Week 3 Lecture

Week three's lecture was all about screen (as in film and video). Having completed a film production course in high school, I was already aware of pretty much everything that was discussed. Basically the lecturer talked about shot sizes and how particular shots should convey the 'who, what, when, where, why, and how' of the narrative being told.

Shots which can be utilised to express this include:

VLS/WS - Very Long Shot/Wide Shot (aka Establishing Shot)

LS - Long Shot

MLS - Medium Long Shot

MS - Mid Shot/Medium Shot

MCU - Medium Close Up

CU - Close Up

BCU - Big Close Up

ECU - Extreme Close Up

(Explanations of these can be found here)

Shot composition was also discussed, mainly focussing on the "rule of thirds", where the subject should ideally be positioned two thirds to the left or right of the screen, with their eyeline two thirds up from the bottom of the screen. Check the pic below for an example of this: