Week 4: Ethnographic films and Shot types

Ethnographic Film 

READING NOTES:

Anthropology 16mil Camera- liberated film crew, however anthropologistes are not film makers.


Ethnography is a form of research- live with the people, learn their language.
First ethnographic films- fly on the wall- not interfering with cameras- static film.
Developed into poetic ethnographic documentary- as ethnographic anthropologists became more accustomed to filmmaking these anthropologist films became more successful in portraying there factual anthropological view of a society with the development of technology and the genre.

TECHNICAL FILMING NOTES:

SHOTS
Long shot (wide shot)- to establish/day or night
Med shot- Between the two- shows scenery and characters in the scene
Close up- eliminates space around gives prominance to subject

ANGLES

POV- enhances subjectivativtiy and in
Reverse angle shot- camera moved in 180arc
Low angle shot- exaggerates size and importance of the subject
High angle shot- looks small shows power- weak or strong
Pan- side to side
Tilt shot- up and down
Pedestal shot- moving the camera vertically with respect to the subject. This is often referred to as "pedding" the camera up or down
Zoom Shot- changing the focal length of a lens in a mid shot distance between objects

LENS

50mm is standered photography lens
85mm flatters subject

CAMERA MOVEMENT

Dolly Shot- wheeled platform that is pushed on rails while the picture is being taken
Taking shot- camera follows a person or an object physicallyy moving with the subject
Crane shot- raised or lowered

COMPOSITION

Aspect ratios- frame limits outer boaders

Shooting:
4:3 used to be normal now 16:9 is now the standard

Projections (Cinema)1.85:1 2.39:1

Rule of 3rd
Symmetry
Asymmetrical- suggest something is wrong out of balance

• Composition if related to lookspace head room and walk space
• Depth and perspective- lighting adds depth by separating foreground from the background
• Image perspective- depth of the images

Image quality- tonality
High contrast limited range of gray tones- black and whites
Low contrast- wide range of tones more natural more colours

Speed of motion

• Speed at which objects appear to move within the frame
• Changed by altering film recording s[eed or in editing
• Long focal length often slows down appoint motion by squashing space
• Wide angle can speed motion by expanding the apparent distance travelled in a given period of time