Visual conventions Flashcards
Lighting
Colour: Can’t be discussed
Contrast: Juxtaposition of light and dark areas to enhance
Key: E.g. lowkey in order to make something seem mysterious
Setting
Environment: Aspects of the surroundings of the actors
Props: Objects contributing to setting and construction of characters
Subject
Posture, facial expression and body language to communicate something about themselves
Costume
E.g. to convey confidence and comfort standing out
Camera angle
Eye level = equality
High angle = powerless
Low angle = dominance
Oblique = on an angle
Camera shot
Close up = we rely on facial expression to read actor
Long shot= social distance between you and the actor, contemplate their setting
Depth of field
How in focus the thing in the foreground is compared to background
Framing
Position of things in the frame. E.g middle of the frame and foregrounded to suggest importance vs being marginalised and backgrounded
Proxemics
The spacing of subjects within an image to suggest something about their relationship
Salience
The dominant part of the image which draws your attention. Built through framing, size, focus, and lighting.
Staging positions
Full front, quarter turn, half turn (can create mystery and intrigue. Is he hiding something? A threat or ally? He is addressing us personally)
Gaze
What the subject looks at
- Direct = credibility +trust, engagement
- Averted = curiosity and mystery, immersion by transporting viewer into the narrative
-Upward (out of frame = extradigetic)= spirituality or wonder
-Downward= submission , vulnerability
-Sideways = suspicious, connection or intimacy (sharing a moment)
Text
Where written elements are positioned, their typography, and the ratio of size to other things in the frame.
Leading lines
Where the viewers attention is naturally directed due to the lines in the image
Special effects
E.g. water droplets on the camera, vintage noir
Create a sense of atmosphere and mood, as if the scene is occuring in real time. It looks unedited, like you’re seeing the action unfold as it happened.
