Introduction
In this blog post I will show my understanding of two vital elements needed to help secure the grade I want in our task. In movies, there are many important things that can turn a simple idea, script or storyboard into a worldwide classic. For example, sound has become an almost vital ingredient for creating a movie, sound is used mainly for tension or to set the mood of the characters which allows people watching at home or in the theaters to recognise and see character development, there are also various other benefits such as adding to narrative, creating emotions and feelings in the audience, helping the audience become more emotionally invested etc. However, there are two elements, arguably the most vital parts of any movie, ingredients that can make or break a movie. These ingredients are called Cinematography and Editing.
Cinematography - The Basics
Now, where should we begin. The most sensible start would seem to answer this question for all of you. What is Cinematography? Cinematography is simply the photography and camerawork in movies, otherwise known as shots. There are various amounts of shots that can be used, I will give a couple of examples and a brief outline of how and why they are used.
Low-angle shot:
In all fairness this is actually a pretty bad example of a low-angle shot, as this is actually one of Tarantino's iconic trunk shots, this one being in Pulp Fiction, however, it still has the same principles as a low-angle shot so we'll roll with it. Low-angle shots are commonly used for one thing; superiority. If you are looking to create a film with a character that people should fear, out of terror or respect than a low-angle shot is the way to go. A low-angle shot makes the character you are focusing on seem larger physically and this in a metaphorical sense creates an overwhelming feeling of power emitting from the character, as the character seems more physically adept in all areas, making the audience feel like "wow, I probably shouldn't mess with that guy". TL;DR: Makes the character appear larger making him seem more powerful.
Establishing Shot/Extreme Long Shot
Now do not get these two shots confused, they are not the same thing, I will explain however why I put them in the same category. The establishing shot is a very easy one, it is simply defined as the first shot in a new scene, whether the shot be an extreme-medium-track-rack focus 70 degree panoramic shot of a grandma eating a sandwich or an extreme close-up of a cat, if it is the first shot in a scene it is defined as an establishing shot. Now, an extreme long-shot is simply a shot from an insane distance away, meaning it covers an incredible (extreme) amount of area, unlike the establishing shot it can be used any time and it is also a specific shot, whereas I mentioned before an establishing shot can be anything from a long shot to an extreme close-up. So, why put these in the same categories? Well, it's simple, they both in technical terms serve the same purpose, they both set up and introduce the scene to the audience and more than likely the establishing shot will be an extreme-long shot. For example, just to emphasise my point, if the first shot of a new scene is an extreme long-shot of the Eiffel Tower, (presuming you have an IQ above a brain damaged two year old), you should be able to recognise it as Paris, thus the scene is set and the the action continues.
Others:
There are a large variety of shots in terms of cinematography, just to name a few:
Close-Up
Medium Shot
Extreme Close-Up
Long Shot
Over-the-Shoulder Shot
Wide Shot
Dolly Zoom
Aerial Shot
And many more.
All these shots can be used and implemented in film to create and visualise an idea into film on a camera
Editing - The Basics
There are various forms of editing that are used in films today and with the first ever use of CGI (Computer Generated Imagery) in 1973's Westworld, editing has become a staple in creating incredible and breathtaking narratives. However, this is the basics and as such we will focus on the basics. Editing is used as the art of putting shots taken by the camera/cinematography crew and putting in an order that makes chronological sense as well as an order that creates a narrative or "story" as such. Just as previously, I will give a couple examples of some basic editing techniques that help in elongating and crafting the narrative and briefly outline them (my definition of briefly being a whole paragraph explaining what it is).
Match Cut
A Match Cut is a editing technique that allows one scene to flawlessly transition into the next scene by creating a relationship between the two scenes. For example in the image to the left we have one of the most famous examples of a match cut but before I explain, CONTEXT! The film is called 'A Space Odyssey' and is created and directed by Stanley Kubrick, the plot of the movie follows mankind's evolution from basic neanderthals to a futuristic space age. Now that you know that information I can explain. In the shot to the left a bone, (a femur to be more specific), is thrown into the air, as it gets closer and closer to the atmosphere, a match cut is used to turn the femur into a large satellite/spaceship looking object. Without context it would look like a random cool shot, but with the context we can establish that the relationship between the two shots is of mankind's evolution from basic humankind of hunting and throwing bones around to a time period thousands of years in the future where space technology has been invented, thus this shot shows through editing the switch in not only the time period but also of humankind and the evolution that has happened in that period through the simple technique of a match cut.
Shot/Reverse shot
A Shot/Reverse shot is a very simple editing technique. The first step in creating one is for the cinematographers to film dialogue from the appropriate perspectives of the two characters in involved in the dialogue. However, the difference being that doing so normally would create a over the shoulder shot, but for this technique the perspectives must flip even if one character is talking there should be a number of perspectives on the dialogue from the characters involved. Now, the editing part comes in after these shots have been recorded, it is the editors job to put these clips together in an appropriate manner, switching perspectives to show the different characters involved in the dialogue, their emotions, their body language and overall show a fluid, rapid and realistic conversation with no choppy jump cuts from shoulder to shoulder but a respectful fluidity that emphasises and creates a good form of dialogue
Apply It: Psychological Thriller
In terms of psychological thriller
