'How to' Video Essay

We have been looking at the

development through the history of
film makers, from the very first
photograph to the first short film.
Magic antern
!he Magic antern was one of the
first pro"ectors, no one really
knows who invented it but it used a
mirror in the back of a light
source so that as much light as
possible would go through a small
rectangular piece of glass, a
'lantern slide'. Which a painting
or photographic image could then be
pro"ected from. !hese could have
been pro"ected on the simplest
thing as a white wall. !he Magic
antern was a big step in
pro"ectors however was only really
used to show painted images
enlarged for more to see, but it
did contribute to further
improvements and other inventors
developing it.
!haumotrope
!he !haumotrope was a very popular
toy in Victorian times, it was very
basic and only involved a disk or a
piece of card with a picture on one
side and then other one on the
other side which the two could
merge into to create on image, for
e#ample a bird and a cage. $n one
side, an empty cage and on the
other a bird. %ou then would have
two strings on either end of the
piece of card or disk which you
would hold and use to spin it
continuously. &s you did this
'uickly it would create the
illusion of the bird moving from
outside of the cage to in it, then
out again. May children at the time
found !haumotropes fun as they were
an early form of entertainment for
them.

(oetrope
)n *+,- an illusion toy called the
(oetrope was introduced by William
.eorge Horner, this was one of the
most famous and renowned illusion
toys. )t used the same principles
as other illusion toys from around
the same time, however now the
images were on the inside of a
rotating drum combined with the
slits, therefore as you span it and
looked through the slits you would
easily see the motion in the
images. !his inventions was very
popular and kept selling after
*+/0.
1ra#inascope
)n *+0+ another development was
made Emile 2eynaud introduced the
1ra#inascope, this had a similar
design to the (oetrope however he
had improved it again. )nstead of
looking through the slits he now
changed the design so that you
viewed the motion on mirrors in the
centre instead of the slits on the
outside. !his made it easier to
look at and see the images move.
3hildren loved the pra#inascope
because it was the nearest thing at
the time to moving pictures and was
one of very few things for
entertainment.
!he first 1hotograph
!he first 1hotograph was taken in
*+40 by 3laude 5iepce. !he first
photograph was taken in 6rance on a
very simple camera and had to be
e#posed for a total of eight hours
so that it came out. !his was a
massive step in history and led to
many more improvements and
developments to films and cameras.
Eadweard Muybridge
!he ne#t significant date in the
development of film is Eadweard
Muybridge's capture of a horse
moving. )n *+0,, Muybridge was
asked if when ) horse gallops is
there a point when all of the
horse7s legs are off the ground.
&fter being asked this 'uestion,
Muybridge came up with an
e#periment to find out the answer.
He did this by setting up *4
cameras in a line with trip wires
connected to the shutters so that
as the horse went past it would set
a camera off to take the
photograph. With the findings he
presented them by adapting the
(oescope to make his own invention
the (oopra#inoscope and developed a
pro"ector so that he could show
everyone.
!he umiere 8rothers
9uring this time the umiere
family was the biggest manufacturer
of photographic plates in Europe.
)t is because of this that they got
asked to make a camera that could
record. !hey called this the
3inematographe. :sing the
3inematograohe the umiere brothers
filmed the first short film. !hey
filmed it of the factory workers
leaving the umiere factory in
yon. !his was the first ever
recorded film and because of that
is important to the development and
increase in film and technology. &t
the time this film was a massive
development and many people would
have been interested and want to
see it even though it was very
simple.
.eorge Melies
)n *;<4 one of the first silent
films was released in the :=, it
was directed and produced by
.eorges Melies. )t was a silent
film about people building a rocket
and flying to the moon. !his film
is significant to history because
not only is it one of the first
films to tell a story but it also
shows the development in people7s
ideas and imaginations to think of
flying to the moon, which at this
point in time seemed impossible.
!his film was very basic to film>
they only had one camera therefore
the actors in it had to do all the
moving whereas nowadays there are
multiple camera that can be altered
and moved. &lso as this point they
still thought sets and scenes
needed to look like a theatre so in
this film the scenes and sets are
'uite easy and boring. However even
with the technology and
understanding not being one hundred
percent this film is still
recognised today as ironic and
being very important in the history
of cinema.
9.W .riffith
9.W .riffith directed and produced
a silent film called '!he 8irth of
a 5ation'. )n this film 9.W
.riffith used multiple camera
angles and a variety of different
shots. He did this to introduce
editing and cutting to different
shots to tell the story and give
the film more impact. !his film was
a big step in history because it
was one of the first films to think
about different shots and editing
being used to cut between the two
to create effect.
ev =uleshov
)n the *;*<s and 4<s a 2ussian film
maker ev =uleshov came up with the
idea of an editing film montage. He
wanted t be able to edit films to
change the meanings behind an
image. He did this by the ev
=uleshov e#periment, he made a
short film of edited images. He
first captured an emotionless face
of !sarist Matinee and then edited
in other images but always returned
back to the face after showing one
image. !he images he chose were> a
plate of soup, a girl in a coffin
and a woman on a divan. !he soup
shows hunger, the coffin shows
grief and the woman shows desire.
