Notes on camera shots and technical codes

- Encoding is communicating ideas through signs, symbols or techniques of some kind. Technical codes include camera angles, movement, shots and the way they are edited to create meaning.

- Close up's: are used to create emotion and tension so the audience can feel involved with the character.

- Extreme close up's: draw attention to that particular moment and they highlight important things in the film.

- Long shots: give context/ more information about a character, where they are, the people around them and more about their life. E.g. a crime scene.

- Medium close up's: helps the audience relate to the character.

- Establishing shot: shows the setting.

Camera angles:

- High angle shots: look down and makes a character look vulnerable, shows a lower status.

- Low angle shots: look up and shows dominance and a high status.

- Birds eye view: shows the audience what is happening and the scale of it.

Camera movement:

- Fracking shots: are normally done with a handycam (hand held camera) and this makes the audience feel involved in the film.

- Zooms: are not normally noticeable and they slowly focus the attention on a character or object. 

- Panning shot: give more information of the location and is often used with establishing shots.

- Tilt shots: are often used to slowly reveal a character, adds a sense of mystery or intrigue.

Editing: 

- Jump cuts: these shots just change from one to the next, it isn't fancy or artistic.

Print products:

- The use of colour, text and positioning construct narrative and meaning.

- If the camera shots, lighting, graphics and post production techniques are good it can really improve 

Quality:

- Colours can have meaning and different affiliations.

- The camera is a tool box full of techniques and tricks we can use to help us make meaning of a film.

Camera shots:

- Wide shot: provides context, it can also show the physical and emotional space between two characters who aren't seeing eye to eye or to juxtapose something huge within the character to show the overwhelming odds they face.

- Full shot: is useful when more that one subject is in the frame or when the environment shows visual information.

- Medium full shot: singles out a subject while still showing the environment, it also focuses the audience on this character.

- Cowboy shot: this frames the subject to just below the hips, its a strong, powerful and heroic shot.

- Medium shot: is the waist to the top of the head, this helps us read information from the characters and it helps with shots including dialogue.

- Medium close up: this frames the shoulders and head of the subject and this focuses our full attention on the character and shows more information about their emotions.

- Close up: this is mainly just the characters head in the shot and its the same as a medium close up it just reveals more expression and emotion on the characters face.

- Extreme close up: shows intimacy to make sure details haven't been missed, mainly for moments with intense emotion.