How does tone work in film?
A tone in a film is how it makes the audience feel a certain type of emotion according to the atmosphere of the scene. Tone can be also called or described as brightness, depending on how bright the tone can affect the overall mood and the atmosphere of a scene. There are 3 main aspects of how tones can be tweak or change. Lighting, exposure and art direction. Lighting creates a visual mood and defines the sense of meaning in a scene to the viewers. Exposure is the amount of light that has been captured by the camera. underexposing or overexposing at a certain object affects the overall view on the subject.
Art directions are the wardrobe, props, and set. Having an appropriate wardrobe and set design can have a huge effect on the scene.
An example of using tone can be seen in a film called ''The Godfather". The opening scene has a welcoming color of orange. This then changed to red throughout the film as more crimes have been revealed. In the killing scene, The set is in a restaurant and the neon lights are orange and red which was meant to focus on the killer. This works well as the main color that can be seen in that scene are darker colors. Directors use a certain amount of light or the overall design of the set to control the emotions of the viewers.
How is contrast used in a film?
Contrast is the density of the film starting from black to white or the grayscale. It is the visual tone that portrays the whole script and the story. Directors use contrasting to portray the feeling of the scene. Contrasting can be used in tone, art direction, and color. A tone can either be dark or bright and color can be bright or dull depending on what is the scene portraying. Contrast can affect the overall mood of the story. Having a good and appropriate contrasting help communicates the mood to the viewers.
An example of using good contrast can be seen in a Spike Jonze homepod ad. At the beginning of the ad, we can see the main character in a train set and the people were wearing dull-colored clothing to help emphasize the feeling of being trapped. The lighting was minimal and there was no color. But as the character started interacting with the homepod we can see the contrast changing. She took her jacket off and revealed a whiter shirt to emphasize the feeling of breaking free. The lighting and color became bright. He contrasted these things to communicate the viewers a certain feeling throughout the scene.
How does the insert shot work in a film?
An insert shot is a shot that focuses the attention of the viewers to a specific object in the scene. Insert shots can be often seen as the point of view of the character or putting your shoes in what the character sees. These shots use a closeup size so the viewers can perceive the details of the scene. Insert shots has 3 aspects. It focuses the attention of the viewers on certain details. It uses the rule of composition to draw the eye of the viewers. It also uses a close-up or point of view perspective.
There 3 ways to make the insert shot better. Composition, Color, and Timing. Composition makes the viewers notice the details and something. The shot size and camera movements play into the composition so the viewers can feel the atmosphere of the scene. Color creates an emotional feeling into the shot and calls the attention of the viewers. Colors can be dull if the scene is somewhat mysterious or thrilling. There is a certain timing of when you will use insert shots. You could use insert shots at the beginning of the film to show some context of the character. You can also use insert shots in the middle of the scene to show details of a certain action or props
How does the over the shoulder shot work?
Over-the-shoulder shots help tell that the characters from the scene are having a connection and establish a relationship between them. Over-the-shoulder shots help establish eye line and are often use to distinguish that both characters are having a conversation. While a single shot helps to disconnect the relationship between both characters. This works well if the characters are having a conflict. This establishes a feeling of discomfort.
A film called "West world" gives an example of how over-the-shoulder shot works. When the female character is having a conversation, an over-the-shoulder shot was used to connect both characters. When both characters had a conflict, a dolly shot was used to transition to a single shot. This created a visual absence within the scene. A waiter then showed up and overflowed the wine glass. The other character has the waiters still in the shot while the female character had a single close up. This shows that the female character is totally isolated and there was no connection between her and the host.
How is the dutch angle used?
Dutch angles are used to create a sense of feeling that the character is going to have an unsettling moment. A Dutch angle is an oblique angle that is having a noticeable tilt at the cameras x-axis. Dutch angle was created by Dziga Vertov a Russian documentary film director. It is created in 1929 in an experimental documentary called "Man with a camera". When doing a dutch angle consider the degree of your tilt, the depth of field for your shot, and the vertical level of your view.
There are 3 things that can enhance your dutch angle. Tilt degree, depth of field, and camera level. The tilt degree depends on the different moments of the scene. The lower the angle the unsettling the shot becomes. The depth of the field also adds to the unsettling moment in a film. The shallow depth of field makes the shot more claustrophobic. Depending on how low the camera level creates a disorienting shot. This is used to connect to the discomfort of the character.
How does production design work in film?
The production design is the overall look at the set and the production. It dives into the internal feeling of the scene and the character and helps communicate different states depending on the art direction. Production design consists of set design, props, and wardrobe
Production design help reveal the mood, characters, and theme of the story. Mood is the feeling of the scene. The mood can either be uplifting or melancholy depending on the atmosphere. For example, an empty room creates an empty feeling or mood to the viewers. The set where the character is at helps build-up the external state of how the character is living. It can also show the mind and feeling of the character. For example, a messy room reveals a messy state for the character. The Production design also helps to reveal the deeper meaning behind the scene depending on the theme.
How does film blocking work in film?
