Live Action – Camera
Year Level:
Year 5 to Year 10
Curriculum Study Areas:
English; The Arts
Themes/Topics:
Narrative Structure; Film Language; Genre; Symbolism and
Icons; Cultural Studies
Description:
This teaching kit outlines in detail the steps involved in
producing, directing and filming a television program or
movie. It explores many areas of production, including script
writing, casting, lighting, camera, sound and editing.
There are seven teaching activities linked to this resource
found in our Learning Centre.
Resources:
Lesson plan:
Camera
The basic element of film making - the shot
The shot is everything recorded on film from when the camera begins rolling ("Action!")
until it stops rolling ("Cut!"). The director decides how long a shot will be. This can range
from a few seconds to a few minutes.
Films are usually made up of thousands of shots. These shots make up the scenes
which are placed together through the process of editing. When editing, a shot can be
cut and different pieces used in different parts of the sequence to tell the story and enrich
the narrative.
Francisca
Bosch,
Focus
Puller
on
location
for The
Genie
from
Down
Under 2
Takes
The director may ask for a number of takes of each shot to be filmed. This is to make
sure that the director is satisfied that the best possible shot - including the quality of the
image, the delivery of the dialogue, the acting, the lighting, the camera position, etc. - is
available.
© Australian Children's Television Foundation (except where otherwise indicated). You may use, download and reproduce this
material free of charge for non-commercial educational purposes provided you retain all acknowledgements associated with the
material.
Framing
The camera is the eye of the film
maker, but unlike the real eye (which
has a limited point of view) the film
maker can use the camera for many
purposes.
In framing a shot, the director and the
Director of Photography (DOP) working
with the script will decide what the
viewer will see on the screen and what
they won't see by the way they frame
the shots. This influences the way the
viewer can interpret the overall scene.
Framing is created through the use of different camera shots and angles. Framing can
be used to emphasise a character's point of view. It can also be used to hide information
from the viewer (such as something happening out of shot) which is later important to the
story, creating mystery for the audience. Framing can also provide information to the
viewer which the characters don't know, creating suspense and expectation.
Shot types
There are eight different shot types that a director can use when filming.
Long shot/Wide shot
Mid shot
© Australian Children's Television Foundation (except where otherwise indicated). You may use, download and reproduce this
material free of charge for non-commercial educational purposes provided you retain all acknowledgements associated with the
material.
Close-Up
Master shot
Single
Two shot
Point Of View (POV)
1. Long shots and wide shots show the whole person or the whole feature object as
part of the landscape. The establishing shot of a television and film production is
usually a long shot showing the actor/s in their environment. This establishes the
context for following shots. The establishing shot, for example, might be a house,
a town or a landscape. This shot implies that it is important to the story for the
audience to see the actor in this context. A long shot or wide shot can also be
used as the first shot or master shot of a new scene. These shots are outlined in
more detail below.
2. Mid shots or Medium shots cut the actors off at the waist. This allows the viewer
to clearly see the characters' expressions and movements without dominating the
screen. This type of shot usually cuts out much of the background.
3. The Close-up shot shows the actor's head and sometimes their shoulders. This
shot directs the audience's attention to the significance of what that individual is
doing, saying or feeling at that particular time. The close-up shot can also draw
attention to an object which is of significance to the narrative.
4. Extreme close-up shots are used for dramatic emphasis. By framing only an
actor's eyes or mouth the director can emphasise the drama, suspense or tension
of the moment.
5. Master shots are usually the first shot of a scene. It is a wide shot which covers
all the action and speech in the scene and establishes context.
6. A Two shot is a shot showing two characters in the scene. It usually involves a
dialogue sequence between the two characters.
© Australian Children's Television Foundation (except where otherwise indicated). You may use, download and reproduce this
material free of charge for non-commercial educational purposes provided you retain all acknowledgements associated with the
material.
7. Single shots are mid-shots or close-ups of each individual actor in the scene
where none of the other characters appear.
8. A Point of view (POV) shot is where the camera is used to enable the audience to
share a character's point of view - as if the camera were seeing through their
eyes.
A film maker can show points of view by using the camera to put the viewer in the same
position as the character and we see what the character is seeing. A POV shot is used to
help the audience identify closely with, and understand, the character's feelings, or to
create suspense and humour. In most cases the camera will only occasionally show a
scene from a character's point of view to show a reaction, or something of importance to
the character.
