Micro Elements

Wall Street - Moneys Never Sleeps#Someone reminded me I once said “Greed is Good”. Now it seems its legal. Because everyone is drinking from the same Kool Aid.

By Zayn Sattar

Extreme close up

Extreme close ups are usually used to show the reaction of a particular characters face but can also show what is going on in a picture. For example in this photo It is trying to indicate the importance of an open eye which can relate to the title “Money Never Sleeps” and the resemblance of the eye being open but also the association between power and a direct reference to an American dollar bill.

Close up

Close ups are used in certain parts of a film in order to show a particular reaction that may be expressed on a characters face, This helps us to try and understand what the character may be feeling as well as what they may be going through.

Medium shot

A medium shot is used to show a object or objects taking up most of the frame, this can similarly be demonstrated by the falling coins in this situation. The significance of this shot is to show that we as the audience can see what may be going on and is also commonly used when characters are having a conversation, to show the detail behind the shot.

Long Shot

This shot is used to show the bigger picture of a scene and doesn’t particularly focus on one particular aspect of it, but instead gives you a vague look into things and expects you as the audience to work out what may be going on.

Extreme Long Shot

These shots are used to show us the setting of a particular environment that characters are in, and is usually used in the introduction stages of a film to show the establishing shot and very simply just sets the scene as to what may be going on, in this example their is a picture of a new York skyline which indicates to us a fast paced environment that has a big segment in the global financial markets which furthermore ties in with the name of the film itself.

Track

Tracking can be used to show what someone may be reading and adds to a suspenseful atmosphere showing particular information. In this picture above the camera is scanning digits on a dollar bill.

Pan

Pans are used to show the movement that takes place in a particular scene, this camera style as a whole is similar to tilts however Pans usually focus on moving left to right and in some situations may follow a characters movement or the movement of an object, in this example the camera pans from left to right showing the Pendlum in movement.

Tilt

The “Tilt” camera technique can be anything from the subtlest of movements all the way to a full rotational Tilt. Tilts can vary and are usually either vertical or horizontal but are mainly used to show any forms of movement within a scene. The Tilt that is used in this scenario is a example of a subtle movement and shows the movement in the scene, even though it is apparent that this is not a major movement there is still movement nevertheless and this is shown due to this camera technique.

Zoom

After

Before

Zooms can be used to uncover certain information and are only used in particular scenes. This helps to add attention to a particular character or object but also builds tension, as the enigma code starts to drip its way into the audiences mind. In this case the eye is the main focus for the zoom, and shows us as the audience there is something deeper than just a eye, and this adds significance to the shot a whole.

CutA cut is often used in films and is simply just a transition between two different clips, but looks pretty good, just saying, as it adds a sudden change of energy in the sequence

Pace

Pace is used in a scene to build up tension and adds to the effect of the climax, the way this is shown in a film clip is by containing many different scenes from various shots all in a short space of time with the aid of a flash in some films to add a further thrilling aspect.

Performance

Performance is just any scene where something Is going on, and is usually where characters are involved, however it can also be a action or movement such as in the scene above a piece of gold is being passed from one individual to another.

Diegetic

The sound of traffic in the background is something that would not be artificially put in as the scene of a city skyline would be the natural noise people would expect to hear, this adds a sense of realism into the film.

Non Diegetic

Non diegetic is simply artificial noises that help to build tension in particular scenes and creates more tension as well as sets the mood, non diegetic is usually always used in the beginning of a film and is most often known as opening music.

Mise en scence

A Mise-en-scene is the position or placement of props in a particular shot, things that are included in the props are clothing, lighting and also expressions. This aspect as a whole may not sound important however without focus and thought behind this element of a film, the likelihood is that the end result will not be as engaging for the audience as the director may have imagined it and this shows in films that have flopped in the past as their has been a lack of focus in this area, so this should never be rushed when in the process of any production.