Adjusting the shutter angle affects the amount of time that film is exposed to light.

On motion picture cameras film is exposed as a pie-shaped mirror, called the shutter, rotates in front of the film gate. As the mirror spins it reflects the image into the ground glass so that it can be viewed by the camera operator part of the time. The other part of the time the mirror allows the light to pass on to the film. On simple cameras this shutter is fixed and usually semi-circular. On more advanced cameras the shape of the shutter can be adjusted. This shutter setting is referred to as the shutter angle. Image File history File links ShutterAngle. ... Image File history File links ShutterAngle. ... Categories: Stub | Video and movie technology | Cameras by type ... The film gate is the square opening in the front of a motion picture camera where the film is exposed to light. ... A sample ground glass showing the Academy 1. ... A Camera Operator uses a camera to capture moving images in events and scenes. ...

Adjusting the shutter angle controls the proportion of time that the film is exposed to light during each frame interval. The angle of the shutter forms a proportion to the time that each frame of film is exposed:

The primary reason that cinematographers adjust the shutter angle is to control the amount of motion blur that is recorded on each successive frame of film. A tight shutter angle will constrict motion blur. A wide shutter angle will allow it. A shutter angle is considered normal. This section needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ...

Tight shutters create a stuttered clay-mation look, this has become popular in action and war films. In particular tight shutters are used to capture particles flying through the air, such as dirt from an exploding mortar.
Soldier Firing the M224 60-mm Mortar. ...

Motion blur is affected by the exposure time as it is governed by the frame rate and shutter angle.

On most film cameras the shutter angle is changed by removing the lens and adjusting the shutter with a special tool. This cannot be done while the camera is operating. Some cameras such as the Arriflex 435ES can modify their shutter angle during the shot. This is sometimes referred to as an electronic shutter. An electronic shutter can, for one purpose, compensate for the exposure change caused by a speed ramp without changing the aperture and affecting depth of field. An illustration of the various exposure time schemes. ... An illustration of the various exposure time schemes. ... The Arriflex 435 is a movie camera product line created by Arri in 1995 to replace the Arri III line. ... Slow motion is an effect resulting from running film through a movie camera at faster-than-normal speed. ... An example of very shallow depth of field in a macro photograph. ...

Other types of shutter adjustment such as an out-of-phase shutter, and a fluttering shutter are also possible. Normally the film is held steady in the gate whenever it is exposed to light. Special shutter adjustments allow the film to be exposed while the camera mechanism is actually moving the film to the next frame. In the film Saving Private Ryan cinematographer Janusz Kaminski used such a shutter adjustment to give his film the look of World War II newsreel photography. Previously, this effect could only be achieved by purposefully mis-adjusting the timing belt of the film advance mechanism in the camera. However, several manufacturers now provide accessories to electronically control the phase relationship of the shutter and film advance mechanisms. One such device is the Timing Shift Box available for the above mentioned ARRI 435 series. Saving Private Ryan is a 1998 Academy Award winning film directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Robert Rodat. ... Janusz Zygmunt Kamiński (born June 27, 1959) is an Oscar winning cinematographer and film director who has photographed all of Steven Spielbergs movies since 1993s Schindlers List. ... Combatants Allies: Poland, British Commonwealth, France/Free France, Soviet Union, United States, China, and others Axis Powers: Germany, Italy, Japan, and others Casualties Military dead: 17 million Civilian dead: 33 million Total dead: 50 million Military dead: 8 million Civilian dead: 4 million Total dead: 12 million World War II...

See also

• Shutter (photography)
• Shutter speed