The Language and Technique of Filmmaking II

6. Lenses A. Focal length - distance from film to surface of lens

Wide angle (short lens) < 35 mm Wide field of vision. Subject seems far. In extreme, called "fisheye."

"Normal" ~50 mm

Telephoto (Long lens) > 60 mm Narrow field of vision. Subject seems close.

Zoom - variable focal length

Examples of short and long lenses' fields of vision

Wide Angle (short) lens

B. Aperture/diaphragm - size of opening

Large opening Small opening

More light Less light

F1 1.4 2 2.8 4 5.6 8 11 16 22

"Fast" lenses are capable of low F-stops

C. Depth of field - the range of distance in front of the lens that appears in focus. The following contribute to a large DOF (allowing

a "deep focus" shot): 1. wide angle lens (short lens) 2. greater ambient light 3. smaller aperture (large F-stop)

Deep focus/large DOF (Citizen Kane with Agnes Moorehead)

Shallow focus/Small DOF

Shallow focus/Small DOF (The Little Foxes with Bette Davis & Herbert Marshall’s stand-in)

D. Other focus terminology Rack the lens/selective focusing/focus pull Follow focus Soft focus

Soft focus

7. Film stock Film size (8mm, l6mm, 35mm, 70mm, l05mm) "Fast" film

35 mm film

16 mm film

8. Editing

A. Classical Editing/Cutting to continuity l. Decoupage + Montage

8. Editing

A. Classical Editing/Cutting to continuity l. Decoupage + Montage 2. Master shot/Establishing shot (usually LS)

Establishing shot

3. Eyeline match (and the Kuleshov Effect)

3. Eyeline match (and the Kuleshov Effect)

3. Eyeline match (and the Kuleshov Effect)

4. Shot-Reverse-Shot series

5. l80o system

NoYes

6. Reactions shots

“Springtime for Hitler” number from The Producers (1968)

Reaction shot

7. Invisible editing, e.g.: dissolves orientation cuts cut on action continuity (visual + sound)

8. Consideration of legibility & centripetal decay

Relatively low legibility (complex mise en scene)

Relatively high legibility (simple mise en scene)

8. Consideration of legibility & centripetal decay

0102030405060708090

100

VisualAttention

0102030405060708090

100

Visual Attention

A B

B. Sequence shot (long takes) C. Parallel Editing (includes cross-cutting) D. Montage Editing/"Thematic Montage" E. Flashbacks

9. Sound

A. Equipment Mic selection (directional, non-directional)

9. Sound

A. Equipment Mic selection (directional, non-directional) Boom

9. Sound

A. Equipment Mic selection (directional, non-directional) Boom Double-system sound recording for “production

sound”/production track

9. Sound

A. Equipment Mic selection (directional, non-directional) Boom Double-system sound recording for “production

sound”/production track However--most sound is added in “post”. . .

B. Post-production techniques VO (voiceover) narration

The late Don La Fontaine

B. Post-production techniques VO (voiceover) narration Postdubbing/Dubbing/Looping/ADR

B. Post-production techniques VO (voiceover) narration Postdubbing/Dubbing/Looping/ADR Sound effects (“real” and synthetic)

B. Post-production techniques VO (voiceover) narration Postdubbing/Dubbing/Looping/ADR Sound effects (“real” and synthetic) Foleying (after Jack Foley)

UCLA Foley room

Examples of Foley effects

Effect How it's made Galloping horses Banging empty coconut shells together Kissing Kissing back of hand Punching someone Thumping watermelons or raw meat High heels Foley artist walks in high heels on wooden platform Bone-breaking blow Breaking celery Footsteps in snow Squeezing a box of corn starch Thunder Flapping an aluminum sheet Star Wars sliding doors Pulling a piece of paper from an envelope Star Trek sliding doors Flare gun plus sneakers squeak Bird flapping its wings Flapping a pair of gloves Grass or leaves crunching Balling up audio tape Car crash Shaking a metal box filled with wood and metal scraps Fire Rapid opening and closing of an umbrella along with the

crackle of thick cellophane

Most from Wikipedia.com

C. Stylistic techniques Sound design/the sound designer Talkovers/overlapping dialogue Sound bridging (for continuity) Sound montage

D. Soundtrack music Diegetic vs. nondiegetic music Musical [leit]motifs Mickeymousing Music licensing & composers’ agreements

Let’s watch some clips from Citizen Kane that exemplify these sound and music characteristics (and many other things as well!). . .

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