Love and Basketball | ||||||
the shot
| A shot is an uninterrupted sequence of film/video bounded by edits. Note that camera and/or actors can move or zoom, and any elements below can change as that happens. | |||||
| ||||||
focal depth/ implied proximity | Closer to people’s faces seems more intimate and “about” the character, usually. | |||||
| long shot
| Bigger than characters. Places. Cities | The camera shows the ball going into the net as it is thrown from a distance. | |||
|
|
|
| |||
|
|
|
| |||
| medium shot (MS) | Waist up and highlighting their facial expressions, body language, | The camera focuses waist up to show the intensity of their interaction on their faces during this one-on-one game. | |||
| medium close up(MCU) | Chest up. | The camera focuses chest up when they are looking at each other while dribbling the ball. | |||
| close up (CU) | Face. | The camera shows their faces close upso the viewer can see the intensity, sweat and determination of their faces. | |||
|
| |||||
angle | Looking up gives them power. Looking down disempowers them. | |||||
| high | Looking down. | The camera is focused down while they dribble the ball and move around. | |||
| eye level | Straight on from level. | The camera is at eye level as they intensely look at each other as they play ball and kiss at the end. | |||
| low | Looking up. | The camera is focused up at the net as they shoot the ball. | |||
|
| |||||
movement | tilt | Stationary camera person, moving camera, vertical. | The camera tilts upward and follows the path of the basketball as it goes towards the hoop. | |||
| handheld | Lack of steadycam rig for jumbly effect. | The camera closely follows the ball as it's dribbled back and forth between the characters. | |||
|
| |||||
plane | foreground | Many shots use these three focal planes. |
| The camera shows the basketball hoop, rim, and backboard. | ||
| midground |
| Where the 2 players play the game on the driveway. |
| ||
| background |
|
|
| ||
|
| Some shots reduce to foreground & background. |
| The camera shows the house, lights, and area around the driveway. | ||
|
|
|
|
| ||
|
| |||||
space | onscreen | vs. | Seen in frame. | The camera t shows the basketball court and the immediate surroundings where the characters are playing. | See Column for information. | |
| offscreen |
| Out of frame, but still existing. | The camera shows the areas wherethe characters run andretrieve the ball. |
| |
|
|
|
| |||
| open | vs. | The top of frame feels free. | Wide shots and preparing to shoot the ball. | ||
| closed |
| The top is closed in. | Close ups of the characters and no major surrounding areas. | ||
|
|
|
| |||
|
| |||||
diagonals | balanced/centered | The diagonals converge in the center, giving a sense of balance. | Large scale example à |
| ||
|
|
| Medium scale ex. à | The camera isbalanced when they are facing each other. | ||
|
|
| Small scale ex. à |
| ||
| oblique/unbalanced | The diagonals pull to the sides, creating motion and lack of balance. | Large scale example à |
| ||
|
|
| Medium scale ex. à | The camera is unbalanced when they are moving quickly, dribbling,and shooting the ball. | ||
|
|
| Small scale ex. à |
| ||
|
| |||||
lighting | Note the way 3-point lighting works, first. The fill light removes shadows. The back light makes figures pop from the background. | |||||
| ||||||
low contrast/high key |
| The typical Hollywood bright lighting style. | The contrast is high because it is dark outside and artificial lighting was used. |
Hi Brynner! Your analysis is SPOT ON! I understand why you chose to center your analysis on the shot and lighting because those two components emphasize the scene's dramaticism and intense emotionality. The dark lighting with hints of streetlight plays into the serious tone of the scene. The singular shots of their faces allow the viewer to see the underlying tones of sadness, hope, and concern. Your shot analysis is incredible; thank you for your attention to detail!
ReplyDeleteHi Bynner! you focused a lot on the camera angles and shots for your scene. Since so much is going on during their one-on-one game the camera is constantly moving at different angles to capture their emotions during the scene. That is something you can emphasize in your thesis is how the camera keeps moving with them and the ball while they play their game. How each particular shot was done to show us something, either it was to show the ball about to make the basket or to show their expressions and movement. You could also cover the sound in your thesis since the music plays a role in expressing the emotions being presented in this scene. For the lighting there is definitly a lot more lighting used so we can see more of their expressions and movement on the basket ball court. Overall great job on your analysis!
ReplyDeleteHey Brynner! I loved looking over your film analysis. I feel like you'll have great structural points to present to the class. Each shot you had identified showed me a side of the scene that I would have never noticed if you did not identify- especially over the exposure and different film shots. Great job!
ReplyDelete