Task Eight: Transitions and Effects

Transitions and Effects
A transition is when a camera cuts from one scene to the next usually to show a chronological order of events and is sometimes added with an effect to show the transition. There are different types of transitions. The most common transition is the straight cut which is a camera cut that goes directly from one scene (or camera shot) to the next with no fades just one straight cut, the straight cut helps to 'retain' the reality of the film by immersing the audience with the film by having them continually watching rather than having some time waiting for the transition effect to end. Another type of transition effect that is really popular used in films is the dissolve where a scene/shot dissolves into another scene or shot.
Dissolve Example:

Another form of a transition is a wipe where the transition effect is that the scene or shot is wiped across the screen and the next scene is underneath which is unveiled when the other is wiped off.

Graphic Match
A graphic match is a form of transitions which is more advanced than the original transitions where a scene shot is focused on a particular object and is transitioned to another scene which is focused on a similar looking object. A great example of a graphic match is from a movie called psycho which involves a bath tub's circular plug hole and is transitioned to another shot of a dead woman's circular eye who was murdered in the bath tub, this transition is really intense for the audience which is shocked from the murder.
Psycho Example:

Following The Action

"Following the Action" is when there is movement in a scene while the camera is moving fluidly around the scene showing off the action, a famous example of this is from the movie Mr. and Mrs. Smith where the couple have a shootout whilst the camera spins around them while they are moving. This rotation of the camera shot of the action allows the audience to see more of the action rather than just having the camera showing just one angle at a time of the action

Multiple Points of View

Multiple points of view is part of following the action by showing each character's side of a particular point of view either in an action sequence or part of a storyline, this can happen by showing one characters part of the storyline then switching to a secondary character. This is used to engage the viewer in the storyline or action in the film.

Shot Variation
Shot variation is when a shot is uninterrupted by editing and shot distance changes. The shots can either be static or mobile and must be in a continuous motion for example the shot begins with a long or wide shot and ends up with a close up. A great example of a shot variation is from the movie 'The Matrix'


Manipulation of Diegetic Time and Space

Manipulation of Diegetic Time and Space is about moving from the chronological order from the movie and showing the age of a character, object or even an enviroment either by going into the future or past, this can also mean you can move into an alternative universe. Films that use the manipulation often show it by having a desaturated segment that shows that it was in a different point in time. Many films use this such as 'The Time Machine
' who travels through time and shows the changes in the enviroment around the time traveller as he travels through time. A more modern use of manipulation of diegetic time and space is in the third harry potter movie where the two characters use a watch that spins very quickly and characters move at super speed around them to indicate that they went back in time.