Friday Fundas

Friday Fundas: Types of Shots in movies

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Friday Fundas: Types of Shots in movies

Based on the distance of the camera from the object the types of shots can be broadly classified into the following categories

  • Close up / Extreme Close up Shot (CU/ECU)
  • Medium Close up Shot (MCU)
  • Medium Shot (MS)
  • Medium Long Shot (MLS)
  • Long Shot (LS)
  • Extreme Long Shot (ELS)

The type of shots are mentioned in the shooting script of a scene. This is determined by the director and cinematographer. Let us look at some examples of the shots from popular English movies

Close up / Extreme Close up: Camera is so close to the object that it fills the entire screen. These shots are used to stress the importance of a character or a moment in the film. The close up shot of the eyes of Uma Thurman in Kill Bill emphasizes her sharp focus and alertness in the fight sequence

Extreme Close up shot
Extreme Close up shot – from Kill Bill

Medium Close up Shot: Close up of one or more characters including their shoulders and head is an example for this shot. This is used mainly when focusing on conversation and dialogues between the characters. Some of the most powerful dialogues in The Dark Knight from Joker has been taken as a Medium Close up Shot.

Medium Close up Shot
Medium Close up Shot from The Dark Knight

Medium Shot: The shot is generally from Waist up or knees down for a character. Usually the character occupies two thirds of the screen. This is mainly used in indoor sequences placing emphasis on a character or relationship between two characters. The medium shot from Amazing spider man when Peter Parker is in his high school is an example of this shot. This shot reveals the physical state of Peter Parker and his feelings for Gwen Stacy.

Medium Shot
Medium Shot from Amazing Spiderman

Medium Long Shot: This shot is between the Medium and Long shot. This reveals almost full length of a character and is used to reveal the relation of the surroundings to the character. The character is usually in the middle of the frame. The focus is also on the entire attire of a character. The shot of Clint Eastwood’s appearance in the movie The Good, The Bad and The Ugly is an example of this shot.

Medium Long Shot
Medium Long Shot from The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

Long Shot: The characters or object is in full view of the camera and they are seen along with the surroundings. Most of the Action sequences are taken as long shot. The scene from Expendables 2 is an example of this shot. This used a lot of long shots to give importance to the ensemble rather than the single character.

Long Shot
Long Shot from The Expendables 2

Extreme Long Shot: The subject and the characters become the background to the shot and the environment takes precedence over the objects. This is used to reveal the entire atmosphere. Movies like Avatar, Hobbit, Gravity, Jurassic Park used a lot of Extreme long shots to make the audience acclimatized to the environment.

Extreme Close up shot
Extreme long shot from Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

Lot of thoughts go in before capturing the visual into a frame. Each shot would place different emphasis on the characters, emotions and surroundings. All these contribute to the viewing experience of the audience. Next time when you are watching a movie, check out for the kind of shots used in various situations.

English Movies, Genre, Must Watch, Rating, Reviews, Suspense, Thriller

Rope

Rope – is an English suspense thriller released in 1948. Two friends commit a murder of another friend just for the pleasure of committing a murder and on the same eve with his body still in their apartment they host a party to the dead man’s family and few of their common friends. The movie is directed by Hitchcock based on a play by Patrick Hamilton

The movie has the usual element of suspense that you would see in a Hitchcock movie. But the specialty of this movie is such that the entire movie seems to be taken of a single continuous shot. There is a peculiar party thrown in celebration of a murder committed by two men. What happens through the party is the rest of the movie. The movie has some wonderful performances, great dialogues and good use of props. The set is extremely detailed. Overall a thrilling screenplay makes this movie a compelling watch.

Must Watch

Action, Crime, Drama, Genre, Korean Movies, Must Watch, Rating, Reviews

A Dirty Carnival

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A Dirty Carnival – is a South Korean neo-noir film released in 2006. An upcoming film director Min Ho has to read a gangster’s life to create the script for his gangster movie. He follows and interviews his high school friend turned gangster Kim Byung-doo to understand the life of a gangster and make his movie. When the movie is released it is so close to the reality of the crime Byung-doo was involved in that he now has to kill Min Ho to save his secrets.

Sounds similar? Well this is the movie that many of the movie buffs have compared with Jigarthanda. Only the central plot is similar but the genre, treatment, the actual conflict and where the movie heads to is vastly different. They are two different movies with different story. So stop comparing the two movies.

