There are many aspects of Cinematography including Camera, light & design and action. This blog post will briefly describe these topics and how they impact cinematography.
Camera
There are six main principles when it comes to cameras:
- Image-sensor / film stock / look up table (LUT)
- Lens focal length
- Camera position
- Exposure settings
- Focus
- Motion settings
These aspects all impact the film that is captured and the message it portrays. How the camera is used has a huge impact on the emotion and message that the film produces.
Light & Design
There are 4 lighting principles used in cinematography:
- Quality
- Colour
- Direction and movement
- Light fixtures and sources
These principles help photographers to capture their film with the lighting that is appropriate to what they are trying to portray.
There are also 4 design principles:
- Proportions / aspect ratio
- Composition
- Mis-en-scène
- Brightness / contrast
These principles relate to the way the camera is placed and directed to capture what is in front of it.
Action
Camera action relates to the movements the camera makes while filming. Movement is used to follow a subject, make connections between ideas, to provide rhythmic variation, maintain temporal presence, or simulate movement of a subject.
There are three types of movement:
- 1. panning,
- 2. tracking,
- 3. craning
References
Law, J 2021, ‘Cinematography’, online lecture, BCM115, University of Wollongong, viewed 21 April 2021
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