How does tone work in film?
Tone, otherwise known as brightness, refers to the lighting used within the film to provide or create emotions based on its use. By turning the brightness down on a subject you see the subject in a more serious or sad light based on the varying context provided. This differs with being provided with brighter lighting which creates a happier or humorous scene. This allows directors to control the feelings that the audience experiences.
There are three ways to control the toning within a film, exposure, lighting and art direction. Lighting is how you light the scene to provide a darker setting or a lighter setting. Exposure is how much light you allow the camera to see. Art direction is how many colourations or lighting difference you have between people, props, clothing and setting.
For example, within the beginning of The Godfather, the family is gathered in one room discussing a dark matter. This room is heavily underlit and has a large contrast with the white on the suits of the men within the room. The only light comes through dim lamps and bright light filtering through the blinds on the windows. This changes when they change scenes to show one of the men's daughters getting married right outside. This shows us the varied lighting techniques and the director likely used it to provide different emotions for the varying settings and scene.
How is contrast used in the film?
Contrast is the state of two largely opposing objects, colours or states. This is largely used with colourations within a film with props, wardrobe and lighting. Directors use contrast to provide feeling to a shot or scene.
For example, within Spike Jonze's ad for Apple's Homepod, it begins with little contrast. The lighting is minimal and the clothing worn by everyone is dark and inexpressive. This changes when the woman shown throughout the ad arrives home. After this point, the contrast to the beginning of the ad begins and she begins to interact with the Homepod. She takes her jacket off to reveal a bright white shirt and the lighting soon becomes brighter as well. This lighting provides a better view of her face and allows us to see a much nicer looking setting than earlier on. Contrast to the beginning becomes even greater as the woman's world delves into this fantastical reality with bright colours as the room stretches and expands. The lighting becomes sporadic and bright.
What Spike Jonze was likely wanting us to see through the contrast of the dull and dreary beginning and this fantastical bright ending was how your life would likely change with this product. It also shows us how happy she is with the Homepod there at home and when she is out and without it.
How does the insert shot work in film?
The insert shot is one that is used to focus on a certain point of the shot. It is most often used on an object or a set of objects when there is something the director wants us to notice about the current happenings.
Three main aspects are addressed when creating an insert shot. Composition, colour, and timing. Composition in an insert shot has to do with shot size, shot angle, and camera movement. Within the Coen Brothers The Big Lebowski they use the insert shots near the beginning of the to foreshadow something bad happening to a character. This is shown when a character is bowling and gets a strike and later on bowls and leaves only one pin standing. The foreshadowing leads to the character becoming injured later in the film. The brothers use colour as a detail later on in the film as a piece of the insert shot. Bright colour and dark colour contrast are used to highlight certain aspects that the directors want us to pay attention to. For example, there is a scene within The Big Lebowski, that shows the Dude being thrown in a car and shown a cut toe inside gauze wrapping through an insert shot. This toe's toenail is painted bright green. This relates back to an earlier point in the film where the owner of the toe is seen painting their toenails. They use green because of the colour contrast compared to the dark blood staining the gauze. The final aspect of timing has to do with the length of the insert shot. For example, in another scene, the Dude is seen attempting to throw a cigarette butt of some kind out of the closed window. It instead falls into his lap. An insert shot is then used to focus on his crotch where the butt has fallen for half a second. This is used to give the viewer the same amount of processing time as the character within the story.
Three main aspects are addressed when creating an insert shot. Composition, colour, and timing. Composition in an insert shot has to do with shot size, shot angle, and camera movement. Within the Coen Brothers The Big Lebowski they use the insert shots near the beginning of the to foreshadow something bad happening to a character. This is shown when a character is bowling and gets a strike and later on bowls and leaves only one pin standing. The foreshadowing leads to the character becoming injured later in the film. The brothers use colour as a detail later on in the film as a piece of the insert shot. Bright colour and dark colour contrast are used to highlight certain aspects that the directors want us to pay attention to. For example, there is a scene within The Big Lebowski, that shows the Dude being thrown in a car and shown a cut toe inside gauze wrapping through an insert shot. This toe's toenail is painted bright green. This relates back to an earlier point in the film where the owner of the toe is seen painting their toenails. They use green because of the colour contrast compared to the dark blood staining the gauze. The final aspect of timing has to do with the length of the insert shot. For example, in another scene, the Dude is seen attempting to throw a cigarette butt of some kind out of the closed window. It instead falls into his lap. An insert shot is then used to focus on his crotch where the butt has fallen for half a second. This is used to give the viewer the same amount of processing time as the character within the story.
How does the over-the-shoulder shot work?
