Filmmaking Psychology: Target Emotions to Engage the Audience | Scott Baker | Skillshare

Filmmaking Psychology: Target Emotions to Engage the Audience

Scott Baker, Filmmaker

Filmmaking Psychology: Target Emotions to Engage the Audience

Scott Baker, Filmmaker

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29 Lessons (1h 7m)
    • 1. Skillshare Introduction

    • 2. Why Does Camera Position Matter?

    • 3. Camera Angles: High, Low, or Sideways?

    • 4. Camera Movement

    • 5. Point of View Shots: There's a Few Types

    • 6. What is the 4th Wall?

    • 7. Focus: Out of Focus isn't Necessarily Bad

    • 8. Shutter Speed: More than an Exposure Setting

    • 9. Slow Motion

    • 10. Hard & Soft Light

    • 11. Brightness

    • 12. Black & White

    • 13. Hue & Saturation

    • 14. Red

    • 15. Blue

    • 16. Green

    • 17. Yellow

    • 18. Purple

    • 19. Orange

    • 20. Location

    • 21. Set Decoration

    • 22. Sound Introduction

    • 23. Setting The Mood

    • 24. The Kuleshov Effect

    • 25. Is the Music Inside or Outside?

    • 26. Build Anticipation & Give Cues

    • 27. Music or No Music?

    • 28. The Power of Silence

    • 29. Conclusion

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About This Class

This class provides insight to help you approach filmmaking in a more knowledgable way by studying the Psychology involved in Filmmaking. Upon completion you'll understand how the following aspects can create a more emotional connection with your audience.

  • Colour
  • Sound & Music
  • Camera Techniques
  • Location & Set Design
  • Lighting

Use the camera (or phone) and equipment you already have. What is taught in this class can be applied to your films instantly and without the need of any extra, or expensive equipment.

Meet Your Teacher

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Scott Baker



After graduating from film school in 2008 I dove straight into the Toronto film industry Directing and Producing a variety of projects such as music videos and short films that have screened at festivals such as Tribeca and Toronto International Shorts. In between projects I also work on big budget film and television such as Suicide Squad and The Boys.

When not on set I'm on the road working with bands, shooting documentaries, and creating other independent projects. Even while traveling for vacation I can't seem to put my camera down, because when you're passionate about something it becomes second nature.


Email: [email protected]

