Monday 9 September 2013

shot types and cinematography.

This is the opening, establishing shot of Stanley Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange. This close up shot establishes that this man is the main character of the film, but then the camera proceeds to zoom out from the close up, revealing the room that Alex (the main character) resides in, whilst still keeping Alex at the centre of it all. This symbolises Alex as being the centre of the world of A Clockwork Orange, despite the fact that it's hard to see him when the camera fully zooms out.

This is a two shot from the opening of The Social Network. Previously in the scene, the camera alternated between Mark Zuckerberg and Erica Albright via over-the-shoulder shots, hinting at a disconnection between the two.The camera only does the two shot twice in the entire scene, when they stopped talking. Most of the shots in the movie depict Mark Zuckerberg in a separate shot from everyone else, also hinting that he's disconnected from everyone else.


This is a wide-angle shot from Indie Game: The Movie. This shows, via a wide angle shot, the environment in which the game developers live. They live surrounded by posters and photos and references and computers and technology etc. They live in a little room, designing a game that will one day sell millions. A huge conclusion starts with a small, pop culture-filled room. 


This is an extreme close-up shot from Dead Space 2. Despite being a game, shots still take effect, and angles take a huge effect on the game as a whole. For instance, first person shooters like Call of Duty or Portal have their entire game played through the viewpoint of the main character. Third person games like Dead Space or Spec Ops: The Line have their game take place from the third-person perspective, having the game camera set over the characters shoulder. This is used for either gameplay or artistic purposes. This is a close up shot of the main characters mask. Because the game is survival horror, most of the scares rely on claustrophobia, which is expressed through this shot. We are so close to the main characters face, it's uncomfortable, inciting claustrophobia, which is one of the main themes of the game.

Of course there is a multitude of shots you can use for a game or a movie, but these are just a few shots you can use which are most often used in movies or games.  

1 comment:

  1. Very detailed and perceptive analysis here. Thoughtful comments on the EFFECTS of shot types. You are working way above the level expected at GCSE. Keep going.

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