The Magic of Movies

When it comes to horror the genre is filled with psychological techniques. They play with your mind and try to make you question the unthinkable. Horror exists outside of the everyday existence of normal behavior. Studies by Tamborini, Stiff, and Zillmann have shown there is significant correlation between people who are accepting of norm-violating behavior and interest in horror movies. That doesn't explain why some viewers respond positively when the norm violators such as the sexual promiscuous teenage couple, the criminal, the adulterer are punished and killed by the movie murderer. 

 The importance of creating a buildup is crucial in the horror genre. It also requires precise editing and camera direction to actually be scary. It's also making a choice between a lot little scares versus minor scares that then create a volume of intensity and buildup. What enhances a scary movie is the powerful execution of shots. If you make it from the horrific figures point of view it makes them look like a predator stalking it's prey. The shot makes the other person who isn't the threat look small and powerless. It is a shot many people are familiar with in horror movie. Its suspense by showing a character being watched by the monster. 

Steven Spielberg is an artist when it comes to horror. He knows how to appeal to a mass audience and he maintains the respect and admiration of his peers while in the process making his work seem effortless in any genre he immerses himself into. This video also goes over how Spielberg is a master when it comes to visual storytelling. Even as the capabilities of visual effects grow and set pieces become more elaborate. He also uses several elements from the horror genre to maximize the effectiveness of his set piece. First, the director establishes tension and fear in the audience before the real horror is even seen. Thats what makes him an incredible artist when it comes to horror.  

I learned that a duvetyne is a flame resistant cloth that is used all over the set and it's more of the exact same material that you would find on a solid flag. A duvetyne can be used to blackout windows that need a change in lighting. For example wanting to shoot in the nighttime you could make it appear nighttime by using a duvetyne. You also wouldn't have to worry about a change in lighting or color. You can also use bed sheets, or regular trash bags aren't too bad either but its more risky if the wind picks up then it will be a problem for your sound department. Black sheets on the other hand tend to be more transparent through the bed sheets so it doesnt have as much of a good coverage. 

I learned that a toper blocks light from the top, and a bottomer blocks it from the bottom. Cutters are big flags used to control light and keep it from shining where it’s not needed. They help shape the lighting to make a scene look right. A lenser is the person in charge of picking and adjusting the camera lens, usually the cinematographer. Their job is to make sure the shot looks the way it’s supposed to. A courtesy is a flag or shade set up to keep bright lights out of an actor’s face when they’re not filming.

In the video, I learned that ND gel helps reduce light intensity without changing its color, making it useful for controlling exposure in a scene. It’s often put on windows to soften harsh natural light and prevent overexposure while keeping things looking natural. This is especially helpful when trying to balance indoor and outdoor lighting. When setting it up, it’s important to apply it smoothly so there are no wrinkles or bubbles that could mess with the shot. It also needs to be secured properly so it stays in place and doesn’t move or fall during filming.

 A low boy stand weighs three more times than preemies the capacity of only 72 pounds the maximum height on one of the lowboys is just over 6 feet and it can go as low as under 3. This particular small combo has a junior pin socket for your butt plugs and bigger lights. A combo stand is taller and can hold different types of lights because it has both a baby pin and a junior receiver. A mombo combo stand is the biggest one, made for really tall setups that need extra height and stability. The presenter explained that low boy stands are used for low-angle lighting, combo stands are good for most lighting setups, and mombo combo stands are used when lights need to be really high up.

A cookie is basically a short cucoloris it basically means breaking up the light by adding something in front of it to add some interesting shapes to either the background and even sometimes your subjects. A 2x3 cut from Matthews comes with two cookies thats made of wood and its roughed in a real quick shot to show you what you can do this here with a very plain background there's nothing interesting and it looks a bit bland if you throw a cookie in front  of the light that is hitting the wall now theres something more interesting to the background kind of a texture that's not distracting to the viewer but it's subtle and effective. It's not the most flattering shot but its showing what a cookie is when its used for a shot. Solids, cookies, silks, nets, come in a different shapes and sizes today. 

A mafer clamp is usuually used to clamp around objects such as poles or other light stands but it's a extremely useful tool for example if you wanted to mount another light to the stand that you're already using you can widen the jaw by loosening the bigger knob and placing the jaw on the stand. You then squeeze the jaw shut and spin the bigger knob until it's hand tight. The clamp is heavy duty and it'll damage stands so make sure that you don't over tighten them. A cardellini's and matthelini's clamp have a big difference compared to the mafer clamp when it comes to the functionality they both act the exact same way they do a really great job at doing it. They have a different design cardini's version is a stainless shaft and matts version is a chrome plated steel. It has a smaller four way knob. If someone asked me to grab one I would tell them about the different functionalities it has. 

 What I learned was a soft filter is a glass with some unique quality to it that affects or changes the light and image coming onto your camera there are different types of filters but most commonly you'll find there rectangular ones that can go into a matte box. The circular types can screw on the front of your lens so in terms of filtration both of them can do a good job. In the video they demonstrate a rectangular schneider filter. An important upside to this is that since it goes into the matte box it doesn't have to fit the exact lens you're using so it allows you to use more lenses on the same filter. Another important thing I learned was polarizers they're great for filtering out the bright glares the sky may have and it gives a nice clear darker shade. The purpose of a neuteral density filter/ND filter is to help dim down the bright exposure on your camera lens and make things visually easier to see. 

