Superman Analysis 1.2

Shot sizes, angles, camera movement, editing, sound,effects and mess-en-sene

Shot Sizes

Close ups– there used to show detail in a person or an object without showing the wider scene. They’re often used as cutaways from wide shots to show activity with a characters hands or emotions on a face.
Close up example shot from the film The Shining

Extreme close ups– its a very dramatic shot, close up to the subject showing allot of detail with no background detail. Usually shows parts of a face like the lips or eyes and is a fairly artificial shot because its generally magnified more than the human eye. Also used to show the characters uncomfort
Extreme close up example from the film Avatar

Medium shot– used when the location of the scene has already been established. The shot size shows a character either from the knees up or the waist up and is used to show some, but limited action detail.
Medium shot example from the film the hunger games.

Establishing shot– they’re usually extremely wide shots showing the location of the scene and the relation of the surroundings to the characters and sometimes the time era the scenes set in.
Establishing shot example from Harry Potter and the deathly hallows

Over the shoulder shot– used when two or more characters are having a conversation. Its like a medium shot but with the closest characters back towards the camera, usually with the focus set on the furthest character whilst there speaking. The shot usually changes to a mirrored shot over the shoulder of the other character but sometimes to keep the element of mystery and suspense the nearest characters face can intentional not be shown.
Over the shoulder example shot from the TV programme Mr Robot

Long shot– the long shot or the full shot shows a character entire body revealing background detail. This shot is used for action shots where the focus needs to be on the character(s) but action needs to be seen in the surrounding space.

Long shot example from the tv programme Breaking Bad
Camera Angles

Birds-Eye-View shot– a birds-eye-view shot is a unique shot angle that is rarely seen by eye. The angle can be used to establish a location or scene and can be use to track a character, for example in a car.

Birds-eye-view angle from the film les miserables

High angle– a high angle is used to belittle a character and make them seem vunrable and blend into there surroundings. Its not as extreme as a birds-eye-view, its usually shot on a crane.
High angle shot from the film The Avengers

Eye-level angle– a neutral relaxed angle, usually used when a character is having a conversation with another. Camera hight is 5-6 feet from the ground for this angle.
Eye-level angle example shot from the film Forest Gump

Low angle– A shot looking up at the subject. The use of perspective with this shot is useful for making the viewer feel powerless and intimidated partly because of the lack of detail in the scene as all they see is either selling or sky and partly due to the fact it makes character and other subjects seem larger than they are. This last fact is useful to cinematographers because they can make short actors like Tom Cruse seem taller and more powerful. The fact that the viewer has a lack of view of the surroundings in the scene also gives the viewer a sense of confusion. The angle can also show speed and action.
Low angle shot example from the film the dark night.

Canted angle– a canted angle is a shot where the camera is not level. this shot can either be used to portray disorientation or to emphasise a key moment in a dramatic scene.
canted angle example shot from the film Harry Potter

Camera movement

Pan shot– a shot where the camera is pivoted horizontally, this shot can be used to follow movement like a character walking. Its used to have a longer shot so several angles don’t have to be used.
Tilt shot– a shot where the camera is pivoted vertically. This shot is usually to expose a building, object or character usually from the ground up.
Slider shot- A shot where the camera is placed on a small dolly on a small track that’s used for smaller movement, up to 1.5m long. They can be used for slow incredibly smooth movement and this can be towards or away from a characters face in a close up shot or left and right to expose other things in the scene.
Rack focus– The change in focus from a near subject to a far subject (or from a far to a near) during a shot. This is to change the focus of the viewers eye during a shot to make them look at a new subject. This can be a very natural and aesthetically pleasing transition as our own eye does the same thing when changing the focus to a different subject.
Dolly shot– A dolly shot or a tracking shot is like a large slider shot but its where the camera and sometimes the operator are on rails that are moved, this shot type is usually used to follow a subject like a person walking or a car moving.
Hand held shot- a hand held shot is where the camera isn’t fixed to the ground using any equipment, it can be purely hand held but this gives shaky footage or a stabilisation system (steadycam) can be used. A steadycam is a handheld device that attaches to the camera and allows the operator to stand, walk or even run with the camera and it will cancel out vibrations and jerks giving smooth footage. Handheld shots can give a more gritty realistic view due to the small but constant movement of the camera.
crane shots– crane shots are where a camera is attached to the end of a large crane arm (or jib) and the operator on the other end can move the camera around allot further than they would with other systems. They are most commonly used to shoot high angle shots with ease or establishing shots of the location from above. Cranes are also used for Shots of objects in the air .
Zoom– A more uncommon movement used due to its shakiness, jerkiness and just generally hard to make look good on screen the zoom movement is where you change the audiences view dramatically by quickly zooming in to an aria of a frame there the eye needs to be drawn too. Its a very harsh movement which is why is more commonly used in eastern marshal arts films, its where the crash zoom comes from. The crash zoom is an overly dramatic zoom in used to make the audience suddenly very aware of something in the frame like a punch or a kick from a character.

Editing

The cut– its the most common transition between shots and its a seamless change from one shot to another and is used to create a sense of continuity and not bring attention to itself, the audience shouldn’t notice the change in shot.