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1. Skillshare Introduction: Everyone, my name's Scott Baker and I've been in the film industry since 2009. I have worked on major TV shows and films. And on the side, I've also directed my own short films, music videos, documentaries. And the one thing I've noticed in my career is that everyone is focused on the technical stuff, you know, cameras, lights, editing software. But the thing that rarely gets discussed is why we make the choices that we do. The psychology behind filmmaking when watching movies, if you're feeling certain emotions, that's not by accident. The filmmakers have chosen specific techniques and crafted their shots in certain ways to make you feel that way. The best films are the ones that make us feel something. And the best filmmakers are the ones that know how to do that. That's why in this course, we're going to learn how color, lading, set design, camera shots, sound, and music all affect the emotions of the audience. Knowing how these elements work will give you the foundation to creating more meaningful films. To understand these concepts will study and analyze film clips. Discussions will be encouraged, and whether you're new to filmmaking or already experienced on the technical side, this course is for you, it is for all skill levels. If you're new, then understanding these concepts will only make it easier to understand the technical aspects of filmmaking. And if you're already experienced in this course, we'll take the skills you already have and teach you how to use them to make your films that much better and that much more engaging. 2. Why Does Camera Position Matter?: The main thing to remember about camera position is that the closer the audiences to the subject or the action, the more connected and involved we feel. And the opposite is true. The further away we are from the subject or the action, the more disconnected we feel. When we're further away, we naturally feel separated from the action. It's as though we're on the outside looking in and feel as if we can't be affected by what's happening in the scene. Imagine being a jury member watching a trial. The vertex doesn't put you in jail or set you free, but you're still there to witness it. Let's move in closer. Now, everything becomes a bit more intimate. We can see the emotions of the people and we can feel as if we're right there next to them. We're now involved in what's happening and experiencing what's happening along with them in this case is something else. I'll you know, this place around Iran. Doesn't matter how near or far we put our audience to the action, depends on the placement of our camera and the lenses that we use. A camera place far away with a low focal length, aka a wide lens, will distance the audience. But we can easily move the camera enclosed using the same lens to bring our audience closer to the action. If we're using a high focal length, also known as a narrow lens, then the camera can be placed at a distance, but the audience still feel close to the action. 3. Camera Angles: High, Low, or Sideways?: Aside from filming with the camera perfectly level, there's three other options we can choose. There's a high angle, low angle, and what's called a Dutch ankle. High angle shot is when the camera is placed high and looking down on a subject, this makes the subject appear smaller and gives the feeling that they are inferior or weak. A low angle shot and does the opposite angles up at the subject. And by angling the camera up, it makes them appear larger and gives the feeling their superior, strong or intimidating. Using low angle shot is also a great technique on buildings. It allows you show that the building may be grand or ominous. Personally, I don't find that a high angle shot has the opposite effect on buildings. Instead, it works very good as a master shot to give the audience and understanding of the scene and it's setting. The third angle is called a Dutch angle, and it is done by tilting the camera slightly to one side. This is another effective way to give the audience a sense of disorientation. It conveys the message that things are unbalanced and that something isn't quite right. And the shot actually has nothing to do with the Dutch. Instead, it was a technique that we've used a lot in German filmmaking. And it was called the Deutsche angle. Doidge being the German word for German. And then over time, English speakers kind of morphed it into the Dutch angle. 4. Camera Movement: Along with camera position and camera angle, camera movement is also important. And if your cameras going to be moving for the shot, you need to decide whether it be handheld or will it be stabilized with dollies and steady camps? Going handheld with a little bit of camera shake can create a more natural and organic field. That's because it's closer to the way that we see things while in motion. Meanwhile, lots of camera shake can have a chaotic and anxious field to it. If we're using dollies and steady camps and other types of stabilizers, it can feel less organic, but it's much smoother and it feels more polished. And because stabilizers provide far more possibilities, we can achieve more intricate and large-scale shots, which can give a film or a seen a more epic feel. Whether your handheld or using a stabilizer. Moving between wide shots and closeups is a very effective way to emphasize emotion. And changes. Pulling out from a tight shot to a wide shot can reveal things to the audience that the character was already aware of. And it helps emphasize a change. That change can be a character losing control as they become small and a large world. Or it can depict a sense of becoming free. Moving the other way. Pushing in from a wider shot to a tighter shot can highlight a character's emotions or even reveal the emotion. At first, the audience may feel removed and at a safe distance. But as the camera gets closer, the emotions of that character become more noticeable and more intense as the character feels more and more of the screen. As this happens, the audience has nowhere else to look. Therefore, they are forced to recognize and empathize with the character's emotions. Last, we have a dolly zoom, and this is a powerful technique to highlight intense moments. It works well when a character is having an important realization. It can also work to show a world closing in around a character, creating a feeling of claustrophobia. So those are a few techniques that you can use to affect the emotions of the audience. But the really important part of this lesson is the decision on whether to go handheld or using stabilizers or what combination of the two you want to use. And that's because it's a stylistic choice that can affect the feel of your entire film. 5. Point of View Shots: There's a Few Types: First-person point of view. It's also known as Subjective Camera, or simply a POV shot. And what this means is that we are now actually the character and we're seeing the world through their eyes. In terms of camera distance. This is as close as we can possibly get. It immerses the viewer in the film and the character in a very intimate way. By taking the audience inside the character's head. It helps the audience feel what the character fields and to better understand the world the way they see it. Essentially, there are four types of POV is that we can use unusual POV. This is often used in sci-fi to help the audience understand something that is not part of our everyday life. It's something we've never seen before. A common example, being in space. Distorted POV, often used for altered states of mind, whether that be drugs or some sort of trauma. Pursuing POV. This kind of POD creates suspense for the audience because as the filmmaker, we're not allowing them to see who or what is following. Its very common in horror films and can make the audience feel very uneasy because now they're being forced to identify with something or someone they don't want to, such as a killer or a monster. Fly on the wall. Pov, filming from the perspective of things or people that are powerless to do anything. In these circumstances. The camera is like a silent witness to things characters wouldn't do if they knew they were being watched. Just like spies. This POV lets the audience in on secretes. Other characters are unaware of. Pov shots are most effective when they feel natural and they're hardly even noticed when they're cut in with characters looks during key moments, or in the middle of dialogue scenes. Those are perfect examples. A word of caution, using only POV shots for an entire film can become irritating. And in some cases, even nauseating For the audience by causing motion sickness. 6. What is the 4th Wall?: If you haven't heard of a fourth wall, then here's a quick explanation before we discuss the effect of breaking the fourth wall. If we're watching a stage play, we have 123 walls. And the fourth wall is an invisible one separating the characters and the audience. And this is the wall that the audience watches through. But the characters are unaware of it and they can't see through it. If you're at the theater or watching TV than the screen, is that fourth wall. Breaking the fourth wall happens when the characters in the film become aware of the audience. This can be done by having the character speak to the audience or something as subtle as making eye contact by looking directly into the lens. This technique snaps the audience to attention because all of a sudden they are now involved in the film and they are being interacted with by the characters. People would tell you that you get a nervous mother. Love fourth wall creates a safe barrier for the audience to watch the film anonymously. So when that barrier is broken, it catches the audience off guard. And it can be startling since now they've been recognised. And they feel as if they are being watched themselves. Next to a huge steaming bowl of foreshadowing. When a character addresses the audience. It's like a secret conversation that the rest of the film is not included in. And what this does is it takes the audience deeper inside that character's mind. Lets them know what they're thinking, how they're feeling. And what this does is create a much stronger bond between the audience and that specific character. You can never go into a fire be if I'm going to get busted. It is not going to be by a gun like that. And it doesn't always have to be through dialogue. As I mentioned, when a character looks directly into the camera, that's another way of breaking the fourth wall. Let's do a little experiment. I want you to get up and walk around the room. And while you're doing so, keep an eye on the screen to see where i'm looking. So notice how no matter where you walked in your room, it appeared as if my eyes were following you and I was watching everywhere you went. This technique of looking directly into the camera is often used when there is a narrator in this story. So breaking the fourth wall can have many effects, including making the audience aware that they're watching a film can make the audience feel uncomfortable, forces them to pay closer attention, creates empathy with a character. And it makes the audience feel like they are part of the film. So that's the fourth wall and how to break it. It is a brilliant storytelling technique and one that I definitely encourage you to try with one of your films. See you in the next lesson. 