The first portion of cinematic technique I noticed is motion contrast. Near the beginning, we follow Michael Sullivan as he rides his bike. Everyone else, is walking the other way.
After that, in the shop, He steals some tobacco as the shop keeper is preoccupied. The focus shifts quickly, and subtly, then back. It isn't known at this point what he stole. I suppose the expectation is some sort of candy. It is only after, we have two pieces fall into place; the stolen item, and a pipe. It breaks our common expectation of children.
The cinematography is used to reveal and develop the characters. Revealing things, such as, the fact Michael Jr. smokes, and hides it from his father. We learn what Michael Sr. Carries: A gun, and a rosary most notably. And then we learn about the "heavy artillery" Michael Sr. brings to "just talking."
As the movie progresses, the tone gets warmer. In the beginning, it is cold: snow and rain. Even at the funeral, the lighting tends to be colder. The beginning of the movie is also a lot darker, representing how "in the dark" the main characters of the story are.
As Michael jr. Starts to get to know his father more, the overall tone gets warmer. It gets cold and dark when appropriate: finishing business.
An interesting point of contrast: near the end, when Michael Sr. is gunned down, we expect it. We haven't forgotten that "Mr. McGuire" was headed to Perdition. Yet, everything suggests happy: The room is white, brightly lit. Even though I expected the shot, it still managed to make me jump. And the 2nd shot, also made me jump. Yet, nothing suggests that this is "wrong" - that this is a bad thing. When the scene resolves itself, it is almost surreal: 2 dead bodies and a crying child, in a featureless room.
Through out the movie, an effort was made, to have the camera moving at all times. Simple pans could work, however, they would have been boring. At the funeral, the camera moves around the table, when John Rooney and his body guards get killed, the camera moves and circles around John, as one by one, his body guards fall. The entire montage of bank robberies, the camera moves to the right the entire time. Never breaking the direction or flow. The same speed the entire time.
Even a shot where we met McGuire, the shots are fairly static, but they cut from close, to wide, as a train passes right by the window outside; perceived movement, the actors don't really move, still movement within the scene.
The movie also utilizes reflections a lot. First time I picked up on, is after Conner murdered the Sullivan's, and takes off his mask. Michael Jr. Is frightened he has been seen. But Conner is checking his reflection in the door. And then the transition from the journey to Chicago, to Chicago. Reflections, of the city on the cars windows, as the camera moves around the car.
Near the end, before Michael Sr. is shot, we see his son waving to him, in the reflection of the window.
Shadows are cast, and light patterns are created, often high lighting eyes, or something specific, within a shot, such as a bullet in a drum magazine.
This film as very well done cinematography. The cinematography tells the story just as much (if not more) than the dialog, for example, when we see Michael Jr. doing his math homework: getting nothing done.
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Man With A Movie Camera - Dziga Vertov
This film is entirely silent, and it explains itself, for the most part, with its title.
It is a film, about itself, in a lot of ways. We start with a theater and the setting up of the film for playing. Immediately we see some really interesting shots. Rows of seats, creating a pattern, then all the seats folding down at the same time. Then the crowd files in and the movie "starts."
It is the beginning of the day: People are sleeping, and the city is quiet. Factories lay silently in wait, traffic signals with no operators. We see a man with a camera, getting into a car: The first awake people we've seen. As they drive away, we see more people awake.
One shot shows a man doing something on railroad tracks. We can see a train coming. The following shots imply the guy is hit by the train. Inter-cut with a woman tossing and turning: it's a dream. We see the camera man getting his gear, and going back to the car.
We see the woman getting dressed, people waking up, people cleaning, preparing for their day and early morning traffic.
There is a sequence showing the camera in operation, intercut with window shudders flickering, and a woman blinking fast: Shutter speed.
Continuing on, the work day has started. Trains, Trolleys, miners and traffic officers, and people walking. Factories starting up, machinery moving, then stores opening. We have a sequence of a high frame rate. The type of camera used, I imagine the camera-man cranking like mad.
There are a few sequences with the film cut in half down the middle. The footage for both sides is shot at an angle; right side titled to the right, left to the left.
Since the movie, is about itself, we see a woman editing the footage. Film footage of a single frames, then a few single frames, then showing the strip of film it is from.
At this point, the film starts doing some interesting things: It starts juxtaposing opposites: Wedding Registration, and a couple filling out the paper work. The camera is shown moving. Suddenly, it whips around, and we are viewing Divorce Registration, and a couple filling out the paper work.
Interesting thing I noticed, the woman was hiding her face; a reminder it is a documentary, of sorts. A Funeral, and then a woman giving birth: Life and Death, inter-cut with a marriage.
At one point they show a woman getting a haircut, and a woman working. It seems to represent working class vs upper class in some aspect. Then there was cleaning: a woman cleaning laundry juxaposed with someone having their hair washed.
We start to see some more transportation shots: We see a car speeding and people dodging out of the way. It turns into another shot that is cut in half. However, these two shots, are matched better. Only when the trains look like they collide, do we understand what was done. Then it gets interesting. We have another shot that was similar, except this one is tilted at a dutch angle. Then the shots start spinning and inter-cutting with an eye.
