Essential Cinematography Concepts and Techniques
Cinematography Fundamentals
Cinematography techniques work in concert with a film’s mode of organization, its mise en scène, editing, and sound design to produce meaning. The most powerful uses of cinematography do more than simply display technical expertise: they provoke emotional, intellectual, and aesthetic responses.
Composition and the Shot
Composition is the arrangement of visual elements in the frame.
The shot is a single uninterrupted series of frames, and is film’s basic unit of expression: an image whose meaning unfolds through time.
The Four Elements of Cinematography
- Camerawork (the operation, placement, and movement of the camera)
- Lenses and Filters
- Film Stock
- Special Visual Effects
Planning the Shot
In order to use time on the set efficiently, directors and cinematographers generally plan each shot ahead of time. One method for planning shots is the storyboard—a series of drawings that lays out the film sequentially.
Films are generally not shot in chronological order, and, except on very low-budget productions, every shot is filmed more than once. Each version is called a take. Uninterrupted shots of more than one minute are called long takes. Long takes build dramatic tension, emphasize the continuity of time and space, and allow directors to focus on the movement of actors in the space of the mise en scène.
Visual Balance and Light Arrangement
In balance and symmetry, the frame can be partitioned horizontally (on a left–right axis) and vertically (from top to bottom). A balanced composition has an equitable distribution of bright and dark areas, striking colors, objects, and/or figures. In classical Hollywood films, symmetry was often achieved by centering actors in the shot.
By contrast, an unbalanced composition leads the viewer’s eye in a particular direction by giving greater emphasis to a bright or dark area of the frame, to an object or actor, or to an area of color.
Arranging light and dark areas in the frame is an important aspect of composition. Using contrasting areas of lightness and darkness to create compositional effects is referred to as chiaroscuro, after a classical painting technique.
Manipulating Time and Speed in Filming
Cinematographers can manipulate the speed of filming to compress or expand time. Unless special effects are desired, the standard recording speed is 24 frames per second (fps). By reducing or increasing the camera’s recording speed, and then projecting the film at 24 fps, filmmakers can affect the viewer’s perception of time.
Speed Techniques
- Slow Motion: To produce slow motion, the camera records images at a speed faster than that at which it is projected. When the film is projected at the standard rate, the action appears to be slowed down. Slow motion has been used for both comic and dramatic purposes.
- Fast Motion: To produce fast motion, cinematographers record images at a slower speed than the speed of projection. Fewer frames are exposed in one minute when shooting at a speed of 16 fps than at a speed of 24 fps. When projected at 24 fps, that action takes less than a minute on screen and appears unnaturally rapid.
Specialized Time Effects
- Go-motion: A technique developed by Industrial Light and Magic (ILM) that builds movement into single frames. In this process, the puppet or model is motorized and moves when the camera’s shutter is open, creating a sense of blur.
- Time-lapse Photography: A process of recording a very small number of images over a long period—say, one frame per minute or per day. Time-lapse nature photography can present a slow process, such as a flower blooming, in a matter of seconds.
Camera Placement, Lighting, and Framing
Three important variables for any shot are camera height, angle on the action, and distance from the action. These choices convey information, form motifs, introduce ideas, and create mood.
Lighting Techniques
- Soft Light: Light from a large light source that is diffused before it strikes the subject, minimizing unwanted facial details such as wrinkles.
- Back Light: Using a strong back light appears to separate the subject from the background and produces a silhouette effect.
- High-key Lighting: Eliminates virtually all shadows and provides an even illumination of the subject.
Framing
Loose framing describes an image in which figures have a great deal of open space around them, often suggesting either freedom or isolation.