7. Focus: Out of Focus isn't Necessarily Bad: Naturally, our eyes will lock onto whatever person or object in the shot is in-focus. When an object or a person is in focus, we subconsciously think, Pay attention to this. It's important. And we follow that until the focus changes, telling us to pay attention to something else. But what about when nothing is in focus? When everything's blurry, our eyes don't know where to look and we don't really know what's going on, which can create a sense of disorientation with nothing to guide us. Our brains are actively looking for clues to figure out what's happening or what's important. This is a technique that can be used for dreams. Flashbacks had injuries, being tired or drunk. Essentially, any altered state of mind. When everything is in focus, it's easy to see and recognize what's going on. We can understand, which gives us a sense of clarity and allows the audience to relax and simply watch what's happening when introducing a new location. Having everything in focus is a great way to give the audience as much information as possible. That way they can quickly understand the new surroundings and what's going on. This is why in sports, nearly everything is always in focus because we want to see what's happening at all times. So that's how focus can have an effect on our audience. The other setting we can change and our camera is shutter speed, which we'll talk about in the next lesson. 8. Shutter Speed: More than an Exposure Setting: Most people think of shutter speed just as a component of exposure and how to control motion blur. But what they don't realize is that it is also another very interesting way to affect how our audience feels. Remember, setting the shutter speed to double our frame rate will produce footage that is most similar to the way we perceive irregular motion. Not to be confused with the a 180 degree rule, which deals with camera placement and continuity. If we lower the shutter speed, it results in more motion blur. And just like filming with soft focus, using more motion blur can also create a sense of disorientation, like in dream sequences, flashbacks, or otherworldly scenarios. If we raise the shutter speed, there is less motion blur, which makes everything look very crisp and smooth. But if we push the shutter speed really high, it can make our footage look more staccato like. This is often used during action scenes where everything is happening very quick. It heightens the action and even gives our footage or more chaotic feel. And this is a brilliant example of both techniques. And transitioning between the two. Shutter speed is also a way to speed up or slow down the feel of our footage without having to ramp up the speed and editing or shoot in slow motion. And slow motion is what we're gonna talk about in the next lesson. 9. Slow Motion: Slow motion is a technique I'm sure everyone here has experimented with simply because of how cowpox. But aside from the aesthetic feel to it, it's also a great way to say to your audience, Hey, pay very close attention to this. As filmmakers, using Slow Motion is a fantastic technique to exaggerate something important and to make sure that our audience picks up on specific details that we want them to see. Another effective use is to give the viewer a moment to catch up and build anticipation just before diving back into the fast-paced action. The same way a DJ will slow down a song and then slowly build the anticipation of the crowd before bringing back the whole song and everyone goes crazy. Well, Slow Motion is a way for filmmakers to do that in a visual way. Finally, it can also be a very helpful tool to convey a person's inner thoughts. Blessed. Branches be scramble, pinch of salt. And of course, it just looks really good cinematically, examples being concerts or sports. But when using it for storytelling purposes, use it selectively and for the right reasons. Because the more you use it, the less impact it has each time. 10. Hard & Soft Light: When deciding how to light a scene, there's two spectrums of light that we're working with them. We have our hard light and are soft light. And essentially what this is is the manipulation of shadows. First, let's take a look at hard lighting. Hard lighting creates harsh shadows with distinct lines, and usually with great contrast. It creates a sense of opposition, difficulty, and tension. It's often used for villains and it is a staple in the film noir genre. It creates a sense of power. It can intensify a scene. And it can also put focus on a specific character or object. On the other end of the spectrum, we have soft lighting. It is best used to communicate a feeling of happiness and calmness. It's often used for romantic scenes and happy endings. For this music video, we wanted to go to the extreme ends of hard and soft light to demonstrate the inner conflict and desire of the songs message. To create the Hard Light, we blacked out a garage and used a single spotlight above for the artist to move in and out of. Notice how this creates solid lines between light and shadow. And at certain angles, parts of him completely disappear into the darkness. This helps exaggerate the anxiety and the pressure he's feeling. Here. The shadow from his chin makes it so we can't even see as neck. To juxtapose his scenes. We filmed the female outside using sunlight. And if there were any hard shadows cast, honor, we soften those by using reflectors. Notice how any shadows on her are very light and they're not hiding her features. This complements her relaxed and happy attitude while strolling along the beach in a dream-like fashion. To match the extreme hard light that were used on him. We decided to blow out some of the soft LET scenes on her. And to blend the two extremes, we use light leaks as a way to transition between the two. 11. Brightness: The second choice we have is how bright or dark to make our scenes. Now this can be affected by a number of things such as the time of day you're shooting, whether it be at night, middle of the day or magic hour. And it can also be affected by whether you are shooting indoors or outdoors. But for this lesson, we're just going to concentrate on how the level of brightness can affect the mood and the feel of our films. When everything is well lit, it allows us to see everything, which in turn gives clarity and understanding to what is happening. Hence the saying, clear as day. And when we haven't understanding of what's happening, it naturally gives us a sense of calmness. This in turn, can also provide the audience with a sense of safety. Brighter lading. It also feels more positive and uplifting, which is why most comedies for the majority of a film or