FILM PRODUCTION (Part 2)

Production Phase
During production, these roles are usually delegated to the production departments listed on the next two slides.
Production Departments
1 Direction
2 Director (oversees all aspects of the production)
3 Assistant Director (works closely with the actors)
4 Camera
5 Cinematographer (oversees camera operation and lighting plan)
6 Camera Operator (operates the camera)
7 Assistant Camera (loads camera, pulls focus)
8 Lighting
9 Cinematographer (oversees camera operation and lighting plan)
10 Gaffer (head electrician)
11 Grip (sets up lights)
12 Sound
13 Sound Mixer (records the sound)
14Boom operator (positions the microphone)
15 Clapper (displays the clap slate for the camera)
16 Talent
17 Actors (perform before the camera)
18 Miscellaneous
19Production Coordinator (scheduling)
20 Continuity “script girl” (watch for continuity errors)
21Make-up Artist (apply make-up to actors)
22Production Assistant (various jobs)
All of the departments and positions described on the last two slides serve one goal: to capture the sound and image necessary to tell the story. Although going into every detail of production is far beyond the scope of this course, let’s consider the “nuts and bolts” that go into filmmaking.
How does the camera work?
• When we are watching a motion picture, we are actually watching a rapid series of still images that are projected in rapid succession on the screen.
• We are able to perceive motion in a film because of the cognitive/perceptual phenomenon known as persistence of vision.
• The motion picture camera is a tool used to rapidly expose a continuous series of film frames to light that is reflected off of objects and focused onto the film by the camera’s lens. The following three slides display diagrams of the inside of a basic motion picture camera.
• As you can see, the film makes its way from the spool into the loop and through the gate. The aperture in the gate is a small square hole that allows light to pass from the lens onto the focal plane of the film. This process is represented in the diagram on the left of the next slide.
•
Shot / Mastershot
The 180 degree rule.
Now that we understand the basic mechanism, let’s consider some of the ways that it can be manipulated during production:
• Types of shots
• Types of angles
• Lens choice
• Movement
• Lighting
. Types of Shots
• There are four basic shot types that are based on the apparent proximity of the subject.
• Long shot
• Full Shot
• Medium shot
• Close up shot

 Types of Shots
• The Long Shot (a.k.a. Establishing Shot)
• In the most pragmatic sense, long shots can be used to establish a location, acquainting the viewer with the onscreen space so that the sequence of shots that follow is not disorienting.
• Long shots can also be used to suggest a wide variety of meanings such as isolation, loneliness, freedom, emotional distance, and more. (Note that interpreting any particular shot or sequence of shots is dependent upon the context of the film.)
• Full and Medium Shots
• Full shots include the entire body of a subject from top to bottom while medium shots generally include the body from the waist up.
• Full and medium shots tend to mimic our point of view when we are engaged in a social encounters.
• The Close-Up Shot
• Close-up shots capture a single object, or feature within the frame. They are commonly used to reveal subtleties and/or create a sense of engagement or intensity.
 Types of Angles
• There are three basic types of angles which refer to the position of the frame with respect to the subject within the frame.
• High Angle
• Low Angle
• Straight-On Angle
• High Angle
• A high angle shot refers to a camera position where the lens aims down at the subject from above. An extreme high angle is sometimes referred to as “bird’s eye view.”
• High angles can be used to reveal the layout of a room or to make a subject appear weak and small. As mentioned previously, however, the context of the scene and the larger film must be taken into account prior to interpretation
• Low Angle
• A low angle shot refers to a camera position where the lens aims up at the subject from below.
• As opposed to the high angle shot, the low angle tends to make the subject appear intimidating and powerful. Again, the larger context of the film must be accounted for.
• Straight-On Angle
• A Straight-On shot refers to a camera position where the lens is aimed directly at the subject.
• Especially when used in conjunction with the full or medium shot, this angle mimics our point of view in a social encounter.
 Lens Choice
• The only function of a lens is to focus the light that is either projected or reflected from the surrounding environment onto the focal plane of the film. However, lenses come in a variety of focal-lengths which make the depicted scene appear at different distances. There are three basic types of lenses:
• Telephoto lens (a “long” lens)
• Wide angle lens (a “short” lens)
• Normal lens
• Zoom lens
• The image on the next slide shows the basic function of a lens.
• Lens choice is guided by two primary and strongly related factors:
• Focal Length: The distance perspective of the lens.
• Depth of Field: The range of distance that can focused in front of the lens.
• Telephoto Lens
• The focal length of a “telephoto” lens results in a magnified perspective, not unlike a telescope, which makes objects appear closer than they actually are when viewed with the naked eye. The telephoto lens has a relatively shallow depth of field, meaning that only a narrow range of space before the lens can be put into focus. It also tends to compress the foreground and background of the field, making images look flat or two-dimensional.

• Wide Angle Lens
• In direct opposition to the telephoto lens, the focal length of the wide angle results in a distanced perspective, which makes things appear further away than they actually are when viewed with the naked eye. The wide angle lens has a relatively deep field, meaning that a vast distance of space before the lens can be put into focus. It also tends to create a more three dimensional effect. An extreme wide angle lens is sometimes referred to as a “fish eye” lens.
• Normal Lens
• The focal length of the “normal” lens is similar to the actual distance of objects in the field of view when viewed with the naked eye.
• Zoom Lens
• The focal length of the “zoom” lens is able to be manipulated while in use, and can range from telephoto focal lengths to wide-angle focal lengths.
• Camera Movement
• Camera movement guides the perspective of the spectator and causes him/her to attend to those events and features which are most important to the narrative and aesthetic of the film. There are five basic forms of camera movement:
• Panning
• Tilting
• Tracking
• Trucking
• Booming
• Crane
• Hand-Held
• Camera Movement
• Panning
• Panning refers to the left to right or right to left movement of the camera as it remains on a single axis. This is demonstrated graphically on the following slide.
• Tilting
• Tilting refers to the down to up or up to down movement of a camera while it remains on a single axis.
• Tracking
• Tracking refers to the sideways movement of the camera as it captures a scene.
• Trucking
• Trucking refers to the forwards or backwards movement of the camera as it captures a scene.

