Basic Camera Shots Introduction

On one of our first lessons we had an introduction to types of camera shots.

'There is a convention in the video, film and television industries which assigns names and guidelines to common types of shots, framing and picture composition'

Most of the shots are used in a footage to concentrate our attention on particular things, such as this extreme close up

draws our attention to child's eyes.

Wide shots: Very wide shot and Extreme wide shot.

Very wide shots



'The very wide shot is much closer to the subject than an extreme wide shot, but still much further away than a wide shot. The subject is usually visible but the emphasis is very much on placing it in its environment.'

This particular shot does not have a person in it, however it is a good example of the amount of details that usually get in very wide shots. Very wide shots can also be used as establishing shots, however they are usually much closer than extreme wide shots.

Extreme wide shots

Extreme wide shots like that are usually used as establishing shots. They set up a scene's setting, and show the location where it happenns. Sometimes they can also show famous landmarks to refer to a particular city, or panoramic views to refer to a particular part of the world. They can also be used to create a certain atmosphere. Establishing shots often dont focus our attention on a particular subject, but show us the environment it is in.

Horror film poster

This poster was made from a picture we took at our camera introduction lesson. The person on the picture is shifted to the right hot spot, to have more space for the text in the left hot spot. I made the bruises with the burn tool in photoshop, also i used the same tool to 'burn' everything around the person, to have that glow effect around. Then I desaturated the original picture to have it in black and white.
I wanted to make this poster seem funny, so i cut some movie titles and sticked them together, i used different tools in photoshop to fit them in. Space on top of the poster could be used for listing actors or other information about the movie.

Intro to stills camera

At our lesson about stills camera we have learnt about the basic functions of digital photo cameras, hotspots and the basic techniques that are used to take professional looking photos.

We talked about focus controls, which allows us to choose which objects we want to be reproduced clearly.

Exposure control allows us to choose how much light do we want to enter the camera which changes the brightness of the picture taken.

Quality control allows us to choose the most suitable quality/size ratio for our photo.

Changing the white balance setting allows us to choose the correct 'colour temperature' setting regarding to the light source to make our photo look natural.

Intro to video cameras

This is a Sony High Definition video camera.

Our intro lesson included different aspects of shooting video, using tripods and setting the correct parameters for the video.

First of all we learned how to use tripods, and bubble the camera. This included setting up the mic for the camera and using batteries.

We then moved on to camera controls, some of them were:

Aspect ratio : modern widescreen televisions support 16:9 aspect ratio, therefore the camera must be set at this ratio. However older televisions use 4:3 ratio.

Shutter speed : shutter speed is a value that is used to describe how long does it take for a mechanical 'door' between the lens and the film to open and close for each frame. This controls how much light falls on the film and is used to reduce or increase motion blur while taking pictures or shooting videos. The higher the shutter speed the sharper the objects will appear. Usually 1/50 is a good setting for most situations.

White Balance Settings : this is a parameter used to correct the balance of light. Human eyes do this automatically, however when the camera is set on auto it might be wrong, which will lead to unnaturally looking photos/video. This may also be altered for creative purposes. Usually we can use presets that are built into the camera to choose the environment we are filming in to make sure white balance is right. This is a very important setting because without it video may look unrealistic.

Gain control : gain control amplifies the signal that is coming in the camera, which makes the picture lighter or darker (controls the brightness). It is useful for increasing or decreasing the brightness of the picture without changing the other parameters such as shutter speed. However too much gain can cause noise problems with the photo/video making it seem very grainy. To change the gain on our camcorders we pressed the gain button and used the weel to adjust the parameter. There is a small number of situations where the gain control is useful. Usually it should be set to 0, to eliminate all extra light coming into the camera.

What is a horror film?

Personal Aspects :

1) The audience's own recognition with the fear or terrors of the narrative.

2) Fear of uknown, maniacs and monsters.

3) Fear of the body being mutilated

4) Audience's personal boundaries are being trasgressed

5) Audience is observing terror, killing and horror from a safe distance, getting frightened, but still understanding that nothing will happen to them.

Ideological Aspects :

1) The implicit (hidden) or explicit (obvious) messages that are embedded within the narrative.

2) Appearance of themes of punishment, rejection and revulsion at subjects that deviate from 'correct' thinking.

3) Basic messages and more nuanced and subtle fears that break our boundaries (such as strangers or hitchhikers)

4) Condemnation of any deviant religions (non christian religions)

5) Belief in science that can defeat the darkness at the expence of old ideals.

6) Modern Media creates 'demons' by crusading against sections of society and labelling them.
Not every stranger or mentally unstable person will kill or rape.


Financial :

1) One of the most lucrative genres in film industry, the films are constantly reinvented, remade and reincarnated.

2) Horror movies drag in huge audiences and earn millions.