Film Analysis & Shot Elements
Film is a collection of shots that is edited together to tell a story. But, each individual shot also tells a story. In order to effectively analyze a film, you'll need to be able to talk about individual shots and how they're strung together. Today we'll review the basic shot elements that make up all of film, discuss the different impact they may have on audiences and why a director may use one shot versus another, and go over some basics of film analysis.
In class we'll quickly review these slides. You may also need these slides for the Shot Elements assignment, which has been posted on Google Classroom.
If you're interested, this video discusses the difference between a dolly shot and zoom.
In terms of Film Analysis, I find this guide particularly helpful (it's also under the "Helpful Links" section of the blog). Does it cover everything? Maybe not, but it does enough. Below are a few things that I really like to think about while watching a movie:
- Cinematography: How far away is the camera? What's the angle? Is the camera moving at all? How is it moving? What's in focus?
- Editing: How are they moving from shot to shot? When are the cuts? At what pace? Are they cutting on something? To something? Between something?
- Mise-En-Scene: How is the composition of the shot? What subjects are in the shot? Props? Environment? What do you notice about the lighting?
- Sound: What do you hear? What sound is from the world of the movie? What's the soundtrack? Are there sound effects?
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