Cinematic Language Fundamentals: Shots, Raccord, and Editing

Mobile Iconographic Language Elements: The Plans

The camera lens captures a part of reality and frames it. The plane sequence is a scene filmed in a single shot (or take).

Elements of Plane Composition

Composition factors determine how visual elements are arranged within the frame:

• Field: Everything visible within the frame. This includes elements within the field and those outside, but logically deduced by the viewer.
• Composition: Elements of increased interest should be placed so that the frame is neither too crowded nor lacking in visual balance.
• Continuity: When framing a character, especially when they are looking or moving, allow extra space in those directions to maintain visual flow.

The Raccord (Continuity Editing)

The raccord is the arrangement of shots according to their logical or thematic affinity, ensuring smooth transitions and continuity:

• Action Raccord (Match on Action): Organizes shots to match the movement across cuts.
• Eye-line Raccord (Match on Gaze): Matches the looks of a character and the item or person being viewed.
• Raccord of MLA: (Specific continuity match, retained as per original content).
• Light Raccord: Ensures light levels and quality remain uniform between shots.
• Staging Raccord: Ensures concordance and consistency in the arrangement of elements (mise-en-scène) between takes.

Camera Positions and Movements

Different points of view (angulations) are used to convey meaning:

Camera Angulations (Points of View)

• Normal Angulation: Eye level.
• High Angle Shot (Picado): Filmed from above.
• Zenith Angle: Filmed from high above (bird's eye view).
• Low Angle Shot (Contrapicado): Filmed from below.
• Aberrant Viewpoint: The camera is oblique to the ground, often used for expressive or psychological purposes.
• Impossible Point of View: A perspective that is physically unnatural or impossible for a human observer (e.g., from within a burial pit).

Camera Movements

While the camera moves, the resulting shots can be:

• Pan (Panoramic Shot): The camera rotates on its vertical axis.
• Whip Pan (Sweeping Panoramic): A quick and short rotation.
• Traveling Shot (Tracking Shot): Filmed while the camera physically moves through space.
• Zoom: The camera itself does not move, but the objective lens changes focal length, magnifying or reducing the image.

Significant Units in Filmmaking

Take

What the camera captures from the moment recording starts until it stops.

Scene

A series of shots depicting an action taken in the same place and time.

Sequence

A sum of scenes; a complete record of a meaningful action or narrative segment.

Editing Transitions (Punctuation)

These are technical resources that unite or divide shots, scenes, or sequences, often marking an ellipsis in time or space:

• Direct Cut: Moves instantly to the next shot.
• Fade to Black: The image gradually darkens before passing to the next shot.
• Dissolve/Cross-fade (Fused Chain): One shot gradually casts (fuses) into the next shot.
• Iris: The image darkens as a circle closes in on the center.
• Wipe: A new picture replaces the old one by moving across the screen from one side.
• Scanning: A quick transition, often achieved via a rapid movement or whip pan used as a transition device.