Lighting

Lighting!

I feel that within filming lighting needs to be considered as crucial as it generally sets the mood for scenes, plus it also can give a more in-depth and emotion to the overall shots. When filming it is crucial to understand that lighting must be used, by this I generally mean that natural lights cannot always be as practical, so mechanical lights would be used a lot. Furthermore, when creating the script ensure that you can identify the time of year and the weather patterns, otherwise the scene would not look as you would of envisaged them to look like. 


When shooting you have to take into consideration that without light there is no image, but you have to be careful with the light in which you are using. Carefully controlled lighting can direct the attention of the viewer onto a certain object, character and or event etc. Furthermore it is generally important to understand how lighting can change the emotion and mood of a scene, hard light shapes sharp shadows, for example sun, candles, unfiltered tungsten lamps). With soft light casts softer shadows for example, an overcast weather, lamps with diffusers, and certain surfaces which would reflect light. 

Contrast latitude is the actual film of different contrast densities. For example with low key lighting this is when high light contrast is being used with dark shadows as a pool of light. However, with high key lighting this consists of low contrasts of light, which when evenly spread, the lighting so that the whole set would be lit, this tends to be linked with daylight, comedy and vast majority of studio shows. 

The lighting used within film doesn't always consist through natural sources, mechanical light plays a huge part which generally matters depending on the overall situation of the scene and light needed within that scene, there is different types of equipment which can be used for example; Tungsten Lamps, these are quite common use of a professional standard light, with a range between 150W to 24,000W and with a consistent colour temperature of 3200 degree K which generally generates a lot of heat. You can also get reflectors which will change how the overall light appears for example when the reflectors softens the light, silver reflectors harden the light, mirrors harden the light and gold reflectors would add warmth to the lighting. As well as all the equipment in which you have, different set up's you can use to provide the most efficient and best lighting. An example of a good set up would be the 'three point lighting set up'. 

Key light is generally the brightest light which casts the main shadows which can be hard and or soft. Fill light tends to be used to fill out the shadows by doing this you must ensure that it doesn't create its own shadows. Back light is generally used to create bright outlines around certain subjects, it tends to be used mainly for the use of being able to separate a subject from the background. Clothes lighting is used to add additional key lighting which adds shape and brings out the different textures of the costumes as well as make-up. Kicker adds additional back light. Eye light which adds shine to the characters eyes. Background light is generally used to cover light that isn't wanted/ working within the background. With motivated light this is just like motivated shots, by this I literally mean that each light used must be justified, so if the use of the lighting motivated certain shots then this would add depth to the scene. However if it is not motivating then the shot would seem unrealistic. De-emphasise areas without light, this would make the viewer focus on certain subjects, this would show that you can be as telling when you aren't using light as you do when you are using light. 

Within this shot the lighting is directed to the main character but in theory there isn't enough light to then show the character which is in the background, this would then be used to show who is good or bad. The light on the women is generally to show that she is good or that she is about to be a victim with the darkness on the male to show that perhaps he is bad or an antagonist. 


In this particular shot the lighting is directly onto the eye of the character, this is generally used to show emotion and create suspense for the audience. The lighting is mainly used for the emotion when a character is sad or depressed. But within some films it is generally used to create suspense by the eye of a character you don't know, meaning you also have no idea what they look like. 


Within this shot of Leonardo DiCaprio the lighting is used within the picture to centre the attention towards the main character, but with general clear emotion and overall body language of the character within the background. 

Endings

Endings!

(Open and Closed)

Open Ending:

With an opening ending this is one that leaves the major conflict initiated by the suspense of the plot being unresolved. Meaning it leaves the audience with a definite sense that the story is unfinished and may be continued after the section of the narrative which was also seen.



I feel that Inception would generally be a perfect example for an open ending as the narrative for Inception is about dreams and how they attempt to extract a piece of intel from someone. As they get deeper within the dream they go harder to tell whether it is reality or not. Christopher Nolan actually uses this concept to end Inception as Leonardo Dicaprio's character actually gets his kids back but his symbol of the spinning top tells him whether it is a dream or whether it isn't. From what we as the audience can see the spinning top doesn't stop spinning but from seeing it, it is cut to a black screen which generally leaves the audience in an opening ending and them it makes them think whether he is actually within a dream or in reality. 
Closed Ending:

However, with closed endings this is by contrast, do just what the phrase actually suggests and brings closure to the actual story which presents a definite end to a story which was being told. 



Furthermore, looking into 'The Revenant' I definitely feel that it has a closed ending scene which generally allows the audience to be able to notice that the film is at a closed ending rather than an opening ending and that the storyline is closing for the film. After the initial final fight with Leonardo Dicaprio and Tom Hardy, you can see a ghostly figure spawn which is later found out to be Dicaprio's wife within the film which indicates to the audience that he is dying. On top of this you can actually hear heavy breathing when the screen goes fully black and this tells the audience that he potentially is about to draw his breath. 

Realist / Anti Realist

Realist & Non Realist!

Realist Narrative:

When looking into realist narrative, this draws its power from the portrayal of real events. With realist narratives this generally focuses on life that we know and is bound by the same rules that our own lives are bound by. We do not expect a male character in a realist narrative to suddenly zoom up into the sky, unless of course he would be wearing a jet pack. Furthermore, realist narratives often focus on the kinds of issues and challenges that face ordinary people in their everyday lives. 


