Introduction to Filmmaking: Writing with Movement – WEEK 2

Camera Captures Light

Lesson 2 Summary:

What is the relationship between camera and light? How do cameras work?

Pickup from last class: Screenwriting (10 mins, 6:00 – 6:15)

In the last class we talked about what a story is, what makes a story compelling, key terms, and scripts & storyboards.
Key Terms: New New Yorkers: FILMMAKER’S ALPHABET
Scripts include characters’ actions, dialogue, and movement as well as a stage direction. Generally, one page of a screenplay corresponds to one minute of screen time, so the spacing and formatting are not arbitrary and serve a specific purpose for budgeting and creating a shooting schedule.

Let’s look at a script and see how the layout looks!

https://s.studiobinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/How-to-Format-a-Screenplay-StudioBinder-Scriptwriting-Software.png

Part 1: Auteur Theory (35 mins, 6:15 – 6:50)

Please share your name, pronouns, and your favorite time of day!

Today’s main questions:

What is auteur theory?

How does a camera work?

How does lighting change a scene?

10m
The title of our course, Writing with Movement, refers to the etymology of the word “photography”, created from the Greek roots φωτός (phōtós), genitive of φῶς (phōs), “light”[2] and γραφή (graphé) “representation by means of lines” or “drawing”, together meaning “drawing with light”.

The “writing” element is drawn from the French “Auteur Theory”. This term originates from the French film criticism magazine Cahiers du cinéma, and film theorist François Truffaut. It describes an artist, in our case a film director, who applies a highly centralized and subjective control to many aspects of collaborative creative work. It usually denotes a unique and strong visual style. For many films made by auteurs, you can recognize the director by just seeing a single frame. “Auteur” literally means “author”.

Some examples:

Alfred Hitchcock
Bong Joon-Ho
Sophia Coppola
Alfonso Cuarón
Guillermo del Toro
Greta Gerwig
Barry Jenkins
Stanley Kubrick
Spike Jonze
Jordan Peele
David Lynch
Yasujirō Ozu
Wong Kar-wai
The Watchowski Sisters
Martin Scorsese
Akira Kurosawa

In many cases, the point of filmmaking is to create or re-create life while concealing the fact that it is all fabricated, staged, edited, etc. Even with a documentary, once you point the camera at somebody, their awareness and behavior will likely change as they are aware they are being looked at. Feminist film theorists in particular are concerned with the act of looking versus being looked at, and that no film is politically neutral. There is always a point of view or perspective, shaped by understandings of gender, race, culture, religion, personal and global histories.

DISCUSS (10m, 6:50-7:00):

What do you think of auteur theory or the idea of the artist as a writer?

How is filmmaking like writing, or like other forms of art?

How do you think films balance a single voice vs collaboration? What do you think would happen if a set is wholly individualistic or wholly decentralized?

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When writing your story, consider these prompts:

What subjects should I tackle?
What can I be good at?
What is my artistic identity?
What are my unique skills?
What do I believe can be my contribution to the art form?

When starting to make films, tell stories that express ideas and values of the world around you.

How to Find Your Life Issues:

Ideation: set aside time for self reflection
Examine without judgement the marks your life has made on you. What stands out?
Write briefly how these experiences have shaped you
List: the kinds of stories you are best qualified to tell, the kinda of characters that particularly attract you, the situations you find intriguing, and the genres you would want to work in
Make everything particular. “Generalization is the enemy of art” -Stalislavsky

10 MIN BREAK (7:00-7:10)

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Part 2: How an Image is Made (with a film camera) (20 mins, 7:10-7:30)

A roll of light-sensitive film embedded with silver halite crystals is placed within the camera.
When the shutter is open, the film is exposed to light and an impression is captured.
After the exposure is made, the photographer rolls the film forward so a fresh section of unexposed film is ready for the next photo.
When a roll has been shot, it is removed from the camera and then developed.

https://cdn4.explainthatstuff.com/how-slr-camera-works.png

VIDEO (3 mins) How a DSLR Camera Works

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The Exposure Triangle is the 3 aspects or variables that will determine how the photo (or video) is lit.

ISO – light sensitivity (on analog film, the ISO is preset depending on the film stock you choose)
Shutter Speed – length of time a single frame of film is exposed
Aperture – opening of lens that controls the amount of light that can pass through and contact the film. It works like the eye’s pupil. The aperture also controls the depth of field, or the amount of the image that is in focus.

https://www.thesprucecrafts.com/thmb/si7zmMjpMC__0I9jnhtRFTDX-z8=/960×0/filters:no_upscale():max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():format(webp)/GettyImages-141482590-581d080e5f9b581c0b8483a8.jpg

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Part 3: Overexposed / Correctly Exposed / Underexposed (10 mins, 7:30-7:40)

Using a light meter, one can calculate the proper exposure for a photograph so the dark and light parts of the image are balanced (insert picture)

DISCUSS:

What kind of situations might you want the image to be over-or under-exposed? Have you ever seen a film that under-or over-exposed something to achieve a specific effect?

https://s.studiobinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/What-is-Overexposure-Under-Correct-And-Overexposed-Image.jpg.webp?resolution=2560,1

High-key vs Low-key lighting

High-key lighting is a style of lighting that reduces the lighting ratio in a scene or has low contrast

Low-key lighting is a style of lighting that increases the lighting ratio in a scene or has high contrast

The lighting ratio is the relationship between the key light (main light source from which shadows fall) to fill light (light that fills in the shadows)

DISCUSS:
In what kind of stories or situations might you want low-key lighting? High-key lighting? How do these different setups make you feel?