Lets Talk About Shots! (A look into Filmmaking)

Now in the next few Paragraphs I am going to write the word Shots like a hundred times.... you have been warned. It took all my willpower not to add a clip of the LFMAO "Shots" song chorus on repeat. But I am a professional... so I refrained myself.

Lets take a moment to get a few vocabulary words out of the way as well.

Shots- an uncut unit of film

Shot sequence- A group of shots put together seamlessly to convey the story.

Viewer- The person Watching your Movie

Frame- What the camera, and in turn the viewer, sees. **I am going to write an entire post about framing later, so if you feel unsatisfied with this post... stay tuned.**

This is going to be a very video heavy entry, by the way. I have taught this lesson about 4 times now, and I think these are the best videos for creating an understanding of the importance of shot composition in your films.

This First video hits the 5 most common shots, and when they are use properly they can be some of the most important. The video may seem a little long, but it does such a great job of explaining and showing the shots: Close up, Mid Shot, Long Shot, Super Long shot, and the Super close up.

The Next shot I like to talk about in the establishing shot. This Shot show a sense of place, it rarely has people in it, and when it does, theu are not important to the shot itself. This is the shot that says, "Hey Viewer! This is where everything is taking place for the next few minutes ok?" 

Here is examples of establishing shot from Harry Potter. 

The Aerial Shot- This is a shot taken from the air.

The Arc Shot- A shot where the camera circle around the subject.  It is kind of a bridge between the establishing shot and the shots that focus on people. 

This next show is possibly my favorite shot. 

The Dolly Zoom- This looks as if it were done with special effects, however it s is done with a little camera work. The dolly zoom is where you zoom out the camera while also moving forward with the camera. Common in horror and thriller movies. A shot where the camera tracks forward while simultaneously zooming out. Used to create a woozy effect giving viewers the forced feeling of vertigo.

Another iconic shot is the Cowboy shot- this is where the camera takes the footage from the Actors hip focusing on the gun, while keeping the potential victim in the shot as well. 

High and low angle shots- High angle is when the camera is high looking down on someone, this is used to make the person being looked down on look small and week. Low angle is when the camera is low looking up at someone, this is used in superhero scenes or to make a person look large and foreboding. They are often used together, like in our example clip. 

POV or Point of view shot- is where the sees what the actor sees, this is often used in horror films, because what is more terrifying than having to be a murderer and not be able to do anything to stop it. 

The Pan- This is where the camera moves continuously right to left, and does not cut. 

The sequence shot- This is a shot that is planned out very carefully, and is hard to achieve. the camera follows a character or object for several minutes. This is so the viewer can get a more real sense of how much time has past. It can also be used to raise tension. 

Here Are 10 of the best Sequence shots

The Whip Shot- Is a shot that is actually a form of cut, where the camera looks as if it whips around to a new scene or character. 

This is a short but sweet example.

The Lock Down Shot- this shot is where the camera is stuck in one place and the characters move around it as if its not there. This often makes the viewer curious to know what is happening outside the frame and it is a tool to make the viewer interested even in what they cannot see. 

This is a hard to find a lockdown shot because it is hard to use well, but here is an example from Cloverfield where the camera is dropped and for a split second lefts behind. 

The clip above is also a found footage shot, which is our next shot style. 

The Found footage shot- This is where is looks like the whole film was made with a handheld camera. Known for being used in horror flicks, such as "The Blair witch Project". 

There are many more shot out there, but this is a good start. I hope you found this helpful. If you saw any that should have been in here, please comment below. 

Check in on AP Digital Art

My Advanced Placement class has been busy getting their portfolios ready for the next Semester.

Because their project are all independent study, I don't really have lesson to talk about with this. So we can just think of this post as an exhibition of the Student work thus far.

I hope you enjoy!

Forced Perspective in Photography

This is an assignment that students love to hate. They love going out and trying new things, but they hate how difficult this can be. This assignment forces them to think not only as a photographer, but a viewer as well. They need to be in control of all items, and that can be very frustrating.

Even though I feel the need to stuff cotton balls in my ears to drown out the complaining during this project, I keep teaching it because the cost is worth the reward. This exercises their creativity, and they become much more conscious of their position and surroundings in the future. They also get to know their focus and camera angles better, as well as the importance of communication with their models.

Things to watch out for:
1. Focus
When you hold an item close up and far away your camera will often try to focus on one or the other, which in turn makes your image blurry ruining the illusion. Make sure students really know how to work with their F-Stop to create the right look.
2. Don't do the same type of force perspective
Make it clear that they cant do ever image where they are just holding a big object from far away in the tip of their fingers, make them try a variety of things.
3. Brain farts
Make a prompt box or make them do research and have them directly copy an image. This project is so challenging that even if they are directly taking an idea it will be so different, you will never be able to tell.

Prompts:
- Make something look big
- Make something look small
- Make it look like you are picking up someone
- make it look like a classmate is a giant
- Make it look like you are floating
- Making look like you are walking on walls
- Make it look like you are falling off a cliff


Here are a few video that I found helpful in teaching the Technique.

This is great video showing how Forced perspective was used in Lord of the Rings. After this project the students have a whole new respect for that movie. 

And finally here are a few of the student examples. 

Enjoy!!

Double Exposure with High School

Ironically this super trendy photo editing style used to be an accident. It happened back in the film camera days, when a person would take out the roll of film and reload it in the camera, mistaking it for a new roll... Hence the term "double exposed"... the film was exposed twice.... Get it! Example

Ok so I got a little carried away. Now days this technique is done in PhotoShop. If a picture is worth a thousand words than two pictures is worth... You get the point. You want to not just shove two images together, you can share such a powerful message with the juxtaposition of two images, but it is also one of the hardest concepts to teach.

So how to teach this. Well my approach, have the student pick their images. Then sit down a write the things that relate to that person, or images that would make them have that expression. Think about cause and effect. What is the reason for your photo?

The technique is pretty simple I am going to add a few videos that show how to do it... Because its easier than writing it out...

Hints:
- Pictures of people with blank backgrounds work better
- turning images black and white help matching other images.
- turn the background a light color, don't leave it blank.
- Add a lens flare to add a little extra somethin somethin

So I how this was helpful. Here are a few examples.

Enjoy.