Your research paper will consist of a critical essay comparing and contrasting the use of Craft techniques in two different us television episodes of your choice. The paper will be three pages long, double spaced. Choose any 2 fiction television shows and compare/contrast the use of Craft in each. You might look at how two us tv shows each use shot composition, and argue that one does it better than the other. Or you might look at how two shows use music. Or the moving camera. Or editing. There are no set guidelines on how many elements of Craft to analyze, or how to structure your paper. Ultimately you are making an argument and trying to convince me of your point. What exactly that argument or point IS, that’s up to you. Maybe one show does everything better. Maybe both use editing well, but in different ways. Maybe both shows fail. It’s up to you. Some notes from the class What are Aesthetics All of the various creative aspects of a television show: *Shot selection – framing, composition, lens choice *Lighting – bright or dark, warm or cool light *Costumes – colors, style, time period *Music *Set Design *Wardrobe / Costume – Costume Designer *Cinematography – lighting, shot composition (framing), lens, color *Production Design – sets (built on a stage or practical location) *Editing – montage *Color *Acting *Camera Movement *Sound Design Television Crew *Screenwriter -writing *Producer-budgeting -scheduling – hiring and firing crew *Director-takes the script and interprets it into visual storytelling. Leader of the creative team, they make all the aesthetic choices. *Cinematographer – camera, lighting and lenses *Production Designer – set design *Editor – assemble shots into scenes and sequences, make creative decisions about what to use and what not to use. *Sound Designer – adds sound effects to enhance the visuals *Composer – either make the music from scratch, or you might work with a music supervisor, who will help you choose found’ music The Director *Has the vision for the entire production *Oversees all other departments (areas of production) *Final say on all Aesthetic choices *Main Goal: communicate their vision to the Audience: they read the script, they have ideas for translating words to images and sound, and they work with their crew to bring the script to life. Content *The Story: genre, plot, *The Characters: who they are, what they want, *The Theme: “big ideas’ about life and human condition *Comedy with likable characters and theme of “you can make it if you try *Drama with anti-heroes and theme of “everyone is a hypocrite” *Horror with monsters and gods and theme of “two sides to every story” Craft All of the Aesthetic choices that are made *What type of shot – Wide, extreme close up, dolly shot *What type of lighting – dark, bright, warm, cool *What type of set design – modern and sleek, old and gritty *What type of music – fast and loud, soft and slow, rhythmic *Sound, costumes, lenses, special effects, editing, etc. Craft Supports Content *Each decision of Craft must support and enhance the story, characters and themes *If Craft supports the Content, it all ‘works’ and audience enjoys it *If Craft does NOT support Content, it does NOT work – you send mixed messages’ to the audience What is a story? “An account of imaginary or real people and events told for entertainment” A story has five basic but important elements. These five components are: the characters, the setting, the plot, the conflict, the resolution. 5 Elements Characters: the main people in the story. Protagonist (hero) and Antagonist (villain) Setting: where it takes place, what time period Plot: how the story unfolds from beat to beat Conflict: the central problem that the Hero is trying to solve Resolution: the outcome of the conflict: usually Hero overcomes, sometimes does not What does a story do? Entertain Educate Explore and express human condition Share opinions The best stories: reveal universe Conflict and Resolution We are processing the stress of being alive, just like when we dream, we are processing our daily thoughts to keep our brain running smoothly. Stories use Conflict and Resolution because our brains enjoy working through that conflict, come to terms with it, understand it, and fear it less. When a character overcomes conflict, it makes us feel good, like we can overcome our own conflict in day to day life. The Frame Aspect Ratio Focal Planes Foreground Middleground Background Deep Frame Flat Frame Deep Focus Shallow Focus Balance Frame Unbalance Frame Rule of Third Walking Room Walking scene in movie Shot Size Extreme long/wide Shot = ELS Long Shot = LS Medium Long Shot (Cowboy) =MLS Medium Shot = MS Medium Close UP = MCU Close Up = CU Extreme Close Up = ECU Over the shoulder = OTS Point of View = POV Angle High Angle = HA Eye Level = EL Low Angle = LA Dutch Angle = a type of camera shot which involves setting the camera at an angle on its roll axis. Framing Device= shooting through something Frontal Profile Rear ¾ Frontal ¾ Rear Pan Shot: What Is a Pan Shot? In cinematography, a pan shot is a horizontal camera movement where the camera pivots left or right while its base remains in a fixed location. Slide Shot: A slide is simply when a camera moves laterally through three-dimensional space. In layman’s terms, the camera moves side to side. Intercutting & Parallel Action #Cutting between 2 scenes that are happening at the same time. # Builds suspense and tells a story Invisible Cut # Makes the cut “invisible” # Helps audience have a “suspension of disbelief” #Requires director and actors to ‘repeat action’ and maintain continuity # Cutting on the action of an actor- turn the body, sit down,arm move, etc. Juxtaposition # Showing 2 different shots which create new meaning when audience thinks about both # Use 2 images to ask the audience to compare/contrast what they are seeing. Montage # A sequence of shots that together form an idea or a story # Do not need to be ‘invisible cuts’ but can use invisible cuts if the editor wants. # A montage CAN also use shots that are Juxtaposed. # Can be more artistic, poetic. Often set to music. # Commonly used to help show a passage of time or a progression Expanding and Contracting time # One of the most powerful editing technique # Expand time=Slowing things down. Often used with slow motion footage. # Contract time = speed things up Sound Design & Music # Sound design adds realism and heightens the scene. # Music creates emotional response from audience # Area of Sound Design Dialog Ambiance Foley/SFX French New Wave & Breaking Rules # Old style of Hollywood editing = slow, boring # French New Wave tried new techniques: jump cuts # A jump cut is when you purposefully do NOT use an invisible cut Jump cut is jarring, but has energy #Filmmakers are constantly rebelling against the ‘norms and finding new techniques
