Saturday, 30 May 2020
Friday, 29 May 2020
Thursday, 28 May 2020
Proxemic patterns 2
The same shots in order of appearance; their efficacy and effect.
Long shot: Something or someone powerful has arrived and the weak character can do
nothing. The interplay between them is at the same level as the audience and the characters.
As there is a social proxemic pattern the weak character and the audience share the same emotion of uncertainty.
The position of the new character on the left of the frame and above the character we know, and the fact that the former is a source of bright light, reflecting on the other, tells us intuitively that the former is strong and good and will help the latter.
Close up: We now see and feel the character's response to the new character/entity. The intimate proxemic pattern between the character and the audience allows the latter to feel his exhaustion and relief.
Medium Close up: This shot is an odd one. The audience is meant to have an established relation ship with this character, even though the other character does not (weak dramatic irony at best) thus the use of a shot that applies the personal proxemic pattern. As a result however the shot has no real power to it, which is a shame as this is meant to be THE most powerful character of all.
Extreme close up: The helmet is iconic and the hand is clearly touching it in an itimate way that someone who has a long relationship with a tool would do. This combined with the intimate proxemic pattern both between the character and the item and of the shot, has a dramatic effect on the audience. The cold green light amplifies that emotional response.
Medium shot: (mid shot/waist shot) :our response to the character and his plight is actually enhanced by intimate proxemic pattern between the character and the helmet, while the shot which is in the personal proxemic pattern informs us and affects us. the positioning of the character at the center of the shot speaks to his weakness.
Very Long shot: Now that the audience understands the situation, the vessel is brought into
focus. The audience learns more, but the public proxemic pattern again allows for information to be acquired, but not for there to be an emotional impact.
Extreme Long shot: Informs the audience of the setting at large, in this case to show the
hopelessness of the situation. The public proxemic pattern however allows for no real emotional response. (so possibly a mistake on the part of the director/editor)
Medium Close up: This character's plight is enhanced by the personal proxemic pattern, but not at an intimate level as that cannot be maintained for too long without draining the audience.
Medium shot: (mid shot/waist shot) :our response to the character and his plight is actually enhanced by intimate proxemic pattern between the character and the helmet, while the shot which is in the personal proxemic pattern informs us and affects us. the positioning of the character at the center of the shot speaks to his weakness.
Very Long shot: Now that the audience understands the situation, the vessel is brought into
focus. The audience learns more, but the public proxemic pattern again allows for information to be acquired, but not for there to be an emotional impact.
Extreme Long shot: Informs the audience of the setting at large, in this case to show the
hopelessness of the situation. The public proxemic pattern however allows for no real emotional response. (so possibly a mistake on the part of the director/editor)
Medium Close up: This character's plight is enhanced by the personal proxemic pattern, but not at an intimate level as that cannot be maintained for too long without draining the audience.
Close up? Medium shot? This shot is fun because it is also almost a POV shot. It is not however and the legs of the secondary character of the shot serve to help frame the Waist shot (Medium shot) of the character at the center of the shot, who is displayed as being weak this time by being at the bottom of the frame (still in the middle) at the feet level of the secondary character. The green/blue cold lighting continues but the location of the character in juxtaposition to the legs of the secondary character (note that the are in an intimate proxemic pattern to each other) is what drives the shot.
The audience, at a personal proxemic pattern, feels empathy with the one, sympathy for the other.
nothing. The interplay between them is at the same level as the audience and the characters.
As there is a social proxemic pattern the weak character and the audience share the same emotion of uncertainty.
The position of the new character on the left of the frame and above the character we know, and the fact that the former is a source of bright light, reflecting on the other, tells us intuitively that the former is strong and good and will help the latter.
Close up: We now see and feel the character's response to the new character/entity. The intimate proxemic pattern between the character and the audience allows the latter to feel his exhaustion and relief.
Medium Close up: This shot is an odd one. The audience is meant to have an established relation ship with this character, even though the other character does not (weak dramatic irony at best) thus the use of a shot that applies the personal proxemic pattern. As a result however the shot has no real power to it, which is a shame as this is meant to be THE most powerful character of all.
Wednesday, 27 May 2020
Monday, 25 May 2020
Shot Types
Basically there are three main shot sizes: Long, Medium, and Close. Long shots (also known as Wide shots) show the subject from a distance, emphasizing setting, while Close shots reveal details of the subject and highlight emotions of a character. Medium shots fall somewhere in between, emphasizing the subject while still showing some of the surrounding environment.
Extreme Long Shot/ Establishing Shot (ELS) is used to show the subject from a distance, or the area in which the scene is taking place. Particularly useful for establishing a scene, the character doesn’t necessarily have to be in this shot.
