Continuity shots

Continuity shots refer to the editing of shots in a way to maintain continuity of the narrative of any film, or drama e.t.c.

There are various continuity shots, starting from the Establishing shot up to Action Match and Jump cut.
Establishing shot in any film is used to show the relationship of the environment and its significant figures or objects. Long shot is often used for such scenes.

Coming down to the next shot, it is the Shot/Shot reverse. This is often used when two characters are shown involved in a conversation- these are basically alternating shots of the two characters edited together. It is important to note that placing of the characters in the frame is also done accordingly, character in one frame will e shown looking at the other person, in the next frame. Similar rules apply to the character in the next frame.

Complimenting Shot/Shot Reverse shot are the 180Degree rule, Over the Shoulder shot and Eye line match. 180Degree rule is used to show the correct positioning of the characters i.e. if a character is on the left, he should be, in the frame, shown as standing on the left. When taking the shots, mistakes can be made in showing the position of the characters. Often, person standing on the left is shown, in the frame, as standing on the rights, and the one standing on right is shown to be standing on the right. This error is overcome by using 180Degree rule, as mentioned earlier as well, by the help of line of axis.

Over the shoulder shot is taken by positioning the camera on the shoulder level/height of one character to take the shot of, or focus on the other character. When taking such shots, it is important to keep the Eye-line match of the characters maintained i.e the shot shows a person off in one direction and the second shows a nearby space containing what he or she sees; the angle of the Camera needs to be maintained here.

Misc-en-scene

Misc-en-scene, as I have understood, is everything that is put into a frame to give it a complete look. These may include the costumes, background, actors, their entire look, the colour palette used in the scene, composition, sets, costumes and lighting. The positioning and the entire movement of the actor is also included in misc-en-scene and this has been termed as blocking.

When studying about misc-en-scene, the first movie that came to my mind was Harry Potter- everything in the film, from costumes to sets, from lighting to the colour palette used, there is a synergy between everything- each element used compliments another.

The main use, and an advantage, of misc-en-scene is that it creates and impression for the viewer of all those things that cannot be expressed or shown vocally. It helps the director sometimes give it's film/frame a very realistic setting.

Research: Genre Identification

According to the idea and story-line of the short-film that Mahnoor and I have come up with, our film lies under the genre of Drama. Drama is very widely spread- it is seen in various films along with many other genres, common use of this genre is usually seen with Romance. I can not really remember seeing any film that is purely based on Drama only, apart from The descendants. I have usually seen drama go side by side with Romance.

So far what I have understood about this genre is that it shows and revolves around emotional situations that are very close to real life. Nothing very unusual or supernatural goes with the genre. Characters developed seem very real and story-lines are such that audiences can understand the depth of it and are able relate to it in one way or the other. Hence, my film focusing and revolving around poverty and class issues, along with significance of education, fits very well under Drama, and to be specific, Social Realism Drama.

According to IMDb some of the films falling under Social Realism Drama are

Research: Different Genres

Studying different genres and getting to know of their significance is the next step in our research for the Short-film.

It is obvious that the genre of a film can be identified only when it's story line, which is the key element for any movie, is finalised-but the genre itself is a very important part of any film as audiences' preferences can be recognised and taken into knowledge. What differentiates one genre from another are the codes and conventions of it. E.g. difference between horror and thriller is that horror films usually have more of supernatural and macabre element- macabre, after studying, I understood are the emphasized details and symbols of death. Sometimes, however, the two genres are also used side by side.

Following aspects of different genres are supposed to be indentified:

• Style and forms
• Paradigms(key elements)
• Iconography
• Structure 
• Theme

The Horror genre deals with showing audiences' inner fears, such as fear of ghosts and demons, zombies, nightmares-basically fear of the unknown.

Not being so fond of horror film, I have not really seen much, but the ones i have watched include The Exorcist, The Exorcism of Emily Rose, Final Destination and Insidious. Now what common among these films was the existence of a ghost or a demon. In both film i.e The exorcist and The exorcism of Emily Rose, the protagonist is possessed by a demon and hence is doing unusual, violent activities. 

