Post 15: Media Language: The Five C's of Cinematography

I decided to read an article by Joseph V. Mascelli and look at his thoughts on the: 5 C's of cinematography .

1. Camera Angles
“Camera placement is determined by narrative significance.”
This is helpful when it comes to filming for our short film as it reminds my group and I that we need to make the shot not only because it will be powerful and look good but because of the importance it holds in moving the storyline along.

2. Continuity

“Good continuity encourages the viewer to become absorbed in the story-telling, without bothersome distractions. The prime purpose of a motion picture, whether theatrical fiction feature or documentary fact film, is to capture and hold audience attention – from opening shot to final fade-out.” 

If the continuity is not constant throughout it will not only reduce the quality of our film but it can also distract the audience from our storyline.

3. Cutting
“Always move players into and out of close-ups to allow cutting on action.”
This is helpful as my group and I will spend a great deal of time and effort editing specific shots together and we must keep in mind what we are trying to put across to the audience so will be careful when putting various clips together. Techniques to remember whilst cutting includes match on action a simple but essential technique where the perspective of the camera changes during a scene however the scene continues to flow. Shot reverse shot is also a technique to remember whilst cutting, where one character is shown looking at another character (often off-screen), and then the other character is shown looking back at the first character. Since the characters are shown facing in opposite directions, the viewer assumes that they are looking at each other, this will be useful during dialogue between characters to build interest and tension for our audience. Another thing to keep in mind is the pace of the film, it is also one of the directors major concerns as they need to make sure the action swells, subsides and swells again. The director does this to keep the scene from losing its energy and intensity. 

4. Close-Ups
"Close-ups should be made to count. The stronger the motive for using a close-up, the more the close-up can help make the story-telling truly effective!"

The point of close ups in our short film is to get across a certain emotion the character is feeling that we wish to put across to the audience. My group and I will remember to not only use close ups to make our film more effective but to make sure the storyline is constantly flowing, after all it's important to be selective as too many close ups would lessen the impact of a dramatic scene.

5. Composition
“Good composition is arrangement of pictorial elements to form a unified harmonious whole.”
When we edit our film my group and I will take extra care in making sure it looks good and will be effective for the audience.It is also important for my group and I to take into consideration the rule of thirds when filming as it is known for creating more tension, energy and interest in the composition then centering the subject matter instead. Symmetry and patterns are also worth remembering as they can make for very eye catching compositions, particularly in situations where they are not expected. Another great way to use them is to break the symmetry or patten in some way, introducing tension and a focal point to the scene. Negative space is also to be taken into consideration as it helps; control the colour palette, simplifies the shot, adds depth to the shot, isolates the audience attention to a particular frame. It gives actors the ability to move and to also show the space between people during dialogue which can sometimes increase the emotion of the shot. We want to make our film as powerful as possible and the 5C's can only help us strengthen the quality of our film.