Here I will be learning and reviewing about how technical elements such as camera, mise-en-scene, sound and edit can affect audience interpretation based on their connotations.
---- Camera Angles & Movement ----
------- Mise-en-Scene ------
Literally means 'putting in place/stage' and refers to intentional composition and design of visual elements within a frame or a scene, such as the way actors and props are chosen and arranged, to potray meaning and mood.
Consider the;
Mood of the scene; Atmosphere (empty, somber, exciting, etc.) should be reflected in the setting through mise-en-scene for audience to pick up and feel the intended emotion.
Character; set design externalises the internal state of the character to give audience a look into the character's inner state, such as their mental or psychological state.
Mood of the scene; Atmosphere (empty, somber, exciting, etc.) should be reflected in the setting through mise-en-scene for audience to pick up and feel the intended emotion.
Character; set design externalises the internal state of the character to give audience a look into the character's inner state, such as their mental or psychological state.
Theme; Communicate the deeper meaning or subtext of a narrative.
- Elements related to Character
- Hair, costume, makeup, clothing, build, body language, acting/performance, etc
- Should be reflecting their personality, ideology, values
- Should hint at how audience should perceive a character/dominant reading of a character
- Props
- Accessories, weapons, gadgets, items, etc
- Represents character's personality
- Can be used to aid in building the narrative world to make the world seem believable and real to audience
- Set Design
- Locaiton, dressing, space, time of day, light, environment, weather, etc.
- Informs time, place, and story while also communicates intentions, obstacles, themes, narratives and characters
- Church - audience may expect a professional, quiet, respectful scene
- Mcdonalds - audience may expect a casual conversation taking place
- Colour
- Colour psychology states that colour evokes certain emotions in audiences because of their connotations to certain feelings. Here is a colour psychology wheel I found on the internet;
- Notes from video above;
- Red - connotes danger, threat, scenes with emotional intensity, passion, love
- Orange - destructive colour like fire, high energy
- Yellow/Gold - opulent and grandiose
- Green - natural, symbols for life and death
- Blue - somber, guilt, sin
Other elements include;
- Lighting, helps in determining mood of a scene, provide insight to character, or guide viewers eyes. Here are some common terms from this video;
- High-key lighting - low contrast ratio where background and subject lit evenly, often used for happier and brighter scenes
- Low-key lighting - high contrast ratio where difference with light and shadow is large, often used for darker, dramatic scenes
- Chiaroscuro - high contrastt ratio, enhance mysterious and dangerous qualities of a scene
- Hard light - Directional light that creates stark shadows, used for dramatic scenes
- Soft light - Diffused light and creates less shadows, used for happier and romantic scenes
- Dumb/broad side - lighting the side of the subject closer to the camera
- Smart/short side - lighting the side of the subject thats farther from the camera
- Blocking and Staging, refers to how characters move through a scene and the camera's position which helps to draw the audience's attention to what's most important in a scene while making a scene interesting.
- Could also be used to display power dynamics
- (Rack) Focus, adjusting the camera's focal plane to reveal information or signal a change in scene.
- Controlling the eyes of the viewers with a more focused direction of scene.
- Adds depth to a scene while clearly helping develop links between two subjects.
------- Sound ------
I have only noted sounds that may relate to a music video rather than all sounds mentioned in the video.
- Diegetic
- Sound originating from inside the world
- Immerse audience into the scene/world, thus adds a sense of realism
- Non-diegetic
- Sound originating outside of scene, characters could not hear
- Adds ambience, sets tone of the scene or adds extra information for the audience
- Dialogue, what the characters say
- Tells audience about character and their behaviour or reveals information/context
- Score or Soundtrack
- Ambient, naturally occuring sound from location to add realism
- Silence, gaps in sound to draw audience attention or add tension
- Volume, affects perception of scene, such as higher volume can add drama and excitement.
---- Editing ----
- Montage Editing : signifies the passage of time
- Parallel Editing (Cross-Cutting) : cut between two different scenes that are happening at the same time in different places
- Cutaways and Inserts : takes viewers away from the main action to give extra context and information. May create more tension and foreshadowing.
- Jump Cut : cut that pushes forward in time thats done within the same frame
- Match Cut : cut between twoo scenes with similar compositions to give context and continuity and pushes it in a certain direction without disorienting the viewer.
- Crossfade (Dissolve) : signify a passage of time or if there are overlapping “layers", shows that multiple stories are happening at once
- Cut to the Beat (Rhythmic) : cuts are made to the beat for a more energetic look
- Split Screen : similar to parallel editing, but overlap different shots into one panel
- J or L Cut : L cut is when audio from clip A continues when clip B comes in. The J cut is the opposite.
Theories
Here is my teacher's slideshow detailing all the theories we've learnt in class
Reflection : This entire blog post was the most dreadful task out of all my other preparations. Despite understanding how important it is to recap our understanding on technical elements and theories, I believe this task felt utterly endless to me because I had to look back into my old notes and type each note down. Doing extra research did help expand my ideas on the uses of technical elements, which I may take advantage of to find new creative solutions to our current problem of how we can potray the passage of time in various ways.
Problems : No major problem other than the time consumed to make the entire blog
Solution : I gave myself a set deadline and multiple breaks to help motivate me to get it done as soon as possible while also keeping my ideas fresh by occassionally taking time away from the task