Katerina Angelides HNC Creative Media

What is my Film About? Summary of Movie Concept My film will be based upon Laura Mulvey's theory on the presence of a male gaze in cinema. I want to depict the sexualisation and pressure put onto females to conform with traditional gender roles. Mulvey's theory suggests that females audiences are passive, they gain no pleasure from looking at the sexualised females however, they compare themselves to the "ideal" women from a male point of view. In this film I want to reflect the build up of pressure caused from trying to become this mainstream idealism of what beauty is. Mulvey suggests that the use of fragmentation of the body, slow shots and close ups of erotic areas such as the lips and eyes are used in order to satisfy the scopophilic view of the male audience. I intend to shoot close ups taking off and putting on clothes in order to show the unnecessary sexualisation of the female body within the film industry. I believe that lighting has a strong effect on the a...

What is My Contextual Film Production Idea? In my film I want to reflect how Covid19 has affected the younger generation of the UK. I will use the Prime Ministers speech audio throughout the video, I will cut the audio and only use the most important influential parts in order to create a tense atmosphere. The use of a non-diegetic soundtrack will be used on the video, this will make the film seem more like a montage showing the events of the lockdown. The soundtrack will be slow paced and quite sad in order to show the respect for the severity of the situation. Mainly my footage will be shot inside to reflect lockdown and the idea of isolation from everyone. Later I will introduce footage shot in my friends house to reflect the mixing of households which was allowed in the summer season. I have shot a lot of footage in rural locations to show that in the lockdown many people were exercising and going outside more as it was one of the only things you was allowed to do at the start. I w...

 What is Health and Safety and Why is it Important? Health and safety is a very important aspect to consider before filming. It is a requirement to understand the proper conduct in a studio in order to make sure that risks are minimised. It is always a good idea to conduct a risk assessment before shooting especially in an unknown environment with many variables. A risk assessment would assess the level of risk for many different areas in the studio, it offers precautions to put in place to help minimise or completely clear a risk. There are many small risks to look out for in a studio therefore, it is best to do your research before entering a room and it is also important to understand your role in the studio. Without health and safety in place someone could get seriously injured therefore, before shooting a detailed risk assessment is very important. I have produced my risk assessment table prior to entering the studio and I have also evaluated how effective my risk assessment w...

High Key Lighting  This is where there is a strong key light in the scene and the fill light is very intense causing softer shadows and less contrast. High Key lighting is used to create a very well lit scene usually with multiple light sources. This form of lighting is created when there are soft shadows and very little contrast therefore, the use of soft boxes and diffusers can help create a well lit scene which doesn't contain too many shadows. If the light source you used is very small this will create more contrast and shadows therefore, it is best to use large lights which will cover you entire scene. As well as being able to physically alter your lighting you can also change your brightness and contrast levels in post-production in order to make the shot exactly how you want it. High key lighting is used most commonly in commercials and interviews where you don't need shadows and contrast for dramatic effect (Adobe). It can also be used other situations for example in fi...

 What is a Three Point Lighting Setup? The three point lighting setup is a traditional setup used to light a subject. The lights are placed in three distinct positions which all have different purposes. Three different lights are used in this setup, you have your key light which is your primary light, this usually is in front of the subject; you also have a fill light, this light is used to reduce contrasts, the last light used is the backlight, this light is used to separate the subject from the background. Using the three point setup allows us to create a three-dimensional look by the strategical placement of lights (Lannom). The intensity of each light needs to be taken into consideration as well as the placement as this will affect the overall outcome of your shots. To create a cinematic look the intensity of the key light should be double the fill light, this will create some contrast however, it will not be too strong of a contrast. if all lights are as intense as each other ...

The rule of six is a theory discussed by Walter Murch in his book 'In the blink of an eye: A perspective on film editing'. There are six factors which he believes help to tell a story using editing. The theorist suggest "a list of priorities. If you have to give up something, don't ever give up emotion before story. Don't give up story before rhythm, don't give up rhythm before eye-trace, don't give up eye-trace before planarity, and don't give up planarity before spacial continuity." (Murch). The editor believes there is a hierarchy in which you should use the rule of six in order to create an edit which will have the best effect on the audience. Emotion (51%) Emotion is a very important part of editing, it is important that you are able to reflect the tone of the scene or movie onto the audience. They must feel a connection with the actors in order to understand what they are going through in the movie (Renee). A good example of use of emotion is...

Types of Lenses Wide-Angle Lenses  These lenses usually range between 16 and 35 mm, the lenses allow you to fit more in frame therefore they are good for shooting landscapes and cityscapes. Wide angled lenses are used for shooting establishing shots in films very commonly as they allow you to capture a lot in the shot therefore, they help the audience decipher the time, location and context behind a specific film (Adorama).  With wide-angled lenses there is a deep depth of field allowing you to capture more of the shot in focus at once. However, one of the main drawbacks is that close-up shots may seem distorted and wider than they are in reality (Holtzer). Macro Lenses  A macro lens is used to make tiny objects seem larger, it allows as photographer to capture even the tiniest details that are not even visible to the naked eye. Macro lenses have a very close focusing distance therefore when using the lens you must be extremely close to the subject in order to capture a c...