A Dirty Carnival is a very serious gangster movie in itself. The movie is so realistic to the life of gangsters. You would see some realistic looking fights rather than the cinematic fights with visual effects. The movie right from the start follows Kim Byung-doo who is leading the life of a gangster and struggling to make his ends meet with an ailing mother, dependent brother and sister. The story is about his rise to power, his love for his childhood friend, his interactions with Min Ho for the movie script and the final conflict he gets into where he would have to kill his friend to live free. The story is very engaging right from the start. You would have the experience of looking into the life of a gangster. The performances, character buildup have been done very well. The editing of the movie is outstanding. If you are fan of gangster movies watch this one definitely.

Must Watch – for gangster fans

Comedy, Drama, Genre, Rating, Reviews, Tamil Movies, Wait for DVD/TV

Sathuranga Vettai

Sathuranga Vettai – is a Tamil black comedy heist movie released in 2014. It is based on a true story about a person who finds easy way to make money by cheating people. He is a by product of the economical imbalance in the society.

The movie is definitely very engaging as the script does not deviate from the main plot of the movie. It is based on the true incidents that had happened in India. The character of the protagonist Natarajan Subramaniam has been built well. The film has the tone of movies like Naan Avan Illai which is again based on fraud. There some dialogues which are very good and apt for the script. Beyond the main character the buildup for other characters seems to be a letdown for the movie. Apart from this the movie will definitely engage you and also remind you of how someone could easily make a fool out of a common man. You would have a feeling of reading a host of Junior Vikatan articles on con.

Overall this one is definitely watchable on TV or DVD and you would enjoy it.

Wait for DVD/TV

Drama, Genre, Rating, Reviews, Tamil Movies, Uncategorized, Worth a Watch

Jigarthanda

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Jigarthanda – is a Tamil Gangster Drama released in 2014. Karthik an aspiring film director follows a terrifying gangster in Madurai to read his life and create the script for his movie. 

The movie had a lot of promises right from the promos, posters and the trailer. The end product has turned out to be decent but the length of the movie is far too much than deserved by the script. Director Karthik Subburaj has yet again produced a script that has not been typical of any Tamil movies. Kudos to him for taking up such a plot, believing in it and making it into a full length feature film. If the length has been reduced by 45 minutes or so the movie would have been much more enjoyable. There is a drag in the movie for the first 45 minutes and the last 45 minutes. You would enjoy the parts around the intermission stage. The savior for the script is acting of Simha. Right from his introduction scene he has taken the movie on his shoulder. Siddharth has done his part well. Lakshmi menon has very minimal scope in the movie and her character does not gel well with the storyline. The background score has been done well. The shots are taken very well.

Overall the dessert (Jigarthanda) is cloying and you might enjoy it in parts would be a good one to watch in the theater.

Watchable

Animation, Comedy, English Movies, Genre, Must Watch, Rating, Reviews

The Lego Movie

The Lego Movie – is an English animation movie released in 2014.  Emmet Brickowski, an ordinary worker in a construction site who goes about living his life as per the books, falls into a situation where he would need to break the rules to save the world from freezing.

I should confess that I never thought I would like this movie as I had not been a major fan of animation using Lego toys. Hence my expectation was super low for this one. However this movie turned out to outrun my expectation. Although it appears to be a spoof of many Hollywood movies and characters there is a very deep social message in it with respect to upbringing of kids. Of course the message targets towards increase in sales of Lego toys 🙂 Still this is a must watch for all animation movie fans.

Must Watch – for all animation movie fans

Action, English Movies, Genre, Rating, Reviews, Thriller, Worth a Watch

3 Days to Kill

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3 Days to Kill – is a French American action thriller released in 2014.The movie is about an experienced CIA agent who discovers he is going to live only for few months and wants to patch up with his wife and daughter but gets involved in a high pressure CIA assignment. 

The movie has a tone of Taken. However the plot and the subject it deals with are different of a CIA agent balancing between work and life. Kevin Costner has played the role of experienced CIA agent and his performance of balancing act between a talented CIA agent and wanna be family man attending to his teenage daughter and wife. The movie sticks to this theme, the conflicts around it and moves along. The movie is not an out and out gripping thriller like Taken. If you are expecting Taken you would be disappointed but if you are able to appreciate the subject this one deals with you would enjoy the movie. Give it a shot.

Watchable

Action, Genre, Rating, Reviews, Tamil Movies, Thriller, Worth a Watch

Arima Nambi

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Arima Nambi – is a Tamil Action Thriller released in 2014. Aravind meets Anamika at a bar and they go out on a date but in the same night Anamika is kidnapped and Aravind is on the run to find her but soon he realizes that they are in a larger trap and become fugitives for gangsters and police.

