02. camera shots and angles!

 

--- experimenting with camera shots and angles.

my intention with this shot was to     

create a sense of intimacy between     

the subject and the viewer. an         

extreme close up shot was my             

first pick for this, since it                    ୨୧

highlights very small details of the   

subject's face (in this case, the eye) 

revealing small, often unnoticeable    

facial cues and expressions that would 

be otherwise unseen with a shot taken  

further away.                          

its taken at a close distance that would 

usually only be present between people  

who are extremely close. i mean, think  

about it: have you ever been forehead-to- 

forehead with someone who you weren't 

close with? because this is something we 

can recognize as a gesture of being close 

 with someone, it serves to capture that  

feeling perfectly in the viewer.

 

now in this shot, i wanted to create a

sense of mystique and wonder. for this,

i chose a wide shot. wide shots work 

nicely to capture the full body of an            ୨୧

individual and their general features

without including any specific details.

furthermore, wide shots also place focus

on the individual within the context of

the background. 

this was perfect because the background 

was really what gave me the inspiration

for this scene. the archway that the two

subjects are pictured in works as a sort

of portal, dividing the foreground and

the background. situating them in the

middle with their backs turned to the

camera, i was able to achieve my purpose

of creating a shot that establishes a

sense of intrigue and mystical curiosity.

shot number three was the first scene

i shot. it's a high angled extreme 

long shot, looking down into the 

beautiful garden at my school. the 

subject stands amidst the flora, waving

up at the camera. with this shot, my 

intention was to highlight the same            ୨୧

feeling one gets when seeing an ant in

comparison to the rest of the world, 

or even when seeing how small we 

ourselves are in comparison to everything

else in the universe. i was also able

to show off the beautiful location, 

which in itself created a awestruck 

aspect to the shot. 

the smallness of the subject is, despite

its small appearance in the scene, the 

most significant part of the shot, what 

gives it meaning. furthermore, the 

juxtaposition between the subject's light,

pale clothing and the vibrant greens of 

the garden also deepens the meaning of the

shot. yes, the subject may be smaller than

everything around them from up here, but 

with just a simple detail such as their 

clothes, they can stand out and shine 

brighter than anything else in the frame. 

when you take this into consideration, the 

true meaning of what i was trying to convey

with this shot emerges: we may be small 

and insignificant in the grand scheme of 

things, but we can be special and stand out

anyway because of it. 

when i was staging the shot, my primary

vision was much like the one i 

envisioned with shot number three.

however, this time i wanted to place 

more of an emphasis on the middle ground       ୨୧

where the archway and the subject 

resided. as such, i picked a medium shot.

by their nature, medium shots place a

main focus on the subject while still 

allowing for the shot to contain some of

the background. i, however, wanted the 

archway to have a bit of a bigger presence

in the frame, so i angled the camera 

upwards a bit to achieve this.

in this shot, i wanted to create a

pleasant, sunny atmosphere in the

scene. for this, i chose to use the

sunlight and shoot the scene in a

location that was very green.

naturally, plants bring a very 

comforting and bright light to shots

since nature is often associated with

pleasant days. feeling the breeze of

the wind blowing and the sun on your 

skin, birds chirping outside... it was

perfect. the subject in the middle 

served to break apart the expansive

green of the garden background, 

placing them in the focus and adding 

in more brightness to the scene.

my fifth and final shot was relatively easy

to film, if you don't count my concerningly

weak knees being put to work and the hot

floor. its a full shot with a low angle,         ୨୧

facing up to the subject stretching their 

foot outwards to the camera, as if they were

kicking them. here, i wanted to create a 

sense of being small, of intimidation and yet

rebelliousness at the same time. 

the viewer is seeing the subject from

the ground up, giving them a sense

of being beneath them in some type

of way, whether that be figuratively

or literally.  it also portrays the

character in a more actively opposing

manner, almost aggressive or acting out.