Textually Analyse- What is it?

Textual Analysis-is a methodology in film for studying the content of communication.

For TV Drama, which is section A of the exam, you will be expected watch a 4 minute extract of a TV Drama 4 times and then textually analyse it in terms of:

Camera Shots, Angle, Movement and Composition  
Shots: establishing shot, master shot, close-up, mid-shot, long shot, wide shot, two-shot,    aerial shot, point of view shot, over the shoulder shot, and variations of these

Angle: high angle, low angle, canted angle

Movement: pan, tilt, track, dolly, crane, steadicam, hand-held, zoom, reverse zoom
Composition: framing, rule of thirds, depth of field – deep and shallow focus, focus pulls.

Editing  
o     Includes transition of image and sound – continuity and non-continuity systems.
o     Cutting: shot/reverse shot, eye line match, graphic match, action match, jump cut, crosscutting,
     parallel editing, cutaway; insert.
o     Other transitions, dissolve, fade-in, fade-out, wipe, superimposition, long take, short take, slow     
     motion, ellipsis and expansion of time, post-production, visual effects.     

Sound

Diegetic and non-diegetic sound; synchronous/asynchronous sound; sound effects; sound motif, sound bridge, dialogue, voiceover, mode of address/direct address, sound mixing, sound perspective.  

Soundtrack: score, incidental music, themes and stings, ambient sound.

Mise-en-SceÌne

Production design: location, studio, set design, costume and make-up, properties. Lighting; colour design.

You will then relate these technical and visual codes to one of the following aspects of representation:

             

·            Age

·            Ethnicity

·            Sexuality

·            Class and status – including star status

·            Physical ability/disability

·            Regional identity

·           Gender

Camera - shot sizes

Establishing shot: help to establish the scene by showing the audience the location they're in.

 
Master shot: the main shot of the scene that is often returned to. Directors often film these in a wide shots so the audience can get their bearings as to who is in the scene. The directors then uses other shot sizes, such as close ups or medium shots to cut into the master shot so that the audience can get a closer look at the actors.



Very long shot - a shot including the whole view of the person/object and including a large amount of the scene, can sometimes be used as an establishing shot.
Long shot - a shot showing head to toe on a person for example, with less background than a very long shot, can be used to show the movement of a character.
Medium long shot - showing only the knees and above, headroom is given above the shot so the person/object does not look boxed in.
Medium shot - showing the belly button to the top of the head, can be used to show body language. 
Medium close up - a shot from the shoulders up, used to introduce actors.
Close up - Shows all of the face, starting from the bottom of the neck the shot includes some background, can also be used to introduce characters the first time they are seen. 
Big close up - used to show facial expressions, the shot shows a persons face from the chin to forehead. 
Extreme close up- Used to show detail mainly, only includes



Angles-

High angle shot-  is a camera shot taken from above a character, or view or object. This angle shows the character to be weak, vulnerable and inferior, A female is often filmed from a high angle.

Low angle shot- is a camera shot taken from below a character view or object. This shows a character to be powerful. A male is often filmed with a low angle.

Canted angle-  where the camera is at an angle to create a sense of something not quite right. The camera shot is slanted.

Movement

Pan-  <----------> A pan is a camera move both left and right.

Tilt-  This is when the camera tilts up and down.

Track and Dolly-  Track is similar to a railway track. The dolly sits on the track. A camera man sits on the dolly in order to create smooth shots that move in or out from or to a subject and enables the camera to pan, tilt or rise up and down.

 

 

 

Steadicam-  These shots are when the camera man wears body armour with the camera attached on the end of an arm steadicam. Shots are used for maximum freedom and movement as well as creating shots steady and flow nicely.

 

 

 




Handheld shot- 
  Where the cameraman holds the camera for maximum flexibility of the type of shots he wants to use. This is a very specialised skill and is often used for documentaries and news items. If used in dramas and feature films often to create a feeling of rawness/of being present in the film, for making the film feel like a news or documentary film.

 

 



Zoom in and Out-  Using the zoom facility on the camera to magnify or reduce the image size. Zooms are less popular now due tot he more sophisticated shots supplied by a track and dolly, but they are used on documentaries and for visual effects in music video's.

Depth of Field-  This is about the depth of focus in any given shot. It is a focus pullers job to alter the camera lens (On a drama or feature film) tot  he correct focal distance so the object or actor concerned is in focus. Sometimes shallow depth of field is used so that only important people or object are in focus to help the audience understand what is important to look at in each frame shot.

