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452 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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exposure |
how you're letting light in |
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how to fix underexposure |
open aperture, slow shutter speed |
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how to fix overexposure |
close aperture, faster shutter speed |
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aperture |
size of the opening (iris) |
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3 ways to control exposure |
aperture, shutter speed, ISO |
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shutter speed |
speed at which aperture opens and shuts |
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ISO |
sensitivity of the film (gaining light) |
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shallow DOF |
range of things in focus is smaller - large aperture |
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greater DOF |
range of things in focus is larger - small aperture |
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faster shutter speed |
short exposure time, lets in less light, great for "freezing time" |
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slower shutter speed |
longer exposure time, more light, good for motion blur |
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higher ISO |
more noise |
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dramatization |
transforming what is vague and internal into a series of viewable and audible actions and events |
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4 basic/common elements of fictional narrative films |
central character, dramatic situation, action and stakes, resolution |
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sympathetic character |
figure who viewers can like/admire/engage with |
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antipathetic character |
unlikable character who offers glimpse at something fascinating/intriguing/etc |
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dramatic situation/premise |
what's at stake for the character? how might they change? |
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how should dramatic situations relate to characters? |
dramatic situations should in some way change the character or the audience's understanding of the character |
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central dramatic question |
emerges from the reaction between a particular character and a particular situation - what's the point of all the narrative activity? |
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direct conflict |
character who needs to accomplish something encounters obstacles, must struggle to get what they need; conflict-driven story |
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plot |
order of the events in a film |
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screenplay |
literary expression of story, characters, actions, locations, + tone of film written in specialized dramatic script format |
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script development |
process of working/reworking film's story material |
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concept |
very brief outline of basic elements involved in a story |
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3 things described in a concept |
who's your main character, what's the central dramatic question, how does it end |
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treatment |
prose description of plot, written in present tense scene by scene as film will unfold for audience |
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narrative beat |
dramatic event where actions/decisions/revelations move plot forward or send it in new direction |
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what's in a treatment? |
a treatment sketches in the essential events |
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beat sheet |
even shorter version of treatment used for short films - each beat is one sentence |
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author's draft |
first complete version of the narrative in proper screenplay format |
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final draft |
last version before shooting script |
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shooting script |
the script from which the creative team will work and from which the film will be shot |
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6 main elements of author's draft script |
title, scene headings, stage directions, dialogue, personal directions, character cues |
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scene |
dramatic moment that has unity of both time and location |
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off screen |
implies that the character is present in time/place of scene but not visible from character's perspective |
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voice over |
implies that the person speaking is not speaking from that time or place |
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character vs voice |
character defined thru actions, voice is the way people present themselves to the world |
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what should dialogue do? |
illustrate what character is thinking/feeling/wanting, rather than broadcast it directly |
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short-range apparent motion |
humans process sequential stills in the same way we do real motion
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intermittent movement |
regular stop and start mechanical action (both film cameras and film projectors use this) |
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24 fps - amount of film |
36 feet per min in 16mm, 90 ft per min in 35mm |
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24 fps |
standard frame rate for all projectors and film cameras running at sync speed |
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slow motion in film cameras |
shoot at higher fps and project at lower |
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fast motion (aka under-cranking) |
shot at lower fps and project at higher |
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double system sound medium |
motion pictures shot on film needing sync sound must use a second apparatus to record audio |
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synching dailies |
bringing together separate image and audio in a double system |
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6 components of all film cameras |
body, gate, movement, drive mechanism/film transport, viewing system, lens |
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film magazine |
extension of light-tight camera body that permits rapid reloading of film in a camera for cameras that use longer rolls |
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gate |
the only place where film stock is exposed to light |
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2 parts of a gate |
aperture plate and pressure plate |
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aperture plate |
located just behind lens, has rectangular opening called aperture opening |
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dimensions of aperture opening |
exact full-frame aspect ratio dimensions of film format |
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pressure plate |
applies constant, gentle pressure to ensure film lies perfectly flat as it moves vertically thru gate |
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film plane/focal plane |
exact position of film between aperture plate and pressure plate, represented by symbol Φ |