He did this e#periment to show the
effectiveness of editing and it
worked. He managed to change the
emotions completely but still using
the first image of the emotionless
face. He wanted to do this
e#periment to show the importance
of editing through a film, by
changing the picture each time the
message changed therefore had a
different effect on the audience
and could change how the person in
it was feeling.
?ergei Eisenstein $ctober
)n ?ergei Eisenstein montage he has
used a different style of editing.
He uses loads of different fast
shots put together 'uickly to show
what is happening. !his is
different to normal Hollywood films
from this time because it is harder
to keep up with. However this type
of editing can be very effective
for e#ample in this montage one of
the characters has thrown a
grenade. ?ergei has shown this by a
close up of the grenade and the
character, then him about to thrown
it and the action of throwing, then
cuts straight to the e#plosion.
Hitchcock
Hitchcock uses montage in the
shower scene in 1sycho by going
between different shots to create
the illusion of the woman being
stabbed. &t the beginning of the
scene the woman has no idea of what
is about to happen therefore it is
narrative and all the sound used is
the shower, this creates suspense.
!hen there is a shot with more of
the curtain and suspending music
starts. !he person then clearly
become a man who starts stabbing
the woman. !his shown by using lots
of 'uick shots that are in time
with the music to show the knife
then the woman7s reaction to being
stabbed without her actually being
stabbed.
?hot types
& close up shot is used to show
detail but not so intense as an
e#treme close up. )t is used to
show emotion and detail without it
being overly intense.
&n e#treme close up shot is when
you focus on a specific part, e.g.
Eyes, 5ose. !his is used to
emphasi@e an emotion or feeling and
make something intense.
& mid shot is used to show the
middle of a sub"ect or character to
only show the top half of their
body. !his is used to show detail
of the face, body and costume but
also to give the impression of the
whole body.
& worms shot is a shot taken from a
very low angle looking up at a
sub"ect or character. !his shot is
usually used to make something look
very big e.g. you can make a
building look even bigger if you go
lower angle.
& bird7s eye shot taken from a very
high point looking directly down at
the action bellow. )t is used to
show height for dramatic effect,
also it is used to show a shot
taken by a more interesting and
different shot. !his makes it more
interesting for the audience and
can be used to make things seem
taller.
&n e#treme long shot is used to
show the surroundings to set the
scene. )t usually is a full shot
that doesn7t have much detail but
enough to show the audience where
they are and what they can e#pect.
& log shot is a shot of the
background and surrounding but also
can have a sub"ect in. )t is used
to show the characters places in a
scene by showing the space above
them and bellow them.
!he rule of thirds is when you take
a shot however you imagine the view
being split into third, and you
place the character or sub"ect in
the shot to either the far left or
far right of the frame in one of
the thirds. !his is used because it
is comfortable for our eyes to
watch, the character is directly in
the middle of the frame therefore
doesn7t seem as intense.
Aump cuts
Aean uc .odard directed the film
8reathless. !he "ump cut he has
used during the car scene is
unusual because the camera angle,
shot and characters position all
stays the same apart from where the
car is travelling. !his makes it an
affective but slightly confusing
"ump cut. He has done this to show
movement of the car without leaving
the character and the conversation.
!his works well because you can
clearly see the character at all
times, keep up with the
conversation and get an idea of
where they are, however it is 'uite
unsettling to watch the background
suddenly "ump from one place to
another completely different place.
%ou would normally hide a "ump cut
with a cut away. 3ut always work
well because the "ump is not so
sudden therefore gives our eyes and
brain time to ad"ust. !hey work by
adding in another clip between the
two shots to link them together.
Match cuts
& match cut is when there are two
shots that graphically match each
other and can be easily used to
connect the two different shots.
!his can be done with a
transaction.
!ransitions
& transition is when two shots are
combined together in editing so
that the whole film flows.
!ransactions are used in many films
because they can bring two or more
shots together, they are mainly put
in whilst editing so that the
different shots don7t "ump from one
to the ne#t suddenly but instead do
so smoothly, therefore the audience
has time to keep up and process the
change. $ne e#ample of a
transaction would be a dissolve>
this is when one shot slowly
dissolves in to the ne#t. !hese are
commonly used as it can leave time
for the audience to catch up and
watch from one shot change to the
ne#t.
&nother transition would be a wipe
transition, this is when one of the
shots slowly moves to the right or
left and the ne#t shot follows it
on. !hese are also commonly used as
they give the audience time to
process the change and watch as it
is happening to keep up with out
confusion.
!iming and 1acing
!iming and pacing is the editing
that goes on behind the scenes so
that the sound and video match and
are perfectly in sync.
1lay clip from Aames 8ond
!hat was the car chase scene from
Aames 8ond. !his is a good e#ample
of timing and pacing because all
the sound effects go well and fit
with the actions he makes in the
video. 6or e#ample, the engine and
gear changes.
Here is another e#ample of timing
and pacing is the goodbye scene
from ost in !ranslation.
1lay clip from lost in translation
!his is also a good e#ample but
done slightly different to Aames
8ond. )n the Aames bond clip the
sound effects match the big action
that is happening in the scene like
the gun shots, car and e#plosions.
However in !he ost in !ranslation
clip the sound behind is very
different and sets the mood of the
shot to get across the actors
emotions.
!hese films are completely
different genres one is action and
the other is romance, this means
that the timing of each scene is
very different therefore different
sound and music has been used. $ne
is fast with 'uick changes of sound
and lots of fast shots. !he other
is the opposite with longer shots
and music that carrys on without
changes. )t is important for the
timing and pacing to fit in with
the specific genre so that it makes
sense, the audience understand and
for continuity.
3utting on the beat
3utting on the beat is usually used
when making a music video> it is
when you use the music in a film or
video to edit it better. )t is a
techni'ue that you use to make the
editing easier therefore look
better and more professional. %ou
would use premiere pro to do this
with effectiveness by importing a
music file and adding it to the
video, then whilst watching the
video and listening to the music at
the same time, it might not go well
together in certain areas.
!herefore you can use that to help
you to cut in the correct places to
make it work and sync well
together.
3ontinuity editing
& shot reverse shot is a shot used
when filming a conversation. )t
follows the structure of the over
the shoulder shot by having one of
the characters shoulders and back
of head on either the right or the
left side of the frame and the
other character looking towards the
camera and other character, so that
you and the audience can see that
characters face. !his shot is used
in films because it is the best way
for the audience to understand the
characters and the conte#t when
having a conversation. !his is
because you can clearly see each of
the others reactions when the other
is talking and viceversa. !he *+<'
rule is also used when using a shot
reverse shot or any other shots put
in to make it more interesting. !he
rule is that when filming a
conversation or any other shots
around the conversation the camera
must stay on one side of the
characters. !his is important when
filming because you do not want to
confuse the audience. !he point of
the camera staying on one side and
only filming over the shoulders
that are on that one is to avoid
confusion. 8y the camera staying on
one side it means that the audience
is always looking over the same
shoulder of each character but if
it then suddenly moves to the other
side it will be the other shoulder
and make it look like the
characters aren7t facing each other
or looking the right way to have a
conversation. !his *+<' rule is
used well in !he Social Network
break up scene because the audience
is only ever looking from one of
the side and never crosses over to
the other. !his makes the seen well
filmed and easy to understand and
keep up with.
?eamless editing is also known as
invisible editing. )t is all the
editing that takes place without
the audience knowing. When all the
editing behind a film is completed
and the audience watch the final
cut they have got no idea of all
the outtakes, filming and editing
behind it and they don't think
about it whilst watching it. !his
is because it has been checked over
and over for editing mistakes or
most commonly known as continuity
errors. !his is when something or
one shot to another doesn't 'uite
match up. Most of the time this is
because they have been filmed
slightly differently or even on
different days. !he point of
seamless editing is so that the
audience doesn7t know everything
behind the film and so that it runs
smoothly.
1arallel Editing
1arallel editing is when there is
more than one thing happening at
one time. !his is used in many
films and becomes effective because
it means you cans show two or even
more things happening at once.
?how the .odfather clip
)n this clip from the .odfather
there is two things happening at
the same time. & baby being
baptised and someone shooting
people. !his is a good e#ample of
parallel editing because the
audience can clearly know that they
are both happening at the same
time. !he director 6rancis 6ord
3oppola has chosen to use these two
very different se'uences for
parallel editing because they work
well together to show the contrast
in both scenes as they are
completely opposite. $ne is about
new life and the other is about
death, this shows the contrast and
creates an effect on the audience.
Multiple 1erspectives
Multiple perspectives are slightly
similar to parallel editing when
there is more than one thing
happening in a scene. %ou can use
the techni'ue of multiple
perspectives effectively to tell
the same story from multiple points
of view by having more than one
screen playing at a time. !his can
work well if done correctly to show
more than one thing happening and
show different views and scene at
one time. However can also be less
effective if not don well because
it can get too confusing for the
audience. !he clip from B<< days of
summer is a good e#ample of
multiple perspectives.
?how the clip from B<< days of summer
)n this clip from B<< days of
summer there is a split screen to
show two perspectives, one is of
the reality of the evening and the
other is the e#pectations he had
for the evening. !his works well
because the audience can clearly
see the difference between them
without being too drastic that it
is confusing.
?how the clip !he !homas 3rown &ffair
)n this clip there is there is a
ma#imum of three different screens
on at one time however within those
there are different shots used.
!his is an e#ample of multiple
perspectives because in each of the
screens there is a different
character and what they are doing
and talking to someone else from
another screen. !his has worked
well because you can see how they
are all connected and still
understand what is happening in all
of them. $n the other had though
this can be confusing as there is
'uite a lot happening at once but
this add to the scene be creating
suspense, confusion and also makes
it intense. ) think that the B<<
days of summer use of this
techni'ue is better because it is
clearer and makes it more effective
as you can see both of his
perspectives at the same time.