well-lit. When we choose to let our films darker, naturally it has the opposite effect. Darker lighting can indicate drama or danger. And because we cannot see in the dark, it also represents the unknown. Hence the saying, left in the dark. For humans, the unknown can be unsettling because we no longer feel that we have control of the situation. The best examples are horror films. When you're watching a horror movie, notice how the scary moments will be at night or in dark places causing us to become tense. More alert. Maybe for some of us, even our heart rate increases. But then notice when the scary part is over, there's a quick transition to daytime or somewhere brightly lit. Suddenly, we feel a sense of relief. And as the audience, we're given a short break from the tension before the director dives right back in and takes us who that roller coaster all over again. In the opening scene of this short film, we shot at night to create that sense of danger. But we were still able to play light and dark against each other by making all of the female shots brighter to show her innocence, enter goodness. Whereas the bad character, we kept tee shots darker. And most importantly, we kept his face in the shadows to make them seem more dangerous. And by contrast in the light and dark of the characters, that helps create more tension as they get closer and closer until they eventually cross paths. Light versus dark is something we've been familiar with on a subconscious level since we were children. We're all very familiar with good versus evil. And we've probably heard the saying, the difference is night and day. When it comes to filmmaking, playing with these two opposites can be a lot of fun and extremely powerful. 12. Black & White: So black and white is very similar to light and dark. But it does have one very important difference. And that is that when using black and white, depending how we use it, it can play on both sides of our emotions. Black is often associated with evil and death. Think of funerals and witches, for example. And is why black and dark images are always so prevalent in horror films. Think of the associations we've given it over time. There's Black Tuesday, the Black Death plague, black cats. But it also represents power, sexiness, and mystery. Consider black belt in karate, fancy black tie parties, or the mysterious black market. Not surprising. White has many of the opposite meanings of black, such as innocent piece and new beginnings. It's associated with angels, doves, and weddings. But it can also be perceived as empty, cold, sterile. Think of hospitals, winter. And for writers out there that always daunting a blank white page. When using just black and white. It has the unique quality of feeling old. And that's because of our association with photography before color film was invented. So now that we've looked at black and white and how that can play on our emotions. In the next lessons, we're going to do the same with the other colors. I'll see you there. 13. Hue & Saturation: Color is so prevalent in our everyday lives and everything we do. It's very easy to overlook or underestimate the impact it has on US. Studies have shown that the color of a room can affect the way we feel. The color of our close affect the way other people feel toward us. It can even change the way we interpret the taste of food. If you've ever heard the saying, feeling blue or green with envy. That's because all colors have an effect emotionally honest. And it's no different when watching a film. There are two components that go into color. First is the hue, which is the actual color. And second is saturation, which is how vibrant or pale the color is. The less saturated the colors, the more faded they look. And this gives the impression of weariness, being worn out or being old. And it's often used for flashbacks or ways to remind us of time before we used color photography. If the colors are highly saturated, it takes us to places of imagination and liveliness. Color can first be divided into two areas on the color wheel. Warm and cold. Warm colors being red, orange, and yellow. The cold colors are blue, purple, and green. Warm colors are known to be stimulating and just a small amount can create an energy. But if we see too much of warm colors, they can actually tend to feel a bit irritating and overwhelming. On the other side of the wheel. The cool colors are known to ease stress, which is why they're more popular for creating a calm and relaxing environment within the home. Think of the ocean or the forest. In this short film, we chose to use mostly cool colors and then desaturate them in order to give the film a gritty and bleak atmosphere. For this short documentary, it was the opposite. We were going for more optimistic tone. And so we tried to film in places with warmer colors. And at times we boosted the saturation in order to give that footage more pop and feel more happy and positive. But colors are designated as one meaning or one emotion. So in the following lessons, let's look at each color in more detail. 14. Red: Let's start with red. And that's because it's the most intensive all colors. So it's no surprise that it also brings up the strongest emotions in US. Red represents Love, Power, and sexiness. But it can also represent bash, fullness, anger, and danger. It is one of the 3-prime colors of RGB. So make sense that it's one of the most versatile. In this scene, Read helps intensify the anger that the characters are feeling. In this music video, we gave it a cabaret theme and kept the color palette to red and black to emphasize the sexiness of the bartender and her power over the guys in the band. Not only do we dressed her in red and black, but we contrasted that by having the guys wear white to further show their innocence in comparison to her. 15. Blue: Blue is the third of the 3-prime colors, and arguably it is the second strongest color next to read. This may also explain why we always see blue and red being used by political parties in different countries. Blue is viewed as trustworthy, bald, and it offers a sense of calmness and stability. It's no wonder it's the most popular color men wear on our first date. Although I'm sure the choices still subconscious. We're a blue skies invoked peace and happiness. Dark blue can feel sad and represent depression. And since it's on the cold side of the color wheel, when used in certain ways, it can also feel cold and isolating. The theme behind this music video was for the artist to be plugged into technology and oblivious to the world around him to help achieve that. Whenever we showed him alone, we gave the footage of blue tint to make it feel cold and like he's isolated from the rest of the world. And when we show other people, that footage has a warmer, more amber tone in order to further separate him from that world. The expected value. 