SM3133 Visualization in Storytelling

2012-2-27

Visual Coding in Film: Composition, Movement, Location

Movement Created in Four Ways

Actual Movement occurs only in the real world, where many objects are constantly moving. Apparent Movement may happen when there is no actual, continuous movement. Film/video relies on this rule, neon lights also relies on this rule (show by top fig.). Induced Movement occurs when a moving object transfers its movement to a nearby stationary object. Usually the movement will transfer to the smaller, brighter objects (i.e. cloud against moon/sun). Relative Movement occurs when the movement of one object can be gauged by its changing position relative to a second, stationary or slower moving object.

Movement in the Screen World

In the screen world, movement can only be produced when an object moves in relation to the frame line. Shooting a car moving in the open desert, only a horizon line is provided visually; in a forest, trees in the background will move in the opposite direction of the camera pan. Because the screen is flat and the depth is only illusory. In the real world, actual movement occurs in 2 and 3 dimensions. In the screen world, an object can only move in four direction: horizontal, vertical, diagonal, or circular. These are called simple moves. When a car is driving towards the camera, simple moves are combined to created the illusion of 3D movement.

Objective Movements and Dramatic Value

X-axis: The eye moves comfortably from left to right as this mimics reading. The eye is less experienced to move the opposite direction and is therefore less comfortable. Y-axis: Moving an object down the screen appears easy as it is aided b our sense of gravity. Moving an object up the screen will appear difficult because it is assumed it will be resisted by gravity. Z-axis: When an object moves along the Zaxis, it appears to move in 3-D space moving from front-to-back or back-to-front. Image size varies depends on the lens used. In addition to the X, Y, and Z axes, a frame also has four diagonals. For the eye, the difficulty of movement is illustrated on the left: 1, 2, 3, 4 is in order of difficulty. The easier is the movement, the harder it can be stopped.

Point-of-Attention Movement
The quality of the movement (straight or curved) is associated with direct or curved lines. A director can design the movement of actor in such manner. The scale of movement refers to the distance an object moves on screen. Point-of-Attention Movement: refers to the audiences eye movement as they look at different areas of the screen. The viewer is aware of the entire screen, but her attention is always drawn to a moving object. Brightness is second. The scale here refers to the distance the eye will travel on the screen to connect two objects.

Movement of an Object with a Background

There are 3 visual factors to concerned when an object is moving with a BG: 1) direction of the line/track created by the moving object; 2) orientation or angle of the BGs linear motif; 3) contrast or affinity created by combining the FG object track and the BG linear motif. Shot #13 shows max. affinity. Shot #14 is more dynamic. Shot #15 and #16 have greater visual dynamic. Shot #17 creates more intensity by using diagonals. Shot #18 reveals the max. intensity.

Lecture 06 Location by Dr. Louisa Wei

SM3133 Visualization in Storytelling

2012-2-27

Continuum of Movement
The top graphic shows a Continuum Grid, with each quadrants numbered. Continuum of movement is less critical on a small screen. Fig 2 shows two people in dialogue. The viewers point-of-attention does not have to shift, as they are in the same quadrants. In Fig 3, the shift must be made between Q3 and Q6. As the screen size increase in Fig 4, the contrast of continuum increases and the viewers POA travels a greater distance. Affinity of continuum occurs when the moving objects hold and lead the viewers attention: a man enters the frame and walks to the waiting woman; the man stops next to the woman and after a moment she walks away. The viewers POA will transfer from 1 to 2.

Continuum from Shot to Shot

Fig 1-2 show two shots, Fig 3 reveals the two shots superimposed on each other and shift of POA. Here the POA is the eyes of the actor. Fig 3-4 and Fig 5 are similar. Shot #1 and #2 can combine into Shots #1+#2; but Shot #3 and #4 do not simply combine into two lines but in three linesthe vertical line created by the movement of eye. Knowing such rules, one can find out how the eye connect the seemingly discontinuous movement and link them together into a series of movement.

Control of Movement in Production

Examples of Camera Movements

Camera movements: pan shots create more affinity than tracking; tilt is usually less intense; crane depends on the FG and BG placement; zoom creates less visual intensity than a dolly in or out. A dolly, esp. with a wide lens, produces more visual intensity. A snap zoom is an exception. Ex. Tracking shot in Ian McEwans Atonement (2007) gives a sense of reality in the environment;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tf 7yeh6S5a0

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.

