health & safety

in the studio:

- check to make sure wires are tied down to the floor to prevent tripping over them. as well as other objects lying around on the floor 

- make sure equipment is hooked up properly without lose wires. if anything was to happen with the equipment, it is important to alert a member of staff as soon as possible to help resolve the problem

- no food and drink are allowed in the studio. this can help prevent damages to equipment from spillages. no food also means no crumbs which will help to keep the studio clean 

- once finished in the studio, make sure to tidy up after yourself. put equipment away in its designated place so it is ready for the next person to use it

due to covid-19, it is important that only a small amount of people are in the studio at a time. people that are in the studio should wear a mask apart from the person being the subject. it is best to keep a safe distance away from each other which is why the studio shouldn't be too crowded.

ISO

ISO is the sensitivity to light. a lower ISO setting makes the sensor less sensitive to light, meaning it either needs more illumination or a longer shutter speed to achieve the correct exposure. a higher ISO setting will make the sensor more sensitive to light and therefore makes the image/video brighter. 

increasing the iso creates more grain or noise, it can also deteriorate the dynamic range which is why you tend to keep the iso as low as possible. because having a low iso can make your image darker, you may need to change the shutter speed and aperture to get the right exposure. 

using a fast shutter speed with a high iso can help to prevent motion blur, leaving you with a clear and sharp image/video.

the iso values are: (from lowest to highest)

- ISO 100

- ISO 200

- ISO 400

- ISO 800

- ISO 1600

- ISO 3200

- ISO 6400 

this is a video of the 3 different iso settings in video. we used ISO 100 for the first clip which has no grain or noise. the next clip we used ISO 200 which again has no grain. for the last clip, we increased the ISO to 1600. there is a bit of grain in the last clip as we used a higher iso. we lowered the shutter speed and aperture as the video was slightly over exposed. 

new wave research

american new wave

American filmmakers in the 1950s, New York, were concerned with realism and a truthful deception of American society during the time, the first American new wave. The second new wave known as New Hollywood in the late 60s brought a new set of values representing the counter-culture and aesthetics of the French new wave. During the late 60s and early 70s, there was a new generation of filmmakers whose work was complex, innovative and morally ambiguous. They spoke for a generation disillusioned by the Vietnam War. 

the new hollywood new wave of cinema sprouted in the late 1960s for a variety of reasons. for one, the academic study film became more popular than ever. the distribution of international films from auteurs like Truffaut and the french new wave simply fed their inspiration. it was also a response to a perceived staleness in hollywood's studio films that dominated the marketplace for decades.

new hollywood is a film movement that took place in the united states from roughly 1967-1976. the movement was led by a group of film students with a passion for filmmaking and the desire to challenge the stagnant status quo. also known as the hollywood new wave, these filmmakers often worked within the studio system but brought an independent and radical perspective to mainstream filmmaking. 

chosen films:

          bonnie and clyde (1967)             jaws (1975)                taxi driver (1976)            

                              arthur penn                    steven spielberg              martin scorsese

high key lighting

high key lighting involves a lot of whites and light tones. there are very minimal mid-tones and blacks. it is used to produce images/scenes that create an optimistic and upbeat mood. a high key lighting style often involves a soft key light that is placed near to the camera but not too near to the subject. when positioning the light directly in front of the subject, less shadows are created, making the skin look softer and smoother.

in harry potter and the deathly hallows part two, high key lighting has been used as the background is lighter than the characters. in these two shots, they are no blacks or other darker colours, only white. using high key lighting in these scenes creates a soft and almost angelic look and feel. 

https://www.premiumbeat.com/blog/basic-light-placements/

https://www.studiobinder.com/blog/film-lighting-techniques/

https://nofilmschool.com/types-of-film-lights

rembrandt lighting

rembrandt lighting is a studio portrait technique where a small inverted triangle is visible under one of the subjects eyes

to achieve this lighting technique, the key light should be placed at a 45 degrees angle facing towards the subject. place a reflector on the opposite side of the subject. the camera should be in the middle right in front of the subject. 

butterfly lighting

butterfly lighting is a technique that involves the key light. it creates flattering features and sculptures the face nicely especially with people with high cheekbones and a defined jawline. this lighting technique was particularly popular in the glamorous, early Hollywood era. 

to achieve butterfly lighting, place the key light above and directly centered with the subjects face. doing this creates a shadow under the nose and chin that resembles a butterfly. the lighting is usually soft on the face. 

split lighting

edge/split lighting only requires one light source, usually the key light (natural lighting can also work). by removing the fill light, a shadow is created on one side of the subjects face. in film, this lighting technique can create a dramatic and mysterious effect.

to achieve split lighting, place the light at a 90 degree angle to the direction your camera is facing. having the light on only one side of your subject will create a split in the middle of the subjects face. one side will be lit up whilst the other will be dark. 

this is my example of split lighting. we placed the key light on the left side of the subject which then created a line directly in the middle of the face. one side is lit whilst the other dark. to get this outcome we didn't use a fill light in order to see the shadows that the key light creates. we turned off the lights to do this so we could achieve a better outcome. 

