Visual production techniques

Introduction to Visual Production Techniques

• Cinematography is the science of capturing images on digital media or film.
• Editing manipulates and organises visual media to craft a coherent narrative.
• Visual effects (VFX) are techniques used in post-production to create imagined events in a story.
• Production design creates and manages the visual appearance of a film or multimedia project.

Cinematography Techniques

• Wide shots establish a scene, showing location and characters’ scale within it.
• Close-ups focus on a person or object to convey emotional intensity or detail.
• Dolly shots involve moving the camera physically towards or away from the subject.
• Pan shots turn the camera along a horizontal plane to reveal a landscape or follow a subject.

Editing Techniques

• Cutting is the removal of unwanted parts of the video.
• Transitions are the changing of scenes using cuts, fades, wipes, and more.
• Continuity editing creates a sense of time and location by piecing scenes in a logical sequence.
• Montage juxtaposes different shots to create a new perception or meaning.

Visual Effects Techniques

• Green/blue screening allow for the conjunction of filmed motion and virtual backgrounds or characters.
• Compositing layers images or video tracks together to create a single scene.
• CGI (Computer-Generated Imagery) creates or manipulates visual content using computer software.
• Motion capture records an actor’s movement to animate a virtual character.

Production Design Techniques

• Set design involves creating the physical environment in which the action takes place.
• Costume design helps to visually define characters through their clothing and accessories.
• Makeup and hair styling further defines characters and can enhance or alter their appearance.
• Prop design includes any movable objects that actors interact with on the set.