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sprocket holes |
strip of film always perforated with these - allow film to be transported thru camera |
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the claw |
located on edge of aperture plate and is responsible for positioning film in gate and holding steady during exposure |
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shutter |
rotating half-disk located btw [back of lens] and [aperture opening] |
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registration pin |
extra part of some cameras that skewers sprocket hole and keeps frame extra steady so exposed image is sharper |
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2 types of motors |
spring wound and direct current |
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direct current motor |
powered by rechargeable battery packs or onboard battery packs |
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spring wound motor |
powered by lg coiled spring - requires rewinding after each take |
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constant speed motors |
run exclusively at 24 fps |
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sync speed |
24 fps |
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variable speed motors |
have ability to run at variety of transport speeds |
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feed and takeup spindles |
feed unexposed raw film stock into gate and then take up exposed footage |
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drive sprockets/rollers |
always rimmed w/ sprocket teeth to transport film at steady rate |
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guide rollers |
rollers without sprockets which guide film onto drive sprockets |
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loops (Latham's loops) |
small bends of extra film located just above and below the gate - act as shock absorbers of the whole system, ensuring that the film doesn't tear |
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losing a loop
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one or both loops shrink until film pulled taut |
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reflex viewing system |
see the scene thru the same lens with which the scene is shot; light coming into lens must be diverted into a ground glass or fiberoptic viewfinder screen |
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2 common systems for diverting light from lens to viewing screen |
mirrored shutter system and beam splitter system |
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mirrored shutter system |
uses camera's rotating shutter to divert light to ground glass viewfinder (the one with flicker) |
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beam splitter system |
uses prism located btw lens and film plate to divert small % of light to viewfinder before it reaches shutter or gate; image not as bring and exposure compensation must be made |
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finder markings
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etched or painted onto viewing screen to help compose the frame |
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center crosshairs |
mark exact center of frame |
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frame edge brackets/camera aperture brackets |
4 sharp corners that show exact parameters of image frame |
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diopter |
at end of viewfinder - adjust to vision of cameraperson to see entire screen clearly w/o glasses |
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threading pattern |
path film takes from feed reel to takeup reel
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2 kinds of camera loading
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manual load and automatic threading
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manual load |
requires you to thread film thru each mechanism |
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automatic threading |
engage auto guide mechanism, trim head end off film, then feed it btwn first sprocket and guide roller |
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film loads |
100 foot daylight-loading spools, 400-foot cones |
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100 foot daylight loading spools |
~2:45 at sync speed |
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400 foot cones |
~11 min at sync speed |
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camera magazines |
light tight chambers that can be preloaded and easily attaches/detaches from camera body |
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2 types of camera magazines |
displacement magazine and coaxial magazine |
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displacement magazine |
places feed and takeup sides on a single plane and shifts film from front to back |
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coaxial magazine |
feed and takeup sides are parallel and film shifts from left to right |
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core adaptors
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lock onto spindles before you load the film |
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changing bag/dark bag |
where you load and unload the film in absolute darkness |
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split the core |
if you haven't used all your film. you can break the film at the loops and unload it twice (exposed and unexposed) |
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2 major types of film stocks |
print film and camera film |
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print film
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used in laboratory to make various prints during postproduction |
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camera film |
raw film stock loaded into cameras |
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emulsion |
layer of microscopic evenly distributed silver halide crystals suspended in gelatin and bound to base with adhesive layer called substratum |
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annihilation backing |
flat black coating on back of film that keeps light from reflecting back and reexposing emulsion from behind |
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latent image edge code numbers |
imprinted along edge at time of manufacture - sequential series of numbers along edge of film that assign unique ID to every frame in roll
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latent image |
what is on film after exposure and before processing |
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photographic negative |
what we get after developing film |
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color tripak |
3 layers of emulsion instead of one - incorporates color dye couplers |
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negative vs reversal |
negative film - values of light and color represented in inverse, must eventually be printed on another strip of film to return colors to normal; reversal film creates positive images on camera original film (not used much anymore) |
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film speed |
the sensitivity of a specific film stock to light |
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exposure index |
gives a relative indication of how a particular stock reacts to light |
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slow film stock |
requires a lot of light to make on exposure |
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fast film stock |
can register image in low light situations, but more grainy/noisy |