Camera movement
Camera movement affects what is revealed to the audience. It reveals new sights and
new information. Camera movement can simply be used for following action or it can be
used to emphasise drama.
Camera movement can draw the viewer's attention to something or it can move attention
away from one subject to another subject which appears in the frame. For instance, a
tracking shot where the camera physically moves closer or further away from the subject
is most commonly used to increase the drama of what is being said or done.
If we are led closer and closer by the camera into a situation, we can't help but become
more involved in the drama, suspense or intimacy of that particular moment. Camera
movement is also used to establish the visual style of the film. This can include long
sweeping pans in a romance or period style film, or jerky camera movements similar to
those used in fast-paced police television programs, documentaries and news programs.
There are five types of camera movement. These are:
1. Zooming - a zoom lens brings objects closer to the
camera and makes them bigger in the frame by zooming
in. It can also happen in reverse by zooming out from the
object without moving the camera. A sophisticated
camera zoom lens can allow you to start with a long shot
of a building and then zoom in on a face in the window.
© Australian Children's Television Foundation (except where otherwise indicated). You may use, download and reproduce this
material free of charge for non-commercial educational purposes provided you retain all acknowledgements associated with the
material.
2. Panning - this involves the camera moving from side to
side while the tripod remains still.
3. Titling - in this instance the camera tilts up or down
while the tripod remains still. This can create a sense of
unease in the viewer and is often used to create suspense
or mystery.
4. Crane shot: the camera is
suspended on a small crane and can
be raised very high to look down on
the scene or location. It can then be
swept down low within the same shot.
5. Tracking/dollying - the camera
and tripod are mounted on a moving
platform, usually on rails, and can be
smoothly pushed forwards, backwards
or sideways so that the camera can
stay with and follow the action.
Camera angle
The camera angle is another important consideration for the director. The camera angle
is the vantage point from which the film maker would like the audience to see the
characters or location. This is an important psychological tool in reinforcing dialogue,
action and the way we respond to and interpret the character.
The three different types of camera angles are:
© Australian Children's Television Foundation (except where otherwise indicated). You may use, download and reproduce this
material free of charge for non-commercial educational purposes provided you retain all acknowledgements associated with the
material.
1. High angle, where the camera is
placed above the person or object and
looks down on it. It can be used to get a
wider shot of a scene such as the
example on the right.
High angle camera angles can also be
used to have the viewer looking down on
something or someone, creating the
illusion of weakness, or to show that the
character is frightened or powerless.
2. Eye level camera angle is where the
camera is on the same angle as the
person or object. It creates the
impression that the viewer is on the
same level. It is usually seen as 'normal'
but can also be used to bring the viewer
closer to the action, as in this example.
3. Low angle is where the camera is
placed to look up at the person or object
so that the viewer feels they are looking
upwards. This angle can be used to
create impressions of superiority,
authority, strength, power or menace. A
low angle shot is often used to convey
the point of view (POV) of a small child.
Special effects
Special effects are used to make the fantastic
appear convincingly real.
In The Genie from Down Under 1 the genies,
'Bruce' and 'Baz', take 'Penelope' on a magic
carpet ride. This special effect was created by
filming the actors on a carpet against a green
background (as can be seen in the photo). This
was filmed on a small raised stage in the studio
with the actors pretending they were flying through
the air.
© Australian Children's Television Foundation (except where otherwise indicated). You may use, download and reproduce this
material free of charge for non-commercial educational purposes provided you retain all acknowledgements associated with the
material.
Actor Alexandra Milman had to present a
frightened 'Penelope', terrified on such a
dangerous journey. These shots were then
superimposed on shots of the scenery over which
they were supposed to be flying.
Camera conventions
We make many assumptions when we watch a
film. For example, we assume that when one
shot is placed next to another there is a
significant relationship between them. If one
character in a single shot is looking to the left and
another character in a single shot is looking to
the right, when these shots are edited together
we usually assume that the characters are
looking at each other. We also expect that if the
film is depicting real life then the characters will
not look at the camera.
Conventions can be broken for effect. In The
Genie from Down Under, for example, the lead
character Penelope directly addresses the
audience at the beginning of each episode,
looking at and speaking directly to the camera.
This unusual strategy is a significant feature of
this series.
© Australian Children's Television Foundation (except where otherwise indicated). You may use, download and reproduce this
material free of charge for non-commercial educational purposes provided you retain all acknowledgements associated with the
material.