 What is Aperture? Aperture controls the amount of light that enters a camera lens as well as the depth of field. The factors that affect the aperture include the f-stop, focal length and focal distance. When using a higher f-stop, the lens will become narrower therefore, letting less light in this will create a deeper depth of field allowing more of the shot to be in focus. When using a lower aperture the camera lens will become wider therefore, letting more light enter the lens creating a shallower depth of field, this means that the foreground of the shot will be in focus whereas the background will be blurred. Low apertures such as f/2.8 are used for things such as close-ups which don't require a narrow depth of field. Apertures of around f/8 are used for mid shots and wide shot whereas apertures such as f/16 or higher are used for shots such as establishing shots as they allow you to capture  large amount of your scene in focus (Mansurov). Factors that Affect Depth of Fie...

 What is Pull Focus? The pull focus is a camera technique in which you change the focus of the shot whilst shooting. Usually you use this technique to adjust the focus from one subject to another. The pull focus is a good technique to help you direct the viewers attention at something of interest. It can also create a disorienting affect as the focus changes (The Media College). In order to achieve this effect you will need to create a shallow depth of field by using a low aperture of around f/2.8-4. It can be hard to capture a correctly exposed shot with a low aperture taking into consideration that the shutter speed should be at 1/50, the image will appear very bright, by making the ISO very low (around 100). Your focus must be set on manual in order to use the focus ring on the lens to change the focus. Place something in the foreground of your shot and something in background. Have the subject in the foreground in focus and twist the focus ring in order to change the point of f...

What Is Shutter Speed? The shutter speed on a camera is the length of time the shutter is open whilst shooting. The longer the shutter is open the more light the camera lets in (Moura). If you use a shutter speed lower than 1/60 it is best to use a tripod or some sort of stabiliser as when the shutter is open for a longer period of time more motion blur is capture in the shot. In film the shutter speed should be set at double the frame rate. The frame rate is the number of frames taken in each second. Usually in film the frame rate is set at around 25 frames per second therefore the shutter speed should be set at 1/50 of a second (35mmc). The shutter speed is set at double the frame rate as it helps capture natural movement better. If the shutter speed is too low you will get blurred movement, if you was to record with a high shutter speed everyone within your scene will look like robots, the motion will be very choppy therefore making it look like a stop motion (Devo). As you can see ...

What Is Dolly Zoom?  A dolly zoom is a technique used whilst shooting where the camera zooms in or out on a subject whilst the camera moves towards or away from the subject. When timed correctly , the effect created is that the subject should stay the same size whilst the background seems to compress or decompress.  The most famous scene the dolly zoom was used in is from the film Jaws. The use of this technique can be to create a sense that the character is undergoing and extreme realisation. My Example of a Dolly Zoom In my example of a dolly zoom I have chosen to zoom in on a cup, I have used a cup as it is a lot steadier than using a person is therefore, t was easier to re-create the effect. As you can see, the background warps however, the cut stays the same size throughout the video. I have used a warp stabiliser on the clip in order to make the movement seem steadier and more natural. References Wickmann, F., 2014. The Evolution of the Dolly Zoom (Online) Available at :...

 In digital photography, ISO refers to the sensitivity to light of the camera sensor. When using actual camera film the ISO is dependent on the specific films sensitivity to light (Nikon). When your ISO is placed quite high (above ISO 800) is will create a brighter exposure whereas a low exposure will give an under-exposed image. However, using the ISO to artificially brighten the photos does have some effect on the image quality, the image will have more noise to it if the ISO is a lot higher (Moura). Noise in film can be used to your advantage, for example, commonly in horror movies such as Paranormal Activity a lot of noise is in the shot as the shots are mainly produced at night in order to make them scarier. The noise in film can create a handheld feel to it which in horror films can make them seem more scary as you feel as though it is more real (The Photographic Angle). As you can see in these images I have taken, the top images are less exposed to light suggesting that they...

 Lighting equipment and setups which would be used for the following scenarios A small documentary where portability is paramount  Lighting - In a documentary where there is a lot of moving about it is always best to have portable equipment which doesn't rely on mains power, therefore something with a battery is most suitable such as an LED portable light, they are very efficient and extremely bright at the same time, you can use coloured filters in order to change the colour or intensity of the light in order to create a certain atmosphere. However, documentaries usually rely on natural lighting in order to make their content feel more natural therefore the use of a portable light reflector could be useful, they allow you to reflect the light of sun in order to capture a photo of your subject with good lighting. The light reflectors have a silver, gold and white surface which all create a different tone which can help suggest an atmosphere in a specific shot. Silver can incre...

How and why lighting affects camera techniques for moving image Lighting is a very important part of film, without proper understanding of lighting your shots can become either under or over exposed. There are many lighting techniques which all have different affects on your film result. Lighting techniques have connotations in a similar way to colours. Unlike colours, the preferred reading of different types of lighting is more unanimous. Low key lighting is produced from only one source of light rather than a traditional 3 point set up. It produces high contrast shots. Similar to this is hard light, this occurs when the light source is much smaller than the subject; hard light casts shadows and usually produces high contrast and areas of darkness (Leeson). This lighting creates a hard edge on the shadow to give it a clear shape, this is good when creating a silhouette for noir films. Both types of lighting give connotations of fear, mistrust and paranoia. Soft lighting is produced wh...