Camera Movements - Research Paper Example

Functions of camera movement in creating suspense in movies Introduction Introduction is among the most important sections of the report. The section provides a definition of the concepts contained in the report while providing adequate background information on the study. The introduction in this report defines camera movements and their impotence in the development of films. Additionally, the section shows the ways of using camera movements to create suspense in films. After developing such adequate background information about the two concepts, the final section of the section ties the two with an effective thesis statement that narrows the discussion in the report. Body The body contains the discussion in the report. In this section, the report analyses three movies by investigating the portrayal of camera movements. The section shows the relationship of the thesis statement and the movies under analysis. Coming home The section discusses the use of camera movements in the film to develop suspense. The section discusses a number of scenes in the film in which the developers use camera movements to develop both the action in the plot and the suspense that interests the audience. The Wolf of Wall Street This section analyses the use of camera movements to create suspense in the movie. The section selects a number of important section in the film where developers used the different camera movements to create suspense. Boyhood The same is the case with this section. The section discusses the movies with the view to portraying how the developers use camera movements to create suspense. Conclusion Conclusion is an important section that summaries the discussions in the body of the report thereby concluding the discussion. In doing this, the conclusion marries the body to the introduction by proving how the body presents the thesis statement presented in the introduction. Works cited This section lists the works by other authors who discuss the importance of camera movements in creating suspense in films. Listing the works cited in the body of the research helps eliminate plagiarism since the author of the research acknowledges the owners of the work from where he borrows some of the concepts he discusses. Below is a list of some of the works used in the report. Aumont, J, and Richard J. Neupert. Aesthetics of Film. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1997. Print. The book discusses the use of camera movements in achieving aesthetics in film. in doing this, the book discusses various camera movements. London, Barbara, and John Upton. Photography. New York: Longman, 1998. Print. The book discusses intricate features of photography. This way, the authors discuss the various movements of the camera that enhance the effectiveness of photography. Mamer, Bruce. Film Production Technique: Creating the Accomplished Image. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning, 2009. Print. Just as the name suggests the book discusses the techniques of producing a film. Key among such is varying the movements of a camera. The book discusses the various camera movements that enhance the success of films. Pramaggiore, Maria, and Tom Wallis. Film: A Critical Introduction. London: Laurence King, 2005. Print. The book introduces the vital concepts in film production. Key among such is camera movements. The authors of the book discuss the ways of using camera movements to enhance the effectiveness of a film. Rutland, Jonathan, Ben Manchipp, and Terry Collins. Photography and Film. Morristown, N.J: Silver Burdett, 1976. Print. The authors of the book investigate the intricate features of photography that enhance film production. In doing this, they discuss the importance of camera movements in enhancing the success of a film. Sikov, Ed. Film Studies: An Introduction. New York: Columbia University Press, 2010. Print. The book discusses the basic features of film production. The book discusses such features as camera movements, types of shots and angling are some of such features. Introduction Camera movements just as the name suggest is an important feature in film development that refers to the different ways in which a film developer can move a camera in order to obtain the best shots. Film development is an extensive process that requires effective handling of the camera coupled with appropriate movements of the camera in order to create a desirable chronological sequence of the action in the film. Suspense on the other hand refers to the pleasurable excitement mixed with tension, apprehension, fascination and anxiety that an audience develops when watching a movie or reading a novel. Creating suspense in movies for example is an effective strategy that film develops employ in order to heighten the excitement an audience develops. This way, suspense helps sustain the viewership of a movie to completion. Creating suspense requires effective movement of cameras in order to develop the action and mystery in a scene as the analysis of some of the most successful Hollywood films below portrays. Cameras can move in seven different ways. The film developers must therefore employ the seven systematically in order to develop the best shots and present the action in the shots systematically in order to invoke the suspense. The seven movements include zooming, which is arguably the most used type of camera movement. Zooming refers to changing the focal length of the camera lenses thereby creating the illusion of movement. Zooming brings characters either closer or further away. Such is an appropriate type of creating different and effective shots that enhance the creation of suspense in films. Panning is yet another common camera movement technique that helps create suspense. It refers to the horizontal movement of the camera from a fixed point left to right or right to left. Panning does not change the position of the camera. It simply changes the position the camera changes slowly from right to left or right to left. Tilting is similar to panning only that it moves the camera vertically down to up or up to down. Just as is the case with panning, tilting requires the movement of the camera from a stationary point possibly a tripod. As such, the cameraperson simply changes the angling of the camera thereby changing the shots. Dolling is a camera movement that movements the entire camera either forward or backward by placing it on a dolly thereby creating a flowing effect on a shot. Trucking is like dolling only that it moves the camera from right to left or left to right instead of the in and out movement in dolling. Other types of camera movement include pedestal and rock focus all of which help create different feelings and shots that contribute to the composition of a scene. Coming home, The wolf of Wall street and Boyhood are some of the most successful Hollywood films. The creators of the three films employ different camera movement techniques in creating the actions in the films. Suspense is a significant feature in the three films that the creators strive to portray. They systematically achieve this by varying the camera movements as the in-depth analysis of the various scenes in the three films portray. Coming Home Developed in 1978, Coming home is an American drama film. The plot in the film follows the development of conflict among three main character as a love triangle develops among them. The action pact plot has suspense as the developer strives to develop systematic conflicts that would sustains viewership to the conclusion of the film. The developers of the film use camera movement systematically to develop both the suspense and the conflict in the film. Bob Hyde is a captain serving in the Marine Corps. He moves to Vietnam on an official deployment leaving behind his love wife, Sally. Sally moves into an apartment in the city of California, buys a car and begins enjoying the freedom as she volunteers her services at veteran’s hospital. At the hospital, she meets Luke Martin a soldier coming back from the war in Vietnam with post war trauma and injuries. The two fall in love and cultivate their clandestine relationship. Later in the film, Hyde comes back and Luke has to quite the relationship (Mamer 45). This becomes difficult given the emotional involvement and the film ends with Hyde taking a dive in the deep ocean. The scene ends in a suspense since the film does not show what happens to any of the characters. The interesting plot engages the audience on a number of instances where the developer uses a number of literary devises to engage the audience key among such is suspense. Different camera movement techniques in a number of scenes help develop the suspense in the film. The film begins with an establishing shot showing the beautiful city of California and the life in the military base. The first scenes comes into frame with the camera panning slowly from right to left thereby depicting the center of action in the military base. Zooming helps center the action on the two characters who open the scene in the film. Sally and Bob Hyde discuss the prospects of Hyde’s deployment to Vietnam, he sees the opportunity to go to Vietnam because it offers him a chance to advance his career. Sally on the other hand expresses her fear of loneliness in case Hyde leaves. She later relents given the structure nature of the policies at the bases. The preliminary scene sets stage for the action to follow in the film. The scene develops suspense since it captures the attention of the audience who begins to questions the development of plot in case Hyde moves to Vietnam. The developers of the film employ a number of camera movement techniques in order to portray the intensity and nature of the conflict between the two characters thus the suspense. After a systematic pan that helps establish the scene, successive shots portray different camera movements. The camera zooms to show the action in the scene as Bob and Sally discuss their predicament. The camera zooms in to portray the details in the faces of the two characters and changes from Bob to Sally depending on who between them is speaking. The cameraperson changes from close up to extreme close up shots thereby revealing the facial expressions of the characters. Such camera movements help show how the developments will affect them thereby portraying the suspense (Aumont and Richard 78). Another significant action in the plot occurs after Hyde goes to Vietnam and Sally meets Luke at the hospital. Luke is Sally’s former schoolmate. The scene at the hospital begins with Sally moving from a room where she had been attending to other patients. The long shot shows Sally walk along the corridor. Dolling helps the developers of the film maintain the long shot as she moves along. The dolling creates a smooth flow besides maintaining long shot in the frame, when Sally meets Luke, the shot changes instantaneously as tilt introduces Luke systematically into the scene. A zoom brings the two characters closer as the developer strives to capture the finer details of their expressions. Sally recognizes Luke and the camera zooms in on her face thereby portraying the recognition in her face. The nature of the camera movements in the scene and the subsequent scenes in the movie helps develop the suspense the developers strive to build. After presenting the recognition in the two characters, zooming shows that details of the facial expressions as the two characters engage in informal conversations and arrange for a date. As Sally walks away from the scene, the camera dollies back to show Luke’s smile while Sally walks away. The suspense in the scene arises as the audience anticipates the next action when the two meet next. Besides such, Luke suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and hates the war going on in Vietnam. In yet another significant scene in the film, Luke talks to a group of high school students about the negative effects of the war. He discourages the young people from enlisting in the military and from supporting the war. The development of the scene is systematic as the developers use a number of camera movement techniques to position both Luke and his audiences. The four-minute scene is serious as Luke shares his experiences in Vietnam. The scene begins with a sequence of close up shots of Luke’s audiences. The developer maintains the shot but pans slowly to the left as he shows the facial expression of the audiences listening to Luke. Panning helps establish the mood in the scene. The shot changes to a long shot of Luke standing at the center of the hall talking to the young people. The scene creates suspense since it shows Luke’s attitude against the war and his indoctrination of the young people (Branigan 76). As explained earlier, the scene ends in a suspense with the dejected Bob placing his uniforms, which he had folded neatly on a shelf, before he takes a dive into the ocean. The camera zooms out systematically showing the expansive ocean with the small body of Bob swimming away. Another final scene is one of Sally entering a supermarket. The doors of the supermarket close behind her thus ending the movie with symbolic “luck out” phrase. The camera movements in the final scenes enhance the suspense with which the movie ends. An establishing shot coupled with a pan of the camera shows Sally disappear behind the closing doors of the supermarket. This leaves the audience wondering about how the action between Sally and Luke develops. The wolf of Wall Street The wolf of Wall Street was yet another Hollywood success with the film obtaining a number of nominations for various award categories. The plot follows the life of a hard working but unscrupulous Jordan Belfort. Belfort loses his job as a stockbroker at a stock brokerage firm in Wall streets. Life changes for him, as he must work his way out of his misery once again. He specializes in penny stock after he accepts boiler room brokerage firm employs him. He portrays his marketing genius and sees the potential of dealing in penny stock. He quits the job and opens his stock brokerage company. The company develops rapidly and he makes immense profits when he takes his penny stock approach to Wall Street. He makes $ 22 million in an hour albeit illegally on a day that he carries out a successful Initial Public offer for a shoe manufacturing company. With the increased money and wealth, Belfort becomes increasingly immoral and breaks his marriages for a number of reasons. The plot ends with the reformed Belfort giving public lectures. Apparently, his illegal activities attracted the attention of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission who arrest him and force him to spy on his friends in order to get a lighter sentence. He gets the light sentence but he loses his family and wealth. The action packed movie embodies the appropriate use of camera movement in the creation of suspense. The developers of the film used appropriate camera movement techniques to capture the action and to develop suspense thereby sustaining the audience to the end of the film as the analysis below shows. Both the action and the suspense begin in the movie’s first scene. The developers employ appropriate camera movement to enhance the portrayal of both. Belfort and his wife Teresa discuss the bad news after Belfort loses his job. The creators of the film develop the scene through an establishing shot of the entire room. The camera pans slowly as it show the environment and the hopelessness in the room. The establishing shot is vital in creating the suspense since it portrays the level of hopelessness in Belfort’s family. The shot changes immediately to a close up of Belfort and his wife as they discuss and browse through newspaper pages looking for a new job for Belfort. The close up shots coupled with the systematic panning as the camera moves from one character to another helps show the emotions and tension in the room as the couple engages in a job hunt. After getting a job, Belfort works hard and decides to open his company. He recruits his friend, Donnie Azoff, to help him work in the new company, the scene where Belfort meets and recruits Azoff if both interesting and full of suspense. Just as is the case with the numerous other scenes in the plot, the developers employ a number of camera movement techniques in order to enhance the portrayal of both the action and the suspense in the scene. The scene begins with a close up shot of Belfort siting at a cafeteria. Azoff approaches him from behind and the shot changes to a long shot coupled with a tilt in order to cover the entire height of Azoff (Rutland, Ben and Terry 65). The long shot covers Belfort’s sports car parked at the cafeteria’s parking. As Azoff sits down, the camera zooms in to provide adequate detail on the facial expressions as the two men converse and Azoff quits his job to join Belfort’s company. The scene portrays adequate suspense as the audience anticipates the next scene in order to see how Azoff’s risk of quitting his job jokingly and trusting Belfort pays off. The developers of the film presents the suspene systematically using appropriate camera movement techniques thereby engaging the audience and heightening their anxiety as the action heightens in the film (Vineyard 101). The action in the film heightens when Belfort’s business becomes successful and Belfort increasingly becomes immoral. He becomes erratic and addicted to drugs. In a portrayal of the height of his immorality, Belfort divorces his wife Teresa after he falls in love with a beautiful model named Naomi. In an action packed scene, Belfort engages in a fight with his wife Teresa after she confronts him about his drug use and philandering habit that begins to worry the helpless woman. The fight takes place in a street in front of their house where Belfort proposes a divorce. An establishing shot sets stage for the action as Teresa confronts her husband. The camera dollies in on the scene thereby providing a smooth flow of the action as it makes the actions conspicuous (Scorsese 33). The camera zooms in on the action thereby showing the finality in Belfort’s face as he suggests divorce as a way of resolving the conflict. Teresa expresses shock and the extreme close up shot portrays the expression of her face. However, she recomposes herself and decides to pack her bags and leave Belfort’s life. Such is a phenomenal decision and the camera movements help portray the action. The camera zooms out to show the distance between Belfort and his wife. The scene ends with Teresa walking out. The camera dollies out of the scene thereby broadening the scene to capture Belfort watching as his wife walks out of his life. The scene ends in suspense as the audience wonders about the future of their relationship. The fact that Teresa never appears anywhere in the plot proves the finality of the decision and the height of the suspense in the film. Another equally action packed scene that has immense suspense is when Belfort learns of the death of Aunt Emma, a woman she had used to bank his illegal money in a Swiss bank. Belfort learns of the sad news while on a yacht trip to Italy. He forces his captain to detour to England despite the oncoming storm. Suspense begins developing as Belfort and his friend Donnie together with their wives risk their lives against the raging storm that they cruise into. The developers of the film employ a number of camera movement techniques in order to present both the suspense and the action in the scene. The scene begins with an establishing shot of the two coupled enjoying themselves in the yacht (Pramaggiore and Tom 33). Belfort receives a phone call with the camera zooming in on him to place him at the center of the action. He makes an erratic decision that threatens their lives when he forces his captain to tackle the storm. The camera takes a long shot besides zooming out on the yacht thereby presenting the yacht as a small toy in the middle of a turbulent pool. The camera dollies in thereby maintaining a long shot of the ship to show the effects of the turbulent on the small yacht. The yacht tosses sideways before it wreck. The cameras move strategically to capture the detail of the action. At one instance, it adopts a long shot of the violent wreck and on the other; it zooms in on each of the characters to present the strain and stress on their faces as they face death. The strategic camera movements help capture the action in the scene thereby heightening the suspense as the audience debates whether the four characters survive the storm. Boyhood Boyhood is among the most successful latest Hollywood films. Just as the name suggests the plot in the film follows the life of a boy, Mason as he comes of age. The plot portrays the problems of childhood, adolescent and adulthood as the boy matures and encounters numerous challenges. Besides his problems, the plot of the film show the estranged relationship between Mason’s parents as his mother furthers her studies thereby coming of age long side her son. The plot of the story has effective conflicts that strive to represent the relationship among coupled and their children in typical American families. The developers of the film employ a number of camera movement techniques in order to present the action in the film and in doing so presents the vital suspense that sustain the viewership of the film to completion. The action in the film opens with the six-year-old Mason living with his mother, Olivia and older sister Samantha in Texas. Among the most interesting scenes at the preliminary stages of the film is when Mason overhears his mother arguing with her boyfriend. The scene begins with a long and establishing shot of Mason walking in a corridor in their house. The camera dollies slowly to fit Mason in the frame as he walks to towards her mother’s room. The shot changes through a cut transition to a close up of Mason eavesdropping on his mother’s conversation. The shot changes further to a capture a scene of Olivia arguing with her boyfriend. The close up shot of the two characters sitting on the edge of a bed develops the scene. Extreme clos up shots of the two characters help show the emotions in their faces as they argue with Olivia explaining to her boyfriend that she has no time owing to her studies. The various camera movements succeed in developing the conflict as the audience anticipates t know how the conflict between the two develops and how they resolve it. In yet another instance Olivia quarrels with Mason Senior, the father of her children. Mason senior returns the children after he took them out when he picks up a fight with Olivia and the two argue. As the adults argue, the two children watch from a window. The scene of the quarrel begins with a long shot as Mason and his sister enter the house after their mother opens the door for them. The camera moves forward on a dolly to capture that scene of the argument between the two adults. The camera pans from the scene of argument to capture the two children watching helplessly from the window. A close up shot shows the details of the facial expression and movement of lips as the two parents argue. A pan of the same shot captures the helplessness in the face of the two children. Such strategies help develop a suspense as they show the intensity of the animosity between the two parents. The audience therefore wonders how the two children will turn out given their violent background. Olivia later marries her new boyfriend Bill and the two adults bend their families given the fact that Bill had children from his past marriage. The beginning of the marriage is happy and at one instances the large sharing such vital experiences as playing a video game. The scene begins with an establishing shot of the entire family sitting in the living room playing computer games. The came zoom in on the faces of such key characters as Bill, Mason and Olivia to show the expression of their feelings. They all appear happy as they chat cheerfully while enjoying the game. The camera pans widely to capture the setting of the house and the happiness in their faces. The scene contributes to the suspense as the audience anticipates the development of the relationship between Olivia and Bill and the effects the relationship will have on Mason and his sister. The movie shows the development in the life of Mason senior. He remarries and gets a baby with his new wife. At one time, he takes Mason to visit his in-laws. A scene of the visit shows Mason receiving gifts from his step-grandparents. The scene is a close up shot of Mason and his two step-grandparents. The old couple gives the boy a vintage shotgun and a personalized bible. The camera movement at the scene helps portray the details in every feature. The close up shot changes into an extreme close up shot of the three as they take turn speaking. The camera pans and tilts systematically to show the facial expressions of the old grandparents. The tilts introduce the shot Mason into the scene while the pans show the gifts the boy obtains from the old couple. Another equally interesting scene in the movie is occurs when Mason wins a college scholarship and his family decides to celebrate his achievement by organizing a party for him. The scene of the party begins with a long shot that establishes the setting by capturing every feature of the celebration. The shots change to a close up of Mason among other characters attending the celebration, the close up shots help show the happiness in their faces. The camera pans systematically while on a close up shot to show the expression on the faxes o the other characters attending the party. The scene ends with a long shot that captures as the characters toast to Mason’s success. Conclusion In retrospect, camera movements are significant feature in the development of a film. Film developers must decide on the best shot and the most appropriate movement of the camera that can bring an appropriate shot. Tilting affects the angling of a camera thereby providing the camera with a wide view. Zooming which is among the most employed camera movement technique provides different shots thereby enabling film creators to select the most appropriate shot that provides the most appropriate details for a shot. The analysis of the three films above shows ways in which film developers employ camera movements to capture different features of the action thereby developing suspense in their films. Transition is a strategic element that film developers employ in fusing different shots thereby enabling the portrayal of camera movements in the plots of the film. The film developers employ various methods of transition including cut, fade out and dissolve among others to change the shots thereby heightening the suspense in the films. Works cited Ashby, Hal. Coming home. Los Angeles: United Artists, 1978. Film. Aumont, J, and Richard J. Neupert. Aesthetics of Film. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1997. Print. Branigan, Edward. Projecting a Camera: Language-Games in Film Theory. New York: Routledge, 2013. Print. Linklater, Richard. Boyhood. Los Angeles: Universal pictures, 2014. Film. London, Barbara, and John Upton. Photography. New York: Longman, 1998. Print. Mamer, Bruce. Film Production Technique: Creating the Accomplished Image. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning, 2009. Print. Pramaggiore, Maria, and Tom Wallis. Film: A Critical Introduction. London: Laurence King, 2005. Print. Rutland, Jonathan, Ben Manchipp, and Terry Collins. Photography and Film. Morristown, N.J: Silver Burdett, 1976. Print. Scorsese, Martin. The Wolf of Wall Street. Los Angeles: Red Granite pictures, 2013. Film. Sikov, Ed. Film Studies: An Introduction. New York: Columbia University Press, 2010. Print. Vineyard, Jeremy. Setting Up Your Shots: Great Camera Moves Every Filmmaker Should Know. New York: Michael Wiese Productions, 2008. Print. Read More