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color temp |
the specific hue of light source - measured in Kelvin scale |
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daylight color temp |
5600K - cool, blue |
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tungsten color temp |
3200K - warm, amber tint, commonly used movie lights |
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daylight balanced film emulsion |
the blue emulsion layer is slightly less light sensitive than the other two layers |
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tungsten balanced emulsion |
red emulsion layer less sensitive |
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color temp of sun (overcast) |
8000K |
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daylight color temp |
5600-6000K |
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HMI movie light color temp |
5600K |
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tungsten movie light color temp |
3200K |
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halogen light color temp |
3000K |
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60 watt household incandescent color temp |
2900K |
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sunrise/sunset color temp |
2500K |
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candle flame color temp |
1800K |
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coolest to warmest color temp |
coolest - 8000; warmest - 1800 |
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color conversion filters |
put in front of lens to alter incoming light to match balance of film |
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film gauge |
the actual width of the film stock |
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4 film gauges |
8mm, 16mm, 35mm, 65mm (less common) |
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resolving power |
the larger the exposure area of an image, the greater the clarity in rendering fine details and subtle shades |
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aspect ratio |
shape of compositional canvas - dimensions expressed as ratio of width to height |
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full frame aspect ratio |
actual dimension of frame created by aperture opening in gate |
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academy aperture |
the full frame aspect ration of 16mm and 35mm film, 1.33:1 |
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projection aspect ratio |
1.85:1 is standard - part of film is cut off at top and bottom |
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3 basic aspects lenses control |
perspective, focus, exposure |
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lens elements |
a series of polished glass sections that make up a lens |
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barrel/lens housing |
light tight housing where lens elements are held next to each other |
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focal plane in video camera |
faceplate of the CDC chip |
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focal length |
determines degree of magnification or de-magnification of the scene being shot |
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what determines focal length? |
distance between optical center of lens and the focal plane (usually measured in mm) |
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optical center of lens |
point at which the image flips |
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focal length affects |
image size within frame and angle of view |
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angle of view |
how much of the scene the lens takes in horizontally and vertically |
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longer focal length |
subject magnified, appears larger and closer to camera, narrow angle of view |
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3 focal length classifications |
wide angle, normal, telephoto |
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wide angle focal length |
shorter than normal lenses; reduce image size and broaden angle of view |
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normal focal length |
approximates perspective and image size of the human eye; "normal" length depends on image format being used |
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telephoto focal length |
longer, enlarges image size, narrow angle of view |
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lens perspective |
combination of angle of view and the depth relationship between objects |
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depth dimension |
the z-axis - because films are 2D, this is an illusion created by frame composition |
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2 ways to affect size of a subject in frame |
change camera-to-subject distance or alter field of view |
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field/angle of view |
horizontal and vertical vista |
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alter field of view |
change amount of background info contained in frame |
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dolly/zoom shot |
change the camera to subject distance with dolly while simultaneously changing focal length to maintain same footing |
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prime lens |
one fixed focal length - common in film production |
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rotating turret |
built into many 16mm cameras that allows you to have 3 prime lenses and rotate thru them |
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zoom ring |
adjustable ring with which you zoom in and out, calibrated in mm |
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focus |
when a point of light reflecting off subject is registered as a point of light on focal plane |
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focus ring on a lens |
brings subject into focus by very precisely moving from element of lens forward and backward in relation to focal plane |
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focus point |
the precise distance in front of camera from focal plane Φ, which will be in sharp focus |
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plane of critical focus |
the precise distance in front of camera from focal plane Φ, which will be in sharp focus |
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pulling focus |
changing plane of critical focus during a take while camera is running |
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2 kinds of pulling focus |
rack focus and follow focus |
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rack focus |
shifting plane of critical focus between 2 static subjects along z axis |
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follow focus |
used when subject is moving along z axis |
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aperture ring/f-stop ring |
controls slender disk inside lens called iris, made up of overlapping metal blades |
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iris
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adjustable hole in camera - the middle of the iris is the aperture |
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aperture |
hole in middle of iris - all light must pass thru it before it's registered on film plane or imaging device |
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what is the size of aperture opening calibrated to? |
f stop scale
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calibration of f-stop scale |
smaller f-stop number = larger aperture opening = more light allowed to reach imaging device |
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which lets in more light, f-2 or f-11? |
