Cinematography blog tasks
Cinematography blog tasks
1) Write an analysis of the cinematography in the opening sequence. Highlight your use of media language and try to cover camera shots, angles and movement using the terminology we have learned in lessons.
This is the opening scene of an American TV show Pretty Little Liars. The opening scene starts off with a closeup shot of a girl's eye. The following scenes after are also closeup shots. The closeup shots reveal small details of the character instead of showing what the character looks like as a whole, to create suspense and make the audience question who the girl is. By looking at the closeup of the girl's eye we could see the paleness of her skin and her eyes which shows no emotion, we could infer that she is dead. A slow tilt is used (from up to down) when the girl's hair is getting curled. After the closeup shot of her nails getting painted, the camera goes back and focuses on the girl's eye, however this time someone closes them, also inferring that the girl is dead. A medium shot is used after to show both of the girl's arms being placed in position and then the coffin shadowing down on her and closes (answers audiences questions and we can now see that the girl is dead). A tilt is used from downwards to upwards to reveal the other main characters. This shifts the audience's attention from the closing coffin, to the four girls shown, and can lead to the audience wondering if the girls are related to her death, and creates tension. Then, the camera zooms into one of the characters (then becomes a closeup shot) when she puts her finger to her lips (sh sound effect). The closeup shot shows that she's acting suspicious and mysterious and we can hint that she has something to do with the dead girl. She does this when the intro song says 'Cuz two can keep a secret if one of them is dead', which can indicate she is hiding a secret, maybe suggesting that she is the main suspect relating to the girl's death, and again lead audience to think about who the other three girls are and if they were also involved in a crime.
2) How does the camerawork give the audience clues about the setting, narrative and character?
The camerawork creates a lot of suspense and tension for the audience as the character in the coffin was not fully revealed, however closeup shots were used to create to reveal small details of the girl. After the coffin was closed, four girls were shown, which are the main characters. This makes the audience wonder if they were related to what happened to the girl and adds an element of mystery. The setting behind the girls were very dull and dreary and devoid comfort or happiness. The facial expressions of the four characters are confusion, unbothered and suspicious. We can also see that when the camera focuses on the girls, none of them make eye contact with the camera and directly look at it, which makes them look very dubious. The audience could may hint that the narrative of this TV show links to the genre crime, mystery and drama. The intro ends with a zoom in on one of the girls hushing. The audience is left on a cliffhanger as we don't know who the characters are, who is in the coffin, and what the girls have done.
Secondly, find and analyse one film or TV still image. Add the image to your blog post.
3) Analyse the camera shot/angle in the image and what it communicates to the audience. Remember to highlight the media terminology you use.
In this image, a medium long shot is used. In this image it shows the main character singing in the green dress. Top lighting is used to show that she is the focus and attention to the audience she's performing too. The camera is angled a bit to the top (high angle) to reveal the orchestra behind her.
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