16. Green: Green is the second color of RGB, and it falls on the cool side of the color wheel. It represents things such as growth, lock, fertility, and more recently, technology. On the other hand, it can also indicate greed, envy, and sickness. When green is seen in nature, it feels healthy, but at hospitals, it conveys a feeling of sickness. This short film I edited had a very uncomfortable plot in subject matter. The director wanted a sick feeling. So when it came to coloring the film, we gave certain scenes a pale desaturated green in order to achieve that. In this opening scene, green exemplifies nature and health. Then at the end of the film, it can be seen to represent new beginnings and growth. The movies Fight Club and the matrix. Other great examples of how the color green can be used in filmmaking. 17. Yellow: It's often viewed as warm, cheerful, and energetic words you could very easily used to describe the sun. Intellect is another characteristic that is associated with yellow, as well as ideas. And in some very rare scenarios, it can represent cowardice and with a bit of manipulation like desaturation, and maybe during it up a bit. It's similar to green in the sense that it can also feel sickly. The film zodiac also uses yellow as one of the main colors, but not in the bright and cheerful way. The story is about a serial killer and takes place in the late sixties and early seventies. By using faded and dirty tones of yellow, it helps give the film and older look and a slightly sick feeling to match the time period and the subject matter. An interesting contrast is that the protagonist, played by Jake John Hall, is mostly accompanied by the color blue. In this office scene, he surrounded by yellow and brown and he stands out by wearing bright blue. And even in this bar scene, he's drinking a bright blue cocktail. These are by no means accidents. They're subtle ways directors and production designers affect the way the audience feels and how they connect things when watching films. In this short documentary, the abundance of yellow plays to its strengths and helps create a happy and uplifting field for the film. Yellow was also used to get people's attention. And that's why it's used on lots of road signs that warn of caution. So if you ever want to really get someone's attention or make something stand out, consider making it yellow, especially within a darker setting. 18. Purple: Although purple is a popular color, it's not one we see a lot of in our everyday lives to when we do see it, it really stands out. And it's scarcity goes back centuries, a long time ago. It was such an expensive and difficult process to produce the color that only the wealthiest could afford it. That's why today, we still associate the purple color with wealth, power, and luxury. It is also not seen in nature as much as the other colors, and therefore, it is seen as exotic and sensual. Purple is a combination of red and blue. So it's not surprising that it shares some of the same characteristics, such as boldness and power. Willy Wonka is a film filled of bright colors. But oddly enough, throughout the majority of the film, the only sign of purple is his jacket, which definitely makes him stand out in this exotic candy world that he's created. The only other time purple is seen in abundance, is this seen here where the rich girl is the focus? Maybe it's a coincidence. But I doubt such a significant scene was designed this way by accident. 19. Orange: Much like yellow, orange is used to grab people's attention. And it's also seen as the most energetic of the colors. It's found to be very stimulating, which is why it associated with things like creativity and enthusiasm, as well as joy and even fairness. But as mentioned earlier, too much of a warm color like orange, can turn from stimulating, too distracting and in some circumstances, even irritating. In the movie, a Clockwork Orange. It's no surprise that we see orange quite often, even though it appears cheerful because of the films troubling subject matter, the use of orange often feels more cautionary, irritating. On the other hand, in this music video, we used orange to complement the energetic field of the song and the video. 20. Location: Choosing the right location is an important first step to making sure that your film or the scenes within the film have the rakefile. And if you choose the ArrayLocation, everything afterward, it a little bit easier. Not to mention cheaper, especially when it comes to set decoration. So what do you feel when you see abandoned houses and back alleys? Personally, I get the impression of danger. Meanwhile, sitting at home on the couch feels very safe. Classrooms are boring, while playgrounds are fun. Prisons are orderly and contents are chaotic. Bedrooms or personal offices or formal. Beaches and forests are peaceful and slow. Meanwhile, cities feel busy and rushed. If our story's supposed to have a sense of freedom and adventure, then it doesn't really make much sense to be filming indoors or in tiny rooms. We wanna film outdoors so we can see the whole world. Now, if we're filming a prisoner escape movie, then filming indoors and in tiny spaces is what we want to do because we want that feeling of