There are also shots with an eye superimposed over a shot of the camera lens. A very straightforward say of saying, "The camera is an eye"
Towards the end there seems to be a lot of fast cutting, and interesting shots where the camera "locks down" on a piece of equipment and follows it, the camera moving and keeping a piece of it in the same portion of the frame.
And then the equipment turns off. All the machinery we saw turn on near the beginning, stops. The last scene is of a beach: recreational, enjoyment after a day of work.
One a side note, Since the film was silent, I knew I was going to have some trouble staying focused. I played the Requiem For A Dream soundtrack in parallel (right after the opening titles) and was amazed to find, how well it fit. It wasn't Pink Floyd's dark side of the moon and The Wizard of Oz, but it was still extremely interesting.
It is a film, about itself, in a lot of ways. We start with a theater and the setting up of the film for playing. Immediately we see some really interesting shots. Rows of seats, creating a pattern, then all the seats folding down at the same time. Then the crowd files in and the movie "starts."
It is the beginning of the day: People are sleeping, and the city is quiet. Factories lay silently in wait, traffic signals with no operators. We see a man with a camera, getting into a car: The first awake people we've seen. As they drive away, we see more people awake.
One shot shows a man doing something on railroad tracks. We can see a train coming. The following shots imply the guy is hit by the train. Inter-cut with a woman tossing and turning: it's a dream. We see the camera man getting his gear, and going back to the car.
We see the woman getting dressed, people waking up, people cleaning, preparing for their day and early morning traffic.
There is a sequence showing the camera in operation, intercut with window shudders flickering, and a woman blinking fast: Shutter speed.
Continuing on, the work day has started. Trains, Trolleys, miners and traffic officers, and people walking. Factories starting up, machinery moving, then stores opening. We have a sequence of a high frame rate. The type of camera used, I imagine the camera-man cranking like mad.
There are a few sequences with the film cut in half down the middle. The footage for both sides is shot at an angle; right side titled to the right, left to the left.
Since the movie, is about itself, we see a woman editing the footage. Film footage of a single frames, then a few single frames, then showing the strip of film it is from.
At this point, the film starts doing some interesting things: It starts juxtaposing opposites: Wedding Registration, and a couple filling out the paper work. The camera is shown moving. Suddenly, it whips around, and we are viewing Divorce Registration, and a couple filling out the paper work.
Interesting thing I noticed, the woman was hiding her face; a reminder it is a documentary, of sorts. A Funeral, and then a woman giving birth: Life and Death, inter-cut with a marriage.
At one point they show a woman getting a haircut, and a woman working. It seems to represent working class vs upper class in some aspect. Then there was cleaning: a woman cleaning laundry juxaposed with someone having their hair washed.
We start to see some more transportation shots: We see a car speeding and people dodging out of the way. It turns into another shot that is cut in half. However, these two shots, are matched better. Only when the trains look like they collide, do we understand what was done. Then it gets interesting. We have another shot that was similar, except this one is tilted at a dutch angle. Then the shots start spinning and inter-cutting with an eye.
There are also shots with an eye superimposed over a shot of the camera lens. A very straightforward say of saying, "The camera is an eye"
Towards the end there seems to be a lot of fast cutting, and interesting shots where the camera "locks down" on a piece of equipment and follows it, the camera moving and keeping a piece of it in the same portion of the frame.
And then the equipment turns off. All the machinery we saw turn on near the beginning, stops. The last scene is of a beach: recreational, enjoyment after a day of work.
One a side note, Since the film was silent, I knew I was going to have some trouble staying focused. I played the Requiem For A Dream soundtrack in parallel (right after the opening titles) and was amazed to find, how well it fit. It wasn't Pink Floyd's dark side of the moon and The Wizard of Oz, but it was still extremely interesting.
Saturday, February 18, 2012
Blade Runner: Cinematography
Blade Runner has excellent cinematography and lighting. The lighting with the characters matches the mood each character is feeling.
The first scene we see with people, we see the silhouette of a strange man, smoking, a ceiling fan, and blue light spilling into the smokey room. The next time we cut to this scene, as we get closer to the building, we learn more: A table, 2 chairs, and mysterious objects sitting there. We cut back again, to find this is an office of sorts. We get to see the man for the first time, and we see his "subject," Leon. When Leon sits down, he is outlined with light, and the majority of his form is in a shadow - Perhaps a symbolic representation of a facade hiding what one truly is. - The entire scenes lighting suggests cold and impersonal tone; strictly business.
The next scene we see, we are introduced to Deckard. He is sitting outside of a building with a lot of neon and televisions: A representation of the high tech world. He crosses to the restaurant , which has sickly green neon lights. He crosses from a pretty "ideal" world, a world that glories in its technological advancement, into a harsh ugly "reality."
When Deckard is learning about the details of the replicants, the lighting resumes the extremely cold and impersonal tone, to a more extreme level: It is absolutely all business; no humanity to be found.
