The use of colour in films

Colour working on the subconscious mind to create certain mood. Hospitals and dentists use pale colours in their waiting rooms, such as pale blues and greens, this is said to have a calming effect on the mind. Each colour has its own connotations, which may have been influenced by the culture of our beliefs, For example Christan's see the colour White as a symbol of purity where as in Indian religions white is seen as the colour of mourning.

In the early days if a film maker wanted to use colour it would be painted on the shots afterwards. Technicolour introduced their new system in the early nineteen thirties that colour film began to see a commercial possibility.

Colour film was nearly thirty per cent higher than black and white, the effects where so dramatic that major film makers where eager to use it. Today we expect films to be in colour, and anything in black and white is added for effect. In the early days it was the opposite and colour was only really used for fantasy films.

Red- Excitement, energy, passion, love, desire, speed, strength, power, heat, aggression, danger, fire, blood, war, violence.

Pink- Love, romance and excitement.

Beige- Unification, Quiet, Pleasantness, Clam and simplicity.

Yellow- Joy, Happiness, Betrayal, Optimism, Idealism, Imagination, Hope, Sunshine, Summer, Gold, Philosophy, Dishonesty, Cowardice, Jealousy, Conventousness, Deceit, Illness and hazard.

Blue- Peace, Tranquillity, cold, calm, stability, harmony, unity, trust, truth, confidence, conversation, security, cleanliness, order, loyalty, sky, water, technology, depression, appetite suppressant.

Turquoise- Sophistication, Feminine appeal.

Purple- Royalty, Nobility, spiritually, ceremony, mysterious, transformation, wisdom, enlightenment, cruelty, arrogance, mourning.

Lavender- Femininity, grace and elegance.

Green- Nature, enjoyment, Healthy, good luck, renewal, youth, spring, generosity, fertility, jealousy, inexperience, envy, misfortune, vigour.

Brown- Earth, stability, hearth, home, outdoors, reliability, comfort, endurance, simplicity and comfort.

Grey- Security, reliability, intelligence, staid, modesty, dignity, maturity, solid, conservative, practical, old age, sadness, boring, silver symbolizes calm.

White- Reverence, purity, birth, simplicity, cleanliness, peace, humility, snow, good, sterility, marriage (western cultures), Death (eastern cultures), Cold, clinical.

Black- Power, sexuality, sophistication, formality, elegance, wealth, mystery, fear, evil, unhappiness, depth, style, evil, sadness, remorse, anger, anonymity, underground, good technical colour, mourning, death (western cultures).

A film that uses colour to add drama is "Jennifer's body". {as shown in the image below}

This images use of pink and red  and the toned down colour in the background makes you think that the character is dangerous or even very desirable. this reflects the characters new persona; although the backgrounds lack of colour using dusty natural colours, portrays the depression, everyone is going through in the movie.

In the film Shindler's List the girl shown below, was shown wearing a red coat while the rest of the film was in black and white. This is done to show  you that the girl is of some importance, it also makes her stand out to the audience while in the film not much attention is payed towards her.

Lighting Techniques

Ambient Light	The light already present in a scene, before any additional lighting is added. <image to add taken by Connor Page> More info: Ambient Light
Incident Light	Light seen directly from a light source (lamp, sun, etc).
Reflected Light	Light seen after having bounced off a surface.
Colour Temperature	A standard of measuring the characteristics of light, measured in kelvins. More Info: Colour Temperature Chart
Contrast Ratio	The difference in brightness between the brightest white and the darkest black within an image. More Info: Contrast Ratio
Key Light	The main light on the subject, providing most of the illumination and contrast. <image to add taken by Connor Page> More Info: 3 Point Lighting
Fill Light	A light placed to the side of the subject to fill out shadows and balance the key light. More Info: 3 Point Lighting
Back Light	A light placed at the rear of a subject to light from behind. More Info: 3 Point Lighting
Hard Light	Light directly from a source such as the sun, traveling undisturbed onto the subject being lit.
Soft Light	Light which appears to "wrap around" the subject to some degree. Produces less shadows or softer shadows.
Spot	A controlled, narrowly-focused beam of light.
Flood	A broad beam of light, less directional and intense than a spot.
Tungsten	Light from an ordinary light bulb containing a thin coiled tungsten wire that becomes incandescent (emits light) when an electric current is passed along it. Tungsten colour temperature is around 2800K to 3400K. Also known as incandescent light.
Halogen	Type of lamp in which a tungsten filament is sealed in a clear capsule filled with a halogen gas.
Fresnel	A light which has a lens with raised circular ridges on its outer surface. The fresnel lens is used to focus the light beam.
Incandescent	Incandescent lamps produce heat by heating a wire filament until it glows. The glow is caused by the filament's resistance to the current and is called incandescence

This was sourced from http://www.mediacollege.com/lighting/terminology/ re-worded/arranged by Connor Page

Camrea angles, movement and shots

Camera Shots
A camera shot is the amount of space that is seen in one shot or frame. Camera shots are used to demonstrate different aspects of a film's setting, characters and themes. As a result, camera shots are very important in shaping meaning in a film. Reviewing the examples on the right hand side of this page should make the different camera shots clearer.

Extreme long shot- contains a large amount of landscape. It is often used at the beginning of a scene or a film to establish general location (setting). This is also known as an establishing shot.

