Resolutions and Aspect Ratio PSD

Independent Study: Dada Film

       As a whole, Dada focused on the tension between the construction and deconstruction of life and anti-bourgeois politics. Specifically in film, Dadaists used film to capture the sensation of physical movement in their work, and saw in film the means of overcoming the static nature of painting.Dada-related films have several characteristics in common: they disrupt viewer expectations of a conventional narrative , use cinematic defamiliarization of social reality to undermine the norms and code of social convention, and are constantly pointing to the film apparatus as an illusion-producing machine.
(http://cinewiki.wikispaces.com/Dada+Film)
       It does its job of taking art into the 20th century with moving images by attempting to capture the sensation of movement, and not just have static images.

Metropolis Analysis

Who made this? Fritz Lang, I know as we had talked about it in class.
Why? He made the movie as a message to say that there must be someone or something that brings the leaders and the workers together in understanding. He also wished to make the biggest movie of that time, and make an impression on the American market. (http://www.tcm.com/this-month/article/25817%7C0/Metropolis.html)
What can we tell about the film-maker(s)? If what is said is true, that Lang wanted to create the biggest movie of the time, very ambitious and teeming with ideas, very inspired as well.
For whom was it made? How does it address its audience? What is the nature of our engagement with film? It was made for the people and the government.
What outside influences can we perceive in terms of finance, ownership, institution and sociocultural context? We can see the fallout of WWI on German society
What tradition is it in (for example, American gangster film, Bollywood musical)? The film is part of the German Expressionist movement, and matched up very well with the style of it with certain qualities of the film, like urban settings, complex architectural compositions, urban settings, madness, and obsession.
To what other works might it be connected? It is connected to all sci-fi films (i.e: Star Wars) due to being the first feature length sci-fi film.

Kuleshov Effect

1. Definition: The Kuleshov Effect is a film editing (montage) effect demonstrated by Russian filmmaker Lev Kuleshov in the 1910s and 1920s.It is a mental phenomenon by which viewers derive more meaning from the interaction of two sequential shots than from a single shot in isolation.
2. 
   

German Expressionism Investigation

Nosferatu

1922
F. W. Murnau
Birth of the horror film, high contrast/chiaroscuro, moved away from mass market storytelling and focused on delving into more psychological issues/stories
Nosferatu inspired a remake of the film with the same name in the 1970s
The song "Nosferatu" (1977) from the album Spectres by American rock band Blue Öyster Cult is directly about the film


The Cabinet of Doctor Caligari

1920
Robert Wiene
Madness, paranoia, obsession, moved away from mass market storytelling and focused on delving into more psychological issues/ stories
In 1962, a British version very loosely based on the film was made called The Cabinet of Caligari with a script by Robert Bloch, the author of Psycho, In 2012, the Chatterbox Audio Theatre recorded a live soundtrack, including dialog, sound effects, and music, for the classic silent film. The movie, with this soundtrack, was released on YouTube on October 30, 2013.^[21]


Metropolis
1927
Fritz Lang
Complex architectural compositions, urban settings
Madonna's music video for "Express Yourself" pays homage to the film and Fritz Lang, The Brazilian metal band Sepultura named their 2013 album The Mediator Between Head and Hands Must Be the Heart after a quote from the film.^[55]

Twilight Zone Chase Sequence

Camera movements are very important to a film. They can be used in a variety of ways that can immerse the viewer into a film immensely, and give the film some depth. An example would be panning to show an entire room, bringing out things that wouldn't be seen or noticed beforehand. Filmmakers use camera movements to give a unique experience to the film, to craft an artistic masterpiece, or just simply because it looks good and will captivate an audience.
Successes and Recommendations: I think we handled most of our camera movements and principles of design very well, but if I had to redo, I would change a few things and attempt to make everything much smoother. My advice to anyone doing this project would be making sure your camera angles, movements, and principles of design all flow together well when creating the final product and having a bit more extra footage on the beginning/end of each clip would be helpful, along with redoing shots or having multiple versions of one shot to decide which to use.

Camera Angles

Establishing Shot: Sets up, or establishes the context for a scene by showing the relationship between its important figures and objects
POD: LEADING LINES


Long Shot: Typically shows the entire object or human figure and is usually intended to place it in some relation to its surroundings
POD: INFORMAL BALANCE

Medium Shot: The medium shot is the most common shot used in movies. Every shot that isn't a long shot or close up is a medium shot.
POD: VERTICAL LINES

Eye Level Shot: The camera is located at normal eye level (five to six feet from ground level) in relation to the subject
POD: FORMAL BALANCE
Close Up Shot: The camera is close to the subject, so that when the image is projected most of the screen shows a face and its expression, or some relatively small part of a larger whole
POD: DIAGONAL LINES

Birds Eye View: The camera is placed directly over the subject.
1:09
POD: VERTICAL LINES

Worms Eye View: A view of an object from below, as though the observer were a worm; the opposite of a bird's-eye view.
0:56
POD: VERTICAL LINES