being trapped and claustrophobia. For this short film, we wanted it to have a dirty and uncomfortable and slightly dangerous feel. So for the locations to fit that, we chose empty parking lots, back alleys with graffiti and other neglected corners of the city. Even the car was a kind of location. So we chosen all beat up car with stains and dense and scratches. And for this music video, we wanted it to have a busy energy to it. So to get that, we shot on busy streets and intersections of the city during the evening when we knew there'd be lots of traffic and people around. If you don't get the right location, then maybe you have to alter the project around it so it fits. Or maybe you find a location that you absolutely love and you build a concept around that location. For this music video, we brainstormed many ideas. And in the end we decided the band should be playing to the crowd. And that the band members should all be trying to impress a girl. When we found a venue that would let us film, it turned out to be a cabaret style bar and it looked amazing. So instead of trying to change it and make it look more rock and roll, we adapted our idea to fit the bar and take advantage of it already. Brilliant look. Essentially it was free production design. To adapt to the location. We changed everyone's outfits and instead of the girl being a fan, we made her the bartender. And we also change the color and lighting design from black and white to mostly red, but with black and white accents. In the end, the location gave a video of much more unique look and an atmosphere that fit the song much better in our original idea. Quite often, what will happen is you'll get a good location, but it's not quite perfect. And that's when set decoration comes in. And that's what we're going to look at in the next lesson. 21. Set Decoration: This sets within our films should be decorated with just as much care and detail as every other creative aspect in film. Making a great set not only makes your film more believable, but if done well, can also act as a silent kind of character. Now, even though green screen and CGI is becoming more and more popular and more and more advanced. Some of the best filmmakers still prefer the build their sets and have them in real life. Because it offers a sense of authenticity that CGI still can't quite match with. How are set to decorate. It can quickly tell the audience the time period. If the story is taking place in a city or out in the country on farmland. It also tells a lot about the character or the rich or poor. They a student or a professional. Are they organized or are they sloppy? Or record collection will show that there are music lover, fancy electronics and cars, Michelle wealth and sports memorabilia. Well, they're obviously a sports fan. Now let's imagine we're shooting an interview in a study with a nice big oak desk and hundreds of books. Will this space could very easily work for a professor or a writer. But depending on who that character or who that person is, will change the way that we dress that set. If it's for a professor, we can imagine the room would be neatly organized. The desk would be mostly clear except for a stack of paper, maybe a lamp and perhaps a book or two. But the writer will, they would probably have a loose pages and notes strewn all around. Multiple coffee cups or half-eaten sandwich and a dozen books laying open. If the sets are crowded, it can give a claustrophobic feel or perhaps a coziness, whereas an empty space can feel orderly. But also isolated. Identified my friend. So really you like to say a good exercise is to look around your bedroom or your house. See what it says about who you are as a person. Your collections, your decorations, your pictures, your furniture. That same exercise can be done when you're decorating a set. Because everything in that set says something about the character, the place, and the time. And all three of those can go into creating the rate feel an atmosphere for your films. 22. Sound Introduction: So far in this course, we have focused all on visuals, which makes sense because it's the easiest thing that we can identify with. When we watch a movie and tell somebody about it, we tell them about what we saw in what happened in the film, which is all visual. But we often overlook the audio. And the audio is the real puppet master that's controlling our emotions. Try watching a movie that has no music. And then see how quickly you get bored or disengaged from the film. That's why as filmmakers, we cannot overlook this and we need to get it just as much attention as we do. The visuals. 23. Setting The Mood: At the beginning of a film, music can set the mood within seconds, and it's much easier to do it with music and visuals. So what kind of information are we given with these two clips? Well, in the first one, all we really know is that we're underwater. And in the second one there's some sort of beans that are being processed. Really. We have no idea what kind of movie we're about to watch. We already know the mode of the film. In the first example, it's daunting, an ominous, and in the second example, it's cheerful and exciting. Music has always been used to express good versus evil, or happy and sad, or sets the pace whether it's fast or slow. Those are just a few examples of the different kinds of emotions and atmospheres that music can help create for your film. So whatever tone you want your film to have, you need to find the music that fits that, that will help engage the audience. 