Media Language: Films and programmes are a form of communicating just like speaking English. Media has a whole new language including words, phrases, grammar, punctuation, rules and common practises. The more you understand about media language the more effective it is to communicate. Within media such as films individual shots within the film are building blocks of the film language, Different shots can be thought of as different parts of speech which serve different purposes. Film itself is a language, it is a way of communicating using images which is understood all around the world. Like any other language media language has rules and conventions. We can use elements of film such as the camera, sound, mise-en-scene and editing of a media production to show media language.
I used these two websites to help me with my research of media language:
http://www.kenstone.net/fcp_homepage/language_of_film.html
http://www.mediaknowall.com/as_alevel/alevel.php?pageID=filmlang
The Kuleshov Effect
Kuleshov edited together a short film in which a shot of the expressionless face was alternated with various other shots (a plate of soup, a girl, a little girl's coffin). The film was shown to an audience who believed that the expression on the face was different each time he appeared, depending on whether he was "looking at" the plate of soup, the girl, or the coffin, showing an expression of hunger, desire or grief respectively. Actually the footage of the face was the same shot repeated over and over again. Kuleshov used the experiment to indicate their own emotional reactions to these images. The Five C's of Cinematography
A man called Joseph V. Mascelli published a book called 'The Five C's of Cinematography'. The five C's are Camera angles, Continuity, Cutting, Close ups and Composition.
These are some quotes in which I found in the book about the Five C's of Cinematography:
1. Camera Angles
"Why are you looking at what you are looking at?"
"Is it because it looks good or because we need to see it to move the story along?"
2. Continuity
“Good continuity encourages the viewer to become absorbed
in the story-telling, without bothersome distractions. The
prime purpose of a motion picture, whether theatrical fiction
feature or documentary fact film, is to capture and hold audience
attention – from opening shot to final fade-out.”
3. Cutting
“Always move players into and out of close-ups to allow
cutting on action.”
“It is possible to cut away to anything happening anywhere
at any time.”
“Each shot should make a point. All scenes should be linked
together so that their combined effect, rather than their individual
contents, produces the desired audience reactions.”
4. Close Ups
"Close-ups should be made to count. The stronger the motive
for using a close-up, the more the close-up can help make
the story-telling truly effective!"
5. Composition
"The most important set of eyes belong to the audience. Make sure you are
making images that look good to your audience, and above all else, serve the story."
My new understanding of media language will reflect on my work of my short film as it will help me understand the different elements of short films have an effect on the audience. Things such as the camera angles, sound and the editing of a short film can effect the way in which people understand it. When producing my short film we will have to answer particular questions such as with the camera angle "Why are you looking at what you are looking at?" Also using close up and how it can tell the story through different ways. I need to consider that when filming that I do not break the conventions of media language as it is like and language where it can have elements of it being wrong and broken down. I need to consider what the audience will be looking at and making sure that elements such as the mise-en-scene and the location etc is what I want it to look like and whether it will have a good effect on the audience.
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