Film techniques

From watching all the videos and presentations i now realize  there is more meaning in a single shot from a movie than it just simply being another "shot". Not only does the presentations show the deeper meaning within a single shot , they teach us how to achieve making them. For example the crane shot can be done using a camera on a moving crane or jib. Another example is an aerial shot which is sometime used to establish a location, this can be achieved by taking the shot at a high point either on top of a building or in a helicopter or plane.
                                                                                       

When zooming into something it draws
the viewers attention and makes them
anticipate what is to come like
This shot from The fellowship of the ring which
uses zoom to show that danger is coming

I learnt that film makers focus on an 
object or person as a way to draw the 
viewers attention solely on what is 
not blurred for narrative reasons.

                                                                                          

Not only does camera techniques have an effect on the viewer but also the content within a shot. Take for example this shot from "remember the titans", the space between the two characters show their distance from one another. The fact that they are forced to talk to each other is evident within the shot itself without needing any context. 

We use the rule of thirds so that the subject isn't centered in the image, which is how many new photographers frame their shots. Instead, the main focal point is a bit off to one side.Using the rule of thirds draws the viewer's eye into the composition, instead of just glancing at the center.

In this video i learn from director Robert Rodriguez how to make a movie on a tight budget and how camera angles and shots can masks certain aspects of the movie that would look cheap otherwise. For example one brown suitcase is used throughout the film and with clever editing our director managed to mask this suitcase to look like a different black suitcase without having to buy another suitcase. With this video i learnt how to make a movie on a very low budget and was told that if i were to ever make a movie that i should make one that's very cheap since with clever editing it can be done.  


Overall i learnt many things from this presentation, these are just a handful that really stuck in my mind. This presentation opened my mind to what movie shots are meant to achieve and the effect they are meant to have on the viewer and how there is much more going on then i realize. Not only did this presentation tell me about different shots and the effect they give but also how to achieve making these shots at home or even on a tight budget.