f-2 |
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how much is a stop? |
each number on the f-stop scale - the difference of one stop doubles or halves amount of light allowed to pass |
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opening up |
expanding aperture (moving to smaller numbers, more light) |
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closing down/stoppign down |
reducing size of aperture (moving to larger numbers, less light) |
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lens speed |
the ability of a lens to gather light, determined by largest possible f-stop |
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t-stop |
transmission stop - f-stops that have been adjusted to account for light lost, dissipated, or absorbed by lens |
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depth of field |
range of apparent focus along z-axis |
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3 variables to control depth of field |
aperture opening, focal length of lens, focus point setting |
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aperture opening for DOF |
larger aperture (smaller f-stop, more light) = shallow DOF |
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focal length for DOF |
longer focal length = shallow DOF |
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focus point setting for DOF |
the closer to the camera the focus point setting, the shallower the DOF |
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the 1/3-2/3 rule |
2/3 of depth range along z-axis is behind focus point, 1/3 is in front |
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resistance mechanism (tripod) |
important factor determining the quality of tripod's panning and tilting activities |
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2 types of resistance mechanisms |
fluid heads and friction heads |
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fluid heads |
use pressurized hydraulic fluid to provide adjustable drag necessary for smooth camera movements |
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friction heads |
use surface friction between internal plates to create movement resistance |
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features of tripod heads common to all professional tripods |
pan and tilt locks and dampers, pan handle, head mount, camera mounting plate |
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pan and tilt locks
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completely lock down mechanism and keep it from pivoting |
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pan and tilt dampers |
adjust amount of resistance for respective movements (the slower the move the more resistance you want) |
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pan handle |
used to control movement of camera |
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head mount
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at base of head where head mounts to tripod legs |
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camera mounting plate |
where camera is attached to tripod head - most film + prof DV cameras use 3/8" mounting screw, small DV cameras use 1/4" mounting screw |
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3 basic tripod leg heights |
standard legs, baby legs, high-hat |
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standard legs |
camera between 3-6 feet |
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baby legs |
height range from 1-3 feet |
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high-hat |
fixed metal head mount, lower than baby legs, usually attached to a plywood board |
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spreader |
keeps legs from completely sliding out from under camera |
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the dolly |
camera support on wheels, used when shot requires dynamic, smooth move |
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steadicam |
stabilizing arm system - articulated arm incorporating system of counterweights and springs to minimize gravity and absorb shock |
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light meter |
small calculator that accurately measures light intensity values of a scene and then calculates "proper" exposure |
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set of variables a light meter uses |
film speed, intensity of light, shutter speed |
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what is the final result of light meter? |
a suggested f-stop |
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2 ways to read light intensity |
measure incident light or reflected light |
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incident light |
light falling on a scene |
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reflected light |
light reflecting off a scene |
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what is incident light measured in? |
foot-candles |
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what is reflected light measured in? |
footlamberts |
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cinescale |
shows a range of shutter speeds calculated for different frame rates |
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taking a reading |
using a light meter to determine f-stop for a particular spot in scene |
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the incident light meter |
most common and versatile meter used in film production |
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photosphere/lumisphere |
half-globe light diffuser that fits over photosensitive cell of meter and averages out light to arrive at overall reading |
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reflectance values |
different colors have different reflectance values |
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reflected light meter/averaging meter |
measures intensity of light reflecting off scene - readings often taken off a middle gray card to ensure proper tonality |
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spot meter |
reflected light meter with zoom lens and very narrow + precise angle of acceptance, usually ~1 degree |
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through the lens meter |
reflected light meter built into DV cameras that calculates aperture setting by averaging out light from a scene after it has entered the lens |
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f-stop scale |
f-1.4 (most open/most light), 2, 2.8, 4, 5.6, 8, 11, 16 (least open/least light) |
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3 elements of production audio |
synchronous sounds, wild sound, ambient sound |
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sound wave |
pressure wave consisting of alternating pattern of high pressure and low pressure traveling thru air |
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4 basic properties of sound |
pitch (frequency), loudness (amplitude), quality/timbre, velocity (speed) |
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1 wavelength |
sound waves travel in cycles; 1 wavelength = length of 1 cycle |
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cycles per second |
Hertz - frequently of Hertz measures the pitch of a sound |
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frequency range |
human ear can usually hear ~25 Hz to 20KHz (kilohertz) |
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frequency response |
the "hearing range" for a particular piece of gear |
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aptitude |
height of peak of wave - measures loudness of a sound |
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decibels |
