Codes- Editing, Mis-en Scene, Camera, sound and lighting
Camera-
ELS- This can be taken from as much as a quarter of a mile away, and is generally used as a scene-setting, establishing shot. It normally shows an EXTERIOR, eg the outside of a building, or a landscape, and is often used to show scenes of thrilling action eg in a war film or disaster movie.
LS- Is generally a shot which shows the image as approximately "life" size ie corresponding to the real distance between the audience and the screen in a cinema.
MS- Contains a figure from the knees/waist up and is normally used for dialogue scenes, or to show some detail of action.
CU-This shows very little background, and concentrates on either a face, or a specific detail of mise en scène. Everything else is just a blur in the background.
ECU-As its name suggests, an extreme version of the close up, generally magnifying beyond what the human eye would experience in reality.
Thrillers generally use Mid-shot and close-ups as they create tension and suspense, the director may LS to add variety to a scene and establish the setting.
Camera Angles-
Bird’s Eye View- This shows a scene from directly overhead, a very unnatural and strange angle. Familiar objects viewed from this angle might seem totally unrecognisable at first (umbrellas in a crowd.)
High Angle - Not so extreme as a bird's eye view. The camera is elevated above the action using a crane to give a general overview. High angles make the object photographed seem smaller, and less significant (or scary).
Eye Level- A fairly neutral shot; the camera is positioned as though it is a human actually observing a scene, so that eg actors' heads are on a level with the focus.
Low Angle- These increase height and give a sense of speeded motion. Low angles help give a sense of confusion to a viewer, of powerlessness within the action of a scene.
Point-of-view shot (POV) A shot made from a camera position close to the line of sight of a performer who is to be watching the action shown in the point-of-view shot.
In thriller film high and low angles are used to justify what position the different character are in whether they are weak or powerful. Also Bird’s Eye View are used to add variety to the scene.
Camera Movement-
Zoom- In zooming in the camera does not move; the lens is focussed down from a long-shot to a close-up whilst the picture is still being shown. The subject is magnified, and attention is concentrated on details previously invisible as the shot tightens (contrast tracking).
Following pan. The camera swivels (in the same base position) to follow a moving subject. A space is left in front of the subject: the pan 'leads' rather than 'trails'. A pan usually begins and ends with a few seconds of still picture to give greater impact.
Surveying pan- The camera slowly searches the scene: may build to a climax or anticlimax.
Tilt- A vertical movement of the camera - up or down- while the camera mounting stays fixed.
Crab- The camera moves (crabs) right or left.
Tracking (dollying) - Tracking involves the camera itself being moved smoothly towards or away from the subject (contrast with zooming). Tracking in (like zooming) draws the viewer into a closer, more intense relationship with the subject; moving away tends to create emotional distance.
Hand-held camera- A hand-held camera can produce a jerky, bouncy, unsteady image which may create a sense of immediacy or chaos. Its use is a form of subjective treatment.
Process shot- A shot made of action in front of a rear projection screen having on it still or moving images as a background.
Tracking and panning are used in Thrillers to establish and setting and the environment the characters are in. Zooming are used to add pace and suspense to thrillers.
Editing-
Cut- Sudden change of shot from one viewpoint or location to another. On television cuts occur on average about every 7 or 8 seconds.
Matched cut-In a 'matched cut' a familiar relationship between the shots may make the change seem smooth:
Jump cut- Abrupt switch from one scene to another which may be used deliberately to make a dramatic point. Sometimes boldly used to begin or end action. Alternatively, it may be result of poor pictorial continuity, perhaps from deleting a section.
Motivated cut- Cut made just at the point where what has occurred makes the viewer immediately want to see something which is not currently visible (causing us, for instance, to accept compression of time).
Cutting rate-Frequent cuts may be used as deliberate interruptions to shock, surprise or emphasize.
Cutting rhythm- A cutting rhythm may be progressively shortened to increase tension. Cutting rhythm may create an exciting, lyrical or staccato effect in the viewer.
Cross-cut- A cut from one line of action to another. Also applied as an adjective to sequences which use such cuts.
Reaction shot- Any shot, usually a cutaway, in which a participant reacts to action which has just occurred.
Insert/insert shot- A bridging close-up shot inserted into the larger context, offering an essential detail of the scene (or a reshooting of the action with a different shot size or angle.)
Buffer shot (neutral shot)-A bridging shot (normally taken with a separate camera) to separate two shots which would have reversed the continuity of direction.
