Welcome back! After uploading my own camera shot samples in my last blog, I decided to look at my classmates' blogs. I even left comments under two of my peers.
Classmate 1: Rayyan Awan
The first shot I commented about under this post was the two-shot. Rayyan used a two-shot to convey his conversation with his friend as they descended the stairs. The shot was very simple but helped me feel involved in the conversation. I could sense the true friendship between my peers.
The second shot was the medium shot. Here, Rayyan filmed his friend happily waving at someone in the distance. Because of the shot type, I could see both her facial and body expressions at once, allowing me to easily infer that she was very enthusiastic when spotting her friend.
Classmate 2: Edison Chen
On this blog, the first shot I commented on was the Point-of-View (POV) shot. In this film clip, a hand is pointed at a man running away from the camera. This shot was special because it allowed me to feel the passion in Edison's voice and really made me feel like I was in Edison's head, experiencing the same event.
Finally, I commented on his establishing shot. In the film, the camera transitioned from a blank surface to an amazing scenery, showcasing the setting to me. This shot was excellent as it set an easygoing mood, presenting a beautiful, green landscape by the school. It allowed me to relax and appreciate the fantastic environment.
Hi again! Today, I recorded 5 clips using different camera shots to practice filming different angles. I have shared my results below!
High-Angle Shot
In a high-angle shot, the camera is positioned to look down at the subject, making them appear smaller and weakerthan they actually are.
To do this, I found a small stone stack that I climbed on to reach a higher altitude. While it was not the highest of altitudes, it still got the job done. It provided me with the elevation I needed to create the size difference illusion. Then, looking down, I filmed my classmates doing their own activities. With this shot, I wanted to make the people look smaller than they would in real life.
Close-up Shot
Close-up shots are taken near a subject or object to show more detail.
This shot required me to position my phone camera close enough to focus on the details of the various parts of the flower. This shot took me a few times to take properly due to blur when zooming in. The camera would often fail to capture the detail I intended it to do. When I took this, my objective was to show precise detail of the front flowers while limiting the attention to other plants in the back. In addition, this created a depth in the shot that would not have been possible had the entire frame been in focus.
Over-the-Shoulder Shot
For over-the-shoulder shots, the camera is positioned behind the shoulder of one character and angled toward the face of the second character. This is typically done for dialogue scenes.
With this shot, I had to stand behind one of my friends and hold my phone camera just above shoulder height. After that, I pointed it toward a second friend to capture their face. This one took slightly longer because I had to make the camera focus on both subjects. In a couple of takes prior to this one, the camera would accidently focus on one person and slightly blur the other, forcing me to re-take. My goal with this shot was to capture the interchange between my two friends in a way that is easy to follow along.
Low-Angle Shot
Low-angle shots are when the camera is stationed near ground height and looks up at subjects to make them appear bigger and stronger.
This camera shot was almost the direct opposite of the high-angle shot in terms of set-up and purpose. To pull off this shot, I needed to kneel down and hold my phone camera as low to the ground as possible to create a distinguishable difference in height. Then, I had to angle my phone so there was a proper incline in the field of view. I attempted to make my friend look taller, larger, and stronger, similar to a superhero.
Extreme Wide Shot
Finally, extreme wide shots are where the camera is distanced enough to reveal a large landscape, with very minor attention to the person or object.
For this, I had to back up to a far distance to capture a wide view of the surroundings. I also had to be far enough that my friend was hard to point out from the frame. Despite, I still had to maintain a moderate focus on everything in the camera frame. By doing so, I tried to put more importance on the setting rather than the person between my lenses. In some cases, the extreme-wide shot could also be used as an establishing shot if the frame contains the proper objects that convey the setting.
Hey Everyone! My name is Ahmad Saleh, and I am thrilled to share my first-ever blog! I am currently a sophomore at Everglades High School and excelling in the Cambridge Program. I am a very involved scholar, partaking in numerous clubs such as the Science and Math Honor Societies. I was born and raised here in South Florida to Lebanese parents. I travel to Lebanon during the summer to spend time with my family and enjoy a significantly different lifestyle than in the United States. Also, I'm bilingual, speaking both English and Arabic fluently. Some of my hobbies are gaming and soccer. In fact, my favorite soccer team is Liverpool F.C. and I have been a huge fan of the team for many years now! If I had to pick a favorite moment, it would be either Liverpool's dramatic 4-0 comeback win in the Champions League Semi-finals or the wild 7-0 win against Manchester United at Anfield. If you couldn't tell yet, I am very passionate about this team and sport.
Choosing AICE Media Studies
My selection of AICE Media Studies is not confined to one reason alone. In my time at this school so far, I've been enjoying the opportunity to take Cambridge classes, and I'm determined to complete my AICE diploma as soon as possible. With that in mind, seeing a fun, educational, and interactive class like AICE Media Studies on my course selection sheet did not make me hesitate in choosing it. Moreover, I've always been interested in film production, whether this be the camera shots of amazing fight scenes or the detailed visuals in animation. Getting the chance to learn about filmmaking and even create my own movie opener is very appealing and attention-grabbing. Along with the diploma and amazing GPA boost, this class looks to be one of the best courses offered at my school!
