Author: Song Yanchen

1. CV:

Johnny.Song_s3614505_Personal resumes

2.Online Portfolio:

https://s3614505.wixsite.com/website

3.Introductory Letter:

Introductory Letter

4.Work Attachment Report:

Work Attachment Report

Research Project Topic: LONG SHOT (Then VS Now）

The subject of my research this time is the topic of a long shot. The development of long shots in the film industry has represented a testimony to the technological progress of the film industry. What is a long shot? A long shot is a certain segment of the movie since the director shouted action. At the end of this entire large segment, there is no break time or interruption of the shooting. In the post-editing process, there is no operation to cut the video, and the continuity of the entire segment is maintained without any trace of editing. The technique of using long shots is used in almost many movies, because the shooting of long shots is very visually tense, very shocking, although it seems that long shots are very simple and smooth in the picture, but The production process is not that simple. For the film producer, the scheduling of the actors and the position of the camera need to be arranged very accurately and meticulously in advance. For the actors, the pressure of the performance is also very huge. During the shooting, there is no rest time to cultivate emotions and consider moving positions, so the actor must be able to digest emotions and transform emotions by themselves in one take.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJEEVtqXdK8

Long shots have not maintained a fixed pattern from before to now. In fact, with various equipment and various technological advances in the film industry, the shooting and planning of long shots have also been further improved. In the 19th and 20th centuries, The film industry does not have such a high level of technical support to make the long shot shooting and editing methods reach the same level as they are now. The editing methods are mentioned here. It seems that the long shot I mentioned earlier will not be edited in the later stage. Contradictory, this topic will be more detailed and in-depth later, so in the film industry of the 19th and 20th centuries, if the film industry of the 19th and 20th centuries is to realize the long-shot film shooting form, it is purely to rely on the support of the cameraman and the camera, and the actor The test of personal acting skills, just like this movie, the cameraman uses the Steadicam auxiliary camera to follow the actors from the outside to the inside of the bar, and the positions of all actors are arranged before the shooting, when and which actor should appear on the screen. OK, then the director started shooting without cutting after he called to action. Once the actor made a mistake, he would start shooting again from the beginning.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=90OFZQx_7xI

In the 21st century, the film and television industry is actually developing faster and faster. It is not only the rapid update of cameras, but Steadicam’s continuous improvement and improvement of functions, editing, and special effects are also developing very rapidly, which brings benefits. That is, the film is more realistic and cool, the pre-production is more complete and rapid, the texture and picture of the film are taken to a higher level, and the impact on the shooting method of the long shot is also huge. Nowadays, although the long shot is in the sense It is still the definition of continuity without any editing, but in fact, in the 21st-century film industry, long shots are no longer a “lazy” process that does not need to edit any clips in the later stage but make this clip look like continuous It’s a long shot without any traces of editing, but in fact, it’s actually a separate shooting. The actors’ positions and movements are planned in the early stage of shooting, and these foundations are fixed, and then these clips are edited in the later stage of editing. The action is still consistent, but some hidden cuts are often arranged in these long shots so that there is no trace of editing. This is contrary to the long shots of the 19th and 20th centuries, but it brings benefits and pictures. The impact is the point that attracts audiences today, and audiences will also pay for this technology. Here I take the very classic scene of fighting in the church in the movie “Kingsman” as an example. The overall look is a fragment of a long shot, but among them, Some people’s clothes slide across the entire screen from left to right or from right to left. In fact, there are many hidden cuts, but on the whole, it doesn’t affect the feeling that it looks like a long shot. And this kind of “long shot” has actually become a mainstream form and technique in the 21st century. The reason why it is called a long shot is also that in the final film it does look like the previous long shot. The same, but more shocking and impactful.

The last thing I want to say is that both the previous long shots and the current long shots are actually long shots for the audience, but the production methods behind the scenes are different, and the progress of the times also represents the progress of the production of the film and television industry. Today’s long shot shooting will no longer put too much pressure on cameramen and actors. If something goes wrong, you will have to shoot again. This actually saves time and labor costs. I believe that the previous pure long shot will eventually fade out of film and television. Industry production, but classics are still classics. This is undeniable. The future technology may redefine long shots, but what will not change is that clips or movies shot with long shots will eventually give the audience a feeling of shock and impact. , Is also the icing on the cake for the film industry.

