Understanding

Media: Aesthetics
of Film and TV
Group 2:
Cardenas
Catubig
Chin
Cu
De Asis
Destura
Diaz
Dino
Echaluce
F ilm and television make it easier for us to imagine the concept
being sent to us as messages. We don’t have to think hard of what
the material is saying because we can hear it and see it at the same
time. And when both the eyes and the ears work together, the other senses
always want to jump in. This is why the messages encoded in audio visual
media tend to elicit more feelings from its audience.
The Film Form
• In a traditional way movies, typical celluloid film strip actually has separate
frames. Each frame differs slightly by a fraction of a second. In order to
complete one second’s worth of action in film, you need to run 24 of these
frames in rapid succession.

• That is why film was earlier called “moving pictures” since its precursor
photography, carried with it still (non-moving) pictures. Later, this was
shortened into “movies”.

• Film usually comes in two formats: the short film and the feature-length or full-
length film. A short film is a film whose total running time not exceed one hour,
while the full-length film lasts up to two or more hours.
Modes in Film
Production
All films in the world undergo three modes of film production:

1. Preproduction. This is where all the planning stages of film are made before actually
making the film.

• Developing the concept of the film until it becomes a full-blown film script or
screenplay.
• Producing concerns, where the actual money will be discussed and budgeted in
order to make the film.
• Casting, where the film’s producers or creators will be the one to determine who will
be hired to act in the film.
• The other workers of the film will also be hired in this stage (e.g. cinematographer,
editor and the rest).
• The stages production design (props, costumes, characters’ styling, etc.), shooting
details (lighting plans, planning the camera angles), and editing concerns (special
visual or graphic effects) are also included in this stage.
2. Production stage. This is the actual shooting of the film sometimes called the
“principal photography phase”.

• Actors and the crew members will arrive at their scheduled shooting days
to perform their duties on or off the screen.
• Typically, a mainstream commercial film worth two hours will be shot or
less than 30 days. A short film project will be shot less than that.
• Each shooting day costs money for the producers as they have to pay for
the people’s salaries, food, and the equipment usage or rental. The lesser
the shooting days, the better it is for a film’s producer to manage.
(The second stage of Film
Production is production.
This is when the actual
shooting of the film is
happening)
3. Postproduction Stage. This where everything will be put together.

• The images shot will be edited together.

• The music will be composed, recorded and laid out with the edited images.
• The special effects or other graphics requirements will be put in the film.
Usually, a typically mainstream commercial film is edited for less than 25
days.
Film Formats
When it comes to visual treatment and style, a film could be differentiated into
four typical formats: the narrative film, the documentary film, the animated film,
and the experimental film.

1. Narrative

A narrative film is fictional in nature, meaning the characters and

situations were made up by the film’s script writer. Even if they are fictional,
though, these characters and situations are familiar to people because they
could happen in real life. The closer the story’s reality is to the viewer’s reality,
the more universal the film would appear, making it more endearing to film
viewers anywhere. Example, love stories are universal in their appeal because
falling in love is a familiar story.
(Himala, 1982) (Aguila, 1980) (Patayin sa Sindak si Barbara, 1995)
2. Documentary

The opposite of the narrative fiction film is the documentary film which
presents non-fictional or factual characters and situations in the film. When the
documentary also has a story to present, its difference lies mainly in the way it
presents facts and shows real lives of people as the story unfolds. Usually, a
documentary film is made to present a specific issue or societal concern to its
viewers. Sometimes the documentary film carries some form of advocacy
wherein specific problems associated with social justice issues are presented,
elaborated or exposed.
(Scene of the
Crime
Operatives,
ABS-CBN)