The first image is taken from The Exorcism of Emily rose while the other two are from The Exorcist. The common element visible between pictures of the two films is the effect created on protagonist's face to show that they have been possessed. Apart from that, a very noticeable element of horror films is that very low lighting is used usually throughout the film and the background scores are also similar- that are able to keep the viewer frightened, yet attentive and close to the screen. 

Coming down to the next genre, Thriller aims to keep the audiences attentive, anticipated, on the edge of their seats, and of course  thrilled. Thriller and action tend to go side by side. Common elements seen in action/thriller films are again, a bit of violence sometimes, use of guns and other various weapons, thrilling background scores and lighting is also usually low key- such that it is able to highlight the protagonist. 

Films related to this genre that I have watched include Mission Impossible, The Italian Job 

Inception, Kill Bill, Taken, Pulp Fiction and many other which I cannot think of right now. In thriller/action films, the protagonist has support and people who can help him during the mission but at the end, they face the scariest, most thrilling dangers themselves. The element of being a hero is always present in such films i.e. there is always a hero while others are just in the background.

Romance is a very widely spread genre a common subcategory of it is Romantic comedy. Romantic films have a lot in common, and most of the times the story line is predictable, just the way it is portrayed is different. Like, usually in romantic films the couple will be faced with a problem that will end up separating them, and then the story will revolve around how they try to get back. Some of the romantic/ romantic comedy films that I have watched include A walk to Remember, The Vow, The lucky one, Dear John, Crazy, Stupid Love, The Ugly truth and many more. Common elements seen these films are the use of lighting, props, colours and also the obvious, the stroyline, as mentioned earlier as well. Colours pleasing to the eye are used usually throughout the film, flat, very soft light is also used a lot.

First picture is taken from a scene of Dear John, second from The Lucky one and third from The Vow. It is evident through the images how colours are played with and the lighting that is used. Very soft lighting is used which is used throughout the films. Another element I noticed between film The lucky one and Dear John are the locations. Country side locations are used and costumes are also very similar. This element is not only seen in these films but in many others as The Last Song, which is Drama and Romance both, has used country side as its location.

Cinematography-Lighting

A discussion was held regarding lights and what affect it creates in the scene, how it highlights the protagonist and what role it has in filming/production process.

Lighting plays a significant role in production process of any film or drama. Lights can be helpful for engrossing viewers into the film as much as possible by using it in a way to create different moods,  e.g. bright light is used to show happy and cheerful mood whereas low, dull lighting can depict sorrow.

Key light is the main lighting used for the subject and is directly thrown on them. Key light is placed at an angle from where it lights up the protagonist's face and views it as very pleasing to the eye. Key lighting can also be used as a side light when thrown from an angle which higlights just the half face of the protagonist to create a more dramatic effect and intesify the subject's mood. Use of the just the key light, however, is not enough- shadows are created by the key light, therefore, to fill those shadow, fill lighting is used. Fill lighting minimizes the shadows and gives the subject and their background a much softer look. Use of fill ight and key light together can give a blown out effect in the frame, hence, intesity of the fill light can vbe changed according to the requirment of other lights used.  

Flat light, which is thrown on the protagonists face from the front, is also a part of key lighting. Scenes shot in day light can also be subjected to flat light. 

High key lighting is used in scenes to create a happy mood and to light up the entire scene

as well. Use of such lighting can be seen in romantic movies. Scenes shot in day light can also be subjected to high key lighting. 

Use of low key lighting, on the other hand, can mostly be seen in horror, action/thriller films.

Low key lighting is used to highlight ONLY a specific part of the subject whereas rest of the scene is usually dark and not so visible.  

Observing the effects created and to learn how to create these lighting effects was the second step, therefore, I practiced them myself as well. 

Next task was to analyse the creation and usage of lights in films, and what impact they have created for the viewers. 

