Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) Written and directed by Steven Spielberg Estimated $20M budget Science fiction/adventure
Alien (1979) Directed by Ridley Scott, written by Dan O’Bannon and Ronald Shusett $8.4M budget Science fiction/horror
Production Design
Character Design
Camera Work
Lighting
Production Challenge – Alien vs. Close Encounters
You will be put into a group that is either Alien or Close Encounters themed. Spend the next twenty minutes filming a shot (or a few shots) in the style of that film. Your goal is to imply something mysterious or threatening happening offscreen and you should capture between 30 and 60 seconds of footage. Each group will be given a single LED light with adjustable color temperature, but you can also use other lights that you may find. Film the shot or shots on your phone and send them to me at dan014@bucknell.edu.
Extreme long shot – panoramic view of environment, character is small in the frame
Long shot – character’s full body is visible, as is the environment
Medium – character is seen roughly from the waist up
Close-up – the character’s face fills most of the frame
Extreme close-up – a small part of the character’s body fills the frame
Focus
Shallow depth of field – only the subject is in focus
Deep depth of field – the subject and the background are in focus
Separation – definition between the subject and the background, enhanced by lighting and distance
In a rack focus shot, the focus changes between the subject and the background or between two multiple points of interest in the frame.
Angles
Low angle – the camera looks up at the subject from below
High angle – the camera looks down at the subject from above
Perspective/point of view – the camera sees what a character in the scene would see
Canted/dutch angle – the subject is angled in the frame
Cinematography principles
Rule of thirds – placing important objects or characters along the “thirds” marks of a frame
Leading lines – visual elements in the frame draw the eye to important information
Symmetry – symmetry can have a number of effects on the composition of a frame, but it is always deliberate; it can also be deliberately broken
Insert/cutaway shot – footage of what the character is looking at off-screen
Eye line – the direction a characters eyes are looking off screen – in a dialog sequence, these should match
180 degree rule – this is the basic principle that characters in dialog should stay on opposite sides of the screen during a sequence; if you imagine a line between the characters, the camera should stay on one side of that line
One of the most common cinematic techniques is the shot/reverse shot, in which one character is shown, then the character they are addressing. For a shot/reverse shot sequence to make sense, the 180 degree rule should be followed.
Cast – director, producer, cinematographer, editor, actors, etc. Background info – year of release, studio, country of origin Category – Genre, sub-genre Context – relevant cultural or individual circumstances of production
Auteur theory is the idea that the artistic qualities of a film can be primarily attributed to an individual, usually the director. Since filmmaking is an inherently collaborative process, auteur theory is not always applicable.
Cast
Genre
Context
Literary Qualities
Characters – Who appears in the story? Who are the protagonists and antagonists? Character arcs – How do the characters change throughout the film? Perspective – Whose point of view do we experience the story through? Setting – Where and when do the events of the film take place? Plot, conflict, and subplots – What happens? Narrative structure – How is the story shown? Theme – What does it all mean? Tone – How does it make you feel?
Characters
Setting
Perspective
Formal Elements
Cinematography – framing, angle, movement, depth-of-field, lighting, etc. Color grading – stylizing the image in post-production Editing – continuity, parallel, montage, cross-cutting, transitions, etc. Audio – diagetic and non-diagetic sound Acting – realism and style of acting Effects – special effects, practical and digital visual effects, compositing
Mise-en-scène is a term referring to the arrangement of everything in the cinematic frame. Mise-en-scène includes the set, props, costumes, actors, and lighting.
Cinematography
Color grading
Sound design
Analysis
Auteur – analysis of a film through the broader work of its director Cognitive – use of psychology and neuroscience to understand how an audience interacts with cinema Formalism – study of a film’s construction Ideological – uncovering the hidden messages or politics of a film Semiotics – study of the ways a film uses signs and symbols to function as a sort of language Structuralism – analysis of a film’s narrative and character tropes or conventions
