Textual Analysis - What is it?

Textual analysis is a methodology in film for studying the content of communication.

Camera Shots, Angle, Movement and Composition  

Shots:

close-up

 Used to show detail mainly, only includes a small portion of a person such as; their eye or lips.

 medium-shot

A medium shot is where the shot is taken from the knees upwards. There is background in this shot but its usually just based on focusing on the person in the shot.

long shot

A very long shot is from very far away which includes a lot of the background in the shot.

wide shot 

a wide shot is when a whole of a scenery is fitted into one shot, similar to a panaramic view.

Two-shot 

this is when you get both characters in the shot together

aerial shot 

this is when you see a shot from above to create a snese that you are looking down on something.

point of view shot 

a point of view shot is to create a sense that you are the character.

over the shoulder shot 

this is when the camera is looking over one of the characters shoulders, at another charecter.

 

 
Low angle shot is where the camera is placed low to look up at a subject, object or view, this is to create the effect of superiority strength, being in charge and bravery.

 

 

High angle shot is a shot where the camera is placed up high looking down on a person view or object it creates the sense of venerability inferiority and weakness.

Canted angle is where the camera is filmed at an angle, this is to give a sense that the view object or person had something wrong with them or they are about to do something.

Pan
A pan is a camera move both left and right.  <---------->


Tilt
This is when the camera tilts up and down.

Track and Dolly
A track is like a rail way track that the dolly sits on. A dolly is like a trolley that the camera man sits on in order to create smooth shots that move in or out from or to a subject and enables the camera to pan, tilt or rise up and down, they rarely use a zoom in and out.

Stedicam shots

Stedicam shots are where camera man wears a body armour attached on the end of a arm. Stedicam shots are used for maximum freedom and movement as well as creating shots that are steady and flow nicely. The downside of steady cam as that it involves a specialist and can be expensive to use compared with a track and dolly.
This is a clip from Kubrick Stedicam shots where we can tell that Stedicam shots have been used.
Handheld shot

Where the camera man holds the camera for maximum flexibility of the type of shots he wants to use. This is a very specialised skill and it is often used for documentaries and news items. It is used in dramas and feature films often to create a feeling of rawness/ of being present in the film or for making the film feel like a news documentary item.

Zoom
Zoom is a function on a digital camera used to make an image seem more close up or reduce the image size. Zooms are less popular now to more sophisticated shots supplied by a tracking dolly but they are used on documentaries and for visual effects, e.g in pop videos.

 

Depth of field
The depth of field if about the focus in any given shot. It is a focus pullers job to alter the camera lens (on a drama film) to correct focal distance so the object or actor concerned is in focus. Sometime shallow depth of field is used so that only important people or objects are in focus to help the audience understand what is important to look at in each frame shot.

Shallow depth of field:
only focus on one object.

Deep depth of field:
focus on a whole view of things.

Focus Pull

A focus pull is responsible for maintaining correct focus throughout each camera shot. The focus puller will usually calculate the correct focus setting by measuring the distance from the camera to the subject. Specifically, they will measure the distance from the image sensor inside the camera. This requires dedicated staff members as it can be technically challenging.

Rule of thirds
Is applied by aligning a subject with the guide lines and their intersection points, placing the horizon on the top or bottom line, or allowing linear features in the image to flow from section to section.
 
Editing: Shot reverse shot
It is where one character is shown looking at another character(usually off screen) and then the other character is shown looking back at the first character.

Eyeline match
Eye line match is a technique associated with the continuity editing system. It is based on the premise that the audience will want to see what the character on screen is seeing.
 
Jumpcut
A jump cut is an abrupt transition from one scene to another. 

Editing  

o     Includes transition of image and sound – continuity and non-continuity systems.


Cutting:

graphic match-

action match-

cutaway- In film or video a cut away is an interruption of a continuously filmed action by inserting a view of something else. Cutaways often help you get out of jail if you don't have all the required footage.

insert- In film an insert is a shot of part of a scene as filmed from a different angle or focal length from the master shot.

Other transitions

Dissolve, fade in, fade out, wipe examples


superimposition- superimposition is the placement of an image or video on top of an already-existing image or video, usually to add to the overall image effect, but also sometimes to conceal something; such as when a different face is superimposed over the original face in a photograph.

long take- A long take is an uninterrupted shot in a film which lasts much longer than the conventional editing pace either of the film itself or of films in general, usually lasting several minutes.

short take- a shot of film or video that has a brief duration on screen, usually less than 3 seconds.

slow motion- the action of showing film or playing back video more slowly than it was made or recorded, so that the action appears much slower than in real life.

ellipsis and expansion of time-

post-production-  It occurs in the making of motion pictures. It is a term for all stages of production occurring after the actual end of shooting and/or recording the completed work.

visual effects- visual effects are the processes by which imagery is created and/or manipulated outside the context of a live action shot.

Sound

Diegetic and non-diegetic sound- Diegetic sound is what comes from a scene/action
e.g. A sneeze. Non diegetic sound is added in post production e.g. Sound effects.

Synchronous/asynchronous sound- Synchronous sounds are those sounds which are synchronized or matched with what is viewed. Asynchronous sound effects are not matched with a visible source of the sound on screen. Such sounds are included so as to provide an appropriate emotional nuance, and they may also add to the realism of the film

sound effects- Sound effects are artificially created or enhanced sounds, or sound processes used to emphasize artistic or other content of films, television shows, live performance, animation, video games, music, or other media.

sound motif- A recurring piece of music or sound associated with a particular person, place, or idea.

sound bridge- Adding to continuity through sound, by running sound (narration, dialogue or music) from one shot across a cut to another shot to make the action seem uninterrupted.

dialogue, voiceover- It is pre-recorded (non-diegetic) and placed over the top of a film or video and commonly used in documentaries or news reports to explain information.

mode of address/direct address- This is when a presenter or actor looks directly into the camera as though addressing the audience. This is to make the audience feel included and engaged.

sound mixing- Audio mixing is the process by which multiple sounds are combined into one or more channels.

sound perspective- Creates an illusion of directionality and audible perspective. This is usually achieved by using two or more independent audio channels through a configuration of two or more loudspeakers (or stereo headphones) in such a way as to create the impression of sound heard from various directions, as in natural hearing.

Soundtrack: 

score-  is original music written specifically to accompany a film. The score forms part of the film's soundtrack, which also usually includes dialogue and sound effects

incidental music- Incidental music is music in a play, television program, radio program, video game, film or some other form not primarily musical.

themes and stings-

ambient sound- Ambient sound means the background sounds which are present in a scene or location.

Mise-en-Scène

Production design: 

location- shows where the characters are and to give the viewer an idea on the genre of the film.

costume and make-up- give an idea of when the era of the movie is set in. Costumes represent the characters and their class/jobs.

props- show the genre and what's happening.

body language-

facial expressions-

Lighting; 

colour design- gives the mood of the scene and characters.

 Camera

 

Establishing shots - help to establish the scene by showing the audience and the location they are in.

 

Master shot - The main shot of the scene that is often returned to. Directors often film these as wide shots so the audience can get their bearings as to who is in the scene. The director then uses other shot sizes, such as close ups or medium shots to cut into the master shot so that the audience can get a closer look at the actors.