Film Production

Introduction:

Everyone watches movies, but not everyone knows how they are made. This blog summarizes a few important aspects of film production and post production techniques that can affect the film majorly. The smallest things can change the outcome of the final project, for example; lighting, various camera equipment’s, sound and even color, all of which are described below.

Summary:

Theatrical dramas are often filmed with only one film shot, special equipment to keep a steady camera movement, appropriate lighting and a large crew. On the other hand, projects such as reality television shows and documentaries are filmed with shaky camera movements and of a lower quality (Ascher & pincus, 2013). This difference in filming is done on purpose to clearly illustrate the image of the different genres, if reality programs were to be filmed in a professional manner then the actors of the show would appear to be faking the scenarios and the whole aspect of the show would be ruined. In the words of Marshall Mcluhan, “The medium is the message” (Ascher & pincus, 2013). In fact because of the very repetitive style of handheld camera filming in documentaries, that style of filming now corresponds with “documentary”. Camera Focus is very important; it can affect the film entirely (Ascher & pincus, 2013). If the scene is filmed out of focus when it is not meant to be it can manipulate the point of that scene and vice versa, for example if the scene is showing an important part of the film and is filmed out of focus, it will appear irrelevant to the audience (Ascher & pincus, 2013). Another very important feature is the contrast of the shots, if a scene is shot in a dark environment then the lighting of the camera has to be managed in a way to make the shot visible (Ascher & pincus, 2013). If the contrast is not appropriately arranged to compliment the environment and the natural lighting of the scene, then the outcome will be very unprofessional (Ascher & pincus, 2013). Movie producers understood that diverse tones could enable watchers to pursue stories that hopped among characters and areas (May, 2017). Sound is the thing that finished shading's onscreen rule, in light of the fact that interfacing a soundtrack to a film strip with connected shading was troublesome (May, 2017).

Reflection:

I personally am very fond of movies and the production process intrigues me, for me the job of a director has always been the most interesting one, but after reading about the various different job opportunities in the industry, I realize that there are several other jobs that are more important in the final product than the actual directing. The production process seems to need to most amount of consideration since it involves filming, if any small detail is forgotten the project is simply no good. It’s very amusing how lighting can affect a scene so much, it can literally change the mood of the shot if it is not done right. Post production is also very important, especially if the production process was not done right. I never knew how different camera’s and filming equipment could effect a scene, but if the camera is not taken into consideration, many problems will occur, for example, the lighting of that certain camera might not adjust well with the situation and the recorded shots will not be of any good use because of it. The most interesting part however, was how color can have so much of an effect on movies. I have always had a passion for old movies, but whenever I recommend them to my friends, they give me negative feedback about them. And now I see that it is because of the mood the movie has, for them the black and white aspect of the movie is boring and it makes it hard for them to pay attention to the story. This proves that color in film has a massive effect on the audience.

(Alice Guy-Blache, first female director)

References:

May, K. (2017, April 5). How color helps a movie tell its story. [online] ideas.ted.com. Retrieved (23/1/2019) from https://ideas.ted.com/how-color-helps-a-movie-tell-its-story/

Ascher, S., & Pincus, E. (2013). The “Look” of The Movie. In The Filmmaker’s Handbook: A Comprehensive Guide for the Digital Age (pp. 82-84). New York, U.S.A.: Plume.

ALICE GUY-BLACHÉ: FEMALE FILM PIONEER. (2015, May 4). [image] Retrieved (25/1/2019) from https://girlsdofilm.wordpress.com/2015/05/04/alice-guy-blache-female-film-pioneer/