24. The Kuleshov Effect: To further prove how music can affect and even completely change a scene. We first need to refer to the coolish artifact level. Coolish law was our Russian filmmaker. And 19-21, he set up an experiment where he filmed a man with a neutral expression. He then edited that same shot alongside of girl in a coffin, a bowl of soup, and a woman on a couch. When these edits were shown to an audience, the audience applauded his acting skills, thinking, he did a great job of showing different emotions, Sadness, hunger, and lust. What the audience didn't know was that it was the same shot in every edit. The experiment proved that a single shot actually tells us very little. But when two shots are put together, that's the key to creating emotion. Or these tears of joy or sadness. Well, it depends. If they're at a wedding, it's joy. If they're at a funeral and it's sadness. But by simply looking at a person crying, we don't know which it is. It's not until we see their surroundings or a second shot that we understand the meaning of their tears. We can apply the coolish artifact to music as well by adding different music to the same shot or the same scene. Another powerful technique that you can use is to juxtapose the music with the scene. For example, having cheerful music during a fight, same. And what this does is create an uneasy feeling for the audience because you're making them feel to opposite emotions. The point I'm stressing is that you can never underestimate how important your musical choices are. The right music choice can take your film to the next level. And the wrong choice can take your audience in the completely wrong direction. 25. Is the Music Inside or Outside?: This is an interesting concept that we've all seen the movies, but not necessarily took notice of. It, took me years to be aware of it and to understand the significance of it. Essentially, if music is inside of the film, that means that the characters can hear it and in turn, they can interact with it. When music is outside of the film, such as a score. That means that only the audiences able to hear it. Essentially the score is for the audience and music inside of the film is for the audience and the character. And if done correctly, a great technique is to transition from one to the other. So when adding music to your film, don't just choose any random song and throw it in there with the video and think that that's good enough. You need to consider, how do you want that music to be included in the film? And more importantly, you want to think about how will that music affects the characters and your audience. 26. Build Anticipation & Give Cues: The combination of sound and music is key for building anticipation and giving your audience clues. And just from that opening scene, the music and the sound effects already tell us that this film is going to be an exciting adrenaline rush. Another brilliant example is the movie Jaws. Every time we hear that score, the audience is put on edge feeling tension and fear in anticipation of the next shark attack. And in the next example, or the music has the opposite effect. Sudden stop to the music can also be used to heighten the suspense the audience fields. But in this particular example, with the cheerful singing along with the fading from dark to light. It signifies an end to the danger. The use of sound effects can also tell the audience what's happening off the screen. Think of a creaking floor. And the audience hears that they know that someone is either in the next room or walking on the floor above. And as those creeks get louder and louder, the audience knows that this person is getting closer and closer. When making visual decisions, as filmmakers were concentrating on what's on the screen. But when making creative decisions for music and sound, we need to expand our thinking to what's off the screen. As a film maker put yourself in that world. What kind of things would you here, what kind of things would you feel? 27. Music or No Music?: It's always worth considering whether or not a scene actually need music. As we've seen, music can help the audience understand the tone and the atmosphere of the film. But then there are scenes where we don't need the music because it can be distracting. So just conversation seems that's when we want the audience to be paying attention to the dialogue. So they can understand the next steps in the plot and pick up important information for the institute. Scratch. So what I'm going to need from you is to look at these photos for me. We came and they need to know if any of these men fit the description of the menu side of the park. And then there are those scenes where music can work, but also having just sound effects can work to create the emotion we want for the audience. The best examples of this are an action scenes. So if you find that a scene works well with music or with just down defects, or maybe a combination of both. Then it's a creative choice that you as a filmmaker have to decide. What do you want the audience to feel and how do you want them to experience that? 28. The Power of Silence: Never underestimate the power of silence. Too often, new filmmakers always feel the need to have dialogue or music or some type of audio. But when used properly, silent is one of the most powerful tools we have at our disposal. Depending on the context, it can convey disorientation or extreme focus and a character and highlight important moments. Silence between characters can create tension and heightened emotion. Where are you taking me? And cutting it with loud scenes or music can also help emphasize the silence and the importance. You see silage is a great way to grab the audience's attention. Because what you've done as a filmmaker is take away one of the two main senses that the audience uses with watching a film. Therefore, you've now forced them to focus and pay attention to all the visual details in order to try and piece together what's going on. Thank you for watching. I will see everyone in the next lesson. 29. Conclusion: Congratulations everyone. You have reached the end of the course. And as you can see, there is so much more that goes into filmmaking other than just setting up some equipment, calling action and doing a bit of editing. I hope you'll take the concepts you learned in this course and use them to better engage your audience. Remember, take the time to properly plan your films and use these concepts to bring your films to the next level. Once again, thank you very much for taking the course and happy filmmaking.