An Introduction To Media Language

An Introduction To Media Language

4 Micro Elements:

1. Cinematography
2. Sound
3. Mise-en-Scene
4. Editing

Cinematography:

Camera Shots

Camera Movements

Camera Shots:

• Extreme Close Up (ECU)
• Close Up (CU)
• Long Shot (LS)
• Wide Shot (WS)
• Medium Shot (MS)
• Point Of View (POV)
• Low Angle
• High Angle
• Over The Shoulder (OTS)

Extreme close up: A small section of an object or character. Used to really emphasise an object.

Close up: Neck and Face. Used to emphasise how important this character is.

Medium shot (mid shot): A figure from about the waist up.

Long shot: The whole of the body is visible.

Wide shot: Shows a vast area depending on where it appears in a sequence. It is sometimes called an Establishing shot.

Point of view (POV): Allows us to see through the eyes of the character.

High angle: Makes the character seem vulnerable and puts the viewer in a position of power.

Low angle: Puts the character in a position of power and makes the viewer feel inferior.

Over the shoulder (OTS): Looks over the shoulder of a character to reveal what they are looking at. OTS is often used in conversations. 

Camera Movements:

• Pan-left and right
• Tilt-up and down
• Crane shot-zooms out and up (sometimes on a crane)
• Tracking shot-tracks the movement
• Rolling shot
• Steadicam-Handheld. Jittery. Follows the object. Used in horror films.

Editing:

Speed of editing

Style of editing

Speed:

In a film each scene may last a matter of seconds, or it could continue for minutes. The length of each sequence establishes the pace pf the film moving the action along. The speed of editing will help to determine the mood of what is taking place on screen.

If filmmakers want the audience to feel anxiety and suspense, the editing will be quick-the scenes/shots change frequently.

If a relaxed mood is desired, the scenes last longer and change less frequently. For example in a romantic comedy.

Nevertheless a film need not have any editing. Russian Ark was filmed in one take using a steadicam and a digital camera. This required split-second timing and organisation.

Scenes at the beginning of a film-as it begins to tell its story-must be long enough for us to be able to understand where we are and what is going on. It is also slow to introduce the main character(s).

As the film progresses, scenes may become shorter as the editing cuts between telling two or more storylines at the same time.

To crosscut is to edit together 2 sequences that the audience need to know are connected in some way.

Something is happening at the time in different locations.

A character reliving a memory.

Cross cutting can be used to very effectively develop a sense of drama. It can be used to create tension, increase anxiety, direct emotion, make subtle links between characters.

Style:

How shots are linked together

The movement from one shot to the next is called transition.

Basic transitions include:

•   Straight cut
•  Fade    
•  Dissolve   
• Wipe

Advanced editing skills:

·      Continuity editing: eye-line match: we see a character looking at something off screen and then we cut to a shot of what they are looking at.

·      180 degree rule: the 180 rule is a basic guideline that states that 2 characters (or other elements0 in the same scene should always have the same left/right relationship to each other.

·      shot, reverse shot: shot/reverse shot is used to show conversations/ arguments.

Sound:

Diegetic/Non-Diegetic sound:

Diegetic refers to the world of the text e.g. dialogue, sound effects, music with a source within a text e.g. a radio.

Non-Diegetic refers to everything outside the world of text. E.g. voiceover, soundtrack, captions, titles, subtitles.

On-scene sound: the audience can see the source of the sound.

Off-scene sound: the audience can’t see the source of the sound.

Parallel sound: matches the action

Contrapuntal sound: does not match the action

Sound bridge: helps create a smooth transition between from one scene to another.

Mise-en-scene:

A French term meaning: “in the scene or frame”.                    

Elements of Mise-en-scene are:

1.    . Setting and props
2.    . Facial expressions and body language
3.    . Costume, hair and make-up
4.    . Lighting and colour- The Key Light is the brightest and most influential. The Back Light helps counteract the effect of the key light or creates an outline or silhouette. Under lighting is when the main source comes from below the subject. Used in thrillers and horror films.
5.    . Positioning of characters and objects in the frame- where objects and characters are positioned is very important. Objects and characters can be in the foreground, middle-ground or background. This can emphasise the relative importance of the object or character. If characters or objects are positioned evenly within a frame this will give a balanced feel to the shot. If the characters are positioned at the outside edges of the frame then this indicates a distance between the characters.

From the 1930s to the 1940s black and white represented reality and colour represented fantasy and spectacle.

Today colour is reality and black and white is the spectacle/dream.

Colour: Denotation and connotation

Denotation- the literal description of an idea, concept or object. Examples of denotation: Rose= A red flower. Hammer= A tool used to nail things down.

Connotation- what we associate with a particular idea, concept or object. Examples of connotation: Love heart= A symbol of love and affection. Magen-David= A symbol of jewish monotheistic belief in one G-d.