Film Shot Stats/Cinemetrics

[wurli]

Film Shot Stats/Cinemetrics

The data this week comes from Barry Salt's collection of film cinemetrics. These give information about the average shot length (ASL) of different films, along with many other metrics around camera movement and shot scale.

More information about the data can be found at Barry Salt's own website. Film enthusiasts may also appreciate the use of the data in The Nerdwriter's video on There Will Be Blood.

Credit: Jacob Scott

The data is taken from Barry Salt's website. Cleaning script:

library(dplyr)
library(purrr)
library(readxl)

# http://www.starword.com/Data_Method/Data_Tables/data_tables.html

camera_movement <- map(1:2, ~readxl::read_xls("CamMove.xls", sheet = .)) %>%
  map(rename_with, janitor::make_clean_names) %>%
  map(rename_with, ~"title", any_of("film")) %>%
  map(rename_with, ~"track_w_pan_tilt", any_of("tr_w_pan_tilt")) %>%
  map(rename_with, ~"zoom_w_pan_tilt", any_of("zoom_w_move")) %>%
  bind_rows() %>%
  mutate(across(where(is.double), tidyr::replace_na, 0)) %>%
  distinct()

shot_length <- read_xls("SaltASL5.XLS", sheet = 6, guess_max = 5000, range = cell_cols("A:J")) %>%
  rename_with(janitor::make_clean_names) %>%
  filter(!if_all(everything(), is.na)) %>%
  mutate(
    asl = as.numeric(stringr::str_replace(asl, ",", ".")),
    year = as.integer(year)
  ) 

shot_scale <- map(1:3, ~read_xls("SCALSTAT.XLS", sheet = ., col_types = "text")) %>%
  bind_rows() %>%
  rename_with(janitor::make_clean_names) %>%
  filter(bcu != "BCU") %>%
  mutate(
    year = as.integer(year),
    across(c(asl:vls, -country), as.double)
  ) %>%
  distinct()

[wurli]

Here is a data dictionary compiled from this page.

Camera Movement

variable	class	description
title	character	Film title
year	integer	Film year
director	character	Director name
pan	double	Number of panning shots (pans >= 10 degrees)
tilt	double	Number of tilt shots (tilt >= 10 degrees)
pan_w_tilt	double	Number of shots with pan and tilt
track	double	Number of tracking shots
track_w_pan_tilt	double	Number of tracking shots with pan and tilt
crane	double	Number of shots using a crane
zoom	double	Number of zoom shots
zoom w_pan_tilt	double	Number of zoom shots with pan and tilt
total	double	Total number of shots

Shot Length

variable	class	description
title	character	Film title
alternative_title	character	Alternative film title
year	integer	Film year
Director	character	Director name
asl	double	Average shot length
country	character	The name of the country that entirely financed the film if applicable
scope	character	Scope of the film: 's' means the intended projection aspect ratio of the film is 1:2.2 or 1:2.35 or wider; 't' means that it is a 'made for television' movie; 'v' means that it went straight to video; 'a' means that it is an animated film; 'd' means that it is a documentary.
cinematographer	character	Cinematographer name
editor	character	Editor name
studio	character	The single major studio to finance the film, if applicable

Shot Scale

variable	class	description
title	character	Film title
alternative_title	character	Alternative film title
year	integer	Film year
director	character	Director name
asl	double	Average shot length
ra	double	Number of reverse angle cuts, which are defined as changes of camera direction of more than 90 degrees
pov	double	Number of point of view shots, i.e. those taken from the position of one of the participants in the scene, or at any rate from a position on their line of sight
ins	double	Number of insert shots, i.e. shots of things which do not include an actor's face. Very distant shots of street scenes, in which no principal actors are included, are counted as insert shots
country	character	The name of the country that entirely financed the film if applicable
intertit	double	The number of intertitle shots, mainly used in silent films
bcu	double	Number of Big Close Up shots, i.e. those showing head only
cu	double	Number of Close Up shots, i.e. those showing head and shoulders
mcu	double	Number of Medium Close Up shots, i.e. those showing the body from the waist up
ms	double	Number of Medium Shots, i.e. those showing from just below the hip to above the head of upright actors
mls	double	Number of Medium Long Shots, i.e. those showing the body from the knee upwards
ls	double	Number of Long Shots, i.e. those showing at least the full height of the body
vls	double	Number of Very Long Shots, i.e. those showing the actor small in the frame