production Equipment

                                                                        Camera

A motion picture camera is a device that is capable of capturing a series of images in sequence at a high speed, giving the illusion of motion when played back.

The first film camera was designed by Louis Prince in 1888, the first movies frame rate was 14/20 frames per second. This is because they were hand cranked cameras.

Experimentations were made with digital cameras by the BBC, using cathode ray tubes, this was in the 1930's.

Kodak launched 16mm film stock for lots of cameras, as a cheaper cost alternative then 35mm in 1923 This was used by many amateur filmmakers.

Most colour cameras came about in the 50’s and 60’s, also The development of storing information changed drastically over the years and camera's became smaller and more compact.

The current industry film standard is 35mm, which depends on quality,  This can range between 10-24 megapixels or higher.

The current industry digital standard is 4k which is 12 megapixels on the other hand, some films are currently being shot at 6k (19 megapixels)

this is an example of HD compared to 4k.

The shutter opens, and light travels through the lens, exposing the film or sensor

After this the shutter closes, and the next piece of unexposed film moves into place.

DSLR’s like below have made such a huge impact on the film industry because the

sensor size of a digital camera has a big impact on the look and quality of an image, This has allowed affordable film making.

The general rule of sensors are..

If it’s larger, it will produce better quality mages, and handle dark situations much better,

However If it’s small, it will have a higher frame rate capability, but produce more grain in darker situations.

There are three main functions of controlling the way an image is exposed correctly

with a camera :

Shutter Speed (How quickly

  an image is captured)

Aperture (Controls DoF)

ISO (Sensitivity)

Colour Temperature and White Balance

Colour Temperature and White Balance

Colour temperature is referring to how hot and cold a picture looks. We measure this by using numbers, For example if the number is 10,000 this means the picture is very cold and is the coldest it can , However if the number is 1,000 this means the picture is very warm, so the higher the number the colder the picture tends to look and the lower the number the warmer the picture looks. Temperatures over 5,000 is classed as 'cool colours' (blueish) and temperatures under 5,000 are classed as warm colours (oranges)

As we can see in these two images one looks very cold however the other looks light, they have done this by using colour temperature, the lower temperature the warmer the picture however the higher the temperature the colder the image looks.









White balance is the process of removing unnatural and unrealistic colours, So that the colours that are white to our naked eye are also white on the camera and in our pictures.
The advantages of using white balance is:
using white balance can make the picture as close to the human eye as possible, and can also stop unrealistic colours and lighting.

If i was making a quick film with a single camera and wanted to make the actor look like a 'good guy' and make him look kind i would make the temperature look quite warm, this would make the scene look warmer than it actually is, However if i wanted to create a villain who is really bad and no one likes i would make the temperature look cooler than the scene really looks, by doing this i would make the colour temperature quite high this will make image look cooler.  Another example of this would be if i was making a romantic scene i would make the scene look really warm, however if i was doing a funeral and it was raining i would make the scene look dark.

Camera angles

Camera angles

Close up: a close up is when the camera is very close to a person, Capturing there shoulders upwards only.  Close ups are normally used to show someones face, they do this because it can show the audience the actors emotion and feelings.  An example of why people use this can be if a character is upset and sad, by using a close up this gets the point of the actor being upset out to the audience very quickly and simply.

This picture is an example of a close up,  this is showing no more than the shoulders upwards, anything below the shoulders is not in the shot. They have used a close up shot here because the actor is looking very happy and exited, the addresses the mood and emotion to reader very simply.







Medium shot:  A medium shot is from the waist upwards, This is showing a lot of detail to the audience, for example if the actor is using hands and arm movement the mid shot still allows this to be captured in the shot.

This is an example of a mid shot, as you can see nothing below the waist is captured this allows just enough detail to see hand and arm movements and still see enough emotion on there face.














Long shot: A long shot is a shot from quite far away. This allows us to see a lot of action in a scene and allows us to see a large area. Sometimes this can be used as an opening shot to show the audience were the film is set, this can also be called an 'establishing shot'.

This is an example of a long shot, this is introducing a church/temple like building, this lets the audience know were the film is being set.












establishing shot: An establishing shot is from a very long distance and addresses the reader were the location is set, or were the film is starting, For example if the film is based in a very big house, normally  the film will have an establishing shot at the start of a film to show the audience were the film is starting.

this picture is an example of an establishing shot, this is showing the audience were the film is starting, for example, this picture looks like it is starting in a ig house or hotel. This shows the reader what the building in the film looks like from the outside.







two shot: two shot is were the camera captures two people in the same shot, For example by capturing two people in a shot this means they can be having a conversation, fighting,  doing sports ect. This shows the audience the full conversation in one shot, instead of doing a shoulder shot were it shows each person individually.

This is an example of a two shot, as you can see the couple are about to kiss, or are having a conversation, a two shot allows us to capture them both in a shot rather than show each person one at a time.










birds eye shot: A birds eye shot is from high up above, this allows us to capture things from up high, for example this can show a very high building, mountain or tower. This can also introduce a different location like a town or city.

This example of birds eye view is showing the audience a new location of a different city. instead of showing loads of different little things a birds eye shot allows us to capture the full location in one shot.