Modern Cinematic Technique

There are many techniques that a director may employ when trying to alter the structure and meaning of a movie. One such way is by altering the size of the shot and this can affect how the audience will interpret what is happening in the film. The size of the shot is dependent on how far the camera is away from the subject and the focal length of the camera lens.

Some frequent camera shots used by filmmakers include the extreme close up shot which serves to highlight one particular facial feature. This for example could be the lips or the eyes. A regular close up is usually used to emphasize tension in the scene while an establishment shot is used to introduce a new location which will give the audience a sense of familiarity with the setting of the next scene.

The "Mise en scene" refers to what is commonly known as the "set" and this refers to everything seen in the camera shot. With different techniques the directors can use "the set" to produce intended effects. Some shot angles and camera views normally used by Hollywood directors and filmmakers include the aerial shot, the American shot, the long shot, the bird's eye shot, the master shot, the matte, the reaction shot, the Shake-O-Vision, the video frame amongst many others. Directors also use different lighting techniques which include the lens flare, the stage lighting, soft light, cameo lighting, flood lighting amongst many others.

In some situations it may be necessary to transition from point to another in the movie so some techniques that directors will use will include the Master shot, the flashback, the sequence shot and the talking ahead. In some productions, for example science fiction and action movies, the production team may need to use computer generated graphics and techniques like bullet time, digital compositing and stop tricks.

Light can be very important in cinematography. Often moviemakers depict villains as figures that are heavily shadowed using the silhouettetechnique. Sound is an important factor in filmmaking and often improves the presentation. There are two types of sound. There is actual sound or literal sound which is sound the characters in the movie can actually hear and usually gets a reaction from the character. These types of sound usually include the voices of the other characters in the movie, sounds made by something in the movie such as the breaking of glass, music coming from the story such as a piano playing, sound effects like a car's tires screeching, or a car passing by and music coming from radio's or mp3 players. The second type of sound is coming from outside the story. Some of these types of sounds include commentary, God's voice, Sound effects and music designed to influence the mood in the story. This type of sound plays a huge role in shaping the atmosphere of the film.

New techniques are now under development. These involve interactive movies which introduce an extra dimension when someone is viewing a movie and it allows the watcher to have an influence on the course of the movie. In these non-linear the author of the story doesn't have total control of it anymore. Control is shared with the watcher. Technology developed by computers will be able to create the fantasy of that there is actual freedom for the viewer.