Video Space

1
Video Space

• Media Concepts

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2
Video Images

• Video images are not behind the screen but on it,
  and that creates two fundamental differences from
  the real world.
• Video information is limited by the borders on
  the image (Aspect ratio Figure 3-1)
• The screen is flat, or nearly so, which means it
  has only two dimensions instead of three.
• Space and time work very differently in the
  special world on the screen.

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3
The Laws of Video Space

• What is outside the frame does not exist, unless
  that existence is implied.
• Height and breadth are determined solely by the
  frame, and depth is only an illusion.
• Size, position, distance, relationship, and
  movement are not fixed.
• Direction is determined solely by the frame.

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4
The Frame

• The frame is not just a passive border around the
  picture.
• The frame defines and controls what the viewer
  sees.
• Screen composition and movement are defined by
  reference to the frame around the image.

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5
The Frame Controls Content

• Video makers use the frame to alter reality in
  countless ways.
• Framing Off and Framing.
• Real world elements outside the frame do not
  exist in the video world.
• Elements that do not exist in the real world can
  exist in the video world if the video maker
  implies that they lie somewhere outside the frame.

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6
The Frame Determines Composition and Movement

• Composition is the organization of the elements
  of the picture.
• Movement refers to motion on the screen, and
  viewers perceive that motion by two sets of
  clues
• How rapidly the background changes in relation to
  the subject in the foreground.
• How quickly the subject moves in relation to the
  frame.

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7
Video Dimensions

• In the video world, the dimension height is not
  always vertical and breadth is not always
  horizontal. The dimension called depth doesnt
  exist.
• Height is the dimension parallel to the sides of
  the frame.
• Breadth is the dimension parallel to the top and
  bottom of the frame.

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8
The Illusion of Depth

• Real world objects actually shrink in size in the
  video world they really do shrink in size.
• Depth is a trick video makers can manipulate it.
• But must use a variety of compositional
  techniques to create the illusion.

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9
Spatial Relations

• Video makers routinely change the space in the
  screen world to fit the needs of the moment.
• Changes in size, position, and distance are all
  changes in scale.
• Relationships among Objects usually means putting
  things together in the screen world that are far
  apart in the real world.
• Screen-world relationships between unconnected
  places and people can be created by recording
  them separately and editing the different shots
  together.

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10
Direction of Movement

• Real world direction are fixed north, south,
  east, and west.
• Screen world compass directions are quite
  meaningless.
• Direction is perceived with reference to the
  borders of the screen.
• Conventional direction are generally observed by
  video makers (i.e. flying from Europe to America
  showing the plane moving left to right).

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