I decicde to analyse parts of trailor of the film 'Hugo'.
I decided to analyse a trailor rather than a scene because it has numerous variety of lighting effects from the entire film. 
https://www.12345proxy.com/Go.php/2dquyR1x/hD12zkR6/f8fXeooZ/nWzqUk3N/jxC1j7nd/zcYr3uxu/3zc_3D/b0/

Beginning of the trailer where characters are introduced, back light is creating a rim to show the outline of the characters. This is placing more emphasis on the boy.  Back lightc us used from a high angle. Apart from backlight, low front light is also used to make his face visible.

In this clip of a scene, low key lighting from right side is used due to which only three fourth part of boy's face is lit. Also, low back light is used here once again to create a slight rim of the boy. 

Low kety lighting and back light is used. For the key light, white light is used which is creating a moonlight effect on the girl's face. 

Back light is used creating the rim effect once again

Cinematography-Shots, Angles and Camera Movement Analysis

I chose a scene from Pirates of the Caribbean to analyse the shots. 
https://12345proxy.com/Go.php/wgcvsm8v/05JwE5DD/eu1XyXtE/PiYsYAUQ/lAkGR8ir/FTN_2FbJ/VgCt8_3D/b0/

From 00:00-00:05 the camera is panning and zooming establishing an extreme long shot where various characters are seen shown walking on a bridge.

This scene has followed the codes and conventions in such a way that, usually, for establishing scenes, long shots are used. However, for this scene, I believe its far more interesting because the camera is not static but there are camera movements from a different angle. 

At 00:05 the scene cuts and using a full shot showing another view of the previous scene(establishing scene). This part really defines the entire scene and makes it easier for the viewer to understand what is happeninng and what the scene is about.

In the next scene, from 00:20-00:28, high angle shot is used to show the rope (with which guilty are hanged) and the top view and expressions of the person as he looks up. This part of the scene emphasizes one boy out of all other characters.

Close up of a man's hand flipping the coin. At this point if the video it is very unclear of what the coin is actually symbolizing. The angle from where the shot is taken can said to be an over the shoulder shot because part of man's head there in the frame. 

Mid long shot of the boy again to focus on his activity.

Scene cuts to a mid-long shot from a lower angle.

                                       

Long shot from a higher angle is used to show the set of people being hanged. This part of the scene, according to me, can give viewers an element of shock because of the fact that only the little boy is not guilty but many other people along him. Also, it can build curiosity among the viewers to keep watching to get to know why actually these characters are being punished. 

Mid closeup of the boy from human eye's point of view

Same shot and angle used to focus on another characters expressions and situation.

The scene cuts to show the flipping coin, keeping the mystery of it still hidden. Same shot and angle is used as in the previous scene of the same part.

This part of the scene has now a wide close up of the boy, who is singing a song- the purpose of which is unknown. The shot is used to focus and grab viewers attention  as this part of the scene, because of  the shot used, creates more intensity. In this part, the camera keeps zooming in gradually onto the boy's face when suddenly the scene cuts to the shot shown below-

Right after the above scene, the camera cuts to show the flipping the coin- this is the indication that the boy has been hanged, Also, it creates a mystery in the minds of the viewers; what does this coin mean? Because, as shown and mentioned above, the young boy shown guilty was also flipping a coin before he gets punished.

Visit to the Paragon Academy of Performing Arts

In the last class we were scheduled to visit the famous director of our country, Sir Syed Noor, on his set- Paragon Academy Of Performing Arts.

The aim of this visit was to actually witness the shooting of a movie- to watch and analyse how different shots are taken, the camera angles and movements, how lighting effects are created and various other aspects of videography. 

Unfortunately, on our arrival we were informed that there was no shooting taking place at that moment. Nevertheless, Sir Syed Noor took us around and showed us his entire set of the film, the lights that are used, the editing and dubbing room. 

Above are the pictures of the lights and sets shown to us

Picture of all the students with Sir Syed Noor 

On the left- Sir Syed Noor
Right- Media Studies Teacher