Codes and conventions research

Conventions:

The conventions literally mean something that is usually done or associated with. They are the norm where normal parameters where movies or TV programmes fall into during the opening sequence. There are many variations such as:

Purpose - hooks the audience and conveys genre, mood etc.

Timing - this is the time of the opening sequence which normally lasts 2-5 minutes.

Sets the scene - (relatively self explanatory)

Introduces key characters: protagonist, antagonist, sidekick etc.

Key credits: such as the director, headline actor, producer etc.
Equilibrium: the key event that kick starts the movie usually takes place in the opening scene.
Introduces pre-plot: establishes the platform or scene.







Codes: the codes are in three categories that allow the director to convey a message to the audience.The 3 categories are:
Technical Codes: these include camera techniques, framing, depth of field, editing, lighting and Mis en scene.
Symbolic Codes: these refer to objects, clothing, colour etc. For example red lighting = danger.
Written Codes: these come in the form of headlines and other text. 




An example: (Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone opening)

Conventions - 

Purpose: the purpose is to hook the audience to watch the film and to become engrossed with the series and also conveys the fantasy genre.

Timing: 4 minutes.

Sets the scene: a dark night in the UK or more specifically a suburban street called Privet Drive.

Introduces key characters: Dumbledore, McGonagall, Hagrid and the main character, Harry Potter. 

Key Credits: this example doesn't really show the cast however it does show the Warner Brothers logo which tells the audience which movie studio the franchise belongs to.

Equilibrium: the magical element of the film is established and baby Harry Potter is left at the doorstep of the Dudley family.

Introduces pre-plot: already we know that Harry Potter has special relevance in the magical world and there are deadly threats that must be faced.

Codes -

Technical: there are varying camera shots and angles along with different lighting tones and accents changing the mood of the scene.

Symbolic Codes: the key one in this scene is that Harry is placed in the only bright light in the scene symbolizing that he will be the light in the darkness that surrounds him.

Written Codes: the reconcilable Harry Potter lettering and titles shows instantly that the film will have a magical tone that will be bright (due to the golden colour of the typography).

Here is a easy way to see how conventions work with codes:

Camera shots and angles research

Establishing shot (ELS) : it establishes the setting of the scene and normally shows the type of location and mood of the scene itself. 




Master shot : a continuous shot with no stops or cuts throughout. It allows for swooping and fluid shots setting the pace and tone of the scene.



Close up (CU): the shot concentrates on a single object rather than multiple for example someone's face. This is often used to create tension or capture a reaction or action even of a person or object in the shot.



Mid shot: similar to a close up, mid shots show more of the object for example rather than someone's face, the shot is of the waist up. It gives the audience more of a clear shot of the scene and details such as clothing without distorting the view of the character's action or face.


Wide shot: similar to the last, this shot is most like a long shot but as the name suggests, a wider shot that reveals more of the rest of the scene without the need to be further away. It gives the audience to see more of the setting in the scene without compromising their attention to the scene's focal point.


Long shot: a shot taken from a far distance from the scene's focal point revealing more of the scene and context to the audience. In this example the focal point is the coffin.


 Bird's eye view: is a shot taken from above the subject to give the audience a view of the landscape around the scene and what it appears like from the above. This view is strange and often eerie due to the unnatural feeling of flight.


Point of view shot (POV): is taken from the perspective of a person or an object to make the audience connect with it/them more by being in their shoes or alternatively for the audience to connect with the subject interacting with the camera.

Extreme close up: this is an extreme version of the conventional close up focusing on more minute things like an eye or fingers etc. This allows the actors (actor in this example) to exploit micro-expressions that allow the audience to see subtle changes in tone in the single shot.


Extreme long shot: this is the opposite of an extreme close up being very far away rather than very zoomed in. It allows the audience to view the whole scene with ease focusing on the bigger picture rather than the smaller details.




Low angle shot: this type of shot is taken from below the object or person of interest in the scene. It creates a different and unique perspective allowing the audience to see another side to the scene.


Eye level shot: this shot is taken at eye level of the person of interest and as the name suggests only works at eye level. It increases the impact of a characters reaction to an action in the scene.


Two shot: this is where two characters are in the same shot. This allows the audience to see the reactions of two characters, an interaction between the two or rather one talking with another listening on.


Aerial Shot: this is a shot taken from an elevated position in the air thus the name. They are not cut and dry so often blend into the establishing shot to preview a scene's setting and mood. They also blend with master shots and in fact the example given is also technically as panning shot. 


Pan Shot: the pan shot is a shot that literally pans across a scene like a master shot. In one continual shot, the camera drifts across revealing the setting, characters and other focal objects/points.This gives the audience a wide range of things to focus on while not distracting from the director's intended focal point.

Finished preliminary exercise

Continuity: this is the consistency of the scene/film etc. It allows the story of the scene/film to be shown in a continual linear flow. Continuity allows the audience to easily follow the flow of the movie with ease. A lack of continuity may occur due to human error:  e.g. a object being moved from one shot to the next without anything occurring in the scene to allow it to happen. Alternatively, the lack of continuity may be down to the director's style that may consist of flashbacks and other cuts.




Preliminary Exercise: Here is my/ our group's first attempt at creating a small scene. This Preliminary Exercise consisted of a match-on-action shot, an example of how the 180-degree rule works and an shot/reverse shot. We learnt from this shot to definitely find a better place to film with less people around and because of that we had some unwanted speech in one of the shots. We also need to use editing software to cut out unwanted things such as: "open the door." The lighting was bad for the shots we wanted but as there was nothing we could do with that, it was unavoidable. The continuity error where a character was not seen through the door's window, will definitely be addressed for next time.In all though, it wasn't a bad first attempt. Obviously there is plenty room for lots of improvement that will be addressed.

Preliminary exercise

Preliminary Exercise

Produce a continuity exercise which involves a character opening a door crossing a room and sitting down in a chair opposite to a character, with whom the task should demonstrate:

Match on action: where the shot perspective of the shot changes during a scene to focus on an object. The shot is different however the action is still the same. The shot draws the attention to the focus point/action.

Shot/Reverse Shot: often used in a conversational scene where the shots would alternate between characters showing them looking at each other. The back and forth dynamic of the shot works like a conventional conversation showing action and reaction.

180 Degree Rule : to create this effect, an imaginary line called an axis is created that connects two characters in one shot. When the scene and line is established the camera must keep on one side of the line in the shot. It shows the two characters in one shot facing each other clearly to the audience.