Film Studies

Hey. In English this term, we are doing Film Studies. Did you know any of these terms? I sure did!

Frame - Dividing line between edges of screen image and the enclosing darkness
Cinematic shots - defined by the amount of subject matter within the frame
ELS - Extreme Long Shot - taken from a great distance
LS - Long Shot - shot taken from a distance to show landscape, a building or a large crowd
MS - Medium Shot - shot between long and close-up - taken from waist up
CU - Close-Up - shot of small object or face to fill screen - adds importance
ECU - Extreme Close-Up - Small object or part of face that covers whole screen
Over the Shoulder Shot - two figures, one to the back and other facing
Types of Angles
Bird's Eye View - Directly over the top of object
High Angle - h/a - Looks down at what is being photographed - general overview
Low Angle - l/a - Below the subject - increases height and power of subject
Oblique Angle - lateral tilt of camera - falling out of frame
Point of View - POV - a vantage of a particular character or what the character sees
"Eye-Level" - Roughly 5-6 feet off the ground - actual observer might view a scene
Camera Movement
Pan - Horizontally on fixed base
Tilt - Up or down on fixed base
Tacking (Dolly) Shot - through a space on a wheeled track (or dolly) - stays on same plane
Boom - Up or down though space
Zoom - Not a camera movement - shift of focal length of camera lens to give the imperssion that the camera is getting closer or farther away
Getting from Scene to Scene
Cut - Transition between scenes where one ends and another begins - Most Common
Dissolve - Gradual transition where one scene is superimposed over the beginning of another
Fade-Out/Fade-In - scene gradually goes dark or emerges from dark
Wipe - optical effect in which one shot appears to push the preceeding one from the screen
Iris - Optical effect in which one shot appears to emerge from a shape
What this means - Basic elements - to tell the basic elements of film that a director can use to tell his/her story - Through editing, these shots are put together to create a coherent story.

Quote - Mother Teresa

"Never worry about numbers.
Help one person at a time,
and always start with
the person nearest to you."

English

The things that I love about English!
1. We use it in our every-day lives
2. We can be expressive and show emotions
3. We can tell other people of our experiences
4. We can tell people about things, NOT face-to-face
5. Writing stories helps the imagination
6. We cannot escape it!
7. We can read other people's stories and their lives
8. We can do many things with it!

Writing

I haven't written here for a while because I have been really busy!

The newest book that I am now reading is..........(drum roll)............. Watership Down!! This fascinating book caught my attention on the bookshelf and I am having a great time! The story is about one rabbit, in particular, named Fiver and his brother Hazel embark on a journey where no rabbit has ever gone before!! (Cough Cough!)

I would recommed this book to anybody who loves animals and espically loves reading!!!

The Dark Heavens - Kylie Chan

White Tiger. Red Pheonix. Blue Dragon......

These are all names of the most WOWed factor author for me. She opened up my eye and showed me what it is like to be in those situations.

Emma Danahuo does not know what hits her when she falls into John Chen's life. Little does she know that Leo, (aka, the Black Lion (because he is black-skinned)) is Simone's bodyguard, Simone is Mr Chen's only daughter and half-shen (or god) and John is the God of Martial Arts. Demons are after Simone so that they can get Xan Whu (John) to do their will. White Tiger is also known as Bai Hui is the only person that Emma can trust. In the second book, Red Pheonix, Emma can turn into a snake when she tastes blood or feels that Simone is in danger. In Blue Dragon, John decides to face two one one. Two one one, also known as Simon Wong, is a demon who wants John's human head so badly, so that he can become number 1. Emma pursuades the Demon King and they all live happily after, except for Simone because she lost her dad, Emma because she was living in Hell with the King until Simone demanded her back, and Leo who has been chosen to become immortal and he hates it!

The next series Journey to Wundang starts with the book called Earth to Hell. I have just started reading it and I love it!

I would recommend this book who loves a fight for freedom, a little bit of action and a chunk of romance thrown in!

It turns some myths, stories and trust into one "Hell" of a story.

Chinese Cinderella

Chinese Cinderella is an Autobiography of Adeline Yen Mah's life. Set in 1941, during WWII, Adeline describes how horrible chinese traditions and her family were to her. Feet biding was a tradition passede down for thousands of years.
There are three books in the series (order not as above). Chinese Cinderella: the secret story of an unwanted daughter, Chinese Cinderella: the secret dragon society and Chinese Cinderella: the Mystery of Song Dynasty Painting. These three books are the best and anyone who wants to read a good book and learn about their culture, this is for you!

Reading this book has definately changed my view about the Chinese. I would recommend this book to anybody who would like to learn about a different culture. It deffinately showed me why they cannot get different things done when they want to.

I will add another post after this when I get home so that you can read my arguments for "cultures speak to one another by their stories and texts."

Reading

Reading is something that I love to do. I enjoy seeing things through the characters eyes and know what they are feeling. Books give more depth to the character than in movies.