An over-the-shoulder shot (or OTS) is one that is taken over the shoulder of a character to connect them or show that connection.
Within the series West World, one scene shows the characters Dr Ford and Teresa having a meeting. At the beginning of this scene, the two characters begin on the same page. They talk about a concept which they appear to have agreeable views on. During the portion of this particular scene, here are many intentional OTS shots. This shows the connection that the two characters are having over the conversation. As the conversation continues, Teresa begins to doubt Dr Ford's creation and the shots begin to change from the OTS shots shown earlier on. At first, it is a small zoom-in on the character Dr Ford with the use of the Dolly, then it progresses. This shot style is constantly used, the OTS and dolly, as the conversation changes. Soon the Dolly presses so far forward that both the characters cannot be seen at once from the interchanging points of view. This is used to represent the characters disconnection as they soon begin to disagree over the conversation. The zooming-in with the use of the Dolly eventually stops on both characters and shows them both completely isolated from one another. This shows their complete disconnection since the conversation has reached its near end.
How is the Dutch angle used?
The Dutch angle shot is one that is tilted along the x-axis and is used during an unsettling or an unbalanced scene to represent that it is as said. This shot was created by German expressionists in the early 1900s.
Three steps need to be taken to create this shot and use it effectively. First, directors need to identify a point within the script that is unsettling or unbalanced. Secondly, they need to consider their choice on the angle. Thirdly, they need to identify ways that they can enhance the dutch angle. Four main varied aspects can enhance the shot and scene.
- The degree of the tilt of the dutch angle. The more off-balance, the more unbalanced the scene feels.
- The camera height of the dutch angle. The lower the angle is, the more power it gives the subject. The higher, the less power it gives them.
- The lens choice when filming the dutch angle. Using a wide-angle lens will show a different view compared to a standard lens.
- The depth of field when filming the dutch angle. The focus of the subject can dramatically change the scene.
This is all to make sure that the director does not use the angle in such a way to confuse the viewer of what they are seeing or meant to be realising about the shot.
How does production design work in a film?
Production design can be defined as the overall finished look of the production, with the placements of props, set design, lighting and use of wardrobe.
Production design helps us to see certain aspects of the film and/or shot, these are:
The mood of the scene. The set design, props, lighting, and use of wardrobe are used to provide the context of how the viewer should see the scene. When shown an empty room with a character with plain clothing and dull lighting and don't take much from the scene intentionally. However, when we do take a closer look at it, we can see that empty space does not make space for feeling about this character seen. If we were to contrast this to a different circumstance where the character is seen in a cluttered apartment with bright clothing, bright lighting, and unique props, we would take different feelings away from this. The set is full and bustling with unique objects. You take away a different feeling from this scene.
The state of a character can be reflected through the listed aspects by giving us a view of how that person lives. If we were to see a dirty room with dull clothing askew across the floor and little lighting, we would likely assume that this person is not in a good or healthy state. What we could gather about this person is that they are not bothered by the state of this room and that can reflect many different quality's about the person. These qualities can be laziness, depression, or even loneliness. In contrast, if we were to look at a perfectly clean room with bright lighting, little clutter and no seen wardrobe we could likely presume other qualities. These qualities could be cleanliness, perfectionism, or even being rich.
The story's theme is used to provide a deeper meaning or subtext throughout the scene. Taking Jurassic Park as an example, in one scene of the movie, letters are projected onto the dinosaur. What many people don't know is that that writing is dinosaur DNA, this is an example of the subtext. This movie from a simpler point of view shows that dinosaurs are monsters, however, by delving deeper it shows that the real monsters are humans as they manipulate DNA. The theme of the movie is humanity's attempt to control nature and project onto living beings.
The state of a character can be reflected through the listed aspects by giving us a view of how that person lives. If we were to see a dirty room with dull clothing askew across the floor and little lighting, we would likely assume that this person is not in a good or healthy state. What we could gather about this person is that they are not bothered by the state of this room and that can reflect many different quality's about the person. These qualities can be laziness, depression, or even loneliness. In contrast, if we were to look at a perfectly clean room with bright lighting, little clutter and no seen wardrobe we could likely presume other qualities. These qualities could be cleanliness, perfectionism, or even being rich.
The story's theme is used to provide a deeper meaning or subtext throughout the scene. Taking Jurassic Park as an example, in one scene of the movie, letters are projected onto the dinosaur. What many people don't know is that that writing is dinosaur DNA, this is an example of the subtext. This movie from a simpler point of view shows that dinosaurs are monsters, however, by delving deeper it shows that the real monsters are humans as they manipulate DNA. The theme of the movie is humanity's attempt to control nature and project onto living beings.
