Photography Resources

​

Basic Information:

​

• The filmographer I am looking at is [NAME] and they are from [Country].

• The film of theirs I am looking at and want to respond to is [put the title of the film here].

• It was made in [year].

• The subject matter of the film is... [Briefly describe what happens in it as if the examiner hasn’t watched it.]

• It is a Animated/Live Action film. [If it’s animated, what kind of animation is it? eg. VFX, Stop Motion, Claymation, Hand Drawn, 2D or 3D, CGI, Motion Capture, Rotoscope?]

​

Camera Settings:

​​

• It is [a Manual film taken using a reel of film or a VHS video tape / a Digital film taken with a DSLR - Can you find out the model of the camera?]

• I think the film has been taken using a Manual/Automatic/Semi-Automatic Aperture Priority/Semi-Automatic Shutter Speed] setting because… (How can you tell?).

• This film was taken using… [Do you think they’ve used a tripod, specific camera rig, gimble, drone, macro lens, fish eye lens, filters, etc? What effect has using this had?]

​

Visual Qualities:

​​​

Take some screenshots of key moments in the film and add them to your page to analyse.

​

• Camera Focus: What’s the Focal Point of the camera at this moment in the film (what has the camera has been focused on, does it change)?

• What kind of shots have they used? Extreme Long Shot/Extreme Wide Shot, Long Shot/Wide Shot, Full Shot, Medium Long Shot/Medium Wide Shot, Cowboy Shot, medium Shot, Medium Close Up, Close Up, Extreme Close Up, Establishing Shot.

• What are the transitions between shots like? [e.g. wipe, fade in/out, dissolve, whip pan, zoom]

• Has a green screen been used for any elements?

• What does the camera do during the shot? [e.g. does the camera follow the subject (panning)? Zoom in/out? How does it move?]

• What kind of lighting was used? [Studio or Natural (the sun)? Are they lit from a specific direction? What are the shadows created like (strong or minimal? Is it hard light or soft light, have they used a filter to achieve that)?]

•  [Name of filmographer] has paid attention to the Compositional Rules in this work, as they have intentionally used [Leadings Lines (perspective lines that lead to the focal point), Framing (where the subject is framed by a window or object), The Rule of Thirds (grid), Diagonal Lines, Central Eye Dominant (a person’s eye is in the middle of the photo), Contrast Between Subject and Background (Can be any kind of contrast, including Tone or Colour, specify how they’ve created a contrast), Symmetry (two halves of a photo are mirrored), Repetition and Pattern].

• What effect does using this Compositional Rule have?

• [Name of photographer] has used the Formal Elements of [Repetition (repeated Imagery), Shape and Form (strong shapes in the photo), Negative Space (the empty space around an object), Balance (elements in the photo balanced, eg. left side and right side are equal), Focus, Texture, Lines, Colour, Tone or Light (strong contrast)]

• What effect does using this Formal Element have?

​

Mood:

​

• Does the filmographer have a certain Mood that they're trying to create in their film? (e.g. calm, spooky, exciting), what about the photo makes it feel like that?

• The people [if there are any in the film] look… [Describe any body language and expression, do they match the overall mood of the photo or are they contrasting? What are they doing in the film, what’s the purpose of having them there?]

• What are the colours in the film like? [Contrasting (opposite on the colour wheel), Analogous (gradient), one overarching colour, one pop of a colour that stands out, etc] What effect does the filmographer’s choice to use these colours specifically have on the film?]

• If the film has a strong contrast: Are the shorts High Key or a Low Key?

​

Intent:

​

• From looking at it, I think the film is about… [What do you think the film is about?]

• Researching [filmographer’s name]’s work have found that they made this film because… [Every filmographer has a reason for shooting their film, what do you think is the reason this film was taken? eg. Is to entertain? to educate? Is it an advert, if so what makes it a successful advert?]

• What is the filmographer trying to convey with their work? What’s their context?

• How does the composition/colours/subject matter etc link to their context?

​

Relate to your own work:

​

• How will you be influenced by this filmographer’s work when planning and taking your own films?

• What about their work are you going to try and replicate in your own?

​