Elements of Cinematography

     Hello Friends! Today is my new blog post about elements of cinematography. Cinematography is how we compose our shots and the function they have. My stills show how angle, level, height, and distance tell a story. 

1a. Still image from Wonder Woman, 2017, showing 
a low angle. The viewer is looking up at Queen
Hippolyta on the horse showing she has power. 

1b. Still image showing a tilted camera level.

1c. This still shows a shot taken from a normal
chest height.

                                           1d. This still shows distance. The viewer feels like 

                                            they are in her personal space, getting a close up 

                                                                        of her feelings.

2a. This still shows a low camera angle. Making
wonder woman look more empowering and strong.

2b. This still shows a tilted camera level. It shows 
an unknown enemy and making them look like
the bigger threat.

2c. This still shows a low camera height. It shows 
you the crown in the enemy's hand which is why 
they are fighting.

2d.. This still shows what is happening from a far 
distance. Wonder woman still has the sword 
pointed at her neck and the enemy still has 
the crown in her hands. 

    3.     The first challenge I faced when doing this blog post was finding a movie that had images online that showed level and height. I did not originally start with the Wonder Woman movie. For the angle still, I don't think it really shows a tilt, the characters are the ones who are positioned slanted. The images were also a little difficult to download because I had to find the specific file type. Overall, taking my own shots were good except for angle. I feel like I moved the camera in and tilted it when I should have just tilted it. In the image, Diana looks like a bigger threat when they are really the same size and it should have just been her face cut off. The still for height I went off of the Oceans 11 thing where they carried the lockbox at a low height. I wanted to do the same thing with the crown to show why there is conflict. The still for distance did what I wanted it to do by sort of showing the viewer what was going on in the whole scene. From the beginning where Wonder woman is feeling strong, ready to fight. Then the second still shows her facing her unknown enemy who appears to be a bigger threat, but we don't know why they are fighting yet. With the third image, we see the reason why there is conflict, over the crown that the enemy has in her hand. In the final still, we now know who the enemy is and we can see them still facing off against each other. I really liked doing this element of cinematography and linking a story between my stills even though they were a little bit off. 

Balancing Mise en scene

    Hello friends! Today you will get to read my new post about Mise en scene, a key element of filmmaking. Mise en scene is anything that is in front of the camera; lighting, props, costumes, sets, the list goes on. I have taken pictures from online and pictures of my own to show shot composition for contrast, color, size, and frontality.

1a. Still Image from Barbie, 2023 shows contrast
because Barbie is happy and smiling in bright pink.
While the high schoolers are dressed in dull, boring
colors. The setting is also a very neutral background.

1b. Still Image from Barbie, 2023 shows a bright
contrast between the colors pastel pink, and neon
yellow roller skates.

1c. Still image from Barbie, 2023.shows a big
difference in size. The other smaller dolls are all
looking up to the "greatness" of Barbie.

1d. Still image from Barbie, 2023 shows frontality.
While everyone else is dancing in the back, we see
Barbie up close and in full focus.

2a. This still shows contrast because one figure is 
in the spotlight, and the other is cast aside in the 
dark.

2b. This still guides the viewers attention to the 
figure in red. She stands out more than the others.

2c. This image shows a size difference. The figure 
in white is closest to the screen se she appears 
the biggest. The figure in red is far away so the color
does not stand out as much.

2d. This still shows Frontality. The figure in red is in 
focus while the other figures are way in the back.
This makes the viewer pay attention the person in 
front.

       3.     The first challenge I faced while doing this blog was finding one film or TV show that had enough images online that I could use for my examples. I did not have time to go looking through shows I watched to physically take pictures. The Barbie movie already had a lot of examples of color and contrast. The example I used for size wasn't difficult to find and provided a useful visual. I did have trouble with frontality because I don't exactly understand it yet. I don't quite get how its different from something just being in front of the camera. As for my own pictures, it was not as hard as I though it was going to be for most of it. The idea for contrast was easy, especially because of the figures I had which made for a better story. Color was significantly more difficult because I didn't know how to place the figures. I didn't feel like they were in the right spots to tell any kind of story. Yes, the color red catches the eye, but how does it keep your attention? Size was a little tricky to deal with, I needed to readjust multiple times so there actually was a decent size difference in the final product. Frontality I understood a little bit more once I actually did it. Its more about focusing the viewers attention on the thing that is directly in front of them rather than anything else in the background. In my shot, I feel like I had to balance out the colors of the background so It did not attract any extra attention. The result turned out decent to me, its not perfect but its a start.

The Rule of Thirds

    Hello friends! Welcome to my new blog post. Today we will be talking about the the rule of thirds in media. 

1. Still image from Henry Danger, 2014

2a. This image was taken without regard for the rule of thirds.
You can see that it is not aligned on any vertical lines.

2b. This image is aligned on vertical hotspots.
You can see that the trees create those those vertical lines.

3a. This photo was taken without regard for the rule.
The figure is not aligned anywhere on the screen.

3b. In this image, the figure is aligned on the left vertical line hotspot.

4a. This image does not follow the rule of thirds.

4b. This image follows the rule of thirds and shows neutral spacing.
Both figures are on the vertical lines.

4c. In this image we see the figures are within the lines.
This is to show that they are in agreement with each other.

4d. This image is where we see the figures in conflict.
The figure on the right is still on the neutral line.
The figure on the left is the one who starts conflict because 
they are inside that neutral space.

    5a.     The still from Henry Danger shows 2 figures inside the neutral lines. This means that they agree with each other and they are on the same team. 

    5b.    The image in 4c shows agreement between two figures. They are inside the neutral lines which shows they are on the same team. The figures have their arm across the other which means they are on friendly terms.

Hello World!

    Hello World! My name is Bella and I am really excited to start this blog for my Media Studies class. I wanted to post a little introduction about myself so you all can get to know me. Before I started Media Studies, I never thought about starting a blog. My life is a little boring sometimes and that's okay. This blog is going to take some time for me to get right, but I know with practice I'll get better.

    Let's start off with books, I love reading books. More specifically, action, romance, and fantasy fiction books There is something special about being transported to a different world through reading. Usually I read a lot, but I am busy with school so I don't really read anything new until break. My favorite animal is a cat, any type of cat, I love! They are just so adorable with their little fluffy faces and big eyes. I do not own a pet cat, but I help take care of some of the strays near where I live. One of my special skills is playing the piano. I have been playing (inconsistently) for around 9 years. I enjoy performing at recitals and concerts in front of friends and family. Zodiac signs are not really important to me, but I am a Capricorn. Lastly, I enjoy watching kids cartoons/shows more than some other new tv shows. I just feel like they were an important part of my childhood and they will always be classic to me.

    That's all for now! I hope you continue to follow me on my blogging journey. Thank you for reading and have a great day!

                                                                A stray cat

                                                                A sunset