(Investigativ
e Reports,
GMA)
3. Animation

The oldest form of film format, the animated film goes back to the
days when film was first invented. Essentially, the moving image shot at a
fraction of a second appears as animated when projected in rapid
succession. Practically, any none moving thing, object or even person could
be animated or shot to later appear to move, as such is the nature of
animation. There is a differentiation between the usual human oriented film
referred to as “Live action film” as opposed to the “animated film” which
features drawing and caricatures. Thus, animation encompasses the frame
by frame shooting and projection of fictional films using puppets, clay
figures, drawings or sketches, and now computer-generated images or
characters.
(Ibong Adarna, 1997) (Urduja, 2008) (RPG Metanoia, 2010)
4. Experimental

An experimental film usually strays away from the traditional

narrative format or the typical documentary format. Sometimes, there are
animated film styles used in experimental films but it is not the main factor
of its aesthetics. The experimental film tries to play around with the
physicality of the film form, the shooting styles, the production process, and
the concept. Some experimental films are highly symbolic or philosophical. It
is similar to seeing an abstract or expressionist painting wherein the
meanings associated with the images are open to interpretation.
Film Image Composition
The Elements of Composition:

• The relationship of objects and people (with each other or

amongst themselves).
• The play of light and dark (how the bright parts interact with
dim parts).
• The colors and their patterns
• The position of camera and the angles used to frame the
subjects.
Motion Framing
Concepts
 Aside from composition, movement is also important in communicating a film's message
to the audience. Since films are motion pictures, how moving elements interact in a given film
frame may impact the meaning of the story.. Movement could be done by two things: the
camera itself (producing a moving shot) The character/s in the frame (the subjects moving).

When the camera moves, it may produce a variety of emotional effects that could
impact on the way we are watching the scene. You can't just move your camera to revoke an
effect which the story doesn't really need just for the sake of moving the camera. Some camera
movements include:
- Zoom - Dolly
- Pan - Focus
- Tilt -Pedestal
- Truck

When a subject or the camera moves in a film frame, the camera should be ready to
adjust its frame in order to accommodate the change in the scene The camera should be ready
to tilt up to follow the character as he or she stands up.
(The vision gallery
comprised of numerous
monitors and switchers
where every single angle
were seen right before the
broadcast heads straight
to the television sets.)
The TV Broadcast
 Television or TV for short, is somewhat similar to the aesthetics of the
film form, TV productions processes also use the same technology,
especially in today’s digital shooting style. Rules of framing, image
composition, and motion concepts applicable in film are also applicable in
TV. Actors of narrative films could also work in frictional TV shows.

As an industry, the difference between two lies in the fact that TV has
more stable and unending supply of content. A filmmaker only makes one
film and gets to show his or her film in cinemas for a limited time. TV
stations should have an endless supply of TV shows to include in their
regular programming.

In the Philippines, this is the regular commercial channels we know

like ABS-CBN2, TV5, GMA-7, RPN9, GMA News TV11, IBC 13, and the state-
run PTV4.
 It is because this nature as an industry that television
productions are made in faster times. Unlike films where one film
could have a shooting schedule of 20 days on average, a TV show
doesn’t have that luxury of time.

Since TV programs are widely accessible to all kinds of

audiences at any given time, the quality of shows needs to be
suitable for a general audience.
Kinds of Shows
 Due to the overwhelming need for content in a given TV station, the variety of
programming has expanded since the time TV was invented. Each country and region in
the world could also have its own kind of programming format not familiar to people in
other parts of the world. But in the general, there are typical or common types of show
structures recognizable worldwide in terms of production format and content design.
Since TV serves both the informative aspect and entertainment aspect of information
dissemination, all types of programming cover both aspects.
Informative Programming

• To fulfill its role of delivering information, news programs were created to deliver
current events relevant to the viewing public. Typically, a news program ruins for 30
minutes to one hour. There are smaller types of news delivery wherein only the top
headlines are shown in less than five minutes. There are also shows that combine hard
news with other human interest feature stories in news magazine programs.

• Aside from news, documentary-type of programs are available as an extension of issues

first presented In the news . as with the documentary film, the TV, documentary show
should also present clear facts and nonfictional events in their content.