 A gaffer is practically the head electrician of any set if as anything to do with the light or just power in general that is the gaffer in the film department. Not only with lights but things like Bates cables distro boxes cam-locks, generators  if it is an electrical pulse it starts with the an interesting vision in their mind. Photography or cinematographer translate the vision the direct has into a physical reality the DP or cinematographer then communicates with the key grip and gaffer will do some electrical math then relay the information from the DP to their right hand man. The differences are that grip are more in charge of playing the construction role whereas electrical is more of the technician and they fix things. 

The key grip heads the department and is responsible for planning, supervising and delegating instructions in other grips in their crew.  Whenever theres an impressive innovative camera shot theres always an amazing grip behind it. So grips are in charge of planning, orchestrating camera movement and the positioning of the camera which is described or delegated by the director and cinematographer. To do this they rely on constructing and operating a variety of rigs that the camera is attached tp. Some examples I learned were the dolly, a crane, a ladder pod, a techno-crane, a tripod or hard mounting the camera onto objects. Like a car, a motorbike or even a shopping cart. A lot of US grips are expected to place and secure lighting stands whereas in other countries they handle it differently.                                                      ...

Blackwrap / cinefoil is an aluminum foil that you think has matte black finish to it. Except it has a matte black finish to it. It comes in a variety of different size and it's reusable you can crunch it up or do whatever to it and continuously keep on reusing it. Its main purposes is to block light for instance lets say you have a really well lit subject. If you're happy with the overall image you created. You can use black wrap to make a flag to put a cut on wall or if you have a crazy lens glare you could either black wrap the light or you can  black wrap the camera to get rid of it. You can also use it to block unwanted color noise. The video listed even more useful ways to use a black wrap. 

 Three key things I learned about the grip department is that the grip is like the handyman in a way of the film industry they're in charge of handling rigs, dollies, tracks, etc. They specialize in building these important tools. Grips work with other production crews to rig cameras, build dollies and tracks, operate cranes, and manage pullers to capture footage just as the director envisions. Everything on a film set must follow a strict schedule to keep the project on track, so grips have to be organized and efficient every step of the way. Once a scene has been set, grips stay on standby waiting for further direction. During filming, they are on alert looking for equipment mishaps or necessary adjustments. 

After touring De Anza it was pleasant making a return to the campus. Getting to see the beautiful green planted trees, the calm environment it had was great. What stood out to me was the commitment and dedication to the film major. I saw a lot of the equipment they had in their class was similar to my class. Although I will say we have a larger studio compared to theirs. De Anza has a good setup in terms of their film equipment. They have a lot of things that students can experiment with. 

In the production setting the lighting director is in charge of directing light and the most electrical problems on a set. In the video the speaker goes over the ARRI kits he owns. There was also a grip box, grip tools, and a lot of stands. He talks about a stand that could be mounted anywhere on the floor, walls, ceiling, and holes. You need a basic power strip four to six different outlets allows you to run more fixtures than one out of one separate outlet saves space. He also shows a basic light dimmer which helps out a lot. It's crucial to have a good amount of space. You have power to the light source once it's all connected and set up you have the access and ability to toggle through your lighting controls and from there forward get work. 

I learned that a flag is a device in the lighting industry used to block or control light by casting shadows, essentially acting as a tool to selectively block light from reaching certain areas of a scene, most commonly used in photography and filmmaking to precisely shape the light on a subject by creating negative fill or cutting off unwanted light spills. Another important thing I learned was bouncing your light. Bouncing light is more pleasing and forgiving to the actors face it's softer quality. You achieve this by enlarging the the light and what area its coming from it will wrap around the subject. On some bigger set some gaffers tend to throw up a huge source and let the grips almost always that first step is to bounce it. 

I learned about how shooting outside on a sunny day is pretty much the worst case lighting scenario in this segment they test out different lighting to demonstrate some tips. Some of the tips I learned was hard light directly above your talent would be the quickest way to a bad setting and potential unemployment. Essentially shooting at noon is taking an extremely intense hard light known as the sun and placing since it directly is above your talent this example its shown that how the shadows fall directly downward onto the subject it creates the raccoon eyes effect and it generally looks unflattering. The video gives multiple lighting techniques for noon such as reflecting, diffusing, supplementing, controlling location, and combining all the techniques given. 

 The difference with the tungsten lights. They have a little screw that can be undone and then there's a little latch that you have to remove and it can be undone. You remove the bar doors and now that you've done that you have a safety mesh that must also be removed. To access the globe. The purpose of of this whole process is you have the unfortunate situation where a bulb explodes then that piece is there to protect your talent so you don't want bits of molten hot glass blasting out of the front of the light. So that's why there's a cage to protect you from that so you'll need a screwdriver and there's two screws here that you need undo. It's the same process which also helps prevent and protect talents from potential injuries. 

 It's a great light for almost any situation. Its popular among LED lights it makes the light easy to use in a compact studio setting while offering a powerful output solution there are 672 LED's built into the bluetooth DMX or direct user controllable panel. It gives the tympani countless creative lighting options for professionals that require standard color temperature adjustability. Color tuning across the RGB spectrum as well as giving them a bunch of controller options because you can control it in so many different ways speaking on the controller on the light itself navigating options. The tympani has a very intuitive menu system.