Arima Nambi is seemed to be inspired from many movies with fugitive genre. The lead actors are fugitives with unknown people chasing them. Over and above they are also charged for a murder they haven’t committed. Vikram Prabhu has yet again chosen the genre of action thriller and has performed well. The screenplay is racy and also some of the locations chosen for the movie are very good. The plot however has a lot of loop holes. Some of the scenes are unreal including the first song showing Chennai Hard Rock Cafe serving beer 🙂 If you are willing to ignore all these then you would enjoy this movie.

Watchable

Comedy, Genre, Horror, Rating, Reviews, Tamil Movies, Wait for DVD/TV

Yaamirukka Bayamey

Yaamirukka Bayamey – is a Tamil horror comedy movie released in 2014. Kiran is good at cheating people and making money. He is chased by a local goon for cheating his son. At this time he learns that his actual father has left him a big villa as a property. He resurrects the villa and converts it to a hotel with the help of Sharath who had been taken care by Kiran’s father. However they find that any guest staying in the hotel overnight dies.

The movie is an attempt on horror comedy genre. The end product has come out in a decent way. The flash back sequences in the movie have been taken well and has been widely appreciated by the audience. The first forty minutes of the screenplay is bit of a drag. If you are able to sit through that you would be able to enjoy the rest of the movie. Don’t expect too much chills and thrills… the movie is a light and easy watch and can be watched at home

Wait for TV/DVD

Drama, Genre, Rating, Reviews, Romance, Tamil Movies, Wait for DVD/TV

Un Samayal Arayil

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Un Samayal Arayil – is a Tamil romance drama released in 2014. This is a remake of Malayalam hit movie Salt N’ Pepper. Kalidasan is a food lover and an archaeologist. He is still unmarried in his early 40s. An accidental phone conversation brings him and Gowri a dubbing artist together and they find a soul mate in each other through their common interest in food. But they are hesitant to meet each other in personal with a fear of being rejected.

The movie is unique that it uses the love for food bringing about love between two persons. The first half of the movie is very engaging and you tend to fall in love with its lead characters. However a major part of the second half the movie is distracted by focusing more on the second set of characters and with two songs for them is a drag. The movie again gets on track when it starts focusing on the main characters and food. Ilayaraja’s music, performances of Prakashraj and Sneha and tasty food is a big plus for the movie. Drag in the second half screenplay and non-related locations to relate to audiences across states are few things which would make you bored. Overall this dish is good for Take Out.

Wait for TV/DVD

Comedy, Tamil Movies, Worth a Watch

Mundaasupatti

Mundaasupatti – is a Tamil comedy film released in 2014. In a fictitious village Mundaasupatti the residents are very superstitious and due to some past incidents believe that taking the photograph of a person would cause the death of the person and are against taking photographs of any person alive. A photographer from a near by town falls in love with the daughter of the village head of Mundaasupatti. Was he successful is the plot of Mundaasupatti.

Director Ram has taken the concept he has shot for his short film in Nalaya Iyakunnar and made it into a full length feature film. It is very risky to expand a short film into a full length feature film. However Ram has done a good job in adding some entertaining elements to the script which makes the movie a good time pass watch. The middle portion of the movie is bit dragging which could have been avoided and it would have made a good 90 minute feature film. As it is a period based subject the costume design plays a very important part in the movie which has given very comic tone to the package. Overall the movie is definitely worth a watch for its creative plot.

Watchable

 

 

Action, Genre, Rating, Reviews, Tamil Movies, Thriller, Wait for DVD/TV

Naan Sigappu Manithan

Naan Sigappu Manithan – is a Tamil action thriller released in 2014. A person affected with Narcolepsy is out to take revenge.

Director Thiru once again proves he is good at the characterization of the lead character in the movie. As in Thimiru the lead character played by Vishal is interesting and is built very well. Vishal is affected by narcolepsy and the first half is all about him trying to lead a normal life. It is thoroughly enjoyable and in the middle he is faced with a situation where he would need to take revenge. Now the unfolding of this mystery is where the screenplay has weakened and it makes a lengthy second half that is interesting only in parts. Vishal’s performance is good and all the other characters by default assume that he is the hero in the movie and has given him the space which becomes very evident in the second half and makes it too predictable. Overall you can watch this when played on TV or DVD.

Wait for DVD/TV

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