The dissolve– where the image dissolves to the next image and is meant to bring attention to itself as its usually used to show the story is moving on to show a dream sequence or a flashback.

The wipe– its where the image is replace by another by the first image moving of screen to the side. Its not often used, but when it is, its used to signify the end of a sequence.

The fade– it signifies beginnings and endings and is where an image is faded from or too a block colour, usually back sometimes white. Its a fairly common transition in films.

Purposes of editing

• cuts the rushes down to a viewable length
• builds up suspense, tension and mystery to hook an audience
• Show different angles and points of view
• Create the illusion of continuity
• Can show events taking place either simultaneously or a long time apart
• draw attention to what’s significant in the frame

Mise-en-scene

Its describes everything the audience can see in a shot; setting, props, costume, performance.

setting– the location and set used in the shot

props and costumes– creates a more authentic set and play a key role in explaining a character, character role, personality, lifestyle.

Performance– This is the way the actor or actress performs and displays the character and role. This includes there body language and speech (pace, volume, pitch and tone) previous roles the actor or actress has played can affect an audiences interpretation of the character and performance.

Sound

Diegetic sound– sound where the source is traceable in the frame i.e. voices or a tv

Non-diegetic sound- sound not produced by anything in the scene i.e. dramatic music or a voice over.

Sound can supply or add to the aesthetic, factual and emotional dimensions of a film.

special effects

visual effects– things that change the image i.e. camera angles and movements and pyrotechnics

Mechanical effects– models and robotics that replace the real thing, usually a smaller to scale model of something large.

Computer-generated-imaginary (CGI) or (CG)- a new modern technology that utilities the way computers process information to generate, control and modify images.

 

Superman analysis

This is an analysis of this clip from the film Superman Returns.

The opening shot is of a policeman looking upwards holding a gun. The shot is ate eye level, this is because its a neutral angle and the characters position in power has not been reveled in the shot yet. The second shot is a high angle which is now looking down at the policeman which tells us that he isn’t a very powerful character and the expression on his face and the fact he says “holy shit” tells us that something bad’s going to happen to him. The third shot is a low angle close up of a Minigun barrel coming into shot. The shot is a low angle because it shows us that the character controlling operating the Minigun is in the position of the higher power in the scene, the shot is also a close up to build up suspense by surrounding the character operating the Minigun with mystery by not reveling anything about them apart from there in the position of power over a policeman. Suspense is being built up right from the beginning with non-dietetic music being heard, the music started of quiet with an alarm going of showing you the alertness of the policeman but when the gun comes into shot the music gets more dramatic and louder along with the sound of the gun being fired, these sounds drown out the alarm showing the policeman no longer alert hes overwhelmed by the situation. The closeup of the gunman’s finger pressing the trigger shows us that they weren’t hesitant at all about opening fire giving us more information about the gunman’s character. The constant cutting back and forth between shot of the policemen and there cars being shredded by the rapid fire of the Minigun and the low angle wide shot of the gunman shows us the extreme destruction whilst constantly reinforcing the more powerful character in the scene.

After the initial segment with the Minigun, the shot cuts to two security guards walking up a stairwell. The lack of sound of gunfire and dramatic music tells you that they are clueless to what they will be confronting on the roof of the building. This lack of sound almost builds up suspense in a sort of less is more kind of way, we know whats going to happen but they don’t giving us (the viewer) power making them seem helpless. The worried look on the security guards face right before he busts the door open to the roof makes you feel sorry for him and this is reinforced by the next shot which is a medium shot of the gunman face looking evil as he is shooting down below, this is the first real look at our character and gives us a strong first impression of the characters personality.

As the guards are shooting the gunman in the back there is a close up of his face in pain and after this the next few shots of him getting shot are at eye level, this is because the guards shooting him made him helpless making him temporarily not the most powerful character in the scene leaving that spot open so the camera angles return to a neutral level. However as he swings the gun around to shoot the guards and there’s a shot of their faces looking scared, this this restores the power back to the gunman.

The gunman is wearing all black heavy clothing which doesn’t reveal much about himself so surrounds the character with even more mystery. The size of the gun in the scene and how much destruction it can cause shows just how powerful and dangerous the character is.

The slow motion shot of the bullets builds up allot of tension because it gives the viewer more time to think how are they going to get out of this situation. The non-dietetic music which builds up and up ads to the tension as well. This tension builds up until the medium close up of superman’s chest stopping the bullet fire, This shot brings relief because you know that the security guards are saved, the music build up also stops to stop building up tension. The high angle shot of superman being shot at by the gunman puts both characters at equal level because as of yet in the scene, its still unclear who is the more powerful character. The low angle of the gun running out of ammunition and the slowing of the barrel rotation shows the once powerful machine rendered useless and the gunman comes to face superman and shoot him with a handgun. once fired the shot goes into slow motion and the music builds up again, these are to build up suspense because the audience thinks superman’s about to die. The audience thinks that superman’s about to die right up until the close up of superman’s eye stopping and crushing the bullet. The low angle looking up at the two character shows how calm superman is and how worried the gunman is (the next shot is also a shot of the gunman’s face looking worried) this confirms that superman is the dominant character in the scene.