Video & Sound Production Exercises

 Eric Chang (0378298)

Video & Sound Production

Exercises

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Instructions:

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Lecture:

Week 1: Shot Size, Camera angle & Composition

Shot Size

 

There are 9 different camera shot size and that is Extreme Wide shot, Extreme Close up, Long shot, Full shot, Medium Wide shot, Cowboy shot, Medium Shot, Medium Close up, and Close up.

Extreme Wide shot:

An extreme long shot makes your subject appear small against its location, creating a sense of distance, unfamiliarity, or overwhelming. We should use it when we want to show location. 

Fig 1.1 Extreme Wide shot

Wide Shot:

The wide shot, which is also known as long shot, is similar to Extreme wide shot. the difference is that long shot is a bit closer, if our subject is a person, than their whole body should be in view.

 Fig 1.2 Long shot or Wide shot

Full Shot:

Full shot is also a tracking shot, which means the camera move through the shot, for example the camera might move slowly towards the subject. lastly full shot could be used to feature multiple characters in a single shot. below is an example from the guardian of the galaxy.

 Fig 1.3 Full shot example

Medium Wide shot:

A medium wide shot means that the camera frames the subject from roughly the kness up. and it splits the difference between a full shot and a medium shot, below is an example of medium wide shot.

Fig 1.4 Medium wide shot

Cowboy shot

Frames the subject from roughly mid-thighs up. And it’s called a “cowboy shot” because it is used in Westerns to frame a gunslinger’s gun or holster on his hip.

 Fig 1.5 Cowboy Shot Example

Medium Shot (MS)

The medium shot is a common camera shot, similar to the cowboy shot above, but frames from the waist up through the torso, emphasizing the subject while keeping surroundings visible.

Fig 1.6 Medium Shot example

Close Up (CU)

The Close up camera shot fills the frame with a part of the subject. for example if the subject is a person then usually their face would be on the frame. Clouse up shot must be near enough to capture the emotions but not so close that we lose visibility.

Fig 1.7 Close up example

Extreme Close up (ECU)

The extreme close-up is the most we can fill our frame with  subject, and it often shows eyes mouths and gun triggers, in an extreme close up shot the smaller the objects get great detail and are the focal point.

Fig 1.8. Extreme Close up

Camera Shot Framing

Single Shot

A single shot can be set and framed in any shot size you like, just as long as there is only one character featured within the frame.

Fig 1.9 Single Shot

Two Shot or 2-Shot

A two shot is a camera shot with a two characters in frame and is usually useful for comedy.

Fig 1.10 Two Shot

Tree Shot or 3-shot

A tree shot is a camera shot with a tree characters in frame and is often used in a group of characters.

Fig 1.11 Tree Shot

Over- the shoulder shot

Over the shoulder shot shows the subject from behind the shoulder of another character, and because if emulates perspective its common to be used in conversation scenes.

Fig 1.12 Over the shoulder shot

Over-the hip shot (OTH)

Over the hip shot is more or less like over the shoulder shot, in that the camera is placed with a characters hip in the foreground, and the focus subject in the plane of acceptable focus.

Fig 1.13 Over the hip shot

Point of view shot (POV)

A pov shot is a camera shot that allows the viewer to see exactly what the character sees. This transport the audience into the character.

Fig 1.14 POV shot

Camera Angle

Eye Level Shot

Eye level shot is when your subject is at eye-level and it is in the neutral perspective, this is the commonly used camera angle.

Fig 1.15 Eye Level shot

Low Angle Shot

A low angle shot frames the subject from a low camera height looking up at them, and these camera shot often emphasize power dynamics between characters.

Fig 1.16 Low angle shot

High Angle Shot

A high angle shot is when the camera points down at the subject and it usually creates a feeling of inferiority on the subject

Fig 1.17 High angle shot

Hip Level Shot

Hip level shot means the camera is roughly at the waist-high.

Fig 1.18 Hip Level shot

Knee Level Shot

Knee level shot is when the camera height is about as the subject knees and this shot could emphasize a character's superiority if paired with low-angle.