At the Tyrell Corporation's offices, we move from the cold, blue/grey setting into a golden one: Everything is beautiful, wonderful, as it should be, it is paradise. In this scene, towards the end when Tyrell and Decker are talking, when the camera is looking at Tyrell, there is light dancing around in the background; it looks like a water pattern of some sort. When we look at Deckard, his background is dark. It shows Tyrell's knowledge, a certain amount of enlightenment, while Deckard, is in the dark.
In Deckard's Apartment with Rachel the light spilling in from outside silhouettes Deckard. A light near him turns on as if motion activated, but it does little to nothing to illuminate Deckard: he is guarded; he is keeping things to himself. Later he reveals what he knows in a harsh, blunt way. The lighting is harsh, the shadows defined. Light streaming through the blinds. The lighting on Rachel is soft: the shadows of the blinds are diffused strongly.
Once Rachel leaves, and the kitchen light goes off, Deckard is alone again: All he knows is himself, and everything else is darkness.
Later when we return to Deckard's Apartment, we learn more about him as the camera moves across the appartment. The Lighting silhouettes certain objects, hiding some, revealing others. We stop on an old piece of the past: a Piano, sheet music, and photographs.
When he analyzes a photo he found, the lighting plays in subtly to the scene. As the machine zooms in and enhances, the scene is dark. Once it stops on what Deckard wanted to see closer, the lighting around the screen lights up. As he discovers more, we get closer and closer. Towards the end, we have an extreme close up on his eyes: a revelation of some sort.
Fairly comistantly we see lighting reflect the emotional tone. The only time it doesn't really seem to, is when Deckard is first taken to the police station and to the office of his old boss.
Blade Runner also has a wide variety of lighting textures. Blinds, glass, steel bars, smoke, railings, fans, and water, all create excellent shadows and light distortion.
The final scenes of the movie, the way they are lit and the way they are filmed, gives the sense of insanity, which builds the tension. The bright back light and background fills everything, as the final lines of Roy's monologue are delivered, a revelation, something that can not be escaped.
The first scene we see with people, we see the silhouette of a strange man, smoking, a ceiling fan, and blue light spilling into the smokey room. The next time we cut to this scene, as we get closer to the building, we learn more: A table, 2 chairs, and mysterious objects sitting there. We cut back again, to find this is an office of sorts. We get to see the man for the first time, and we see his "subject," Leon. When Leon sits down, he is outlined with light, and the majority of his form is in a shadow - Perhaps a symbolic representation of a facade hiding what one truly is. - The entire scenes lighting suggests cold and impersonal tone; strictly business.
The next scene we see, we are introduced to Deckard. He is sitting outside of a building with a lot of neon and televisions: A representation of the high tech world. He crosses to the restaurant , which has sickly green neon lights. He crosses from a pretty "ideal" world, a world that glories in its technological advancement, into a harsh ugly "reality."
When Deckard is learning about the details of the replicants, the lighting resumes the extremely cold and impersonal tone, to a more extreme level: It is absolutely all business; no humanity to be found.
At the Tyrell Corporation's offices, we move from the cold, blue/grey setting into a golden one: Everything is beautiful, wonderful, as it should be, it is paradise. In this scene, towards the end when Tyrell and Decker are talking, when the camera is looking at Tyrell, there is light dancing around in the background; it looks like a water pattern of some sort. When we look at Deckard, his background is dark. It shows Tyrell's knowledge, a certain amount of enlightenment, while Deckard, is in the dark.
In Deckard's Apartment with Rachel the light spilling in from outside silhouettes Deckard. A light near him turns on as if motion activated, but it does little to nothing to illuminate Deckard: he is guarded; he is keeping things to himself. Later he reveals what he knows in a harsh, blunt way. The lighting is harsh, the shadows defined. Light streaming through the blinds. The lighting on Rachel is soft: the shadows of the blinds are diffused strongly.
Once Rachel leaves, and the kitchen light goes off, Deckard is alone again: All he knows is himself, and everything else is darkness.
Later when we return to Deckard's Apartment, we learn more about him as the camera moves across the appartment. The Lighting silhouettes certain objects, hiding some, revealing others. We stop on an old piece of the past: a Piano, sheet music, and photographs.
When he analyzes a photo he found, the lighting plays in subtly to the scene. As the machine zooms in and enhances, the scene is dark. Once it stops on what Deckard wanted to see closer, the lighting around the screen lights up. As he discovers more, we get closer and closer. Towards the end, we have an extreme close up on his eyes: a revelation of some sort.
Fairly comistantly we see lighting reflect the emotional tone. The only time it doesn't really seem to, is when Deckard is first taken to the police station and to the office of his old boss.
Blade Runner also has a wide variety of lighting textures. Blinds, glass, steel bars, smoke, railings, fans, and water, all create excellent shadows and light distortion.
The final scenes of the movie, the way they are lit and the way they are filmed, gives the sense of insanity, which builds the tension. The bright back light and background fills everything, as the final lines of Roy's monologue are delivered, a revelation, something that can not be escaped.
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