Fade, dissolve (mix)-Both fades and dissolves are gradual transitions between shots. In a fade the picture gradually appears from (fades in) or disappears to (fades out) a blank screen. A slow fade-in is a quiet introduction to a scene; a slow fade-out is a peaceful ending. Time lapses are often suggested by a slow fade-out and fade-in. A dissolve (or mix) involves fading out one picture while fading up another on top of it. The impression is of an image merging into and then becoming another. A slow mix usually suggests differences in time and place. Defocus or ripple dissolves are sometimes used to indicate flashbacks in time.
Wipe- An optical effect marking a transition between two shots. It appears to supplant an image by wiping it off the screen (as a line or in some complex pattern, such as by appearing to turn a page). The wipe is a technique which draws attention to itself and acts as a clear marker of change.
Inset- An inset is a special visual effect whereby a reduced shot is superimposed on the main shot. Often used to reveal a close-up detail of the main shot.
Split screen- The division of the screen into parts which can show the viewer several images at the same time (sometimes the same action from slightly different perspectives, sometimes similar actions at different times). This can convey the excitement and frenzy of certain activities, but it can also overload the viewer.
Stock shot- Footage already available and used for another purpose than the one for which it was originally filmed.
In thriller jump cut are films frequently in chase scenes when the editing is fast paced, this add suspense and anticipation to the film which is key in a Thriller film.
Sound-
Direct sound- Live sound. This may have a sense of freshness, spontaneity and 'authentic' atmosphere, but it may not be acoustically ideal.
Studio sound- Sound recorded in the studio to improve the sound quality, eliminating unwanted background noise ('ambient sound'), e.g. dubbed dialogue.
Selective sound-The removal of some sounds and the retention of others to make significant sounds more recognizable, or for dramatic effect - to create atmosphere, meaning and emotional nuance. Selective sound (and amplification) may make us aware of a watch or a bomb ticking.
Sound perspective/aural perspective- The impression of distance in sound, usually created through the use of selective sound.
Sound bridge- Adding to continuity through sound, by running sound (narration, dialogue or music) from one shot across a cut to another shot to make the action seem uninterrupted.
Dubbed dialogue- Post-recording the voice-track in the studio, the actors matching their words to the on-screen lip movements. Not confined to foreign-language dubbing.
Wildtrack (asynchronous sound)- Sound which was self-evidently recorded separately from the visuals with which it is shown. For example, a studio voice-over added to a visual sequence later.
Parallel (synchronous) sound- Sound 'caused' by some event on screen, and which matches the action.
Sound effects- Any sound from any source other than synchronised dialogue, narration or music. Dubbed-in sound effects can add to the illusion of reality: a stage- set door may gain from the addition of the sound of a heavy door slamming or creaking.
Music- Music helps to establish a sense of the pace of the accompanying scene. The rhythm of music usually dictates the rhythm of the cuts. The emotional colouring of the music also reinforces the mood of the scene. Background music is asynchronous music which accompanies a film. It is not normally intended to be noticeable. Conventionally, background music accelerates for a chase sequence, becomes louder to underscore a dramatically important action.
Silence- The juxtaposition of an image and silence can frustrate expectations, provoke odd, self-conscious responses, intensify our attention, make us apprehensive, or make us feel dissociated from reality.
In thriller films the music is very significant in creating tension and anticipation when watching a thriller film, the music accompanies what’s going on screen.
Lighting
Soft and harsh lighting. Soft and harsh lighting can manipulate a viewer's attitude towards a setting or a character. The way light is used can make objects, people and environments look beautiful or ugly, soft or harsh, artificial or real. Light may be used expressively or realistically.
Backlighting. A romantic heroine is often backlit to create a halo effect on her hair.
Mis-en-scene-
Is an expression used to describe the design aspects of a theatre or film production, which essentially means "visual theme" or “what’s in shot”—both in visually artful ways through storyboarding, cinematography and stage design, and in poetically artful ways through direction. When applied to the cinema, mise-en-scène refers to everything that appears before the camera and its arrangement—composition, sets, props, actors, costumes, and lighting. Mise-en-scène also includes the positioning and movement of actors on the set, which is called blocking.
In thriller films the Mise-en-scene is very significant, the setting, lighting and props can make a thriller film seem realistic and believable which is key. Usually most thriller open with a long shot of the setting, letting the audience know where the film is set. Most thriller are set in inner city or urban areas it very important the director gets the location right to make it seem more realistic therefore the mis-en-scene is very important.
What have I learnt from this research on Camera Codes and how will this aid the development of the Thriller opening?
This research has helped me understand the techniques directors and produces use to make a thriller film seem realistic and believable for the audience. Also it has taught me how important it is to create tension and suspense for example the music in Thriller film builds up the tensions and creates anticipation, the directors also use Jump cut a type of editing in car chases to create anticipation and add fast pace editing to place interest on certain key points.
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