Old movie Cyclic idea!

Movies transform us!
This is so true with Richard Attenborough’s Gandhi. An epic film about the life story of Gandhi, portrayed by brilliant Oscar winner Ben Kingsley, told with Attenborough’s beautiful cinematic and sometimes disturbing graphic imaginary filled with unforgivable quotes.

I first saw this movie in the mid-80's and had forgotten it. I saw it again last week and I realized it had changed me without my knowning.
Gandhi: "I am a Muslim and a Hindu and a Christian and a Jew and so are all of you."
I used this quote a few years ago when a student wanted to know my religion. At the time, I had forgotten the source of my quote. I was effected more than I knew.

Prior to watching Gandhi in the 80's, I had never read any of Gandhi's books. The movie inspired me to learn more. Today Gandhi's message is alive. The Occupy movement carries the same burden.

Gandhi: "The function of a civil resistance is to provoke response and we will continue to provoke until they respond or change the law. They are not in control; we are." This quote is evident when the news shows young occupy protestors are curled up while police spray maze on their heads and faces. None of the protestors moved or fought back. But their civil resistance (non-violent method) is more powerful than giving cause for police to attack violent protestors.

Gandhi is a powerful example of how art can effect us all.

NJ

Writing Movie Reviews.

Writing a movie review is not all about relating the whole story of the movie. It should be giving a personal insight that can give your reader something to ponder about. Keep in mind the following guidelines while you form your review.

·         The power of Cinematography on the story

·         Avoid spoilers

·         Give your opinion- Judge the story and actors

·         Look for "invisible" meaning

·         Effects of film on society

Moving the Camera

Panning

A pan shot is when you rotate the camera along the horizontal axis to bring the viewer on another point in the scene.
There a few different types of panning shots including:
A Following Pan: Follows a character or object in the scene, such as a car driving down a road.
A Surveying Pan: Often used for a climax as the camera searches the scene for a point of interest. Often used in horror movies for shock value.

Tilting

The tilt is practically the same as the pan however instead of moving the camera left or right, you simple move it up or down.

Tracking, Crabbing and Trucking

Just to confuse matters, a dolly is also used for tracking/trucking, which has also acquired the nickname crabbing. It takes its name from the sideways walk of the crab.
Instead of moving in, like a crab, the camera follows the action by a sideways physical movement on the x axis. (use sliders or glide tracks for this type of camera movement)

Dolly shot

A dolly is a tripod attached to rails so that the camera operator can slide along and capture the action. It’s great for scenes that are following action.
A dolly shot can also create a physical zoom where the camera moves in (or out) rather than using the zoom on the lens. It creates a different look compared to a zoom, as you feel you are moving closer past objects.

Pedestal

A pedestal shot is another camera shot in which requires a physical movement of the camera. This time up and down. Rather than tilting upwards the camera physically moves. (use Jibs or cranes for this type of movement)

Shot Types and Angles

Establishing Shot: Your establishing shot is the shot used to set the scene at the start of the film. Most commonly the establishing shot is a wide landscape style of shot.

Long Shot: Normally shows the scene to scale. For example, a person would be fully in the scene with their head and feet coming close to the top and bottom edges of the screen. The background would be clear enough to understand the setting, however not focused on like in an establishing shot.

Medium Shot: An above-the-waist height. Focuses on between one to three people in a scene with a minimal background as the location has previously been established.

Close-Up: Tight view of a face, upper body or object. Very little of the background in focus. All the focus is on the one thing in the scene. For example, a character’s facial expression would be well shot as a close-up.

Angles

Birds-Eye View: perched above the subject in the scene. Shows the subject and the ground. Often used for dramatic effect.
Eye Level: Shot at the eye level of the camera operator. Very standard and the most commonly used shot. Also pretty boring.
Low Angle: Also known as a Worm’s View. Shot from below looking up on a scene. Makes objects look larger. Think Star Wars and Darth Vader, he was often shot from below to signify power.
High angle: The opposite. Shot from a height to make people seem smaller in the scene. Often used to signify weakness.
Oblique angle: Tilting the camera at an angle. Un-usual effect but it suggests that the world is crooked or messed up.

Student music video- SXSW 2010 WINNER! Best Music Video

Three-point lighting

Three-point lighting is exactly what it sounds like. You light your subject from three different sources in order to control the shadows and balance the contrast.
Three Light Sources:

• Key: This is the main light source. It shines directly on the subject, usually from the front-right or front-left. It provides the overall look and feel of the shot.
• Fill: The fill provides balance to the key by filling in the rest of the subjects face with a softer light. It comes in from the front-side opposite the key light.
• Back: The back light creates a nice rim of light around the back the subject, separating them from the background. It can also be called a "hairlight" or "rim-light".

Rule of Thirds

It has been widely held among classical artists throughout history that painting objects on a rectangular canvas at certain predictable points causes the eye to flow more easily across the canvas, resulting in greater harmony among the painting's visual elements. As a result, artists devised mathematical ways of segmenting the canvas so that they would know exactly where to place their images for greatest effect. The result was called "The Golden Mean."

180 Degree Rule

a screen direction rule that camera operators must follow - an imaginary line on one side of the axis of action is made (e.g., between two principal actors in a scene), and the camera must not cross over that line - otherwise, there is a distressing visual discontinuity and disorientation; similar to the axis of action (an imaginary line that separates the camera from the action before it) that should not be crossed

Is Film or Video making a new Art?

Film and Video are the newest form of art but they are not a 'new art!'
Video is really only a new tool and not a new form of art.
However it has it's own added inherent elements and principles of art.

Time
Motion
Sound
Image
light
sequense