ASSIGNMENT 1-Reflective Writing (THE SCENE IN CINEMA 2021)
Week 1
ASSIGNMENT 1-Reflective Writing (THE SCENE IN CINEMA 2021)
Week 2
ASSIGNMENT 1-Reflective Writing (THE SCENE IN CINEMA 2021)
Week 3
ASSIGNMENT 1- Film Analysis (THE SCENE IN CINEMA 2021)
Truman World
Link to movie scene：https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MdwuW8n3JYA
Recently, I revisited the 1998 American movie Truman World, which is one of my favorite movies. The plot of the story tells that Truman is the protagonist of a popular reality show. He has lived in the reality show world since he was born. Everything around him is false. His relatives and friends are all actors, but he doesn’t know anything about it. In the end, Truman walked out of this virtual world. This is the third time I have watched it, and each time I have a different feeling. Through these three weeks of study, I have a deeper understanding and analysis of this movie. In particular, the lens used in some scenes is unique. Most movie scenes’ lens center follows Truman’s movement, but the angle and shooting method of the lens has changed greatly; a similar alternate uses a high-angle shot, a low-angle shot, and the wide-angle used in the movie’s lenses. For instance, one of the scenes that impressed me the most was the beginning of the movie when Truman greeted the camera. The lens advances from the middle shot to the close shot. This shot directly gave Truman a close-up, showing the importance of classic lines in the show. Moreover, the lens is in the form of a home TV frame, showing Truman and his neighbors’ introduction. After they finished introducing myself, there was a lamp in the sky that fell on the ground. Truman walked over and picked up the lamp that fell on the ground. The screen moved directly from the long shot to the close shot, which clearly showed Truman’s confusion and left clues for the plot behind. In the next scene, Truman sits in the car, which is a low-angle shot lens. I found a circle that like a lens. The audience is watching him through this lens; the outside of the circular area is all black in the picture, showing the lens’s invisibility, telling the audience that his life has been monitored. Finally, each of these scenes is unique and important.
Week 3
In the third week of learning, we focused on the position of the camera. According to analyze the importance of the camera’s location to the movie by watching several different movie clips. This is the essential information that I ignored in my previous studies. First of all, I learned different camera positions could help the movie express a complete display of the plot’s development. Second, if the subject remains the same, changing the camera angle and position might make the audience intuitively feel the story’s development. Moreover, when it comes to the camera’s position, the 180-degree rule in the film must be mentioned, which is a basic criterion for film production. Setting the camera position within 180°, most of the time, could ensure the correct handling of the direction of the person or object on the screen. Specifically, the 180-degree rule stipulates that the dialogue between two people in the same scene must always maintain the same left/right relationship. If the camera passes through an imaginary axis connecting two subjects, it is called crossing the line. The new lens from the other side is called the reverse angle. For example, in Monday’s class, we saw a clip of Gossip Girl. Serena is on the left, and Blair is on the right. And then Serena should always face the right. Even at the end, Blair leaves the screen; Serena should always face the right. If the two actors’ positions are not moving, the camera positions are swapped with the previous ones, which may cause the audience to puzzle most of the time and may disrupt the scene’s fluidity. Generally speaking, as a beginner, I should abide by the 180-degree rule.
In the class on Thursday, I chose 2a as my script, and I will use the knowledge I learned before to practice shooting.
Week 2
In this week’s course, our focus shifted from the script to the camera. We mainly discussed the camera lens. Especially the focal length. At the same time, we watched a few single-shot clips this week. First of all, Robin showed us several lenses with different focal lengths in class. It is vital to understand the different characteristics of each focal length before using it. Moreover, I learned that the focal length determines our angle of view, and it also determines the range of the photographer’s view. When the focal length is shorter, the view’s field is wider. The greater the extent of the scene captured by the lens. On the contrary, when the focal length is longer, the smaller the range captured by the lens. Furthermore, the focal length is usually expressed in millimeters (mm). To watch a few short videos, I understand that a long focal length lens is suitable for shooting a person’s details. Therefore, using a long lens will easily make the background blurred and shadowed, allowing the audience to pay more attention to the actors performing similar behaviors and expressions. The wide-angle lens means that the photographic angle of view is relatively wide, suitable for the environment with a large shooting range, and could show the fusion of the environment and the characters.
In general, through the study and analysis this week, I have a better understanding of the lens. In a film, different lenses can make a film look more layered and diversified. This is what I ignored in my previous studies. I used to spend most of my time editing but ignored the use of the camera itself. Finally, each focal length corresponds to a different scene, and I will spend more time practicing how to use them accurately as the focus of my next study plan.
Week 1
The Scene In Cinema is a studio that I am very interested in. First of all, this is my last semester before graduation. After that, I plan to be a director, so I want to have a deep understanding of film theory and film editing skills, especially shooting angles, positions, light, and lenses. At the same time, I hope that through this semester, I could clearly understand how to become a qualified director, and at the end of the semester, I hope to produce an excellent film.
According to the first week of class, I learned a few basic elements about the film. The first one is the scrip should be based on the storyboard and floor plan before shooting the movie or short video. Besides, a storyboard and floor plan could help directors, photographers and actors accurately determine their location, scenes, and angles. Secondly, we discussed 4 different scripts in groups in class. My team chose scripts A and D. I found If there is only a script, each person’s shooting angle and camera shot types of field are completely different. Furthermore, one of the important effects of the storyboard and floor plan is reducing the time consumed. It can tell everyone on the shooting scene what needs to be done, such as the actors’ position, the camera’s direction, and tell the director what needs to do next step. The second basic element of filming is camera shot types, in which we have learned three main shot sizes: Long shot, Medium shot, and Close shot. Finally, this week we watched 6 different clips. Their common feature is the use of a one-shot to complete the shooting. I personally think that having a one-shot will make the picture feel smoother. This editing technique is beneficial for me.
I am generally delighted that I chose this studio, it is useful for me, and I hope studio that The Scene In Cinema suits me very well!