Fig 1.19 Knee level shot

Ground Level Shot

The ground level shot is when the camera height is on the ground level with the subject.

Fig 1.20 Ground level shot

Shoulder Level Shot

Shoulder level shot is when the camera height is at roughly as high as the subjects shoulder this shot is more standard than eye-level shot and could make the actor shorter than reality.

Fig 1.21 Shoulder Level Shot

Dutch Angle Shot

Dutch angle is when the camera is slanted on one side and this shot creates a sense of disorientation.

Fig 1.22 Dutch angle shot

Bird's Eye View shot

Birds eye is when the camera is shooting from up high looking down at the subject, this shot shows great amount of scenery surrounding the subject and it shows scale and movement.

Fig 1.23 Birds eye view shot

Aerial Shot

Aerial shot is a shot that's taken from a helicopter and it shows a large expanse of scenery.

Fig 1.24 Aerial shot

Composition

Rule Of Thirds

The rule of thirds is one of the most common camera framing used in film and photography, and its about positioning a character and elements on the scene. And we put the images on the intersecting lines.

Fig 1.25 Rule of thirds

Balance And Symmetry

Balance and symmetry shot means using a perfectly symmetrical shot, and the artist direct viewers eye to a specific space, which leads to the center.

Fig 1.26 Balance and Symmetry

Leading Lines

Leading lines in a shot guide the viewer's eye to important elements, and is used to focus attention and create connections between characters and key details.

Fig 1.27 Leading Lines

Eye-Level Framing

The eye-level framing positions the audience at eye-level with the characters, making we feel as if we are there.

Fig 1.28 Eye-Level Framing

Depth Of Field

Depth of field means the size of the area in the image where the objects appear acceptably shap is called field, and the size of that area is called depth of that field.

Fig 1.29 Depth Of Field

Deep Space Composition

Deep Space Composition is when significant elements in a space positioned are both near and far from the camera.

Fig 1.30 Deep Space Composition

Quiz: 

Week 2: 3-Act Structure

The three-act story structure is a popular narrative framework used in storytelling, particularly in film and literature. It divides a story into three distinct parts: the setup, the confrontation, and the resolution.

Fig 1.1.1 Three Act Structure

Act 1: Setup

• Usually Involves the introduction of the characters
• Introduction of the inciting incident
• usually the first 20-30 minutes of the film

Act 2: Confrontation 

• Rising action
• Develops the obstacles and complications
• Leads to the climax

Act 3: End

• Resolution of a problem
• the ending of the climax
• can be a good ending or bad ending

Lalin :

Act 1: The act 1 in lalin is where she explains her background and moved to japan and also why she became a social media figure.

Act 2: The act 2 in lalin is when there was an astronut that send lalin a message and asking lalin's help to translate his novel works into japanese.

Act 3: The act 3 begins when lalin refuses to meet the asronut guy and telling him to go. however lalin discovered that the astronut was actually her old friend, and she decided to chase him, however the 2 didn't met.

What is the inciting incident in the short movie? 

• When She got bullied and moved to Japan

What is the Midpoint in the short movie?

• When the astronaut (Lalin's Old friend) decided to go to Japan

What is the Climax if the short movie?

• When Lalin's realizes the astronaut is her old friend and chases after him.

What is the theme of the short movie?

• It's about bullying, self worth and loneliness

Everything Everywhere All At Once:

Act 1: Introduction to Evelyn Wang, her background and her daily life and also the introduction of a man that's told as her husband called waymond, and he is from another universe.

Act 2: Act 2 is when Evelyn learns that she is the only one who is capable of defeating Jobu Tupaki, and also she battles with another version of herself.

Act 3: The last act: resolution begins when Evelyn realizes to face Jobu Tupaki with kindness and so she decided to repair her relationship with her family.

What is the inciting incident in the movie? 

• When Evelyn got pulled into the multiverse

What is the Midpoint in the movie?

• When she realizes that she is the chosen one, meaning that only Evelyn could fight the evil.

