Independent Film Project: Big Sad Carl

For me, even though I have experience with photography, this was really the first film I've gone through the whole process with, which was cool, but also very confusing. I didn't know a lot of what was going on in pre and post production, so I wish I could have had more experience and been able to contribute more to the film. I think it has a great concept, and is very funny is a strange way. We came up with the character before anything else when we were brainstorming, and thought he was very funny, and we based the film around that foundation. There was so much that we had brainstormed and wanted to do, that was outrageous and made no sense, but we couldn't do everything simply because we didn't have the time or means. We made good use of voiceovers in this which is something I've never done before and I thought was cool. A lot of the technical stuff could be better like the lighting in some shots, the editing, music in some parts, camerawork, and other things. However, the film overall definitely shows a solid effort, in my opinion, especially for our experience level.

Sample Chase Sequence

In this chase scene from the film Inception, the main source of suspense definitely comes from the music placed in the scene. It is fast and implies a sense of danger that keeps the viewer on their toes, and it makes you feel like you're expecting something bad to happen. In addition, the use of a handheld camera in some of the more intense parts of the scene is the reason why those parts are so intense! The shaky camera promotes a feeling of danger just like the music, and leaves the viewer feeling tense and invested in the character's well-being. They also create tension in the scenes where he is trying to hide and get away from the men chasing him by having him get trapped in between those two very thin walls, or having him fight with the waiter in the café. It makes the viewer have to wait to see what happens, knowing that there are men coming after him and that he might not be able to slip away. When he is trapped between the walls, it cuts from a zoom shot behind him to a shot of his front, with him just barely slipping out in time. This fluidity in cuts is consistent in the scene, just like the music, as well as the setting, all of which create unity in the scene as a whole. It is consistent and suspenseful, and it utilizes every part of the setting to create suspense.

Use of Camera Movements

The video is teaching about how different camera movements in film create and emphasize different feelings and emotions. The crane shot is the first shot the video focuses on. The crane down makes the audience feel as if they're falling into the scene or the life of the character. A crane shot moving up gives a sense of how small the character in the shot is or how large the obstacle they have to overcome is. A crane shot from a very high angle to a very low angle on a character gives a sense of authority in that character, and makes the audience feel like the character is strong and opposing. The video touches on the shaky, edginess of using a handheld camera that gives a stressful, dangerous film to the shot, as well as the glidecam technique, which is opposingly creates a dreamlike feel to the shot. Glidecam helps it feel more epic and fluid, and can convey the calm before the storm aspect of a scene. Next it talks about panning, which refers to the rotation in a horizontal plane of the camera. The quick pan changes the emotional direction of the film instantly, showing a whole new perspective of something the character is going to overcome, which can take the shot from calm to dangerous in a split second. It lightly touches on the quick push in, which creates an element of surprise or shock, then goes right into the dolly. The dolly is a smoothly gliding camera technique that creates drama in a scene .The slow dolly in, which creates tension and helps the audience become more intimate with the character in the shot. It could make us feel uncomfortable for them, or make us feel their emotion. The slow dolly out leaves the character looking emotionally lost, and gives a sense of abandonment that makes the audience feel lost with them and feel for them in that way. like panning, a dolly across changes the scene quickly, which often changes the emotional direction by showing something totally new. Also, the zolly, which is zoom and dolly, creates something that seems like an out of body experience for the character, and can give a new feeling to the scene.

Some camera movements that the video doesn't touch on, but that are still important are zooming, the tilt, and tracking. Zooming basically is when the camera zooms in onto the subject, and is a lot like the quick push in seen in the video, in that is shows us the emotions of the subject much better, and can add an element of surprise. The tilt is a shot taken by angling a stationary camera up (tilt-up) or down (tilt-down), and it can create a kind of confusion and drama in the shot, as well as change emotion by showing unseen things in the frame. A tracking shot basically tracks the subject of the scene. Any shot using a mobile camera that follows (or moves toward or away from) the subject by moving on tracks or by being mounted on a vehicle is considered a tracking shot. This can create a stressful mood like in a chase seen, and add tension. 

Camera Angles Investigation

Establishing Shot: The first image of a scene that establishes where the action is taking place
POD: Unity

Long Shot: a view of a scene that is shot from a considerable distance
POD: Informal Balance around (0:35)


Medium Shot: A camera angle shot from a medium distance, usually from about the waist or chest up.
POD: Vertical Lines


Eye Level Shot: An eyelevel angle is the one in which the camera is placed at the subject’s height, so if the actor is looking at the lens, he wouldn’t have to look up or down.
POD: Leading Lines


Close Up Shot: a type of shot, which tightly frames a person or an object. This usually consists of just a person's face or upper body
POD: Simplicity


Bird's Eye Shot: a bird's-eye shot refers to a shot looking directly down on the subject. 
POD: Leading Lines & Symmetrical Balance


Worms Eye Shot: a view of an object from below, as though the observer were a worm
POD: Simplicity


Extreme Close Up: A shot that is so tight that only a detail of the subject, such as someone's eyes, can be seen. 
POD: Unity in the darkness of the film



Reaction Shot: A portrayal of a person's response to an event or to a statement made by another in a film or video. (starting at 2:43)
POD: Horizontal Lines


Point of View Shot:  A sequence that is shot as if the viewer were looking through the eyes of a specific character. (Starting at 3:43)
POD: Unity


Over the Shoulder Shot: In film or video, an over the shoulder shot is a shot of someone or something taken from the perspective or camera angle from the shoulder of another person.
POD: Framing