How to speak a movie
- The camera
- Shot length镜头长度:
- Extreme wide shot远景：The film screen showing broad scenes, such as natural scenery and grand mass activities. Can’t see the details of the object.
- Wide shot全景：The whole body or scene of the character. Just like watching a play on stage.
- Medium shot中景：The scene above the character’s knees and waist or part of the scene.
- Two shot双人镜头：When two subjects are in a frame in this case, we’re looking for each character’s shoulder.
- Close up特写：Details of the head above the shoulders or a detail of an important object.
- Extreme close up大特写：Zoom in on eyes and mouth
- Angle角度
- Eye level水平角度: Where the camera looks straight on at its subject where were actually at the level of the actor.
- High angle俯角度：The camera looks down at the subject, which makes people seem small and kind of silly.
- Low angle仰角度：The camera looks up at the subject, which makes a person seem large and menacing威胁的.
- Dutch angle斜角角度：The cameras can’t look the subject from a tilted angle which make everything seem a bit strange.
- Focus（Depth of field）:
- Deep focus小光圈：Everything in the shot is clear.
- Shallow focus大光圈：A short depth of field and only see part of the shot.
- Rack focus变焦：Changing the focus and can draw the eyes to more details.
- Tilt shift移轴：Thought digital post-production can selectively blur part of the image.
- Lenses:
- Wide angle lens广角镜头: Compressing space and focus on what you need.
- Telephoto lens长焦镜头: Show more apace.
- Fisheye lens鱼眼镜头: It can make some disturbing images.
- Camera’s movement:
- Handheld手持
- Steadicam固定
- Pan摇移
- Tilt俯仰
- Zoom缩放
- Dolly/ tracking shot跟随
- Jib/crane shot悬臂
- Dolly zoom移动变焦
- Mise en scene
- Setting舞台设置: Director starts by setting a scene by choosing a setting for the shot whether it’s outdoors, indoors, a real place, or a composite on a green-screen.
- Set dressing布景: Actors don’t use objects but can show some information in the specific shots.
- Props道具: Actors use object.
- Costume服装: Different people wear different clothes to show themselves.
- Lighting: Before camera and action comes.
- Three-point lighting三点光: Key light which serves as the main source. Fill light which fills in the shadows created by the key light. Backlight which lights the back of the subject separating them from the background.
- High key lighting高光调: Bright color, bright light, strong key, strong fill.
- Low key lighting低光调: dark and mood more somber昏暗的, weak key, weak fill, but a very strong backlight to emphasize the outline of the person.
- Chiaroscuro明暗对比法: Light dark and high contrast between the bright bits and the dark bits.
- Hard lighting硬光: create hard shadows making the scene tough, angular生硬的，unflattering耿直的
- Soft lighting柔光: Diffuse扩散 through a filter causing it to wrap缠绕 around the subject. It looks so romantic.
- Ambient lighting环境光: Most time lighting doesn’t draw attention to itself.
- Unmotivated lighting动机不明的光: Simply shapes the scene without being an element
- Motived lighting有动机的光: Light is an element of the scene itself.
- Color:
- Black and white
- Tinting着色: One of the popular color is Sepia Tone棕黑色调
- Color film
- Color grading颜色分级: high saturation scene can feel bright and exciting and low saturation scene can feel washed out褪色的 and desolate荒凉的.
- Color palette调色板: To show the specific color on object.
- Space:
- Balance平衡: Emphasize the symmetry, or balance between different subject.
- Deep space: Character or object are placed both far and near to draw attention to the distance.
- Shallow space: Flat and emphasizing the closeness of the subject and background objects or even implying no depth at all.
- Offscreen space: Draw attention to something out of the frame.
- Blocking: Actors’ performance can sometimes set a scene and create space within the frame.
- Editing
- Sequence shot/ long take: It’s a long-running shot usually over a minute that takes in a lot of action in scene. Sometimes it covers simple dialogue while sometimes covers a complicated sequence of events.
- The cut: it’s translation between the end of one shot and the beginning of another.
- Simple cut简单剪辑
- Dissolve溶解
- Wipe擦除
- Fade in & fade out淡入淡出
- Continuity editing连贯性剪辑: good continuity editing is invisible and draws you into the illusion.
- Continuity error连贯性错误: the two shots look different.
- Screen direction荧幕方向: The movement of camera in two shot always are in same direction.
- Match on action/ continuous action动作匹配: cuts can be linked together by continuing the action form one shot to another.
- Eyeline视线: If characters aren’t moving, screen direction should be established by what they look.
- 180-degree rule轴线: Camera always stays on one side according to an invisible line.
- Crossing the axis越轴:
- Shot/reverse shot正打与反打: Always use in dialogue
- Cross cutting交叉剪辑: The film jumps between two lines of action to show that they are happening simultaneously display with time and space.
- Discontinuity editing不连贯剪辑: Stop pretending to reflect reality and start to show emotion.
- Freeze frame冻结帧
- Slow motion慢动作
- Fast motion快动作
- Reverse motion反转动作
- Jump cut跳跃剪辑
- Match cut匹配剪辑：Through something such as sky or clothes to change shot. Or relate some irrelevant objects to express specific emotion.
- Split screen分屏
- Overlay叠加: overlay one shot to another shot. For example, man is thinking something and what his dreams is overlaying this shot.
- Montage蒙太奇：
1．平行蒙太奇
这种蒙太奇常以不同时空（或同时异地）发生的两条或两条以上的情节线并列表现，分头叙述而统一在一个完整的结构之中。格里菲斯、希区柯克都是极善于运用这种蒙太奇的大师。平行蒙太奇应用广泛，首先因为用它处理剧情，可以删节过程以利于概括集中，节省篇幅，扩大影片的信息量，并加强影片的节奏；其次，由于这种手法是几条线索平列表现，相互烘托，形成对比，易于产生强烈的艺术感染效果。如影片《南征北战》中，导演用平行蒙太奇表现敌我双方抢占摩天岭的场面，造成了紧张的节奏扣人心弦。
2．交叉蒙太奇
交叉蒙太奇又称交替蒙太奇，它将同一时间不同地域发生的两条或数条情节线迅速而频繁地交替剪接在一起，其中一条线索的发展往往影响另外线索，各条线索相互依存，最后汇合在一起。这种剪辑技巧极易引起悬念，造成紧张激烈的气氛，加强矛盾冲突的尖锐性，是掌握观众情绪的有力手法，惊险片、恐怖片和战争片常用此法造成追逐和惊险的场面。如《南征北战》中抢渡大沙河一段，将我军和敌军急行军奔赴大沙河以及游击队炸水坝三条线索交替剪接在一起，表现了那场惊心动魄的战斗。
3．颠倒蒙太奇
这是一种打乱结构的蒙太奇方式，先展现故事的或事件的当前状态，再介绍故事的始末，表现为事件概念上“过去”与“现在”的重新组合。它常借助叠印、划变、画外音、旁白等转入倒叙。运用颠倒式蒙太奇，打乱的是事件顺序，但时空关系仍需交代清楚，叙事仍应符合逻辑关系，事件的回顾和推理都以这种方式结构。
4．连续蒙太奇
这种蒙太奇不像平行蒙太奇或交叉蒙太奇那样多线索地发展，而是沿着一条单一的情节线索，按照事件的逻辑顺序，有节奏地连续叙事。这种叙事自然流畅，朴实平顺，但由于缺乏时空与场面的变换，无法直接展示同时发生的情节，难于突出各条情节线之间的对列关系，不利于概括，易有拖沓冗长，平铺直叙之感。因此，在一部影片中绝少单独使用，多与平行、交叉蒙太奇手交混使用，相辅相成。
5．抒情蒙太奇
是一种在保证叙事和描写的连贯性的同时，表现超越剧情之上的思想和情感。让·米特里指出：它的本意既是叙述故事，亦是绘声绘色的渲染，并且更偏重于后者。意义重大的事件被分解成一系列近景或特写，从不同的侧面和角度捕捉事物的本质含义，渲染事物的特征。最常见，最易被观众感受到的抒情蒙太奇，往往在一段叙事场面之后，恰当地切入象征情绪情感的空镜头。如苏联影片《乡村女教师》中，瓦尔瓦拉和马尔蒂诺夫相爱了，马尔蒂诺夫试探地问她是否永远等待他。她一往深情地答道：“永远！”紧接着画面中切入两个盛开的花枝的镜头。它本与剧情并无直接关系，但却恰当地抒发了作者与人物的情感。
6．心理蒙太奇
是人物心理描写的重要手段，它通过画面镜头组接或声画有机结合，形象生动地展示出人物的内心世界，常用于表现人物的梦境、回忆、闪念，幻觉、遐想、思索等精神活动。这种蒙太奇在剪接技巧上多用交叉穿插等手法，其特点是画面和声音形象的片段性、叙述的不连贯性和节奏的跳跃性，声画形象带有剧中人强烈的主观性。
7．隐喻蒙太奇
通过镜头或场面的对列进行类比，含蓄而形象地表达创作者的某种寓意。这种手法往往将不同事物之间某种相似的特征突现出来，以引起观众的联想，领会导演的寓意和领略事件的情绪色彩。如普多夫金在《母亲》一片中将工人示威游行的镜头与春天冰河水解冻的镜头组接在一起，用以比喻革命运动势不可挡。隐喻蒙太奇将巨大的概括力和极度简洁的表现手法相结合，往往具有强烈的情绪感染力。不过，运用这种手法应当谨慎，隐喻与叙述应有机结合，避免生硬牵强。
8．对比蒙太奇
类似文学中的对比描写，即通过镜头或场面之间在内容（如贫与富、苦与乐、生与死，高尚与卑下，胜利与失败等）或形式（如景别大小、色彩冷暖，声音强弱、动静等）的强烈对比，产生相互冲突的作用，以表达创作者的某种寓意或强化所表现的内容和思想。
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The history of film, animation and VFX
- Film
In 19th century, Zoetrope appeared.