WEEK 12

There are no courses since this week, so this week is my own reflection time for the entire semester. The 11-week study is actually quite fast. It was at the end of the semester at once. In fact, it was still a little bit unfinished, mainly this. I like and interested in this course very much. I have worked in the film and advertising industry before, so I have some understanding of some Chinese film and advertising production, but this course is about global film and advertising production. So there are a lot of things that I don’t understand and that I was not in the scope of my work before. Through this course, I have new contacts, so that I can understand and know this knowledge in class.

This semester actually wrote a lot of reflection, which is a relatively new process for me, because I haven’t written so much reflection before, and I usually write one at the end of the semester, but this semester is due to online classes. I will reflect on this week and write it down every week. This is actually not a bad thing for me. After the weekly course is over, I can give myself thought to the things in this week’s class and then organize and organize my thoughts. After reviewing, I think this is a very effective and beneficial process, so after the end of the semester, I can open the reflection I wrote to see what my learning and conclusions are like this semester, which can be regarded as consolidating this knowledge points.

To sum up, I am still very happy during the 11 weeks of study. It is a kind of exercise and learning for myself, and the content of this course is also very meaningful and valuable to me. It is for my future industry knowledge. I believe that for me it fills up some of the blind spots in my previous knowledge.

 

WEEK 11

This week’s class is the last class of this semester. In the last class, the teacher showed us a few clips for us to appreciate and analyze. Then in the last class, the teacher also summarized the content of this semester.  And also explained to us the two assignments afterward.

After the class, I also summed up the knowledge we learned in the course of the 11 weeks of study. We started to study around the lens of the film, learned the proper names of various lenses, and then also learned how to make In the process of the film, we need to prepare some things, such as storyboard and floor plan, and then we also learned what the focal length of different lenses looks like in the video, let us know that different focal lengths are for the movie The role of perception, after that, we also learned a lot about movie mirroring and movie production process.

I think this knowledge is very useful for me, especially in the second half of the semester, when I learned about film operation and the production process, it gave me a deeper understanding. For example, I still didn’t know much about the camera’s Afterwards, I also learned about the advantages and smoothness of Steadicam for film production, which far exceeded my imagination. There were also some special lens productions that allowed me to fully understand these lenses. How was it made.

All in all, this course is officially finished this week. Although I will continue to write my thoughts next week, because there is no class relationship, I will also reflect on some ideas around my future research. I feel that this course has really helped me a lot, and it is very meaningful to me. I will also apply the knowledge I have learned in my future career.

WEEK 10

In this week’s class, the teacher revolved around our presentation last week, gave us some more detailed introductions, and then gave us some links to help us explore the topics that each of us explored more smoothly. Regarding the subject of my research, the teacher also gave me some suggestions to explore my subject around the planning sequence.

After class, I also thought about some things about this element of the planning sequence mentioned by the teacher. it is conceivable that the planning sequence really needs to be planned in the shooting of long-take because in the shooting of long-take it almost ends after the camera is turned on. The positioning of the actors in the frame, the movement of the scene, the lighting, and the sound are all coherent without stopping in the frame, and the shooting is finished directly, so these elements are very important, leading to the need for preliminary preparations. Arrange carefully and carefully. The planning sequence is to plan the entire shooting sequence before shooting, first what to shoot, then what to shoot, and then what to shoot. I think it is a very important step when shooting long shots. Then there are many details and details in this big frame. Branch, after thinking about the planning sequence, after clarifying what to shoot first and then what to shoot, I plan to complete each step, such as what to shoot first, how to shoot, what focal length and what frame to shoot, and then how the camera should move Connected to the next screen, and what kind of lighting in this segment, will it affect the lighting of the next segment or the lighting fixtures that need to be changed. So the idea that the teacher gave me is still very useful so that I can better know what I want to explore in the process of exploring my subject and be able to know the direction and method I want to explore.

WEEK 9 (Presentation Week)

This week is a week of presentation. We need to find a topic that interests us and then explore and study this topic. This week’s presentation is also to report on our topic and then research the direction.

The subject of my research is a long take. In fact, the reason for choosing this topic is because I really like the long-take video and it feels very cool, and I feel that it takes very rigorous and meticulous planning in terms of arrangement and planning to complete the long-take. The original research theme was to consider choosing a certain director and then exploring the filming style and techniques of that director. However, I later found that such research would be more limited because I can only explore and research the work of this director, so after that, I changed my mind and changed it to a film technique so that I can explore and research from a larger scope.

In this presentation, I also state my theme, and then I chose the movie ‘1917’ as the beginning of my research. I chose the movie ‘1917’ because it is a movie that uses a long-take from beginning to end, and this kind of long-take is not a long-take in the traditional sense. It uses some shooting techniques to make the whole movie look like a long-take movie, and this is also what I want to study because modern society is different from the previous 19th and 20th centuries. The previous long-take was pure long-take and it was really a whole piece of film. But the current long-take is no longer like before. It will make the audience feel that the shole shot has not been edited and is very coherent, but in fact, it uses shooting techniques and editing techniques to make the whole look coherent.

After the lecture, the teacher also gave me opinions. It may be because I only cited one example and did not clearly express the main points I want to explore. The teacher asked me if I could explore this topic more deeply. I actually think it’s okay, because the way of making long shots in different movies is actually different, and the current long shots are even more different because they are not really long shots, so I think they can be explored still a lot.

WEEK 8

This week we studied the movement of the lens in class. We watched a lot of clips about the movement of the lens in class. For these clips, we also discussed some Steadicam and handheld or use track methods to make the lens move.

After this lesson, I also learned some methods of moving the camera and its final effect on the screen. Regarding the Steadicam device, I have tried it in the past. The overall weight of the Steadicam machine is relatively heavy, but because of the weight and the stability of the shaft, the movement and steering of the entire machine are very smooth. In fact, most of the movies are also used to shoot Steadicam, especially the moving lens, which looks very smooth and comfortable. In the long-take shooting, Steadicam is also the first choice of photographers because of its structure, and the picture presented is very suitable for moving the lens and tracking the lens. From my personal experience and observation, I feel that the advantage of Steadicam lies in the stability of the camera and the high stability in the process of moving and steering. The disadvantage is that not everyone can use Steadicam well, mainly because of its weight for photographers. Or the person who controls it needs physical strength.

The difference between the handheld camera and Steadicam is that it does not have the aid of a stabilizer connected to the camera. The disadvantage of a handheld camera is its instability. The picture in the lens will have a sense of shaking. Even if the camera is held by a powerful photographer, there will be a sense of shaking in the final picture. This is unavoidable because there is no reinforcement of the stabilizer, I also think about why this kind of handheld shooting is sometimes used in movies, I found that the images used in the handheld situation are all in a specific situation. For example, in war movies, handheld methods will be used to shoot because it is necessary to have such a sense of shaking to increase the atmosphere and sense of tension.

WEEK 7

In this week’s class, we discussed about the actors’ performances. This is a very interesting part because I think that in a movie, the location of the shots and the layout of the pictures are very important, but there is also a good one. The actor’s ability to perform in the shot is also a key element that can affect the overall quality and look and feel of the film.

As Robin said in class, some actors can’t swim or drive and don’t even know how to run. What should be done in this situation. In fact, I thought about it myself that this kind of situation will inevitably happen in the future, and sometimes an actor is selected by the director or the investor, and the actor must be cast in this role, but for example, there is a scene The scene of driving, but the actor does not have a driver’s license and can’t drive. At this time, I encountered the situation mentioned above. How to solve this matter so that the filming can proceed smoothly. I thought about this problem myself after class, and then I tried to find ways to solve this problem on the internet and from my own experience. After that, I thought of two ways. The first is to let this actor learn about it in the first half of the filming. Driving a driver’s license or learning how to drive is the most straightforward and simple method, but after I thought about it, this method also has a loophole, that is, what to do if there is not enough time for the actor to test the driver’s license or learn how to drive before the shooting starts. It is possible that the shooting will start in one month, and it is impossible to complete the driver’s license test within this month. so this method is only applicable when the shooting time is relatively long. The second method I think is more practical and will not be limited. It is to use shooting skills to take shots of him driving and really driving. This method is to use a trailer and put the prop car on the trailer. After starting, the prop car can also feel like the prop car is driving in the shot. The actor only needs to sit in the driver’s seat and hold the steering wheel to pretend to be driving. This method has no limitations, as mentioned before. Time conditions will not constrain this solution.

I think no matter which method, it is most important to choose according to the situation and conditions at the time. It is the most important to make the actors perform more naturally and more beautifully in the shots.

