Film studies

Film StudiesAideen Galligan

TY

English

The Director A director uses camera shots, camera angles,

lighting and colour, music and sound effects and costume and make-up to make the audience interested in the film.

My favourite film Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone is an example of a film were the director uses all of these things. The director Chris Columbus used these things to influence how the audience reacted to different characters and scenarios in the film.

Language of Film

Every film has a story to tell; just like each novel, play and short story. A director uses a camera to make a film. The camera shots and angles the director uses influences how the audience reacts to the film. The director also uses music and costumes to influence how the audience reacts to a scene or film.

Camera Shots The director for Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone used lots of

different camera shots to tell the audience the story.Establishing Shot: Directors use establishing shots to show the

audience the setting; establishing shots are often used in opening scenes to show the location of where the story takes place. An example of this in Harry Potter and The Philosopher Stone is when the director shows Hogwarts for the first time.

Long Shot: Long shots are used in films to show characters from head to toe with the location shown. An example is when the director shows Harry on platform nine and three quarters with the Wealeys; showing Ginny from head to toe and the platform as the location.

Medium shot: Medium shots show a character from the waist up. An example of this type of shot from Harry Potter is the scene when Harry is looking at the Mirror of Erised and sees his mother and father standing behind him.

Close-up: Close-ups are when the camera zooms into a characters face to highlight a facial expression. An example of this is when Harry get sorted into his house at Hogwarts.

Establishing shot Long shot Medium shot Close-up

Camera Angles Directors also use different camera angles to tell the audience the

story.High angle: High angles are used to look down at a character. They

are used to make a character seem weak, dangerous or in a vulnerable position. An example of this camera angle is when the camera looks down on the wizard chess board.

Low angle: Low angles are used to look up at a character. They are used to make a character seem respected, feared or be in a position of authority. An example is when Harry is talking to Professor Quirrell.

Neutral angle: When the camera is at eye level, the camera is at a neutral angle. An example of this camera angle in Harry Potter is when Harry receives a letter from his owl Hedwig.

High angle Low angle Neutral angle

Lighting and Colour

Light: In film; lighting creates the appropriate mood or atmosphere in a scene. The director adds light to a scene in lots of ways; scenes can be back lit, side lit or front lit. Some director use natural lighting and other use artificial lighting.

Colour: The director uses colour to tell the audience the story. Colour can be used to influence the audiences impression of a character. In some films certain colours may be associated with certain characters.

An example of when the director uses light is when a wizard casts a spell; and when harry gets his wand the director uses yellow/gold light to make the wand seem powerful.

An example of where the director uses colour is the Sytherin qudditch robes. The characters that are in Slytherin are associated with green because their team colour is green.

Light Colour

Music and sound effects

Music: Music is used in films to create the correct atmosphere or mood. Moments of happiness, suspense, danger and conflict are often accompanied by music. Music is also used to signal a flashback or to pass time.

Sound Effects: Sound effects are used to make things seem realistic. Examples of sound effects that are used to make a film seem realistic are car horns, dogs barking and people conversing in the background.

An example of music used in Harry Potter is the music played when owls come to deliver a letter to Harry from Hogwarts.

Examples of sound effects used in Harry Potter are when spells are cast. The director adds in sound effects to make them sound powerful or weak and to make it seem as though magic; not light, is flying out of the wand.

Costume and make-upEvery person who appears on screen wears a costume and make-up.

Certain people wear certain costumes so the audience knows who the people are. For example people playing policemen wear a police uniform as a costume. The audience get an impression of a character by the clothes they see them wear. A director uses different types of make-up in films; sometimes special effects make-up is used to give actors scars or bruises.

Examples of different costumes from Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone are the Hogwarts school robes and the Quidditch robes that students were during school.

An example of make-up that is used in Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone is the make-up used to make Harrys lightening bolt scar seem real.

Costume Make-up

My favourite scene from Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone

A scene from Harry Potter and the Philosopher Stone in which the director uses different camera shots, camera angles, lighting and colour, music and sound effects and costumes is the scene where Harry meets Ron and Hermione for the first time on the Hogwarts Express.

Camera shot example :The director uses an establishing shot to show the Hogwarts Express in the countryside.

Camera angle example :The director uses a neutral angle when he shows the students sitting in the train talking to each other.

Lighting and colour example :The director uses natural lighting in this scene.

Music and sound effect example: The director uses a sound effect in this scene to make Hermiones spell seem more realistic. You can hear a sound effect in this scene when Hermione uses the spell “oculus reparo” to fix Harrys glasses.

Costume and make-up example: A costume the director uses in this scene is Hermiones school uniform.

To watch this scene from Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone to see all of these examples click the following link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NzWPCbZIJt8

The End Thank you