Aspect Ratios

1. What are the major differences between the different aspect ratio's?
2. How does aspect ratio affect what the audience experiences in a film?
3. How do filmmakers use these differences to craft their films?

4:3 Academy Ratio reminds the audience of the early 1900s style movies, and is therefore a great device to use when referencing back to such time period. 1:1 Square ratio can be utilized as an effect to demonstrate an unrealistic view or perception. 2.35 ratios are meant to portray a cinematic, dramatic look to the film. For example, science fiction films with this 2.35 ratio turn out great because the dramatizing effect the aspect ratio has. 16:9, which tends to take up the biggest available space, allows the audience to experience the grandness of a certain scene. 16:9 is also effective when portraying a real situation in a film such as documentaries.

The Role of the Cinematographer

What are the key responsibilities of the cinematographer on a film set? What is the cinematographers relationship with the director?

In literal means, cinematographer's role on a film set is to act as the head of the camera department, deciding the camera work, lighting, and framing. However, there is more to a cinematographer's job. They must consider which equipment is the most financially efficient for the ideal shot. They must also consider the time constraints so they do not drag the entire shooting process for everyone. By composing the perfect lighting and camera work for the scene ready, the director and the actors will have a more comfortable working environment. Creative storytelling requires communication with the director so they are able to convey their vision. A working cinematographer should always be aware of how they can make the director's job easier.

Tips for Beginning Cinematographers

What are three key suggestions that this video made that you find useful that you didn't know before. Why are these so interesting?

The cinematographer must defines subject. This means that when regarding the composition, the important body parts must all be in frame. When considering what should be inside the frame, the audience must be put into consideration. What information should they know? What information should be kept hidden? Focal point is also important because a sharp focus on a certain subject inevitably draws attention to that subject. A fuzzy image distorts the concentration of the image. Especially when shooting a human subject, the focus point should be set to the eyes. People naturally draw attention to the eyes, and focusing on them allows more emotion to be portrayed effectively. Headroom, or space above your head, should always be kept open unless the rule is broken purposefully. According to Alfred Hitchcock, "The most important thing in the frame should also be the biggest," and thus, cutting off the head which tends to be one of the most important part of the shot is usually ineffective.

The Language of Cinematography

How is cinematography like a language? What are three techniques of visual language that you realized while watching this video?

Cinematography is based upon concrete understanding of visual communication. Therefore, a certain technique can have a clear indication of what the story is trying to convey. On the contrary, such "definitions" can also be used as means to ironically convey a different message. For these to be used ironically or un ironically, rules of cinematography must be created, much like rules of any language. In order to break a rule, one must understand it first. For example, angles can be used to convey difference in power. If a character is sho from a high angle, it can display the character's weakness. The opposite tact is a strategy in which the camera matches the important character's perspective. This allows the audience to empathize with the character, further indulging them into the story. Camera movement is also an important aspect of cinematography, changing the emotion of the scene according to the direction and style of the movement. For example, if a scene utilizes a smooth, steadicam shot, the audience will be filled with ease and confidence.

Film Festival Edit

What challenges did you run into during the Film Festival Awards Show edit? How did you overcome them? What do you still have left to do?

The biggest challenge I faced was the trouble with exporting. In the process of rendering a certain file or exporting a certain section, it would consistently fail to process the information. As of right now, the problem is not solved. However, I can try reimporting the failed footage, opening the current project on a different project file, or rendering just the additional effects. In addition to exporting projects, I encountered a file saving problem, specifically for the slide show that was available during the festival. Although this was an easy fix by simply adding my own graphics in the video, it would have made the editing process significantly faster had the slideshow not been deleted. Although this was a problem completely blamed on myself, I kept on deleting edited footage because I dragged the clips over instead of copy and pasting. The alt key to quickly copy a clip is useful if it was used correctly.

Fair Use Myths

What are the common copyright myths that this video talks about? Do any of these go against what you thought you knew about copyright? What are three more important questions you have about copyright and how it applies to filmmaking?

Take time to craft a 3 paragraph response to what you've learned about the future of work in this video.

Common Copyright Myths

1. It you're not making money off of it, it is okay

I didn't necessarily believe in this myth because Youtube gives copyright strikes even to those who do not  earn money from the video. Whether it is in the form of money, the one who produced the content is benefitting from the utilized content one way or another. Are there specific guidelines for using copyrighted material when you ARE using it for profit?

2. Commercial use is not okay.

Although it is not a distinguishing factor, commercial use is not an excuse to copyrighted materials out of the fair use laws. How will commercial use be considered okay? Would the content creator have to buy the content from the creator of the used material?

3. A specific number of seconds or less is always fair use

Although it would allow the content creator to feel more secure about using copyrighted material if there was a specific laws such as this one, this is simply not the case. Before I came to this class, I was watching videos regarding copyright that gave me this false information. However, I understand now that that is not the case.

Avoiding Violating Fair Use

How does copyright and fair use apply to Youtube? Write a reflection on three instance where you might have violated copyright on YouTube. Now that you've learned more about copyright, how might you have solved each of these three situations using the fair use clause?

Copyright and Fair Use laws apply very much to Youtube. When uploading content created by another user to your own video, these specific guidelines must be followed. For instance, I once uploaded a video with copyrighted background music. This was a blatant violation of the copyright law especially because no credit was given to the creator of the video. Unsurprisingly, the video was taken down. In order to solve this problem, i simply needed to use a royalty free remix of the song or a entirely different royalty free song. As mentioned in the first scenario, I did not know to include citations for the copyrighted content I took from online. All it took was to simply write the name of their work and the name of the creator in the description below. I was also oblivious to the amount of copyrighted material I am able to use in the project. I have had instances where I used the copyright material for more than half of the video. Simply including more original content would have solved this problem.