Video Essay by Jeremy Lawang
Unpacking Different Shot Types in Cinema
Shot types are the main attraction for every Hollywood movie star. Shot types define the mood of a narrative and help convey a specific meaning of a scene or particular area of a film. There are multiple shot types, all have a different meaning and purpose in dictating the emotions of the audience.
ACMI Exhibition project Assignment #4 Reflection
Studio re-cap:
Heading to this semester, I wanted my brain to act as a sponge and soak all sorts of information about how to create an aesthetic film or piece of art with the use of creative thinking and collaborative work. I seemed very sceptical about what ‘Screen Lab’ was and what it would bring to the table, I honestly thought that it would focus more on the technical side of making films through the name of the subject. Yet I was intrigued by the fact it focuses on the practical and theoretical part of creating films.
When it comes to creating films, many people think that it is an easy process where you collect a camera and start filming. Having this studio allowed me to further think about what I really want to film, whether it is worth having a specific shot in my timeline and dig deep into a creative thinking process and creating artefacts that are different and true to my name rather than copying someone else.
What I love about this studio is that, it enabled me to click my creative thinking hats and look further beyond my capabilities, allowing me to get out my usual comfort zone and film things that I usually won’t do. I personally think that I have a funny side to myself and I wanted to incorporate it onto my films, and this is what I did in my first two assignments; ‘Good days, Bad days’ and ‘Go get a drink!’. Both films were silent films and did not have any dialogue involved, so I constructed a plan to create a somewhat funny film using expressions, the unusual narrative of the film and predominantly acting.
Production:
The production for assignment #4 was the in the same exact environment as the production for my previous three assignments. Because of the whole situation that came to crisis in 2020, I was not allowed to gain access to the very cool camera’s and filming equipment that I wanted to use. Without looking out of the box, my focus went to using my phone to film. This did not stop the creative ideas that I had stored in the back of my head for each assignment, yet it was a completely different experience trying to film a good shot with a camera of low quality and poor stability in terms of the shakiness of the camera, as well as being denied of shooting a clean pan or tilt.
Being in the confines and having to strictly shoot and record films in the house and not have any actors was a problem as I personally hate being in front of the camera. Yet, I personally felt as if I was able to work my magic despite being faced with such restrictions to my production.
For the video essay, I wanted to make it a very formative video that showcased a lot of examples of what I was saying so that my audience can be intrigued and hooked. What I planned was to show a quick video excerpt of the shot type I am talking about, and then use the voiceover to explain how that specific shot creates meaning in terms of the context of the film. I talk about how the shot type is created, and the type of mood it can create for an audience.
Considering that my topic showcases different shot types, I didn’t really need to have a shot list for pre-production as I used different film excerpts that had the shot type I was talking about. I initially wanted to use live action to create some sort of creative interaction between me and the audience, but I was later on suggested to remove it.
Research of topic:
My assignment #4 focuses on unpacking different shot types that are seen in cinema and all sorts of film. I thought that choosing this topic would be a very creative and more hands-on project. I initially planned on creating a comparison showing what specific shot I was talking about and then having some live action, but with further rough cuts and feedback I was suggested to remove all live action and to keep the assignment fast paced and free flowing.
For our assignment #3 we were given the task to create a PowerPoint slide or Pdf that expressed our ‘rough cut’ ideas that we had headed to creating our assignment #4. Therefore, Pre-Production began for assignment four and it started with me having to research all the different shot types that I thought were pretty cool to dive into and explore within my final assignment. I ended up researching most of the common shot types such as mid-shot, long-shot, Dutch shot, over the shoulder shot and ect. It was hard to narrow down the shot types I wanted to leave out, but in the end, I included the shots that I thought had a lot of meaning behind them. Attached below is my assignment 4 rough cut idea presentation;
Assignment 3 presentation: (Have a look at what I planned on doing for Assignment 4!)
Also have a quick look of the script that I made for the assignment!
I have written up very quick and effective definitions of the different shot types that I have spoken about in the video essay;
Assignment 4 Script:
Collaboration:
We had the option of working collaboratively with other people and creating a group for assignment #4. As a person, I feel as if I work better in a team, but for this specific project, I felt as if I should work solo, further exploring my strengths and weaknesses when it comes to creating a film. This allowed me to research more of the topic and gain better knowledge.
As we were all trapped in the confines of our households, collaboration was limited in terms of having to film with each other and filming other people. Not having Cat to provide feedback on the spot and not having direct feedback from peers in person in class was hard. Especially with it being all online in terms of the classes, working individually, filming, using your own camera equipment, planning for each assignment without any real assistance was a challenge that we all faced. Yet we were able to still collaborate with each other and assist through the rough cuts that we showcased before submitting each assignment. It allowed all of our classmates to look at everyone’s work and provide feedback of their work and give a heads up on what they can add to it to further make their work ‘better’.
Other than that, as a class we were able to work together and provide specific feedback for each student, positive feedback is important as it can give each student a heads up on where their work is headed, and I thought this was very important.
Editing timeline on Adobe Premiere Pro:
Final Editing timeline on Adobe Premiere Pro:
Peer reflection:
In response to the week 9 presentations, I thought that everyone’s presentation was really interesting and fun to listen to. Yet there was one notable group that I wanted to point out because of its convincing and eye-catching ideas. It was the group from Georgia, Beatrice and Tiani that spoke volumes and had a presentation that broke details down about their presentation very broadly and efficient. Their group aims to focus on the topic of ‘Breaking the fourth wall’.
Visually, the presentation was neat and professional and was not cluttered with many images or information. Another positive about the presentation was the fact that they provided very minimal yet effective information about what the 4th wall is. Personally, I was not really educated and didn’t know too much about what the 4th wall was until I watched this presentation.
Another thing that I really liked about the presentation was the fact they included a slide saying that professional filmmakers incorporate this specific technique (4th wall) in their work. By doing this, it convinces the audience to be engaged as there are professionals using this specific technique, therefore allowing viewers to be aware and entitled to use it the next time they are filming something.
Furthermore, It was cool to see how brief and easy they explained how and what it means to break the 4th wall. At first, I seemed confused, yet by looking at the information provided I had somewhat a clear understanding of what they were explaining.
From their presentation, they aim to present their video essay in a very educational, engaging and entertaining way. They included a vast amount of information and ideas of what they are intending of adding and it seems as if they are well prepared and have planned this for quite a while which is good. I am interested to see how well they will incorporate a mixture of live action as intended as well as public domain footage that will explain and show examples of the 4th wall. By doing this, they also intend on engaging both young and old audiences which is another positive.
Georgia, Beatrice and Tiani’s Assignment 3 work image:
