolor processes from 1915 onwards were cumbersome and expensive, and colour was not used more widely until the introduction of its three-colour process in 1932.

ADDING SOUND:

The first attempt to add synchronized sound to projected pictures used phonographic cylinders or discs. The first full length feature film which contained synchronized dialogues was 'The Jazz Singer' used The Warner's Brother's Vitaphone system which had a different recorded disc for each reel of the film for the sound.

This system proved unreliable and was soon replaced by an optical, variable density soundtrack recorded photographically along the edge of the film, developed originally for newsreels such as movietone.

CINEMA'S GOLDEN AGE:

By the early 1930s all the movies were played with synchronized sounds and, by the mid 1930s they were in full colour too. The advancement of sound addition secured the dominant role of American industry and gave rise to the so called 'Golden Age of  Hollywood'.

During the 1930s and 40s Cinema was the principal form of entertainment, with people often attending cinema twice a week.

Key Media Concepts

 We when watching a movie to do its analysis or even making one always focus on this simple set of ideas. When doing an analysis or constructing a text related to the film  we have to demonstrate good knowledge circling these concepts. These concepts are as follows:

1) Audience: Whenever making a film or any media text we always have someone in media or someone we target as an audience, e.g. making an informational documentary so the targeted audience will be young adults. Every media text has a different target audience. Audiences can be divided by age, race, ethnicities, religions, genders, social class etc.

2)Media form: It is the type of media we are studying. Is it a film? An advertisement? A magazine?. The media language we use will vary with different media forms like if we analyze a film we will talk about camera movements, editing, mise-en-scene, sound etc. But if we talk about a magazine we will talk about the color, Font style and size etc.

3)Genre: Different media forms can be further divided into different genres. For Example a film can be divided into the following genres: Horror, Comedy, Thriller, Action etc. A TV drama can be divided into reality tv show, documentary, Soap Opera etc. Different genre have different code conventions like a horror film will have a spooky music as its soundtrack, may have a lot of jump scares, a supernatural entity etc. However in a science fiction we will not see these things, we might see spaceships, aliens, researches and technologies. These help us identify the genre of the film.

4)Media Institutions: In Media it is also important to keep in mind who produced these pieces that we watch. Different media institution or companies make different media texts with different aims and  for different audiences or may compete for the same audience. Media Institutions may be big and own a lot of media works like Warner Bros, 20th Century Fox, Walt Disney, The Times Newspaper etc.

5)Media Representations: Everything we see in Media is Re-presentation of the reality or stereotypes, whether it being a positive or negative representation. For Example, Men will always be the one shown more physically aggressive in media, Now this may also be the case in reality. However not everything being represented is true, Men are also more likely to be  shown as cheaters even though in reality this does not depend on gender. This is a stereotype created because of the constant wrong representation in media.

SEMIOTICS

 Semiotics is the study of signs, their use and interpretations. It is a key tool to ensure that intended meaning being conveyed by the addresser is understood by the addressee. Semiotics can include signs, logos, gestures and other linguistic and non-linguistic communication methods. As a word, semiotics is derived from the Greek word sēmeiōtikós, which describes the action of interpreting signs. In semiotics the a sign is defined by two main components: Signifier and Signified. This idea was first proposed by the Swiss linguist, Ferdinand De Saussure who also was one of the two founders of Semiotics. Together a signifier and signified make up a sign.

SIGN: The smallest unit of meaning. Anything that can be used to communicate.

SIGNIFIER:  Any material that signifies, e.g. a facial expression, words on a page, an image etc.

SIGNIFIED: The concept that the signifier refers to.

DENOTATION: the most basic or literal meaning of a sign, e.g., the word "rose" signifies a particular kind of flower.

CONOTATION: the secondary, cultural meanings of signs; or "signifying signs," signs that are used as signifiers for a secondary meaning, e.g., the word "rose" signifies passion.

My Introduction

 Hello,I am Momina Rehan, a student of  The City School.I am an AS, Media Studies student.I am a 17 year old who happened to come across this subject and was immediately intrigued by this and by far I am enjoying this experience very much.We’re going to make a film opening as a graded assignment and I can’t wait to start working on that.