Cinematography Dealing with light and color KEY VOCAB elements Pre visualization The Essentials Mise en scene a film s overall visual design refers to the elements placed before the camera Production Design the creation of sets location costuming and all visual depictions on screen Performance Style an actor s contribution to a film how filmmakers incorporate actors as visual Preproduction consultation between the director cinematographer and production designer to collaborate on the film s design Film Stock Identified by manufacturer and stock number Vary in sensitivity to light color grain sharpness contrast etc Dependent on the design and set of a film to extenuate theme Aspect Ratio The dimensions of a screen image o Anamorphic widescreen 2 35 1 o 1930s 1940s standard 1 37 1 o Modern standard widescreen 1 85 1 OR 2 35 1 1 85 1 allows for taller objects on screen 2 35 1 is seen across epics Westerns and historical dramas Letterboxing implementing the two black bars and the top and bottom of a screen in order to show the proper proportions of a film o Super 35 uses the full aperture of the 35mm negative frame including the area normally masked for a THIS allows the film to be converted to any dimension for DVD etc soundtrack Lighting Design Realistic Lighting a lighting design that simulates light on screen i e sun desk lamp etc Practical the lighting design is the ONLY source of light for the camera Burnout an overexposed portion of an image in which details are lost For effect the lighting design adds to the environment setting Pictorial Lighting purely visual values that may be unrelated to concerns about lighting source simulation fictional lighting effects that extenuate moods i e shadows moving without figures etc film noir black film Hard and Soft Lighting Establishes three dimensional visual effects Establishes time of day morning vs night Hard Lighting high contrast and fast fall off Boundaries between light and dark are very well defined Rate of fall off change between light and dark high contrast strong shadow Soft Light diffused and scattered bounce cards used to reflect light Light flows on and throughout each subject in the frame Key Light traditional three point lighting structure employed in Hollywood films usually illuminates the face of a subject Low key bright key light small fill light produces shadows under lit frame High key bright key light intensified fill light produces even level of dark light Fill Light illuminates undesirable areas of shadows Back Light illuminates the rear of the set Functions of Color Cinematography 1 Establish symbolic meaning 2 Create narrative organization plot line 3 Embellish psychological mood and tone Cinema in the Digital Future of film High definition video HD 4K image digital 35mm celluloid film Digital video is replacing film High end digital cameras can produce a picture almost identical to that