节目资讯
刊物:空中英语教室
日期:2012-11-27
难易度:Medium
关键字:attach, zoom, unique, helicopter, remote-controlled
I hope you all had a great break.
Welcome back.
There are all kinds of things you can buy to help you create better movies on
your smartphone.
For example, there are APPs that help you to manipulate the camera.
There are lens attachments.
And there are devices to help keep your smartphone steady while you hold it.
OK. One huge advantage of filming with a smartphone is its tiny size.
Let's learn more as we finish up the lesson with: How'd they do that?
Smartphone Moviemakers.
How'd they do that?
The directors of these films used their smartphones to take shots from unique
angles.
In Apple of My Eye, Koerbel attached an iPhone to a model train car to get shots
from "track level." And in Goldilocks,
he sealed an iPhone in a plastic sandwich bag.
Then he placed it inside a glass to get a shot of wine being poured.
In Olive, Khalili attached his Nokia N8 to a remote-controlled helicopter to get
shots of a moving car from above.
Making smartphone movies isn't limited to professionals.
So after sending that next text, why not start shooting your own movie!
So friends, we're looking at making a full-length film or even just a short film
on your smartphone.
But no matter how long or short it is, it's of a professional quality.
That's right.
So you might see the quality of these films that are made on smartphones and you
might think: How did they do that?
How'd they do that?
"How'd" there, that word is a shortened version of "how did" they.
So how did they do that, Ryan?
Yeah. And so we'd like to share with you some of the secrets of smartphone
filming... filmmakers.
OK.
Well, the directors of these films used their smartphones to take shots from
unique angles.
Now this is very important.
You've seen this in the short film that Kaylah and I made too.
If you have a phone that is very small and light, then it's good to get those
shots from very unique angles.
Now "unique" means it's existing only as... as a certain type.
It's unusual, it's special, it's individual.
Maybe it's the only one, unique.
So a unique angle would then be not something that's just a straight-on shot,
but maybe something a little different.
Maybe you've never seen it before.
Exactly. And "angle with cameras" is the direction that the camera is pointing.
So if you have a unique angle, that means like Kaylah said, it's not just
straight.
Maybe it's from a different perspective, a different place than you might think.
That's right.
And the film we talked about called Apple of My Eye, Koerbel attached an iPhone
to a model train car to get shots from track level.
OK. Now you see this here, he puts the phone in the little train car, and it's a
small phone, so it makes it look like you are actually riding that toy train.
And it says on "track level" in quotations here.
Now track - a track is what a train is on.
Those lines that the train wheels are connected to that pull it along, that's
the track.
So a track level would be the angle that the track would see from.
So if you were laying on a track and looked up, that would be track level.
That's what this camera can do because it is so small.
Yeah, exactly.
It's a very unique shot.
It's a very special shot to be able to get it on that track.
That's right.
So they were special and unique in this way.
Now in their next film, Goldilocks, he sealed an iPhone in a plastic sandwich
bag.
OK, but it's not just that it's in a plastic bag, Kaylah.
So first, let's see here, what is a plastic sandwich bag?
Well, a plastic sandwich bag is that relatively small bag that if you made a
sandwich and put the entire piece of bread into it, it just fits perfectly.
And then there's two lines at the top that you squeeze together, and that
creates a seal so that you can... nothing can get in or out.
You can turn the bag upside down and the sandwich would stay.
That's a sandwich bag.
Exactly. And it's important that he sealed it, that he made sure there's no air
or water that could get through.
Because once the camera was in that sandwich bag, he placed it inside a glass to
get a shot of wine being poured in.
That is so cool.
It's probably not an angle you would see usually as if you were sitting in the
bottom of a cup or a glass and you are looking up, and wine is being poured
into.
The liquid is being put into the glass.
That is to pour a liquid.
So this is how people are able to be more creative using smartphones than
professional video cameras.
That's right. They go into strange places, which give you unique angles.
Now in the movie Olive by Khalili, he attached his Nokia N8 to a
remote-controlled helicopter to get shots of a moving car from above.
OK. Now let's take a look first at that phrase: remote-controlled.
The word "control," we know, that means to have power over something.
Something that is "remote," though, means that it happens from far away, from a
different place.
So something that is "remote-controlled" is something that you control from far
away.
That's right.
If you have a remote-controlled car, maybe the car is on the floor, and you're
standing holding a controller,
and you move the car around with your hands as the car runs around.
Exactly. Or our TVs have a remote control.
You push a button on what's called the remote, and then your TV changes
channels.
Now they did all of this from a remote-controlled helicopter.
Now a "helicopter" is a machine that flies.
But unlike an airplane, this helicopter does not have wings.
Exactly. A helicopter flies, but it has what is called a rotor.
That means it's something on top of the helicopter that spins; and that is what
keeps it in the air.
That's right. It has two large sets of blades on the top that spin to create the
air movement to pull it up into the sky.
Exactly. And they did this, or he did this in order to get shots of a car that
was moving from above.
So it's definitely a fun and interesting way to make movies.
Now making smartphone movies isn't limited to professionals.
OK. Professionals usually make very professional movies, but it's not only they
that can make these films.
So after sending that next text, why don't you start trying to shoot your own
movie!
That's right.
It's not "limited to," that means it's not... they're not the only ones allowed
to do it.
So why don't you try it.
Why don't you put down the texting and try to shoot your own film!
Friends, it's easy, it's really not that difficult, and it's very high quality.
We'd encourage you to try it for yourself.
Now, though, let's go to the Chat Room.
Hey, that was a great apple-picking contest, wasn't it?
It sure was.
And I'm glad we won.
But I heard someone on the losing team say that they didn't really care about
the award anyway.
But I think that's an example of sour grapes.
Sour grapes?
I thought we were talking about apples!
It's an expression, Ken.
If you see some grapes hanging high up on a vine, and you can't reach them, and
you give up and say to yourself:
Those grapes are probably sour anyway.
Even though they may, in fact, be sweet!
Right.
Then you have a sour grapes attitude.
So "sour grapes" is acting like you don't like something when, in fact, you like
it but you can't have it.
It's a type of rationalization.
I see.
Are there any other idioms that use a fruit?
Sure.
I know you have a son, Ken.
He must be the apple of your eye.
My son is the apple of my eye?
That's right.
That just means that he's someone you adore or love.
Oh, that's a good one to learn.
And I have one more fruit idiom for you.
If you work hard, Ken, you're going to enjoy the fruits of your labor one day.
The fruits of my labor?
That's right.
The fruits of one's labor are the results of a person's hard work.
When someone retires, he or she can finally enjoy the fruits of their labor.
Well, thanks for the lesson, Bryan.
Life in the library is just a bowl of cherries.
Good one, Ken.
(Chinese).
(Music).
Hi, everyone. I'm Michelle.
(Chinese).
And I guess that's all the time we have for today.
Keep up the good work.
Bye-bye.
Smartphones do a good job of shooting and editing high-definition video, but
they won't replace professional video cameras anytime soon.
The spy thriller Goldilocks and the full-length film Olive are two good examples
of professionally made smartphone movies.
You may want to check them out on YouTube.
Incidentally, the scene in Goldilocks where the wine was being poured into a
wine glass cost the price of a plastic bag.
It was very cheap.
It's been said to shoot that same scene with traditional camera equipment would
have cost thousands of dollars.
Well, friends, we'll wrap it up here.
Have a great day, and then join us tomorrow for a PROFILE on superhero Chris
Hemsworth.
Take care.