units to measure loudness - an increase of 3 dB doubles loudness and decrease of 3 dB halves the loudness |
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loudness range of a human ear |
threshold of hearing to threshold of pain |
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threshold of hearing |
0 dB |
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threshold of pain |
120 dB |
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inverse square law |
the intensity of a sound or of light decreases by the square of its distance from the source (doubling distance diminishes by 4x and vice versa) |
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fundamental tone |
the central/dominant shape of the wave |
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overtones and harmonics |
series of imperfections and coinciding waves |
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location audio |
any sound recorded in same environment as images |
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2 types of location audio |
sync sound and wild sound |
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sync sound |
recorded simultaneously with taking image |
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wild sound |
audio recorded on location but not simultaneous with picture |
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2 types of wild sound |
location sound effects/spot SFX and ambient sound/room tone |
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room acoustics (presence) |
general aural qualities of a given space |
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reverb
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sound bouncing off surfaces
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direct sound |
audio directly from the source |
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background noise/atmospheric sounds |
all the sounds that occur naturally in any specific recording location |
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double vs single system recording |
DV can be used as single-system, film MUST be double-system |
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crystal sync oscillator |
sync sound cameras outfitted with these to ensure constant and compatible speed |
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2 ways to sync double system in post |
slate and timecode slate |
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ADC |
analog to digital converter in sound system which converts signal to binary |
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DAC |
digital to analog converter in sound system which converts binary back to electronic energy and outputs a line signal |
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line signal |
audio signal between audio components |
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mic signal |
sent to digital audio recorder via mic cable |
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audio sample rates |
determine how many times a sound is measured per second |
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48 kHz |
most common sample rate for recording audio - 48000 sample measurements/sec |
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bit depth (word length) |
measure of the accuracy and detail of each audio sample, determined by number of binary digits (bits) assigned to each sample |
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greater bit depth |
greater audio quality |
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LPCM audio |
linear pulse code modulation - mechanism for digitally converting analog signal |
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standard sample rate and bit-depth settings for HQ film |
48 kHz and 16 bit |
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mic inputs (aka channels) |
portable field recording decks have 2-4 mic inputs, allowing multiple mic setups |
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preamps |
in recorder - boost mic signal input |
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signal-to-noise (S/N) ratio |
measures ratio between audio recorded and noise - the higher the better, 95:1 is better than 55:1 |
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levels |
strength of audio as it enters the recorder and the degree to which we boost/lower the audio with level controls |
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setting levels |
adjustment that determines strength of audio signal recorded |
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peak reading meter
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instrument that has a one-to-one level correspondence with all sounds entering recorder |
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audio outputs |
send recorded signal out |
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recording media format |
how a field deck stores audio data - this is the primary difference between field decks |
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compact flash memory |
records directly to data cards which can be transferred into hard drives and then reused |
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hard drive recorders |
writes data directly to a hard drive - can store a lot, interface with software well, and have reputation for being very robust |
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portable field mixers |
small audio consoles that allow for independent level control of multiple mic inputs and then output signal as mic or line signal |
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microphone |
device that converts acoustic energy to electrical energy |
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diaphragm of mic |
a thin membrane that's very sensitive to vibration of air particles |
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dynamic mic (moving coil mic) |
highly acoustically sensitive diaphragm with wire coil that has permanent magnetic charge - moves up and down to create electrical output; most durable and cheapest |
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condenser and electret condenser mic |
work similarly to dynamic mic but use electric capacitors instead of electromagnetic current |
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balanced output |
signal runs in opposite directions along 2 wires within mic cable to cancel out noise |
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flat response |
theoretical response - given a large frequency range, a mic can respond fairly equally throughout |
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low-end roll-off switch
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allows you to make mic less sensitive to low frequencies but it's best to just use flat response |
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directionality (aka pickup pattern) |
distinguishes area and range within which a mic will respond optimally |
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basic angle of acceptance |
area from which a microphone will gather sound |
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3 mic categorizations |
nondirectional (wide angle of acceptance), directional (limited to medium AOA), ultra directional (narrow AOA) |
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omnidirectional mic |
pick up audio from all directions equally |
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lavaliere mic |
tiny clip on omnidirectional mic |
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cardioid mic |
heart-shaped pickup pattern - favors sound coming from front and sides over back |
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hypercardioid/shotgun mic |
like cardioids but much more sensitive |
