Cinematography

• During the early stages of film making only a single camera was used to film an event and the camera was left in one position only. However now film making has developed so we now have a aesthetic style of filming, showing exactly what we see on camera. 
• Film makers now use a number of different shots to film a scene, for instance a close up shot which draws attention to one particular person or object or a long shot to show where the action is located.
• Having different types of shots creates a different effect on the viewer. e.g. close up shots draw the viewers focus to a persons face where we can see certain reactions and emotions. 

Framing

• Extreme close up- allows a small object to be shown as being large.
• close up- given fully view of usually a human face
• Medium shot- Shows upper half of a persons body
• American shot- Shows a three quitter view of a persons body
• Full shot- Full view of a person
• Long shot- typically landscape (shows where action is taking place)
• Extreme long shot- view from a large distance 

Camera Movement

• Pan- camera moves across scene by turning the vertical and horizontal axis 
• Tilt- Camera moves up or down 
• Tracking shot- camera follows or pulls an object that itself is moving 
• Zoom- camera moves in our out on a scene 
• Crane shot- Camera is on a crane moving upwards or downwards above ground

• Cinematographer decides on a shot which shows an action in the correct way in order for the story to be told in the best possible way.
• Its important to cinematographers think about how the shot will link to the following one for it to tell the story correctly- often a range of shots are taken so the editor can pick the most appropriate one.

Examples

• Chicken run
• Wallace and Gromit  

My film opening 

Now knowing the importance of cinematography, I will use a range of different shots in my film opening to ensure it looks interesting to the audience. I think in a romantic comedy the most important camera shots are close ups, as it will really show the features on a face, which best help to show emotion but may also mean not as much dialogue will need to be used. Another shot which I think is important is a long shot. In many crime films action scenes are also very common so a long shot would be necessary.