Film blocking is where the character stands and directs the eyes of the audience. It also helps to direct the viewers what you want them to feel. We use space, shapes, and lines to direct the blocking of a scene. The relationship of the character can be built by how far their space is. The characters can be near or apart to distinguish how strong their relation can be. Using lines to block helps to build the passage of the character. Shapes help to focus the audience on certain elements in a scene. This allows to point out the audience's eyes. Squares, triangle, and circle are the basic shapes for film blocking. These shapes have different emotions. circle for safe, Square is for being trapped like in a box, and triangle for aggressive.
Film blocking helps tell what the character is up to or what they are feeling. It also helps to build up the conversation between the characters.
How do visual motifs work in film?
A motif is a way on how to reinforce the theme of the story. It is the element that supports the theme of the story. It can either be colors, music or dialogue. A good motif supports the theme of the story, recurring the element in a story, and enhances the narrative element. A great work of art motif depends on how you enhance the theme.
How does color work in film?
Using a good color palette in a film can greatly affect and execute the story. It can build tension and bring attention to the theme of the story. It can also execute the illicit emotions of a scene. Hue, saturation, and value can determine the color in a film. Hue is the color itself, Saturation is how bright the color, and value is darkness or lightness of the color.
In the movie "The Matrix" they used a monochromatic color of green. The colors green is associated with the color of code and the world that they are in is the digital matrix. This affects the overall state of the world. Some films use desaturation in their scenes to show a cold and raw world of where the character is in. Having a really bright scene shows a happy environment while the lack of brightness can show conflict or thrill.
How does camera movement work in film?
Camera movements can take the audience into the action. The whip pan allows a quick turn to see something. While a slow pan is slowly turning the camera to see something. Using a slow pan can work well if you're trying to display a landscape into the scene. Tilt shots help reveal something and redirect the attention of the viewers. Tilt shots can often be seen at the start of a movie. The reverse dolly zoom is a combination of zoom and dolly shot. It helps show that the character is having an intense experience. A dolly shot and a Steadicam can give a steady movement of an object. But dolly shots are using tracks to permit a smooth movement while as Steadicams don't need a track to have a steady movement. But an unsteady camera movement can also work depending on a scene. A hand-held shot can create a feeling of anxiety and helps us think that we are in that scene.
There are many camera movements but what makes a good film is how used these movements. We should think to ourselves when and how we should use these movements on a scene because these shots can help create a great scene. We should think about the point of attention of the viewers. The sole purpose of camera movements is to help direct the point of view of the viewers. Camera movements should keep the attention of the viewers and direct emotional response from the viewers.
How does a POV or POT shot work?
POV or point of view is a film angle that shows what a character is looking in the first person. It helps provide a new perspective for the character. POV shots can be often seen at the characters looking at an object and a shot showing their reaction. Point of view shots can carry the emotion of a character. POT or point of thought makes the audience feel genuine emotion. It shows the character's literal emotion and what they are thinking. The POT shot works well with POV to show clearly the reaction of the character. POV's and POT's are important to make us feel the thought and the hardships that the characters went through. We are putting our shoes into the character and helps build a relationship within the viewer and the character.
How do establish shots work in film?
Establishing shots is a shot that sets up the scene. It establishes an open transition to another scene. It helps show the relation of the character and the location. Establishing shots are mostly used to open up and signal that there is something going to happen in the next scene. Long and wide shots are mostly used for doing establishing shots. Doing an establishing shot can be expensive because we can see everything. Having an epic tone for an establishing shot can excite the viewers on what is going to happen next that's why it's expensive.
What is film theory?
Film theory is a review or breaking down of a film or tv show. It is a way of breaking down every scene and relating it to reality. Analyzing a film includes criticizing the choices made by the director and cinematography. To analyze a film properly you must find the film type, shots, angles, lighting, color, sound, and editing. There are 3 types of film, realism, classical, and formalism. You must find what type of film that you are reviewing to be able to critic the actors and the editing. Shots are used to direct the focus of the viewers. In reviewing a shot you must analyze if the shots were used properly and did it point the attention of the viewers. Angles are used to elicit the emotions of the viewers. In analyzing an angle you must think about how did these angles were used to control the feelings of the viewer. In analyzing lighting you must think about how did these lights portray the atmosphere and the feeling of the scene because lights are used to set the mood. In analyzing color you must think about how did the saturation or the desaturation of the scene helped with the overall story. In reviewing sounds you must think if the sounds that were put in are appropriate for the scene. Bad editing is noticeable and takes you out of the experience. In analyzing editing you must think about the cuts and the continuity. Film theory breaks down the elements of the film and is able to say if the film is either bad or good.
What is film criticism?
Film criticism picks apart movies and analyzes the film's worth. It is the evaluation of the film and the film's medium. Film criticism can be divided into two categories. Journalistic criticism can be seen in magazines and or newspapers. They mainly review new films and informs the mass-media if they should see the movie or not. While academic criticism examines how the film works and how it relates to society. Their focus is to summarise the plot of the film and reinforce the idea of repetition in films. Academic reviews can be seen in scholarly journals.
What is the auteur theory?
Auteur theory is a theory in filmmaking which focuses on the director being the creative force in the film. Directors are considered as the author of the film than the writer of the play. The visual elements of a film are more focused on rather than the plotline and the message of the film.