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mise-en-scene |
everything visible in the frame of a shot |
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elements of mise-en-scene |
subject, actions, movement, objects, setting, lighting, graphic qualities |
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6 basic principles of continuity
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mise-en-scene (shared shot content), sound, performance, spatial orientation, 20mm/30 degree rule, cutting on action (match action cuts) |
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continuity of spatial orientation |
the key to an audience understanding their place in a cinematic, 2D world |
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180 degree rule |
don't cross axis of action unless things change position in shot, camera position moves during shot, if you cut away to something different and then cut back |
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neutral axis shot |
someone heading toward or away from the camera |
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screen direction |
where someone looks |
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20mm/30 degree rule |
20 mm shift in magnification of lens focal length - 30 degree shift in camera angle - shots intercut need to vary by this much |
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dirty single |
single shot but something is in the foreground out of focus (ex an over the shoulder) |
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3 point lighting |
key light, fill light, back light |
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key light |
main light - highest illumination level |
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fill light
|
soft light positioned to fill in shadows created by key light |
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fundamental lighting objectives |
exposure + visibility, depth + dimension, narrative emphasis, tone + mood, consistency |
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fundamental sources of light |
artificial, natural, mixed |
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motivated lighting
|
what is the main light? what is it motivated by in the scene? |
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3 essential properties of light |
intensity, color temp, hard vs soft |
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smaller light source corresponding to shadow |
smaller light source = harder shadow |
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sound mixer |
head of sound department |
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basic sound team |
sound mixer, boom operator, sometimes a cable wrangler |
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3 factors in getting best field audio |
recording technique, microphone technique, using your ears |
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sound mixer's job |
to get best possible recording of all field production audio |
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levels |
the loudness of a signal as it enters the audio recorder |
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2 tools for setting levels |
peak meter (primarily on sound recorders) and VU meter (primarily on field mixers) |
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peak meters |
measure strength of incoming signal; calibrated in decibels (-50 to 0) |
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overmodulated/overloaded |
when audio level exceeds 0 dB and signal is too strong to sampled accurately, results in distorted sound |
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sound spiking |
sound that jumps above 0 dB |
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recording in the mud |
recording too low |
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levels for a peak meter |
set so that loudest audio in the scene peaks around -12 dB |
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headroom |
the range between -12 and 0 dB, ives a buffer for any unforeseen and sudden audio spikes |
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record level for normal dialogue
|
generally between -20 and -18 dB |
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dynamic range |
the difference between the loudest and softest sounds in a single recording situation |
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riding levels/riding gain
|
raising and lowering levels during recording as sounds increase/decrease |
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scale for VU meter |
runs from -20dB to +3 on high end - with 0dB as the audio peak level; -3 dB is average spoken dialogue |
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reference tone/lineup tone |
a 1 kHz pure tone used as a reference for calibrating a chain of audio devices in the field - registers as 0 dB on VU meters and -20 or -18 dB on peak meters |
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different layers of sound
|
dialogue, effects, ambiences, music |
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worldizing |
actually having/recording the sounds as they are in the world |
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high key lighting |
low contrast, overall light, often softer, lower key-to-fill ratio |
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key-to-fill ratio |
actually [key + fill]:fill |
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low key |
high contrast, high key-to-fill ratio, emphasis on specific areas, hard lighting |
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"greatest film noir DP" and what movie Deb recommends |
John Alton - T-Men |
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John Alton's 8-point light system |
eyesight, kicker (3/4 backlight), clothes light, filler, background light, key, fill, back |
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cinematography |
process of taking ideas, words, actions, emotional subtext, tone, and other forms of nonverbal communication and rendering them in visual tones |
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conceptual tools of cinematography |
the frame, light + color, the lens, movement, texture, establishment, POV |
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examples of texture |
fog, smoke, rain, mist, image manipulation |
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first principle of raw footage |
protect it - make sure you have two backups |
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the bench method |
start by going through footage and allow yourself to respond emotionally - find the shots you love |
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first look for doc vs narrative |
doc - in order shot, narrative - put in script order then watch it |
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fps for camcorder |
24P |
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shutter speed for camcorder |
1/48 |
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bit rate for camcorder |
highest quality possible - 1920 x 1080 |
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gain for camcorder |
low -6 dB, medium 0 dB, high 6 dB |
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waveform monitor |
exposure aid, measures IRE, standard tool across all cameras, monitors, and NLEs |
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IRE scale |
0% black --> 100% white |
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blacks and whites in IRE scale |
blacks "crush" at bottom and whites "clip" at top - meaning they are so white or black that they lack detail |
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exposure and visibility (lighting) |
