Study Guide – TV Test #2: Videography

  1. Aframecan be defined as the edges of an image and everything within it.
  1. Exposure is the amount of light travelling through the camera. The light travels through the aperture.
  1. Depth of field is the area in front of your camera where everything looks sharp and in focus.
  1. White balance adjusts the color temperature.
  1. Look room is the distance between the subject and the edge of the frame toward which he or she is looking.
  1. Head room is the distance between the top of the subject’s head and the top of the frame.
  1. The rule of thirds is an aid to composition in the form of an imaginary tic-tac-toe grid. The image is broken into the thirds horizontally and vertically. We should frame on the intersection points.
  1. Height and breadth are determined by the frame. Depth is an illusion.
  1. Symmetrical balance is a composition in which visual elements are evenly placed and opposed (center-balanced).
  1. Asymmetrical balance is a composition where dissimilar elements have equal visual weight (following rule of thirds typically).
  2. The best way to frame a close-up in a widescreen frame is to slightly cut off the top of someone’s head/hair, NOT their chin or neck.
  3. Moving the camera side to side (while staying still vertically) is called panning. Moving the camera up and down (while staying still horizontally) is called tilting.
  4. Leading lines are lines on the picture plane that emphasize an element by pointing to it.
  5. It is not a good idea to always center balance symmetrically, as those shots can be boring.
  6. Cross-cutting is showing two or more actions at once by alternating back and forth between them.
  1. Distance and size are not fixed within the frame. They are variable, determined by the frame itself
  1. EXTREME CLOSE-UP (ECU/XCU) -This type of shot focuses on part of an object very close up.
  1. CLOSE-UP (CU) A shot that shows off emotion, by simply capturing someone’s entire (or mostly entire) face.
  1. MEDIUM CLOSE-UP (MCU) framed with a subjects head and shoulders.
  1. MEDIUM SHOT(MS)  framed with a subject from the head to the waist.
  1. LONG SHOT (LS) A wide shot showing a location or an entire figure.
  1. EXTREME LONG SHOT (LS)  A very wide shot, focusing mostly on the setting with figures very small.
  1. HIGH ANGLE A shot (defined by angle) that makes the subject look submissive or powerless to a powerful subject. The subject is shot from above.
  1. LOW ANGLE A shot (defined by angle) that makes the audience feel submissive or powerless to a powerful subject. The subject is shot from below.
  1. DUTCH ANGLE The frame is slanted.
  1. BIRDS-EYE VIEWAn extreme high angle, where the camera is nearly looking down at the subject.
  1. OVER-THE-SHOULDER (OTS)  The camera is positioned in a point of view shot, with the shoulder of the person looking as part of the shot.
  1. TRACKING/DOLLY A shot where we put the camera on a cart (or wheels of some sort) to follow a subject.
  1. PAN/TILT A shot where the camera moves on an axis (either up-down or side-to-side) while remaining stationary in the other dimension
  1. While both are wheeled moving shots, tracking shot follows a subject from the side, while a dolly shot follows them from the front or back.
  1. The most common type of establishing shot is either ELS or LS.

Short Answers (include but are not limited to):

-Identify two of the principles of perspective you see in a provided shot and explain how the principles apply (minimum of two sentences).

Convergence vertical position overlap size focus

-We are shooting a conversation between two friends who are having an argument. What kind of shots would you use? Why?

-How does a dolly zoom work?