Extreme Close Up: Closer shot than a closeup; a single detail occupies most of the screen image.  e.g., a mouth, a gun.  Sometimes called an "insert"
POD: INFORMAL BALANCE

Reaction Shot: A shot showing the reaction of a character to something or someone seen in the previous shot.
POD: HORIZONTAL LINES

Point of View Shot: Shows what a character (the subject) is looking at.
POD: DIAGONAL LINES

Over the Shoulder Shot: A shot of someone or something taken from the perspective or camera angle from the shoulder of another person.
POD: vERTICAL LINES

Camera Movements

Camera Movements	What is it?	How is it used?
Zoom	Zooming is one camera move that most people are probably familiar with. It involves changing the focal length of the lens to make the subject appear closer or further away in the frame. Zooming is one of the most frequently used camera moves and one of the most overused.	Increasing (or decreasing) the size of an actor on-screen is a pretty simple way for a director or cinematographer to signal the audience that the character and/or what he/she is saying is important. Or, if the person is getting smaller on the screen, it often means the director is pointing out that they are merely a little part of a larger world or situation.
Pan	Moving the camera lens to one side or another.	used to suggest fast motion, and bring out the subject from other elements in the frame
Tilt	Moving the cameras lens up or down while keeping its horizontal axis constant.	Tilt shots are often used to show the vertical significance of something
Tracking	shots where the camera moves on dolly with the subject	A tracking shot can be used for almost anything; its meaning comes from how the director decides to use it. It can have a natural feeling. Can reveal new information
Dolly	Motion towards or motion from.	1.     Tracking Shots 2.     Pushing In and Out 3.     Slight Movement 4.     Booming Up and Down

Composition

This being our first project, I think that we still have a long way to go and need to learn a lot more. There's always room for improvement with anything. More diverse camera angles would have been a slight improvement, but the ones we have are still good. If I had to redo the project, I would think about changing the ways the principles can be shown and from the different angles. My recommendations to anyone doing something like this would be to always check for the rule of thirds and points of emphasis as they work, while also trying to get a variety of angles. Recreate the same principle with different ideas and find which one works the most with you and all other specifications.

Principles of Design

PHOTOGRAPHY AS ART

Photography is more than combining cameras, lenses, and film; it is about using those tools in combination with the elements and principles of design to create visual art.  Understanding how to use the elements and principles will turn your “snap shots” into photographic works of art.  Define the following terms.

Elements of Design

Line: ·      Leading Leading lines are lines within an image that leads the eye to another point in the image, or occasionally, out of the image. Anything with a definite line can be a leading line. Fences, bridges, even a shoreline can lead the eye. If can pair leading lines with a subject that is placed according to the rule of thirds your image should be very strong. o     ·      Vertical imply that our body is stiff, dignified, formal or still. Consequently, when we see a very upright figure in Egyptian art, we project our feelings and accurately envision a regal, important figure. ·      Horizontal o   give us calm, quiet feelings, because they bring ideas of sleep and rest. If an artist wanted to show a composed, peaceful setting, many horizontal lines would help elicit this effect from the viewer. ·      Diagonal o   the most active. They imply movement, tension, sometimes violence. Imagine a jogger whose legs and arms are formed into zigzags by diagonals. The whole thrust of a runner’s body is forward—on yet another diagonal. ·      Curved o   present a sense of grace,  smoothness, and dignity

http://char.txa.cornell.edu/language/element/element.htm use this website to figure out what each type of line represents.

Principles of Design

Balance: ·      Symmetrical where elements are given equal "weight" from an imaginary line in the middle of a piece ·      Asymmetrical when elements are placed unevenly in a piece, but work together to produce harmony overall.

Unity: when elements are placed unevenly in a piece, but work together to produce harmony overall.

Variety: refers to a way of combining elements of art in involved ways to achieve intricate and complex relationships

Movement / Rhythm: is the path the viewer’s eye takes through the artwork, often to a focal area. It can be directed along lines, edges, shapes and color/ a movement in which some elements recurs regularly.  Like a dance it will have a flow of objects that will seem to be like the beat of music.

Emphasis: center of interest) is an area that first attracts attention in a composition. This area is more important when compared to the other objects or elements in a composition.

Proportion / Scale: refers to the relative size and scale of the various elements in a design

Repetition / Pattern: Repeating visual elements such as line, color, shape, texture, value or image tends to unify the total effect of a work of art as well as create rhythm.

Making Choices

Point of View: ·      bird’s eye elevated view of an object from above, with a perspective as though the observer were a bird ·      worm’s eye a view of an object from below, as though the observer were a worm; the opposite of a bird's-eye view

Rule of Thirds: photos are divided into thirds with two imaginary lines vertically and two lines horizontally making three columns, three rows, and nine sections in the images. Important compositional elements and leading lines are placed on or near the imaginary lines and where the lines intersect.

Framing: the presentation of visual elements in an image, especially the placement of the subject in relation to other objects

Simplicity: directs that you should keep the items in your photo relatively simple