WEEK 6

In this week’s class, we mainly started to learn how to turn a script into a movie on the screen. For me, this was a very important turning point, because before that we were all learning the lens sense of the movie, the movement of the lens, and the frame size, lens type, video analysis, and some other things about what should be done in the early stage of production. And from this week, we began to practice planning how to shoot based on the script, and the teacher also asked us to discuss with each other what method to use to shoot the information and lines given in the script.

After this class, I also thought about how to make the information and lines in the script into a video format. If you show the beginning of the script in the way of a movie. For example, in the beginning, a man enters a restaurant to meet someone. How to move this scene to the movie screen. If it were me, I would have two ideas. The first idea is to shoot the man’s lower body first from behind the man in a handheld manner, and then shoot the man walking on the road, the camera follows the man’s pace, and then the man walks into the store and the camera follows in the shop when then the man sat down with the person to meet, the camera moved up to capture the man’s upper body and face. Take a picture of the whole process in a one-shot. Another way is to take a picture of the chef in the restaurant who is cooking. After the cooking is finished, the dishes are brought out. the camera follows the food delivered by the chef and then cuts to the point where the waiter takes the food and walks to the table outside. When passing by the door, the door suddenly opens, the camera stopped at the door, and a man came in outside the door, look around to see the person he wanted to see, and then cut to a table with a cup of coffee and the other man’s hand, and the man was in the distance. Then he walked over and sit down.

In fact, there are many ways to shoot which is better, and you need to make a choice based on the situation at the time and the position of the camera. I think it can take a very boting passage in a sxript and shoot a more interesting clip. This is something that must be studied and though about.

‘Ash Is Purest White’ Film Footage Description and Analysis 

Movie Clip:

 

This clip comes from the crime love movie “Ash Is Purest White” directed by Chinese director Jia Zhangke, which was released in mainland China on September 21, 2018. The film tells the story of love and betrayal, separation, and reunion between the male and female protagonists over 17 years.

I chose this clip as my second movie description and analysis because the first point, this clip uses almost all the knowledge points we have learned in class during this time. I think it is very valuable for learning. The second point is this clip. I believe that during the filming process and the early stage of the filming, the crew has made sufficient preparations so that many details of the camera movement can actually be seen in the footage. The last point is because this clip was shot with film in accordance with the director’s requirements, and I think it’s very meaningful for me to use a one-shot technique.

The whole clip can be said to be almost shot in a one-shot way, using a medium shot to shoot, and the so-called one-shot is that the shot is not cut, and more important is the actor’s performance ability and shooting technical ability. The director’s use of a one-shot technique can also strengthen the sense of stage drama. The most important thing about the sense of stage drama is the performance of the actor. Whether the effect is good or not depends on whether the actor can perform well. The second advantage is that it highlights the sense of maze. In this clip, it is the process of the heroine looking for the hero, and this feeling of searching can be more apparent with a one-shot shooting method. The third advantage is to clarify the paragraphs of the film, macroscopically the whole film, this one-shot clip is particularly prominent in the film, because this paragraph is a turning point, the director also used a special technique to divide the paragraphs clearly. In this clip, there is actually a cut that is after the heroine enters the door and then the door is closed, cut until the heroine enters the door, but it does not hinder the integrity of the entire clip, because of the characteristics of the screen direction, the outside and inside the smoothness of the angle of view of the camera is connected, and the audience does not feel any abruptness. Outside the door, the camera was shot from back to front, the process of taking the heroine’s back into the door, and after entering the door, the camera was shot from front to back, taking the heroine’s front face. Then the camera followed the heroine and led the audience’s sight slowly to the few people who were playing mahjong, and finally fell on the hero. The setting of the camera here is actually a fixed position shooting, using the pan and tilt method to let each character enter the lens. In the previous shots outside the door, it was actually following the heroine in a handheld manner. Because it was the action of entering the door, the handheld could highlight the move process. After entering the door, the heroine found the person she was looking for, so she used a fixed use pan and tilt to slowly guide the target that the heroine is looking for.

The whole clip actually looks very simple and clear in structure, but it is actually very difficult to shoot and operate. It is simple and clear because there are only two lenses, one camera, and the other handheld shooting, but the difficulty is the difficulty in the early stage. the preparation and planning, floor plan, and storyboard are fully prepared because there is no chance of NG in one-shot, if something goes wrong, they have to start over again, so this is particularly important for the early planning.