ensuring a scene will register on an imaging medium and a viewer can see details |
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depth and dimension
|
created or minimized significantly by lighting angles and shadows; contributes slightly to the composition of the frame |
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narrative emphasis |
consider how lighting scheme works to complement visual narrative emphasis of scene |
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tone and mood
|
lighting can help establish this |
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consistency |
ensure finished film has a unified visual style with light |
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natural light |
comes from nature, not artificial, term can be applied to any non-electric light |
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artificial ligth |
any electrically generated source |
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available light
|
the sources that already exist in a given location
|
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mixed lighting |
a combination of available sources and artificial lights |
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motivated lighting |
strategy of using movie lights to duplicate where light would logically be emanating from |
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intensity |
strength of light emitted by a source - measured in foot-candles |
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2 types of reflector systems |
specular and diffuse |
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specular reflector system |
use highly polished, mirror-like surface to reflect light from lamp and is very efficient in maintaining intensity of lamp wattage |
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|
diffuse reflector system |
softens the light and cuts down on intensity |
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directional light |
hard light
|
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diffused light |
soft light |
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diffusion media |
placed in front of hard lighting media to soften it, but also decreases its intensity |
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camera filters |
glass or hard plastic elements mounted in front of the camera lens to change the quality of the light entering the camera from all sources |
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gels |
sheets of dyed plastic used in front of a lighting unit or window to alter quality of light before it falls on a scene |
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4 categories of camera filter usage |
color correction, exposure control, special effects, black-and-white photography |
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matte boxes |
filters held in one of these - attach to front of camera and extend out from lens to keep unwanted light from glancing off lens |
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neutral density filter |
gray tinted filter that cuts down amy of light entering the lens - exposure control filter that doesn't affect color |
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|
ND .3-.9 |
ND 0.3 cuts amount of incoming light in half - one full stop; 0.6 cuts down 2 stops and 0.9 cuts down 3 stops |
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uses for ND filter |
shooting with fast film stock on sunny day; when you want to decrease DOF without changing lens, lighting, or composition |
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white diffusion filter |
creates a soft haze thru subtle refraction of white highlights |
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black diffusion |
softens image by delicately flaring the dark, shadowy areas of the image |
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degree of diffusion designated by scale |
1/8 (weakest), 1/4, 1/2, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 |
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1/8-1/2 diffusion |
show least amount of diffusion and not really considered SFX; slight smoothie of fine sharp lines (ex wrinkles) but otherwise not noticeable |
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1-2 diffusion |
begin to clearly see softer edges and subtle flaring of white or black areas |
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5 diffusion |
at this point the soft image becomes a hazing one; overt "dreamy"/"romantic" effect whose use requires legitimate narrative motivation |
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polarizing filters (pola filter) |
used to block light rays not parallel when entering lens; reduces/eliminates obstructing glare + reflections coming off transparent surfaces |
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graduated filters (grads) |
gradually introduce a filter effect into only a portion of the frame, leaving the rest of the frame unaffected |
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|
color conversion gels
|
used to change the color temp of a light source |
|
|
2 basic types of color conversion gels |
CTO and CTB |
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|
full CTO vs 1/2 and 1/4 |
full - converts 5600 to 3200, half converts to 3800K (a little bluer) and 1/4 CTO converts to 4500K (even bluer) |
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CTO |
color temperature orange - converts daylight to tungsten |
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CTB |
color temperature blue - converts tungsten to daylight |
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full CTB and full CTO |
CTB - reduces intensity 2 stops; CTO - cuts light by 2/3 of a stop |
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neutral density gels |
gray - don't affect color of light source, just reduce intensity |
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"tough" designation on diffusion media |
heat resistant and can be placed on barn doors |
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directionality |
where is the light coming from? |
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|
frontal light |
comes essentially from angle of camera |
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2/4 frontal light |
positioned 45 degrees from camera and often also raised vertically 45 degrees |
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|
idelight
s |
effectively divides illuminated object in half; maximizes shadows and therefore texture |
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|
3/4 backlight (kicker) |
area lit is mostly hidden from camera, but there are bright highlights on top and side edges of subjects usually also raised 45 degrees |
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|
rim light |
back light 180 degrees from camera - camera can see only a small sliver of illumination around the top of the subject |
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|
backlight |
separates subject from background by positioning lower intensity hard to semi-soft light at a high angle behind subject - helps create depth in the frame |
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|
set lights
|
used to light larger areas of set |
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|
specials |
low-wattage, unobtrusive lights that kick up illumination on specific object or small area of frame for special emphasis |
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practicals |
lights that are included as part of the mies-en-scene |
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background to subject ratio |
compares relative brightness of background and subject - common ratio is 2:1 |
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reflector/bounce board |