 

continuity editing examples

shot/reverse shot:

the hunger games 

shot reverse shot is a continuity editing technique in filmmaking used in dialogue scenes in which one character is shown looking at another character and the other character is shown looking back at the first character. the characters are also shown facing opposite directions, implying that they are looking at each other

match on action:

Up

match on action refers to film editing technique where the editor cuts from one shot to another view that matches the first shot's action. this technique gives the impression of continuous time. by having a subject being an action in one shot and carry it through to completion in the next, the editor creates a visual bridge, which distracts the viewer from noticing the cut. 

videocide

cross-cutting:

inception

cross-cutting is taking two or more film sequences and cutting between them as they progress. it is an editing technique that is used to establish action occurring at the same time in different locations. the camera cuts away from one action to another.

establishing shots:

 

skyfall

an establishing shot is a long shot usually at the beginning of a scene to introduce or define the general location of the scene that follows. 

180 degree rule:

the shining

the 180 degree rule is a filmmaking guideline for spatial relations between two characters on screen. the 180 rule sets an imaginary axis, or eye line, between two characters or between a character and an object. by keeping the camera on one side of this imaginary axis, the characters maintain the same left/right relationship to each other, keeping the space of the scene orderly and easy to follow

low key lighting

low key lighting uses a lot of dark tones and shadows. it has a very minimal amount of white and mid-tones and a lot of deep blacks. when taking a photo or shooting a scene with low key lighting, your outcome will have striking contrasts which will help to produce dramatic and mysterious scenes/images that also features a lot of shadows. it was often used in noir films to add contrast to the scene or to emphasise characters and details

to achieve low key lighting, only one source of light is needed. when shooting a photo or a scene, it helps for the background to be deep black or something with a similar kind of darkness than a bright or white one. 

fight club is a good cinematic example that uses low key lighting. in both of the images, there are various shadows and dark tones. low key lighting often only uses one light which tends to be either the fill light or backlight. in the first image, the only light source is the light we see in the background, behind the character. this low key lighting is used to create a dramatic mood. the second image shows predominant shadowy areas, with only one light source coming from above. both of these images from fight club create mysterious and dramatic moods. 

when shooting low key scenes, the background is a lot darker than the face which creates the dark and moody atmosphere. 

this shot from twilight is another cinematic example of low key lighting. the only light source is the fill light which only lights up one side of the characters face. this creates a tense and dramatic mood in the scene. the background is a lot darker than his face. 

references:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qlRKty7uIIg

https://contrastly.com/understanding-the-basics-of-high-key-vs-low-key-lighting/

three point lighting

three point lighting is a method for illuminating a subject in a scene with light source from three different distinct angles. the three different types of light are key light, fill light and backlight. 

key light:

- this is the main and strongest light that is responsible for exposure. it is placed to one side of the camera/subject so that one side is well lit and the other has some shadow. the key light is the one that has the most influence on the look of the scene/image. placing it to the side of your subject will help to create some dimension and depth. depending on how far off centre you place the key light, your scene/image will be anything from a high-key image to a low-key image.

fill light:

- this light is the secondary light and is placed on the opposite side of the key light. because the key light creates shadows, the fill light is then used to fill the shadows created. it is usually slightly further away from the subject than the key light as it is softer and dimmer. the fill light can also help reduce the overall contrast of the scene if needed. this light and the key light work together to determine the mood of the image/scene you're creating.

backlight:

- this light is placed behind the subject, lighting it from the rear as its purpose is to provide definition and subtle highlights around the outlines of the subject, rather than providing direct light like the others. this light can also be placed off to one side, directly behind or overhead as long as it is still behind the subject. the back light helps to separate the subject from the background so that they don't disappear into it, this provides a three-dimensional look. 

how to achieve it?

- the 'standard' three point lighting setup typically has the key and the fill light set up at about 45 degrees to either side of the subject with the camera in between them. 

the backlight is then usually placed behind the subject, opposite the key light just outside the frame. this creates separation since that side of the frame would be darker. 

why do we use it?

- we use three point lighting because it comes from our natural and artificial spaces. we have to be lit by at least one light which is the light that gives us exposure - the key light. 

when moving around, we are hit by various light sources. when we turn our backs to the sun, it hits us from behind, this is backlight. backlight causes a rim of light behind the subject which cuts it out from the background. 

references:

https://www.mediacollege.com/lighting/three-point/

https://wolfcrow.com/what-is-three-point-lighting-and-why-do-we-use-it/