• (These are demonstrated graphically on the following two slides.)
• Booming
• Booming refers to the vertical movement of the camera as it captures a scene.
• Craning
• Crane shots permit a wide range of sweeping motion and height in capturing a shot. This is demonstrated graphically on the next slide.
• Hand-Held
• Just as the name indicates, hand-held camera movement is performed without the assistance of a dolly or tripod. Hand held shots tend to have convey the subjective point of view of a character since they imitate a first-person perspective. Hand held shots are commonly used in “slasher” films to create a feeling of panic.
• Steadicam: A steadicam is camera mount that is attached to the operator’s body. It serves to reduce jerky movements and create the sense of a steady flow through space.
• Lighting
• Lighting refers to how a scene is lit, and, to a large extent, how it is exposed on film. It is among the most complex and important aspects of production and can be divided into two categories based on location and two categories based on style.
• Location (Indoor versus Outdoor lighting)
• Lighting Scheme (High Key versus Low Key lighting)
• Location
• Indoor lighting
• Indoor lighting is generally achieved through the use of specialized lamps with varying characteristics of directionality (focus), throw (distance), and intensity (brightness). There are three lights in a basic lighting setup (also see the next slide):
• Key Light (provides the primary source of illumination)
• Fill Light (illuminates the shadows left by the key light)
• Back Light (separates the foreground from the background)
• Location
• Outdoor Lighting
• Outdoor lighting is generally done with large, powerful lamps known as HMIs.
• In addition to lamps, other devices such as reflectors, flags, and neutral density gel may be used to increase or reduce the intensity of sunlight on various parts of the scene.
• Lighting Scheme
• High Key
• High key lighting is a style in which the ratio of the key light to the fill light is high and, thus, fills in most of the shadows in the scene resulting in a bright, evenly lit image. High key lighting is often used in light-hearted comedies and dramas.
• Lighting Scheme
• Low Key
• In opposition to high key, low key lighting refers to a low ratio of fill to key light, which results in a darker image with more “contrast” and shadows. This scheme is most often associated with film noire crime stories of the 1940s but is also frequently used in horror films and early German expressionist work.
• It is the job of the director and cinematographer to coordinate these elements into a strategy for capturing the action on film. One common and efficient strategy is referred to as Shot / Mastershot or Shooting for Coverage. This technique involves shooting a full shot of the entire scene before moving in closer on a re-shoot to capture more specific cutaway shots that can later be coordinated with the master. (Continued on the next slide.)
• Another strategy that is commonly employed in directing a scene is the 180° rule, which posits that the camera should take angles on only one side of the axis of action. The reason for this is that shooting on both sides of the action changes the background and may disorient the spectator. Adding an establishing shot or tracking the camera across the axis of action can prevent this.
• Sound Recording
• Sound recording is treated separately here because, in traditional film production, it is recorded completely independently from the image. This is known as “double system” sound recording. Generally speaking, there are at least four soundtracks in any feature length narrative film:
• 1 – the sound effects track.
• 2 – the music track.
• 3 – the room tone track.
• 4 – the dialog track.
• Sound Effects
• For the most part, sound effects are obtained separately by a “foley” artist who coordinates sound effects in synchronization with the onscreen action through a process known as “looping” – where a portion of the film is repeatedly played to perfect the timing of the sound effects. This is considered to be part of post-production which we will cover next.
• Alternatively, for low-budget productions, libraries of prerecorded sound effects can be used or sounds can be recorded during production by the sound mixer and boom operator.
• Music
• Film music is either purchased (if it is not in the “public domain”) or scored specifically for the production.
• Music that is scored is done in similar fashion to foley sound in the sense that film is playing during the recording session to enhance timing.
• Room Tone
• Room tone is recorded silence. Normally, once all of the dialog is recorded, the sound mixer asks for about a minute of quiet to record the sound of silence in the particular setting.
• The reason for recording room tone is that all recordings have a low level of “noise” in the background and, during the editing process it is sometimes necessary to fill in gaps so that there is not an abrupt change in the tone of the background noise.
• Dialog
• In order to record dialog in “double system” film production, it is necessary to synchronize the movement of lips with the sound of voices. Simple as this may seem, achieving it requires precision instrumentation.
• Most modern film sound is recorded digitally, but earlier films made use of a “crystal” synchronized analog tape recorded referred to as a “Nagra” (manufacturer’s name) which kept the speed of the tape constant so that no “drifting” occurred between the picture and the sound track.
• The function of the “clap slate” or “sticks” (see the slide after next) is to supply a marking point for when the synchronization between picture and audio begins, allowing the editor to accurately align picture with sound later during post production.
• The first film credited with synchronized sound is The Jazz Singer (1927).
• There are a series of steps that are taken on a film set in order to ensure the proper coordination of picture and sound track:
• 1: The director says “quiet on the set” and “roll sound.”
• 2: The sound mixer says “sound speed” when the tape is running at the correct speed for recording synchronized sound.
• 3: The director calls out “roll camera.”
• 4: The camera operator says “speed” when the film is running at sound speed (24 frames per second).
• 5: The director calls out “slate.”
• 6: The clap slate indicating roll, scene, and take is placed before the camera and read out loud (e.g. “Roll 1, Scene 1, Take 1”).
• 7: The director says “mark.”
• 8: The slate is clapped and removed.
• 9: Finally, the director calls “action” to cue the actors.