flat, broad, lightweight board to bounce light onto scene |
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2 sides of bounce |
white diffused surface, specular (hard) side that reflects + maintains hard quality of source |
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|
butterfly scrim |
large sheet of diffusion material attached to heavy frame |
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|
dusk for night |
shoot at dusk and underexpose 2-2.5 stops |
|
|
magic hour |
just before sunrise and just after sunset, Earth's atmosphere bounces hidden light and creates a diffused, luminous ambient light (lasts ~25 min in most of US)
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|
open faced lights |
an open lamp (no lens) and a specular reflector system |
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|
open faced spot |
common unit with movable lamp - can focus from broad to narrow area |
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|
broads (lights) |
open faced with no spot capability |
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|
Fresnels |
unique lens and movable lamp; hard light; can be tungsten (3200K) or HMI (5600K) |
|
|
types of Fresnels |
inkie, midget, tweenie, baby, junior |
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|
inkie |
100-200 watt fresnel with small lens |
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|
midget |
500 watt fresnel with small lengs |
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|
tweenie |
650 watt fresnel with small lens |
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|
baby |
1K watt fresnel with medium lens |
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|
junior |
2K watt fresnel with medium or large lens |
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|
Chinese lantern |
specialized rig used exclusively as fill - like a paper lantern but with heat-resistant diffusion material |
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|
trimming |
blocking light to keep it from falling where you don't want it to |
|
|
barndoors
|
control coverage of beam |
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|
scrims |
wire mesh screens that fit directly in front of lighting unit to reduce intensity |
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|
cookie
|
like a flag but has a design cutout |
|
|
gator clamps |
heavy-duty spring clamps with rubber teeth - ensure tight grip on things like doors, tables |
|
|
mafer clamps |
designed to lock onto pipes |
|
|
polecats |
spring tension poles often used with mafer clamps for hanging lights in windows, doorways, narrow hallways |
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|
ditty bag |
a filmmaker's general utility tool kit |
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|
3 essential elements of screenwriting |
story, character, structure |
|
|
story |
somebody wants something badly and is having a hard time getting it |
|
|
character |
most characters undergo change in the pursuit of their goal and become different people |
|
|
3 tools for previz |
shooting script, overheads, storyboards |
|
|
shooting script
|
expresses the director's visual strategy for every scene |
|
|
shooting with handles |
starting a shot well before anticipated edit point |
|
|
overhead diagrams |
drawings of each scene from a bird's-eye perspective |
|
|
storyboards |
drawings of shots arranged in the order they appear in a sequence |
|
|
shot list |
list of all shots that make up film i the order they will be shot |
|
|
pickup shots |
quick shots, not part of previz, added during production |
|
|
tech rehearsal |
rehearsal with directors and actors of the scene to be shot (inc. dialogue + blocking) so various departments get a more accurate sense for where to set up the camera, lights, and sound; also director's first time running scene in actual location |
|
|
loading in |
getting all of the necessary equipment onto the set/location |
|
|
staging area |
a designated area near the actual set where all of the equipment will be held
|
|
|
focus marks
|
small pieces of take that follow the path of a character's mvmt in the space; measured to the camera so that focus can be accurately pulled as the actor hits their marks
|
|
|
stand-in |
someone who's approx. same height and coloring as an actor who can be used for setup while the actor is rehearsing or getting into wardrobe
|
|
|
run-through |
aka dress rehearsal - everything proceeds as if you're actually filming without actually rolling
|
|
|
MOS
|
shooting without sound |
|
|
safety take |
an extra take just so you don't have only one |
|
|
wrap out |
the last striking of the set
|
|
|
4 criteria for casting
|
actor's ability, whether they're right for the part, whether you can work well together, how they relate to the other actors |
|
|
production life cycle |
story development, preproduction, production, post production, marketing and distribution |
|
|
story development |
finding material to make films, putting together actors + directors ("attaching" people), going to studios, reading and optioning scripts |
|
|
j-cut |
audio from a following scene overlaps picture of preceding scene - looks like a J |
|
|
l-cut |
audio from preceding scene overlaps with picture of following scene - looks like an L |
|
|
balanced frame |
different sized masses can balance each other out or if something is centered the frame can be balanced |
|
|
video gain |
similar to ISO but forces an increase in sensitivity by removing information from underexposed background (loss of detail) |
|
|
three point editing |
first two - in and out points of the clip; third point - in point on the timeline |
|
|
Paul Stekler
|
doc filmmaking (dept chair); clips: Luling watermelon thump, Her and Me, nudists doc |
|
|
Anne Lewis
|
editing; "count the cuts"; the bench method; music video
|
|
|
Stuart Kelban
|
screenwriting; Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark; American Beauty; The Sixth Sense
|
|
|
Andrew Shea |
directing; concrete actions rather than feelings; Garden State and Friday Night Lights |
|
|
Ben Bays |
animation
|
|
|
Don Howard |
UT3D and immersive media
|
|
|
Andrew Garrison |
sound; A Infancy de Ivan, Hanna, American Graffiti, No Country for Old Men |
|
|
Kahane Cooperman
|
doc filmmaking + producing |
|
|
production department
|
unit production manager, production coordinator, production secretary |
|
|
production department job |
organization, preparation, wrap, taking care of actors/producers/directors |
|
|
assistant directors dept job |
break down scripts in to shooting schedule, keep production moving, monitor/facilitate on-set safety
|
|
|
grip department job |
assemble + maintain support equipment for camera, setting light stands, placing light shaping elements |
|
|
electric job |
set all lights/run all electrical cable inc. work lights + equipment power for other departments |
|
|
results oriented directions |
bad - asking to play an emotion instead of concrete actions |
|
|
how to stay away from results oriented directing |
steer actors away from giving fake emotion - "play it as if ____" instead of "show this emotion" |
|
|
adjustment |
directions given during casting to see how well the actor takes direction |
|
|
types of shots |
extreme long, long, ML, medium, MCU, CU, ECU |
|
|
camera angles |
bird's eye, high angle, eye level, low angle, canted/Dutch angle |
|
|
bird's eye |
shows a scene directly overhead |
|
|
high angle |
camera elevated above action |
|
|
eye level |
camera at eye level
|
|
|
low angle |
increases height and gives a sense of sped-up motion
|
|
|
Dutch angle |
tilted angle |
|
|
take |
the moment the camera is turned on at the beginning of a shot to the moment it is turned off |
|
|
strike the set |
strike is done daily - must be done neatly, thoroughly, and carefully |