In 1877, Edward Muybridge set up a system of 12 separate stills剧照, which cameras were spaced 12 inches apart and ran on trip wire that was triggered by the horse’s hooves. 摄像机之间的间距为12英寸，并在由马蹄触发的绊索上运行. Here a succession of photographs giving the impression of movement is the very basis of film.
Because the Lumiere brothers worked on the principle of projecting moving photographs, both Europe and American inventors were racing towards the invention of cinema.
In 1891, the American inventor Tomas Edison had perfected the Kinetoscope活动电影放映机.
In 1892, French Emile Reynaud projected the first animated film on his Praxinoscope 光学影戏机in Paris.
In 1895 in England, Robert W Paul and Bert Akers had invented the first British 35 mm camera. Robert W Paul demonstrated his projector the theatre graph on the 21st of February 1896.
In Germany, Metzler Danowsky and his brother Emil had invented the Bioscope放映机.
On December 28th in 1895 in Paris, the Lumiere brothers demonstrated their invention of motion pictures for the very first time called cinematograph电影放映机. Cinema began 1895 moving pictures projected onto a big screen.
The majority of silent films were always shown with live accompaniment伴奏. Film is often shown in musicals in between the variety acts or used the same variety acts, such as serpentine蛇形舞.
Attending that first Lumiere showing was a theater owner and stage magician George Melia and he went on to become the most famous of all the early film makers
Double-exposure met the same actor could appear twice in the same scene
Also, because of broken machine, Melia found that a method to make object disappear.
In 1879, George Melia built the world’s first film studio here in Montreux, which produced 16 films a month and employ up to 1700 people. And with a worldwide distribution network this industry became a global phenomenon.
In England, French George Albert Smith use a special machine which can view something like viewing in telescope to shot close-up shot, this is hugely pioneering.
In 1900, a film uses this shot.
James Williamson who was influenced by George Albert develops photographic film and he developed the film narrative so he was one of the first filmmakers to develop multi shot films and also for dramatic effects cutting from one shot to another. From different kind of cameras and different camera angles to create a dramatic effect.
In either 1896 or 1897.French Alice kee became one of the world’s first female directors and producers.
- Animation
1609 The magic lantern
1800 The first actual animation is a toy
1800 Zoetrope
1900 Animation appear in big screen
1914 First character and first full-draw animation Gertie
1928 First animation introduced music called Steamboat Willie
1929 Because of the economic crisis, people can’t do many things except go to the cinema and watch the cartoon.
1933 King Kong using clay
1937 The first animated feature film Snow White, and use real human movement to draw. Also, there are multi-deep camera using to separate background. Then Disney created own sound to this movie. By the way, characters had their own features.
1969 clay animation using in film.
1970 More children stayed at home to watch animation and there are many advertisements using animation.
1995 Anime become popular and Toy story which is first 3D animation film fully made by computer.
2009 Avatar using CGI(Computer Graphics Interface电脑图像界面) technology.
- VFX
1933 King Kong directed by stop-motion pioneer Willis o Brien
1958 The 7th voyage of Sinbad used puppet
1963 Jason and the argonauts Harry Hausen used stuffed motion sequence: the skeleton battle.
1985 Young Sherlock Holmes showed the first real computer-generated character.
1989 The Abyss showed liquid water tentacle using an early version of Photoshop, which the first use of program in the feature film.
1991 Judgment Day improve the water effects.
1993 Jurassic park revolutionized computer graphics.
1995 Casper was the first computer animated title character in the film.
1995 Toy story was the fist feature-length film made entirely by computer animation.
1996 Dragonheart show the dragon’s face was modeled.
1999 Episode 1- The phantom menace showed an epic computer generated fairytale envisioned by George Lucas.
2001 Final Fantasy was the first hyper-real fully computer- generated feature film based on original designs.
2002 Tlotr: The two towers
2002 Episode 2- Attack of the clones
2003 The matrix reloaded used a process called universal capture which in essence produced the 3d recording of the real actors performance which could then be played back from different angles and under different lighting conditions.
2005 King Kong was remarkable for having the largest number of visual effects shots in a single film, the actor showed onset reference and motion capture performance.
2006 Potc: Dead man’s chest
2007 Beowulf used advanced motion capture technique to transform live-action into digital animation.
2008 Benjamin Button the face of actor was canned and digitally aged with the help of movas contour technology.
2009 Avatar