• Public service shows also fall into this general category of programming. These are
shows targeting specific viewers and address their problems. There are TV programs
that cater to immigration issues, OFW issues, specific health concerns, and other types
of public information shows.
Entertainment Programming

• A variety of fictional entertainment options fills our daily TV programming schedule

guide. Every fictional genre could be seen in such dramatic series like crime stories.
Police drama, legal drama, supernatural shows, superhero shows, and other kinds.

• For nonfictional type entertainment , the variety show is a popular format wherein
a variety of things happen in a given episode: a singing contests, a dance contest, a
comedy sketch and other things.

• Games shows have also been popular since the invention of TV. The promise of
winning prizes is an attractive incentive to humans from all walks of life.
TV Show Anatomy and
Advertising
 In any kind of programming format, a key element of how a TV show
is designed centers on the way the show's content could be subdivided into
segments. The advertisements sponsored the show, given the terms
"commercial gap" or "commercial break" refers to the portions in a typical TV
show broadcast. The sponsor are usually commercial brands selling products,
goods or services. More popular show has more commercials. A commercial
TV stations are payed for the existence of the advertisements. Thus, when
designing a TV show's content and messaging, these gaps should always be
considered.
(One of the most notable commercials
since the emergence of television is
Kellog’s character, Tony the Tiger)

(One of the best and

memorable Pinoy commercial,
Boysen)
Crafting Media
Messages
 Both film and television are considered as an
audiovisual media. This means different types of content are
being crafted and presented. In order to understand the logic
of the audiovisual media, each part should be deconstructed
in order to make sense of it.
(For the message of a
medium to be interpreted
well by the audience, it has
to be created and mixed
ideally.)
Creating Meaning in
Audio Production
 All the things we hear in an audiovisual production are composed of sounds,
music, noise, or dialogue. In entertainment programming, audio is very important to
deliver messages of the various kinds of TV show on air. Interesting sounds make
audiovisual production come to life. Whether they are sounds we hear from real life
or special sound effects used to enhance the story these audio elements evoke
certain feelings from listeners. Combined with the dialogue or the conversations we
hear between the characters, the sounds enhance the reality presented in the story.
Certain types of music also help us to feel the emotions of the story. In news
programming, audio also play an important role in delivering information. This is
why news reporters need to have a good command of language and should know
how to deliver the news in friendly and convincing tones.
 Creating Meaning
in Image Production
• In an audiovisual production, certain elements work with the basic
composition of a shot to hold our visual attention. The color
combinations of the scene should be friendly or intriguing enough to
capture our interest.
• The lighting should also work well with the color scheme of the scene.
• The balance of major and minor elements/characters in the scene is
also important to see and decipher if they are suggesting dome form of
symbolism within the scene.
• The framing is also important because this will determine what was
included and excluded in a shot.
(Film production includes certain elements
like lighting, framing, sound-mixing, and
more.)
Creating Meaning
in Audio visual
Production
 In an audiovisual production, the audio hook is important to make us
see the believability of the TV show we are watching. The video components
is the first logic that rules an audiovisual production. The second logic that
rules us when watching films or the TV shows in the visual component. Film
makers or TV directors and camera people should be aware of the
psychological implications that their camera placing or scene setup implies.
Combining the audio logic and visual logic well- in terms of technical prowess
and content awareness is the key to to constructing an effective audiovisual
production.
 Viewers doesn’t need to be technical media expert to know if the
audiovisual production works or doesn’t work for him/her. Going back to
the SMCR model of communication, this theories suggest that their might
be something effective in the way the S-source encoded the M-message in
their C-channels, affecting the way we as R-receiver got the message.
Sometimes there are also problems in the way the message was delivered
via its channel, as some form of “noise” could have affected the way we
receive the message
From here, we can see that audiovisual production, audio and visual
plays crucial roles, both elements is crucial each other and a pitfall in one
element could affect the overall message.
(On set, all elements of
production such as audio and
video should be complete and
functioning in order to make the
film or show meaningful)
Thank you. God bless! 