Film Aesthetics - Space Assignment

SPACE ASSIGNMENT:  Create a blog post that would engage a reader to demonstrate their understanding of the four types of space, surface divisions, and the concepts of closed and open space. Think of it as an assignment or test posted up as a blog post – how fancy you want to get is up to you.  Include aspects such as the cues that help create or identify types of space, the ways in which surface divisions can be created, and an exploration of how and why a filmmaker would use a chosen space and create divisions. The assignment/test must have a written component, but it does not have to be all written (it could include specific activities, demonstrations, etc). BLOG MUST BE POSTED BY DEC 2nd!

Make sure you include the time allotted for the test or assignment and how you as the teacher would grade or evaluate their understanding/performance.  We will be voting on the “best” assignment.  Michael and Andy as well as the two students who took the class last year will also put in their votes.  There will be prizes!

Voting criteria is not the hardest or most creative – it is the assignment that would best demonstrate a student’s understanding of the material!

You can find my "Aspects of Cinematography" Prezi HERE

Depth Cues:

Perspective/Longitudinal Planes
Size Difference
Object Movement (especially towards and away)
Camera Movement – dolly, track, boom
Textural Diffusion (creating differences)
Aerial Diffusion (only effective when there are some objects unaffected by diffusion)
Shape Change – with or without movement
Tonal Separation
Color Separation
Up/Down Position
Overlap
Focus - deep

Flat Cues:

Frontal Planes (no perspective)
Size Consistency
Object Movement – parallel to the picture plane only!
Camera Movement – pan, tilt, zoom
Textural Diffusion (creating affinity)
Aerial Diffusion (diffusion overwhelms all depth cues)
No Shape Change
Tonal Separation – tonal range confined to only one third of gray scale, affinity
Color Separation – affinity over contrast
Up/Down Position eliminated
No Overlap
Focus - shallow

Limited Cues:

Same as Depth cues EXCEPT:
Longitudinal Planes – Frontal Planes instead
Movement toward or away from the camera – objects move parallel only

Ambiguous Space Created by:

Lack of Movement
Objects of Unknown Size or Shape
Tonal and Textural Patterns (that create confusion)
Mirrors and Reflections
Disorienting Camera Angles

Surface Divisions

Halves

Thirds

Grids

Square on Rectangle

Golden

Closed and Open Space
Space on a screen within a frame is inherently CLOSED. The way to create open space is:

Project on a larger screenCreate Strong Visual Movement on screen
        random, multidirectional movement does the best
Camera movement can also create open space - but the more multidirectional it is the more open the     
        space will be (think of rotating the axis of the lens)
Eliminate Stationary Lines