cinematography research

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Cinematography - Cinematography is the science or art of motion picture photography by recording light or other electromagnetic radiation, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light sensitive material such as film stock.
Cinematographers work very closely with the directors onto which shot would be the best for the scene. They shoot the scene from numerous angles to determine which one would suit the scene best, and what they were trying to portray. Conventional camera shots usually differ with each genre. For example, big battle films such as Gladiator usually switch between long shots showing the battles, and then switching to quick motion shots. 
Cinematography is a symbolic code, which is often used to establish the start of a film. Establishing shots are used to display the setting and make the audience feel a certain way. An example of an effective establishing shot is seen at the beginning of Star Wars: 
This is a very good example of how cinematography is used to add a sense of suspense. The shot stays in the exact same place revealing space and the planets below, then, stays in the same place as the large threatening ship flies over. The use of cinematography helps portray a sense of dread to the audience that the director wants them to have towards this ship. 
The art of cinematography has evolved a lot since its founding. It is widely used as a symbolic and technical code to promote feelings to the audience.  It also helps establish the film and makes the film more interesting to audiences. 

A convention of cinematography in the horror genre is the shots that illustrate how isolated the victim is, usually through the use of wide shots to show the isolated location. The lighting used in the horror genre is usually very dark in places, with light being focused in another section to illuminate a part of the victims face, an example of this convention is in the horror film “The Exorcist" :

This shot is a very common convention of cinematography, as it is used to make the atmosphere for the movie. The lighting used in this shot highlight the character, whilst there is darkness all around him. This is supposed to add a sense of foreboding towards the area the character is in, but also to portray the character as the light in the dark, connoting good feelings towards him. 

 

This cinematographic convention is also seen here in a shot from “The Shining", were the villains face on the right side is highlighted, whilst his left is darker, this makes the villain seem more foreboding and menacing and combined with the threatening expression on his face it helps portray the villain as being part of the darkness.

Cinematography movement

Cinematography uses all sorts of camera shots and angles, and cinematographers and directors work together closely, sometimes shooting a scene from each angle and shot until they find the one that they feel is best.

As I have studied TV drama at AS level I know the camera movements used heavily by cinematographers, the main shots used are:

·        Pan- A shot that moves sideways over a straight line.

·        Tilt- A shot the moves up and down

·        Dolly- A shot that moves the camera forwards and backwards

·        Track- A shot that tracks characters or an object in the scene.

·        Pedestal- In a pedestal move, the camera will physically be lowered or elevated.

·        Zoom- When the camera zooms in on an event or zooms out.

These are the basic shots used by cinematographers when filming a scene; the process is usually very long as the scene will usually be shot from different angles and shots until one version of the scene is decided to go into the final cut.