Media Literacy and Filming Tricks
Copyright © 2015 Cecily Tyler
All rights reserved
Media Literacy has many layers and nuances. The National Association for Media Literacy Education simply defines it as:
“the ability to access, analyze, evaluate, create, and act using all forms of communication. In its simplest terms, media literacy builds upon the foundation of traditional literacy and offers new forms of reading and writing. Media literacy empowers people to be critical thinkers and makers, effective communicators and active citizens.”
Using media involves many choices about selecting and delivering content; those choices influence how we receive that content. How we film affects how we receive information and understand it.
Framing
Framing is incredibly important, and can manipulate meaning subtly or completely, as the image below shows:
When filming, think carefully about the following questions:
How have you framed your image?
How have you framed your preconceived perspective?
Can you perceive any unintended bias?
Filming angles
Be mindful of your filming angles (keep them neutral, as low angles in an interview empower the subject, whereas high angles can disempower a subject) and your framing.
“Where we see people from has a big impact on how we view them. This is partly because many of us are used to looking down at children and up at adults, but also because of a natural intimidation we feel from things bigger than us – churches, giant ships, Godzilla, etc. Shooting a subject from a low angle makes them look powerful and intimidating, shooting a subject from a high angle makes them look small and weak. Looking at someone at eye level shows them as an equal. In “Return of the Jedi” when Luke meets the tiny Jedi master, Yoda, who is all of two feet tall, you'll notice that Luke is sitting on the ground when they meet, so that the shots are all done at eye level. In fact, Yoda, despite being small, is very consciously mostly filmed at eye level — because though he is small, as he says “Size matters not.”
Media literacy and messaging
The background matters. What is seen in the background of an interview tells us something about the subject. Changing the objects and context seen change the meaning we assign. Sailboats and maps, or golden records and images of famous musicians, would change how we see this subject. Our view of the subject would likely be negative if he were to be filmed in front of an old refrigerator and sink with dishes.
Tips for Shooting Infographics
For a downloadable PDF version of “Media Literacy and Filming Tips,” please click here.