Story Setting + Theme + Plot + Resolution Setting Character + Location + Time Theme (Event)* + Goal Plot Episode* Episode Subgoal + Attempt* + Outcome Attempt {Event*/Episode} Outcome {Event*/State} Resolution {Event/State} {Subgoal/Goal} Desired State {Characters/Location/Time} State

DOGS DIALOGUE Location 1: Playground

STORY GRAMMAR

Playground should be the most innocent location as that is where children occupy most of the time. In this film, it became the location for identity challenge, and where the life story of a character begins. For little Monique, the simple statement of The woman you call mother isnt your mother at all singles her out from the children and starts her nightmares in life. For little Louiggie, the statement of The woman you call my mother isnt my mother at all denies the attempt to single him out as a tragic child. In fact, he is an orphan when first appears and ends up an orphan again at the end of the story.

The grammar of story can be complicated, but the most significant concepts lie within story setting, which includes character, location, and Time.

Lecture 06 Location by Dr. Louisa Wei

SM3133 Visualization in Storytelling

2012-2-27

DOGS DIALOGUE Location 2/3: Hospital/ Prison Ward

Again these are semi-public spaces and very unlikely locations for sex with strangerstwo young men asking for a sleeping tablets. In a way, the choice of the location here externalize the extreme loneliness in the characters heart. The simple and closed setting of the hospital ward and prison cell highlight such deeper emotions. These steps prepare other encounters that will come: Monique will no longer be an innocent girl and will have a series of encounters with strangers; while Henri, who has sex with a man for the first time, will become a woman in the end.

DOGS DIALOGUE Location 4/5: The Caf/ Back of Caf

The Cafe is a public space where people gather. In this film, it has three hostess admired by all. For all the three, the taking over of the cafe became an investment on her own death. Each person gives the warning to the next: One day you will be where you were before. The back of the Cafe is a sub-location where two murders taken place. The use of bottle as a knife also indicates the cafe as the location. It is also the place where Monique and Alice make a deal about Alices supposedly short but long stay there.

DOGS DIALOGUE Location 6/7: The Street/ Nightclub

The street became the place for encounters of young men and easy money. The contrast of the straight line in the street and the vicious circle of such encounters lend a deeper meaning, especially the sense of tragedy, to the story. In contrast to the street, there are the corners on the roadside nightclubs where Monique and Odile each catch the glimpse of a luxury life from a man of 65 and downs glasses of champagnes.

A detective usually provides the ultimate truth to the audience, but here the detective who finds pieces of dead body from the suburbs of the city only summarizes for his men where the location of truth or murder is. The Cafe is indicated at the center of the map, which reflects all locations in a more abstract way and smaller scale. As a fugitive, Henri turned Odile returns to the fatal circle herself because nostalgia grips her heart, but the action is to seek her own death sooner. And thus the detectives role only lies in his construction of the map.

DOGS DIALOGUE Location 8: Police Station & The Fatal Circle on the Polices Map as a Metaphorical Location

LOCATION AND STORY WORLD

Location defines the space where action takes place: the decision on the type of location should be connected to the characters statusclass, profession, etc., as people of the similar kind often gather and live in the same area of a city. It is always necessary for a writer/filmmaker to learn about the basic layout of a city and various boundaries within the city. Such a sensitivity would lend the writer/filmmaker the authentic representation of a city. Knowing the history of the city, how changes have occurred in the past is also important, especially when the stories involve characters of different generations.

Recognizing the City

Lecture 06 Location by Dr. Louisa Wei

SM3133 Visualization in Storytelling

2012-2-27

Construct the Story World

The story world is often constructed by making various locations related to each other. The locations that a character often visits make up her story world, while her daily routes show how she maps out the space. Besides walking, if she uses any other mean of transportation, the route of her travel makes up an important part of her daily routine and should be taken into considered into the plot development when necessary. The movement from one location to another depends on the characters desire, motivation or habit, but it also leads her to the final destination.

Visual Characters of Location

The light changes in one location can indicate the passing of time. Tonal change in different lighting would affect the overall look of a place including texture, color, etc. and is crucial to the visual of a film. Choice of location helps to set the tonal/color scheme for visual effect: it can help to externalize emotions (as shown by the Edwards Hopper paintings in this slide and the previous one). The choice of the external location should match up the internal location to achieve the best effects. This, of course, can be done through the lighting and art direction aids.

Location Sketches
One difference between sketch and photo is that sketch confirms things you see and what to include in your frame. It would always be helpful, whether you draw well or badly, to sketch the location in your storyboard, for reassuring yourself what you really want to present in a frame. The drawing of the entire location map is also very helpful.

Lecture 06 Location by Dr. Louisa Wei