What is the Climax if the movie?

• When Evelyn fights with Jobu, and keeps changing the universe.

What is the theme of the movie?

• It's about family and acceptance with the people around us.

Week 2 Quiz Results:

Week 3:

What's a storyboard?

A storyboard is a visual representation of a film sequence and breaks down the action into individual panels, and it is a series of ordered drawings, with camera direction, dialogue or other details. it sketches out on how a video will unfold.

Story Board format and layout:

There are 2 version of the story board format: traditional and thumbnail.

Traditional storyboards is basically a basic pencil sketches, it includes detailed information like arrows for camera movement, characters, prop, and other things.

Fig 1.1.2 Traditional Storyboards

Thumbnail style storyboards don't have any writing. and they are not used as often as the detailed ones, if the storyboards is just for us or a small team then writing would not be necessary.

Fig 1.1.3 Thumbnail style storyboards

How to Create a Storyboard?

There are 6 steps in creating a storyboard and below are the steps and explanation.

1. Identify the key scenes in the script

To create a storyboard, break down the script or narrative, highlighting key elements like actions, locations, and plot points. This will help form frames and plan scene transitions.

2. Map out the key scenes

After we've done the first step, next we need to map out the scenes that we identified. So give each one a number and a relevant title so it would be easies to link them back to the broader story in the script.

3. Add Images or sketches

Now, visualize each scene. This part is called “idea landscaping,” where you brainstorm the visual features of each beat in a story. Some storyboard artists sketch first, but modern storyboards allow you to collect reference photos, illustrations, screenshots, location shoots, and even motion from anywhere.

4. Describe what happens in each frame

While each frame is static, conveys its movement as a sequence. Describe style, mood, and character behavior. We need to consider:

• Composition: Frame characters and objects using the rule of thirds and other techniques for visually appealing frames.
• Transitions: Plan smooth transitions for a cohesive flow, or abrupt changes for dramatic effect.
• Character Blocking: Determine character positions and movements, showing interactions with each other and the environment.
• Emotion and Expression: Define facial expressions and body language to capture emotions and reactions.
• Annotations: Use notes or captions for visuals that can’t be conveyed directly.
• Dynamic Action: For action scenes, break down fast-paced movements into panels for clarity.

5. Share it with your team

When we're ready we can now share it with our team to review the storyboard and share their feedback. So this is the perfect moment to see how others interpret your vision for the story, this is also the perfect time to make final adjustments while in the pre-production.

6. Reference it on the day

Lastly we can print our storyboards to refer it on the day, however online storyboards can be accessed easily, this way you can reference it anytime

Quiz Results:

Fig 1.1.4 Week 3 Quiz Results

Week 4 (No Class)

Week 5: Mise en scène

Mise en scène, a French term meaning “placing on stage,” refers to the overall visual arrangement and presentation of a scene in theater, film, and other visual storytelling mediums. It encompasses everything within the frame or on stage and how these elements convey meaning, emotion, and narrative to the audience.

Key Elements of Mise en scène

• Sets
• Props
• Lighting
• Costumes
• Actor Blocking
• Shot Composition

Film Techniques

1. How Location Affects Your Scene

If there is a two-person dialogue scene, it's important to pay attention to the location as location says a lot about characters, intentions, obstacles, and themes.

2. Pick the right color

Color is the primary tool for a filmmakers, and color in film is a massive element of mise en scene that permeates every other visual element and creating mood or effect, it's an important part of artistic expression.

3. Your set establishes your world

Since the early days, setting the stage has been crucial for creating worlds 

4. Props Importance

Props, often overlooked in favor of sets and wardrobes, deserve separate consideration. From the iconic Heart of the Ocean diamond in Titanic to Dorothy’s ruby slippers in The Wizard of Oz, props can be the focal point of a film.

5. Costumes make the difference

The costume, or wardrobe, is crucial in filmmaking. Characters’ clothing reveals their world, identity, emotions, and demeanor. Tracking wardrobe can be challenging. Use robust software to simplify costume tracking. StudioBinder’s script breakdown feature can help. 

