pikitia: nga mea katoa kamera
“I always wanted to be somebody, but now I realise I should have been more specific.”
— Lily Tomlin
te ao Māori principles
There are key principals that we, as an English Department, consider important as part of a holistic study at school.
- Mana – The prestige and authority of the writer. Writers can build mana through impactful stories that uplift readers.
- Whanaungatanga – The connections and relationships between characters, writers, and readers. Literature brings people together.
- Kaitiakitanga – Guardianship and protection of stories, language, and knowledge. Writers have a duty to share stories responsibly.
- Wairuatanga – The spirituality and deeper meanings conveyed through literature. Stories can be profound and moving.
- Mauri – The essential life force or vitality of the writer coming through in their work. Writing with purpose and energy.
- Aroha – The empathy, compassion, and love writers show through their words. Literature builds understanding between people.
- Tikanga – The customs, protocols and values upheld through storytelling. Writers adhere to cultural principles.
Key Terms
| Cinematography | the art of photography and camerawork in film-making. |
| Frame | a single complete picture in a series forming a cinema, television, or video film. |
| Framing | make or construct (something) by fitting parts together or in accordance with a plan. |
| Shot | a film sequence photographed continuously by one camera. |
| Sequence | a part of a film dealing with one particular event or topic. |
| Camera | a device for recording visual images in the form of photographs, film, or video signals. |
| (Extreme) Close Up | a subject framed very closely, often so much so that the outer portions of the subject are cut off by the edges |
| Close Up | a photograph or film image taken at close range and showing the subject on a large scale. |
| Mid Shot | the medium shot, sometimes also called a mid-shot or waist shot, is a film shot that stretches from around the waist (or sometimes the knees) of a subject up to their head. |
| Long Shot | a view from an even greater distance, in which people appear as small dots in the landscape if at all. |
| Establishing Shot | a shot in filmmaking or television that sets up the context for the scene ahead. |
| Zoom | a camera shot that changes smoothly from a long shot to a close-up or vice versa. |
| Pan | swing (a video or film camera) in a horizontal or vertical plane, typically to give a panoramic effect or follow a subject. |
| Tilt | an upwards or downwards pivoting movement of a camera. |
| Dolly | (of a film or television camera) be moved on a mobile platform in a specified direction. |
| Cinema | the production of films as an art or industry. |
| Tracking Shot | any shot that includes a moving camera that follows or tracks one or more moving characters or subjects. |
| Aperture | a space through which light passes in an optical or photographic instrument, especially the variable opening by which light enters a camera. |
| Camera Angle | the specific location at which the movie camera or video camera is placed to take a shot. |
| Focus | the state or quality of having or producing clear visual definition. |
| Foreground |
make (something) the most prominent or important feature.
|
| Background | the part of a picture, scene, or design that forms a setting for the main figures or objects, or appears furthest from the viewer. |
Learning Objectives
- To identify camera shot types and angles.
- To define the rationale behind each shot decision.
- To recognise some of the early developments in cinema.
- To examine the shot types.
- To distinguish shot types in short films
Exercises
Spelling
| fair | fare | gorilla | guerilla | lessen |
| lesson | moot | mute | wait | weight |
| sew | sow | peace | piece | tail |
| tale | reign | rein | rain | homonym |
Summary Builder
Below is a piece of writing that you should attempt to summarise into around 100 words.
The Psychology of Risk Taking
Risk taking reaches a peak in adolescence and young adulthood. Understanding the cognitive science behind risky behaviours can help teens make smart choices.
One factor is peer influence. Teens are wired to prioritise social status and acceptance. Risky acts earn approval from peers, motivating dangerous choices. Teens also underestimate risk when in groups due to a diffusion of responsibility.
Impulsivity also promotes risk taking. Teen brains are still developing impulse control and weighing future consequences. Thrill seeking behaviours activate the brain’s reward system.
Overconfidence is another contributor. Most people rate themselves as above average on skills and wisdom. Teens tend to overestimate their abilities to handle dangerous situations.
The sense of invulnerability in youth reinforces risky choices. Teens recognise risks for others but downplay personal susceptibility. But perceived invincibility is illusion.
Some risks also build necessary skills. Testing limits teaches resilience and calibration. Mistakes help shape personal identity and values. Age appropriate risks facilitate development.
By understanding influences like peers, impulsivity and overconfidence, teens can better assess risks with wisdom beyond their years. The brain will continue to mature through young adulthood. Patience and perspective help teens minimise harm.
Cinematography: All Things Camera
pikitia: nga mea katoa kamera
There are three major aspects in the construction of a film:
- Pre-production
- Production
- Post-Production
While these are the technical terms, it really boils down to:
- Planning and story-boarding
- Shooting
- Editing
Storyboarding
Many of the top directors use storyboarding in order to closely manage their process. They contain the various shots in a form that is reminiscent of a comic strip.
Here is one of the frames from the planning process for Ridley Scott’s Gladiator.
You should notice the following things:
- The tiger is in the foreground
- He shows all the action – the tiger is attacking two gladiators, but is held by a chain
- In the background is the reminder that this is in the enclosed arena
This is how it translated to the film:
While there are some differences, it definitely demonstrates the connection between planning and shooting.
Here is a piece from a programme called Moving Pictures to show the importance of the pre-production process and the storyboarding
Alfred Hitchcock, an incredibly adventurous and successful director of a range of films from the 1960s – particularly in the suspense genre, wrote about how important it is for the director to understand what each image being shown to the audience affected them. And what needs to be in the frame to achieve these effects.
These were called shot types or sizes.
Many people have gone on to explain how individual shots can affect the understanding of the story, or the telling of the story. Each shot has its own style and expectation from the audience.
Here are the main four shot types taken from a programme called ‘studiobinder’ which is a programme in and of itself. The key take away from this is the range of shot types or sizes.
But shots are not the only way that cameras can be used. Framing is very important to the film making process
And then on to the way that shot angles are used.
Analysing shot types
In the same way as you would investigate how a writer uses words to present a narrative, so too you need to establish why a director or cinematographer has made decisions on the shot sizes and angles to use. Consider the purposeful use of shots within a given scene or sequence and try to establish why that may be the case.
There are all kinds of extra knowledge here with the StudioBinder website.
Take any television or film you like and consider what structural decisions have been made about the shots.
Exercises
In the Non-fiction unit, we talked about structural decisions as being part of the process of analysis
- day vs night
- inside vs outside
- public vs private
- home vs away
- action vs inaction
- political vs social
- positive vs negative
- men vs women vs men and women
- comic vs tragic vs serious
- long vs short
- plot-driven vs non plot-driven
- family vs friends vs enemies vs lovers
Start thinking about the many many decisions that go into film making.
Time on the set is money. There are always a lot of people on the set. And each hour spent setting up cameras, sorting out lighting and so forth costs the studio money. For that reason, it is vital that everyone on set knows what they are doing and the whole thing is planned to maximise time.
Planning is vital, and nothing is left to chance. It is of paramount importance that the director is crystal clear about the framing, the lighting, the acting etc in order to meet the budget.
Everything in a frame is there on purpose.
There is no coincidence.
Aesthetics
The aesthetics of a film refer to the beauty of the picture. It is about how well the whole film has been put together visually. Things that are aesthetically pleasing are those where there is a symmetry and a logic to the way they work together.
The films studied in the unit this year have been chosen due to their quality. Look at other films that you may consider to be of value and begin to critically consider how they are put together from an aesthetics perspective. Are they beautiful? Even the most brutal and horrifying films should have elements of beauty and aesthetics – in order to be as effective as they can be.
Exercises
Shot types and angles can tell a story in and of themselves.
Look at the following four photos, and tell the ‘story’ that the shots tell.
Learning Objectives
Check out the following music video and think about the aesthetics and camera shot choices in this video
Ko te reo te tuakiri | Language is my identity.
Ko te reo tōku ahurei | Language is my uniqueness.
Ko te reo te ora. | Language is life.