Non-Realist Narrative:

Now looking into non-realist narrative this narrative tends to have the freedom to be able to indulge with the presentation of events in which could never happen within an ordinary individuals life. Superhero films tend to have their own realism, and internal logic that establishes the "special powers" possessed by the characters which actually govern what the protagonists and antagonists can and can't do. Even with given realism, they still are not what we would describe as 'realist'. In everyday situations an ordinary person would not be able to stretch their arms around a building or go invisible. ('Fantastic 4')

Non Linear / Non Sequential

Non Linear!

A Non-Linear narrative is generally the one which doesn't proceed in a straight-line, step-by-step fashion. A Non-linear narrative may present events in an order but may not be the chronological one. Within a crime plot, a writer may place a story's ending before the beginning and middle acts.

An example of a non-linear narrative would be 'The Prestige':

Flashbacks

Flashbacks!

Flashback narratives aren't to be confused with non-linear narratives - which begin at a later stage within the story and then jump back almost immediately to the very beginning of the actual story which then proceeds linearly from there and is usually proceeded past the supposed "ending" which is shown at the beginning.

Realist, Realism, Realistic - What are the differences?

The Realist narrative generally aims at the representation of life as we know it. Phrasal terms such as "social realism" extend the idea and focus on certain issues which confront the everyday actualities of our own lives. The vast majority of films are made for mainstream audiences aiming to be more realistic, this is to say that they aim to preserve an internal logic which is established early on within the film. In order for the realism to be maintained the rules which are established at the beginning of the film are governing the way in which the film works and cannot be broken later on.

Flashbacks were a predominant feature within the television show 'Lost'. In pretty much every episode there is a fragment of where a character remembers something from their past and it shows the audience how they actually got onto the island. Flashbacks can be useful as it generally allows the audience to be able to see into the characters past and allows any loose ends to be tied up within the overall narrative.

Here is a video example from (Lost) of a Flashback scene:

Linear / Sequential

Linear!

Linear is a narrative in which one which runes within a straight line, usually delivering events in a chronological order. An example of a linear narrative would be soap opera's. Soap operas tend to rarely jump around in time, either forwards or backwards. Most soap aim at actuality which represents real life as it is lived and experienced. 

A narrative includes a plot, characters, setting as well as climax and resolution. 

Genre

Syllabification: gen-re

Definition of Genre:

Genre is a category of artistic composition, in music or literature, characterised by similarities in form, style, or even subject matter.


Here is a video explaining 9 different conventions within genre:



Genres:
- Period
- Dramadoc
- Crime
- Soap
- Comedy

Period drama - This is a period piece in which elaborates costumes, sets and properties which are featured in order to then be able to capture the ambiance of that particular era. 
- This term is usually used within the context of film and TV. It's an informal, crossover term which applies to several genres, this is generally mostly heard within context of historical dramas and romances, adventure films as well as swashbucklers. 
- This shows that the audience isn't just attracted to the lavish costumers but by the content as much so. 

An example of a period drama would be:

Downtown Abbey



An example however for a short film period drama would be:

Lacey



Drama documentary - Within TV programming, alongside theater, a documentary drama which overall features dramatised re-enactments of actual historical events. 
- A documentary drama could be either filmed or written. Additionally, within the core elements of its imminent story, a docudrama generally looks to strive to adhere facts from the past, while doing so also allowing a higher or lower degree of a sense of pause in peripheral details, and where any gaps in the historical record. 
- Producers of documentary dramas tend to sometimes choose to film their events in which are reconstructed in the actual location in which the event previously occurred. 
- With dialogue this could include words from persons, which were previously recorded in historical documents. 

An example of documentary drama film/ short film would be:



REWORD THE FOLLOWING!!

Crime drama - Crime drama films are films in which focus on the lives and activities of criminals and, or even the men and women in which pursued them. 
- The approach however to a crime film varies from realistic portrayals to some what real-life criminals. Or the far-fetched imaginative criminals in which they can come up with. 
- Criminal acts are generally almost as glorified within the movies as successive generations of viewers become inured to the nastiness of the crime focused on. 

An example of a Crime Drama film would be:



However, an example of a Crime Drama within a short film would be:

Soap Opera:

A soap opera, sometimes called “soap” for short, is an on-going, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming.

Historically, soaps were radio series broadcast in weekday daytime slots, usually five days a week, when most listeners would be housewives; thus the shows were aimed at and consumed by a predominantly female audience.

An example of a Soap Opera film would be:



Whereas, an example of a Soap Opera short film would be:

Comedy:

Comedy-drama is a genre of theatre, film, and television that combines elements of comedy and drama, having both humorous and sometimes serious content. 

An example of a Comedy film would be:



An example of a Comedy short film would therefore be:

The filmmaker actually does the encoding whereas the audience does the decoding -Codes and conventions- repeated elements through each example within a given genre and audience expect to see. Codes and conventions of genre.

·         

Bibliography:

"What Does Genre Mean?". prezi.com. N.p., 2017. Web. 25 Jan. 2017.
https://prezi.com/yjpl3p0h0e8k/what-does-genre-mean/

"What Is Genre?". YouTube. N.p., 2017. Web. 25 Jan. 2017.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GuZ1edldKnk