Long shot-contains landscape but gives the viewer a more specific idea of setting. A long shot may show the viewers the building where the action will take place.

full shot-contains a complete view of the characters. From this shot, viewers can take in the costumes of characters and may also help to demonstrate the relationships between characters. For more information on costumes and acting refer to Chapter 4.

Mid shot-contains the characters or a character from the waist up. From this shot, viewers can see the characters' faces more clearly as well as their interaction with other characters. This is also known as a social shot

Close-up-contains just one character's face. This enables viewers to understand the actor's emotions and also allows them to feel empathy for the character. This is also known as a personal shot.

Extreme close-up-contains one part of a character's face or other object. This technique is quite common in horror films, particularly the example above. This type of shot creates an intense mood and provides interaction between the audience and the viewer.
Camera angles
It is important that you do not confuse camera angles and camera shots. Camera shots are used to demonstrate different aspects of setting, themes and characters. Camera angles are used to position the viewer so that they can understand the relationships between the characters. These are very important for shaping meaning in film as well as in other visual texts.
Bird's eye angle-is an angle that looks directly down upon a scene. This angle is often used as an establishing angle, along with an extreme long shot, to establish setting.

High angle-is a camera angle that looks down upon a subject. A character shot with a high angle will look vulnerable or small. These angles are often used to demonstrate to the audience a perspective of a particular character. The example above demonstrates to us the perspective or point of view of a vampire. As a viewer we can understand that the vampire feels powerful.

Eye-level angle-puts the audience on an equal footing with the character/s. This is the most commonly used angle in most films as it allows the viewers to feel comfortable with the characters.

Low angle-is a camera angle that looks up at a character. This is the opposite of a high angle and makes a character look more powerful. This can make the audience feel vulnerable and small by looking up at the character. This can help the responder feel empathy if they are viewing the frame from another character's point of view.

A Dutch angle-is used to demonstrate the confusion of a character. The example above should disorientate you.

Camera movement
Composers of films also use camera movement to shape meaning. The following are some examples of common camera movements and how they can be used to shape meaning in films.

Crane shot-is often used by composers of films to signify the end of a film or scene. The effect is achieved by the camera being put on a crane that can move upwards

Tracking shot/dolly shot-have the same effect. A tracking shot moves on tracks and a dolly shot is mounted on a trolley to achieve the effect in the example above. This camera movement is used in a number of ways but is most commonly used to explore a room such as a restaurant. By using a tracking shot or a dolly shot the composer of a film gives the viewer a detailed tour of a situation. It can also be used to follow a character.

Panning-is used to give the viewer a panoramic view of a set or setting. This can be used to establish a scen

Media Terminology

Continuity

The preliminary task I am doing requires me to understand continuity, the fundamental principle of moving image. It is what keeps the video moving from frame to frame. If the continuity rules are followed then the plot can unfold seamlessly and flow together creating a pleasurable experience.

The plot unfolds in such a way that the audience can assume what happens in between each shot or sequence for example, if a character boards a train in shot 1, is seen sitting reading a paper in shot 2, asleep in the same seat with the paper folded up in shot 3 and getting off the train in shot 4, the audience will not think the train journey was extraordinary short. They will assume that in between shots 2, 3 and 4 the journey continued but nothing significant happened  to the plot. However, if a continuity rule was broken so that the character appeared to move seats, this would disrupt the flow of the sequence.

Match on Action

To use this technique, cut from one shot to another view that matches the action and place of the first shot. This creates an impression of continuity although you may have filmed the shots weeks apart. If a character begins an action in the first shot and completes it in the next, a visual ‘bridge’ is created which acts to disguise the cut from one to the other.

180 degree rule

The 180° rule is a basic guideline in film making that states that two characters (or other elements) in the same scene should always have the same left/right relationship to each other. If the camera passes over the imaginary axis connecting the two subjects, it is called crossing the line. The new shot, from the opposite side, is known as a reverse angle.

In the example of a dialogue, if Owen (orange shirt in the diagram) is on the left and Bob (blue shirt) is on the right, then Owen should be facing right at all times, even when Bob is off the edge of the frame, and Bob should always be facing left. Shifting to the other side of the characters on a cut, so that Bob is now on the left side and Owen is on the right, will disorient the viewer, and break the flow of the scene.

An example of sustained use of the 180 degree rule occurs throughout much of The Big Parade, a 1925 drama about World War I directed by King Vidor. In the sequences leading up to the battle scenes, the American forces (arriving from the west) are always shown marching from left to right across the screen, while the German troops (arriving from the east) are always shown marching from right to left. After the battle scenes, when the weary troops are staggering homeward, the Americans are always shown crossing the screen from right to left (moving west) and the Germans from left to right (moving east). The audience's viewpoint is therefore always from a consistent position, in this case southward of the action.

This schematic shows the axis between two characters and the 180° arc on which cameras may be positioned (green). When cutting from the green arc to the red arc, the characters switch places on the screen.

Shot/Reverse Shot

Shot/reverse shot is a film technique where one character is shown looking at another character, often off-screen, and then the other character is shown looking back at the first character. Since the characters are shown facing in opposite directions, the viewer assumes that they are looking at each other.

It is mainly done over the shoulder as shown by the images below.

Summary

The link below is to a video that goes through every step that is above. is show the consistency of the continuity from frame to frame. It also demonstrates matching action, shot and shot reverse; 180 degree rule is covered in, in-depth detail, with a running commentary.

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8xauSCz1mEk