AM - Class 5 / Week11- Lecture

The Language of Film.

Up to this point, AM has been teaching us how to be a great character animators, but its very important to us as well to grasp all aspects of the medium that we're working in, and that means understanding the rules of film making, camera, framing & composition, and film editing.

In this lecture, Glen McIntosh, animator & animation director at ILM, talks about the language of film and the history of film making.

We are lucky that the art-form of film making has gone through its evolution in the past century and the rules are already set for us.  Film making started since Thomas Edison invented the first camera and has been developing ever since & still on going as the technology is pushing further & further.  The style of film making has always been governed by the evolution of the technology. In the old days; film were staged in a theatrical ways where everything is placed in front of the viewer, static cameras, actors entering from screen left to screen right, very similar to a stage play.  But when we look at movies nowadays, we see cameras panning right & left to keep characters in frame, there is a narrative structure for the film to help the audience follow the story.  Basically the director can now decide where the audience are going to look, and when.

There is a set of rules always followed in the process of film making, but its very subtle that the audience don't even perceive it.  As animators its important to know these rules because it will effect our animation & performance dramatically.

Creating a film requires a collaborative effort from script writers, actors, set designers, costume designers, audio mix, editors..etc, all that should follow the vision of one individual, which is the Director of the film.  The directer will enforce his vision on the film to steer it into the direction he wants.

Glen took shots from famous movies like 'Citizen Kane'' Full Metal Jacket'' War of The Worlds' & started explaining why the directors of these movies choose to frame it in certain way, and what's the hidden message behind the camera angles.

Then he showed us how editing can make a huge impact on the audience, either by heightening there tension, or calming them down.

At the end of the lecture, Glen strongly recommended students to do the same, look for impressive shots from movies you like and analyze them in terms of framing, camera angle, editing. This will be a source of inspiration & will reflect on your work.