How does film blocking work in films?
Blocking is the precise staging of actors within films and within the frame of the camera.
When using blocking three aspects need to be considered, space, shapes, and lines. Space is the distance each subject has from each other and the camera. Someone closer to the camera would be more imposing than the subjects further away from the camera. Those subjects further away would be seen as less significant than the ones closer to the camera. With shapes, three basic ones are used for the arrangement of subjects, circles, squares and triangles. Each of these holds emotional significance. Circles are used to make something feel safer and inclusive. Squares create limited space and close someone in. Triangles are sharp and can make the scene aggressive or point towards a subject. Finally, lines, lines are used to show dynamics within a scene. Within a film, there is a major power difference between the character standing and looking down and the character laying there, vulnerable to what the standing character may do. Blocking particularly helps to show us what the characters are doing and what they mean through their actions and words.
How do visual motifs work in film?
A motif is any reoccurring element that has symbolic significance within a story. Motifs are used because they show that the story is able to operate on more than one level of significance. Take the Silence of the Lambs for an example, throughout that movie there is the reoccurring symbol of the traditional American colours. Within this film, the Buffalo Bill character shown is a play on the real Buffalo Bill Cody. This person was someone regarded as a traditional American symbol of the Wild West. This was a deliberate idea to idealise that character as a renewed horrible being. This is all used to show the films main statement. America is not innocent. The colours appear again and again, on Buffalo Bill's wall, on Katherine Martin's missing statement over the news Buffalo Bill has the American colours over the image and more throughout the film. Speaking of Katherine Martin, before the incident that resulted in her missing, she was driving and listening to the song American Girl, this is an example of an audio motif that was used to amplify the visual motifs.
These motifs all lead to an example of a great work of art as they are used. This is because what makes art great is the reoccurring symbolism throughout the works and how each of them is used to amplify the work as a whole. Every moment is an opportunity to amplify your vision and give others the opportunity to see what you can see.
How does colour work in film?
Colour in a film is used to elicit emotions from viewers as they identify the emotions they associate with it. Three things need to be considered.
- The hue of the colour. Take the Matrix for example. This particular movie has a green hue throughout the entirety of it. This is due to it being a digital world. Also because people accossiate the colour green with coding. The green is slightly off-putting though. This is so the colour can reflect the state of the world.
- The intensity of the colour (saturation). The intensity of the hue of the film effects it by showing us the state of the movie. If high saturation is used, you can clearly see what is happening. Most people would assume that everything is positive and okay. However, if there was low saturation, and the colour was dark, there would be very different assumptions.
- The brightness of the colour. The brightness of a colour used in a film should be considered because that pertains to the brightness of the overall scene and how much attention it draws. Using darker colours will not draw attention without the contrast against the brighter colours and vice versa.
How does a POV shot work?
A POV shot is one taken from the perspective of a character in order to show the audience the view of the world as the character sees it.
A 'point of thought' shot is one where instead of showing us the characters point of view, it shows us the world from the way the characters think it. This shot is frequently used by Steven Spielberg and spawned from an adaption of the POV shot. Within Raiders of the Lost Ark, one particular scene called the basket chase scene has many opportunities to show us a POV shot. However, there is no POV shot. While there is one that appears to be, the eye-line does not match up, instead, Jones runs towards the sound of Marian's voice. In the next shot, we come eye-to-eye with Indiana Jones. But, we still get no POV shot. The audience wants to connect with Indiana and see through his eyes in this time but they cannot because Indiana wants to see with Marian but he cannot. Throughout this, the directors show us how Indiana is thinking and not showing us how he is seeing. This is important because there's a time where we need to see through the character's eyes and there's a time where we need to see what the character is thinking and feeling.
How do establishing shots work in film?
The establishing shot is the opening shot of a scene, usually of landscape or the setting. The shot is used to establish a connection between the character(s) and the setting. When creating an establishing there are three steps that need to be taken.
- Envision. Part of making the storyboard is the ideas surrounding what you want to create. The setting and the shot will help the audience envision how they will feel about the remainder of the film.
- Plan. Have a written form reminding you of how you want to proceed with the establishing shot. Mainly reminding you of the aspects such as camera shot, camera angle, tone, etc. Another point about planning is research, every filming location will have its positives and negatives. Needing something like the sun to set on a building will need research to figure out if that is possible.
- Efficiency. Creating a shot that will only last for two seconds of the movie is inefficient and not very well-thought-out. A wide shot that is also an establishing shot will always be expensive and having it not do it a job well is stupid. The establishing shot will be expensive because of everything you see. Most have views of the landscapes or time-specific necessities, this is an expensive and inefficient if its underwhelming.