6. Hair and Makeup

Costumes, hair, and makeup extend and bind all elements of mise en scène, closely connected to talent. Alice in Wonderland, Marie Antoinette, and The Lord Of The Rings Trilogy demonstrate hair and makeup’s significance in character creation.

By amplifying and externalizing character traits, they contribute to the complexities of even the most intricate film worlds.

7. Lighting Sets the tone

Film techniques, both seen and unseen, contribute to your mise en scène. Lighting, a key element of film, is the pièce de résistance in completing your mise en scène. Consider it early in Pre-Production, during the script breakdown phase.

8. The medium, film vs video 

Film records moving images. Before, filmmakers had limited black and white film options. Today, choices abound, including sizes like 8mm, 16mm, Super 16mm, 35mm, and 65mm. Additionally, film is no longer the only option; digital is becoming increasingly popular.

9. Picking The camera

Your camera shapes your mise en scène, not just records it. If you’re aiming for “staging” or “putting on stage,” your camera choice matters. Your camera is an essential element of mise en scène, capable of creating unique images.

Filmmaking involves manipulating and capturing light to produce a picture. Your choice of camera, whether simple or advanced, affects this. For instance, filmmaker John Cassavetes detested the artifice of early filmmaking and favored improvisation and Cinéma Vérité for mise en scène.

10. Camera Placement

Where you choose to put your camera is just as important as what kind of camera you use. Whether at a high angle above the subject or a hundred feet away, where the camera is and what it captures should be determined before you arrive on set.

11. Speeding up or slowing down film

Many filmmakers have used the speed of the scene to accentuate every element of mise en scène. Whether fast motion or slow motion, you can become a master of time and space by controlling your elements of film.

12. Comprehending composition

Composition, an element of mise en scène, offers infinite possibilities. Image-makers often follow composition rules, but they can be broken based on intent. Framing is crucial in bringing mise en scène elements together.

Characters and action suggest the image’s layout and element placement. Good composition guides the viewer’s eye and focus within the frame.

13. Form and Frame

The form is the twin of composition. It’s not the who, what, where, or when. Form is the how. How is your mise en scene communicated?

14. Depth of Field

Depth of field, a measurable element of film, contributes meaningfully to mise en scène. Other elements draw attention, and the camera achieves the same effect, often combined with color or lighting.

15. Sound Design

Sound design is often neglected by fledgling filmmakers. Effective audio can enhance or ruin a scene. its important to Consider what sounds are essential to your mise en scène.

16. Music

The importance of music in film cannot be overstated when it comes to completing your mise en scène. The music becomes a character in the film itself. The leitmotif and the character are synonymous. The rhythm, tempo, and texture of mise en scene is tied to the music.

17. Know the talent

Actors are crucial to mise en scène. Many directors believe casting correctly, or appropriately for the characters, story, and vision, is half the battle. Actors’ strengths and weaknesses can be exploited in a scene.

Some actors are chosen for their melodramatic or overacting qualities.

18. Blocking Actors

Just as camera placement and movement are essential, so are placement and movement of talent. Where an actor is arranged and how they move in the scene all highlight the scene’s purpose.

Blocking organizes the action and adds depth to the scene.

19. Actions in the background

The main action in any given moment is what your mise en scene all comes down to. Background, seemingly throwaway, and secondary actions can be memorable and valuable in your mise en scène.

20. Post Production

The final step of completing your mise en scène is often locking your film. Post-production, especially CGI, can enhance your film. To minimize surprises, start with a solid script breakdown during pre-production.

Determine your post-production goals during this phase.

Week 5 Quiz Results:

Week 6: Colour Theory, Colour Correction V.S. Colour Grading

Colour theory is split into two things which is:

1. A scientific principle that explains how color hues and saturations are created.

2. A creative discipline that examines how color is used to achieve emotional effect in visual art.

And there are 3 Types of color theory which is Color Wheel, Color Context and Color Harmony.

Color Wheel:

Newton crucially argued that colors were divided into two categories: original and compounded. 

• Original Colors: Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet (ROYGBIV).
• Compounded Colors: Colors created by mixing original colors, such as teal (blue and green).

Color schemes or called pattens of color include :

1. Monochrome utilizes varying tones of just one color (usually gray).
2. Analogous utilizes colors that are next to each other on the color wheel.
3. Complementary utilizes colors that are colors that are opposite to one another on a color wheel.
4. Triadic color utilizes colors that connect together on a color wheel to form an equilateral triangle.
5. Tetradic color utilizes colors that connect together on a color wheel to form a rectangle.

Color grading vs color correction: what’s the difference? 

• Color correcting is the process of correcting (or fixing) colors in a video or a film as a way to get them back to what they should look like for your project.
• Color grading is the process of grading (or editing) colors in a video or film as a way to give them a stylistic look.

How to do Color Correction?

1. Normalize your footage as much as possible.
2. Fix your saturation first.
3. Then fix your brightness and contrast.
4. Set your new white balance.
5. Double-check your skin tones.

Color saturation and brightness are crucial in color correcting video footage. Shooting flat and undersaturated footage is ideal to avoid losing valuable information and ensure leeway for color grading.

How to do color Grading?

1. Normalize your folate as much as possible.
2. Follow the steps to correct your colors.
3. Choose your desired look and style.
4. Make your color adjustments in your editing program of choice.
5. Double check skin tones and vectorscope.

Quiz:

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Week 1:

For this week, we are asked to familiarize ourselves with the Adobe Premiere workflow, so for our exercise Mr. Martin wanted us to assemble "Mints" and "Doritos" ads.

For the "mints" Mr. Martin explains everything during the offline practical class, and for the "doritos" ad he told us to do it by ourself. Below are the progress of both exercise and the final results.

Exercise 1: "mints" ad

Mints Ad Final Results:

Part 2: Doritos Ad

Exercise 1: "Doritos" ad 

Doritos Ad Final Results:

Week 2/Exercise Part 2: Framing Exercise

For this exercise we are asked to take 8 shots, this exercise aims to improve our framing skills and knowledge. We are asked to do this exercise on campus, sadly majority of my shots are wrong and I decided to do it again. and below is my final results of this exercise

Week 3 Shooting Exercise 2

For this week we are required to do the shooting exercise again, this time we need to do 5 shots in total and that is Deep Focus, O.S on M.S, O.S on M.W.S, tight medium shot, and tight medium shot from side angle.

Below are the progress of editing (adding caption) and the final results.

Lalin Exercise:

Project 2: Lalin Video

For this project we are required to do some trimming on the given footage, and then combine them all into 1 video, we are given some video tutorials so we don't get confused when we are doing the exercise.

After cropping every clip, we need to assemble the video using the storyboard given. This part is pretty straightforward. Below are the final results.

Next Mr. Martin insturcted us to trim the lalin part into a 35 Seconds sharp video and we also need to do the color correction, This means that we need to crop some part of the video, and overall make it more concise. And so this part was initialy hard for me because my original video is more than 1 minute, however i still managed to do it while retaining the same quality. And so below is my progress and the results of the lalin exericise.

While doing this exercise i tried my best to make it looks like it was shot on a proffesional camera, which means that the scene would be darker than the original, however I also tried my best to not make it look ugly by also adjusting the color slightly.

Fig 1.1 Color correction Progress

Also on this exercise we need to give it a one layer adjustment layer, for this exercise I decided to give it a cooler tone (blue), because the overall story is a sad story. and having the blueish look kinda fits into the theme of the short movie.

Fig 1.2 Adding Adjustment layer

And After Doing the color adjustment and layers below are the results:

Week 9: After Effects Exercise

For this week we are asked to do some after effects exercise, this is because for our final project. We are asked to create a 1 minute visual effect video, thus we need to do some warm up first.

After I've Downloaded all of the footage, i Can begin importing the footage on after effects, Mr. Martin provided us with the tutorials video to make it easier for us to follow.

 Below Are the final output of the exercise: