Film-making and Preliminary Work

For my preliminary work, I wanted to go through the four main camera movements to remind myself of their effect and how to use them during filming. These camera movements include the pan, track, zoom and tilt. 

From my understanding, the meaning of these camera movements are:

Panning - horizontal or vertical movement, follows an object/subject and tracks surrounding 

Tracking (dolly shot) - movement of camera towards or from subject/object

Zooming - zoom in or out, changes frame proportion 

Tilt - pivot camera up and down in small movements, usually used in point of views

Provided below is my preliminary work - 

Reflection on personal skill development:

By practicing the four main camera movements, I was able to recall how distinct each movement is and see their effect firsthand. I understand that the pan movement is able to expand an audience’s point of view, while a tilt can introduce a character in dramatic fashion or establish a location. Moreover, a track can immerse an audience in a particular setting, while a zoom can be used to convey a close shot and focus on more details. By obtaining this understanding, I now know how to use these camera movements in my short film. 

Another preliminary exercise that I completed was setting up three-point lighting and seeing how it illuminates a subject. When learning about mise-en-scéne and the use of lighting, I gained an understanding of the use of light sources from three distinct positions: key light, fill light and backlight.

Provided below is my preliminary work - 

Reflection on personal skill development:

By practicing setting up three-point lighting, I was able to understand how to create a more dynamic image. This preliminary exercise allowed me to gain insight in the different ways of how a subject can be conveyed and recognise how to work with shadows. 

The effect of the key light is that it gives an image its overall exposure - it is the basis for creating the mood of a scene. Fill light, on the other hand, fills in the shadows that the key light creates on a subject, bringing out details in the darkness. I also noticed that a dim fill light creates a high-contrast shadow, while a brighter and more balanced light gives the subject a more even look. Lastly, the backlight creates an outline of lights around the subject's head that gives a sense of depth to a scene.