Very Long Shot (VLS) is used to show the entire character as well as their surroundings. It can be very difficult to make out certain characteristics from the subject.
Long Shot (LS) is used to show the entire character but not much else. In this shot the character will often fill the screen from head to toe.
Medium Long Shot (MLS) is used to show most of the character, typically from the head to the knee area.
Medium Shot (MS) is used to show roughly half the character so the head and torso.
Medium Close-Up (MCU) is used to show a small area of the character's body, typically the head and shoulders. This is typically used in Over The Shoulder shots and in interview situations.
Close-Up (CU) is used to show an even smaller area of the body, typically the head.
Big Close-Up (BCU) is used to show just the character's face meaning the chin and most of the hair is left out of the shot.
Extreme Close-Up (ECU) is typically used to show facial features, most commonly the character's eyes.
Proxemic Patterns
Proxemic Patterns
Anthropologist Edward Hall discovered that Proxemic patterns (the relationships between objects) can be influenced by external considerations. Filmmakers use space in 4 major Proxemic patterns:
1. The Intimate: (skin contact to about 18 inches)- love comfort and tenderness(ECU, CU)
2. The Personal: (18 inches to 4 ft.)- arm’s length away, reserved for friends rather than lovers (MCU, WS)
3. The Social: (4ft.-12ft.)- impersonal business and casual relationships; displays of emotion are bad taste. (FS)
4. The public: (12-25ft.)- formal and rather detached- (VLS, ELS)
Long shots for Comedies, close-ups for Tragedies
Long shots for Comedies, close-ups for Tragedies
A Filmmaker's choice of shots is determined by the emotional impact of each proxemic pattern.
The greater the distance between the camera and the character, and between characters themselves, the more neutral we remain.
Examples:
Extreme close up: shows an item being used,(the helmet) which increases its power/importance. Note also the intimate proxemic pattern between the character and the item, which only enhances the power of the shot.
(note also how our eye is drawn from left to right)
Close up: Most of the character's face, so the audience 'feels' with the character. The intimate proxemic pattern is between the character and the audience. Note also the warm light overwhelming the cold green light which gives us a sense of both transition and hope. Also the character's eyes look up, which indicates to us that the source of the light is more powerful than the character.
Medium Close up: This shot falls within the personal proxemic pattern, in that the audience is at an arm's length away from the subject. The position of the character and lighting have an effect on our response to the character's plight, but it is not as intimate as a close up or extreme close up.
Medium shot (mid shot/waist shot) :our sense of the character and his plight is made more sympathetic by the shot which is in the personal proxemic pattern. This is enhanced by the intimate proxemic pattern between the character and the helmet. Note also how the framing and mis-en-scene make the shot even more intimate.
The location and hue of the lighting also serve to bind the character and helmet and portray the weakness and danger for both. the character's position in the middle of the screen as well as body language reinforce the sense of weakness. This is possible because of the distance away and thus the shot type providing greater context than tighter shots allow.
Close up: Most of the character's face, so the audience 'feels' with the character. The intimate proxemic pattern is between the character and the audience. Note also the warm light overwhelming the cold green light which gives us a sense of both transition and hope. Also the character's eyes look up, which indicates to us that the source of the light is more powerful than the character.
Medium Close up: This shot falls within the personal proxemic pattern, in that the audience is at an arm's length away from the subject. The position of the character and lighting have an effect on our response to the character's plight, but it is not as intimate as a close up or extreme close up.
Medium shot (mid shot/waist shot) :our sense of the character and his plight is made more sympathetic by the shot which is in the personal proxemic pattern. This is enhanced by the intimate proxemic pattern between the character and the helmet. Note also how the framing and mis-en-scene make the shot even more intimate.
The location and hue of the lighting also serve to bind the character and helmet and portray the weakness and danger for both. the character's position in the middle of the screen as well as body language reinforce the sense of weakness. This is possible because of the distance away and thus the shot type providing greater context than tighter shots allow.
Long shot: This particular shot puts the audience at a greater distance than the characters
are from each other, yet both groups are clearly in the social proxemic pattern as they are at a distance of over four feet from one another yet interacting (sort of).
Very Long shot: This use of the public proxemic pattern allows the audience the opportunity to understand a situation at a dispassionate but intuitive distance. The darkness of the setting and the darkness of the vessel, with only cold green lighting say everything the audience needs to know.
Extreme Long shot: This public proxemic pattern allows the audience to rationalise a situation from a distance, either through decision or questioning. But no emotional response is possible at such a distance. The juxtaposition of the black vessel against the brightest quadrant in the frame catches our eye. Its location in the middle of the frame indicates weakness.
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