Film Techniques: What They Do

Film Techniques

Camera Movement – Movement right to left or up and down.

Pan – the camera remains still but swivels on a horizontal axis (right to left)

Tilt – The camera remains still but swivels on a vertical axis (up and down)

Track – The camera is mounted on wheels which move along fixed lines to follow, move

towards or move away from the action.

Zoom – the focus of the camera moves into the subject closer (zoom in) or moves out to get some distance on the subject (zoom out).

Lighting is used – to create atmosphere and to reinforce the message being portrayed.

Dark is – night, mysterious or unexplained things happening, a dangerous or evil character at work.

Light is – daytime, everything happy and safe, nothing hidden, only good people are present.

Music – accompanying an image or a scene in a film will affect our responses to characters and action.

Example of music – instrumentation, rhythm, tone.

Music can affect our engagement with the characters, signify a character personality, signify a change in a mood and indicate the overall tone in a scene.

Music is an important component in how meaning in constructed in a film.

Costuming – the way the actors are dressed will contribute to the overall reading will contribute to the overall reading of them. It communicates to the audience aspects of the character, a situation or a setting and is used to reinforce the message of a character is

Portraying.