 

 



Camera

Framing-  Framing is the presentation of visual elements in an image especially the placement of the subject compared to other objects.

 

 

Rule of thirds-    is applied by aligning a subject with the guide lines and their intersection points, placing the horizon on the top or bottom line, or allowing linear features in the image to flow from section to section.

 Shallow Depth of Field- 
  Blurred background whilst subject is clear no distractions as background is not visible.

Deep Depth of Field- All background including subject is in focus.

Focus Pulls- Frequently used to shift the focal point from one scene to the other. For example,  an actor may be in focus at a distance of 20ft from the camera at the far side of the room and the shot includes a telephone in the foreground which is out of focus. As the phone rings, the actor turns and the focus puller pulls focus so that the phone becomes sharp and the actor goes out of focus. This action is a focus pull.

 

 

 

Editing

 

 

Shot-  Camera placement and angle.

 

 

Reverse Shot-

  

A film technique wherein one character is shown looking (often off-screen) at another character, and then the other character is shown looking "back" at the first character. Since the characters are shown facing in opposite directions, the viewer unconsciously assumes that they are looking at each other. Usually to perform this you will need a three camera set up.

 

 



Eye line match- An eye line match is a film editing technique associated with the continuity editing system. It is based on the premise that the audience will want to see what the character on-screen is seeing.

 

 

Jump cut: an abrupt transition from one scene to another.

Other transitions, dissolve, fade-in, fade-out, wipe, superimposition, long take, short take, slow motion, ellipsis and expansion of time, post-production, visual effects.  

 

Parallel editing: is a technique whereby cutting occurs between two or more related actions occurring at the same time in two separate locations or different points in time. D. W. Griffith is often cited for his use of this technique

 

 

 

super imposition: is the placement of an image or video on top of an already-existing image or video, usually to add to the overall image effect, but also sometimes to conceal something (such as when a different face is superimposed over the original face in a photograph).

 

Insert: In film, an insert is a shot of part of a scene as filmed from a different angle and/or focal length from the master shot

Cutaway shot: In film and video, a cutaway shot is the interruption of a continuously filmed action by inserting a view of something else. Cutaways often to get you out of jail if you don't have all the required footage.

 

long take: is an uninterrupted shot in a film which lasts much longer than the conventional editing pace either of the film itself or of films in general, usually lasting several minutes. Long takes are often accomplished through the use of a dolly shot or Steadicam shot.

short take: is a short recording of an event which in turn becomes a quick edit due to its length. Short takes if all used together create a fast pace are often used in thriller or action.

slow motion: the action of showing film or playing back video more slowly than it was made or recorded, so that the action appears much slower than in real life.

ellipsis: the shortening of the plot duration of a film achieved by deliberately omitting intervals or sections of the narrative story or action; an ellipsis is marked by an editing transition (a fade,dissolve, wipe, jump cut, or change of scene) to omit a period or gap of time from the film’s narrative.

expansion of time: you are making the duration of the video sequence longer than real-time. This is relatively rare — it's not often that you want your audience to see something more slowly than it actually happened. Slow motion is an example of expanding time.

post production: work done on a film or recording after filming or recording has taken place.

visual effects:  are the processes by which imagery is created and/or manipulated outside the context of a live action shot.

Editing Techniques

Sound 
Diegetic and non-diegetic sound; synchronous/asynchronous sound; sound effects; sound motif, sound bridge, dialogue, voiceover, mode of address/direct address, sound mixing, sound perspective.  

Soundtrack: score, incidental music, themes and stings, ambient sound.

Mise-en-Scène

Production design: location, studio, set design, costume and make-up, properties. Lighting; colour design.

 

Location- A place or position where something is set.

 

 

Studio-  A film or television production company.

 

Set design- is the creation of theatrical, as well as film or television scenery.

 

Lighting- The use of various light sources, both artificial and natural, to achieve some aesthetic or practical effect while illuminating a scene.

Body Language-









Facial Expressions-

 Sound Track

• Score-  is original music written specifically to accompany a film. The score forms part of the film's soundtrack, which also usually includes dialogue and sound effects
• Incidental music-Incidental music is often "background" music, and is intended to add atmosphere to the action
• Themes- the main subject or idea in a piece of writing, speech, film.
• Stings- A sting is a short musical phrase, primarily used in broadcasting and films as a form of punctuation. For example, a sting might be used to introduce a regular section of a show or at the end of a scene
• Ambient- the background sounds which are present in a scene or location. Common ambient sounds include wind, water, birds, crowds, office noises, traffic, etc.