Film (image) analysis
joshlau020125
BIS161ASP19_W4.pptxdesign: setting – elements that function to depict space, place, time
can take active role and not just serve as container for action
can be existing locale or studio construction
overall design shapes our understanding of action, characters
includes props, objects in the setting that function within the ongoing action
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design: lighting – illumination by which objects within frame are visible
but more than illumination; has signifying function
lightness/darkness used to create overall composition; guide our attention within the frame
can create textures
can shape objects by creating highlights and shadows
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design: costume, makeup, hairstyle – to construct characters
function to define, articulate characters
to express character situation, mood, or consciousness
costume
3 properties: color, texture, movement
can function as important motivating and causal element in narratives
makeup often strives for realism, invisibility
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design: figure movement/acting – physical performance of characters
includes gestures, expressions, actions
functions to express thoughts, feelings
can create kinetic patterns
can also function along spectrum from individualized (probablistic) stylized (more expressive than realistic)
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composition
organization, distribution, balance, location, and relationship of stationary objects and figures (actors) in each shot
may also include light, shade, line, color
Organization, distribution, balance, location, and relationship of actors and objects in each shot
Open frames – depict a world where characters move freely within an open, recognizable environment; Frame as “window” – generally used in realistic films
Closed frames – imply that other forces have robbed characters of their ability to move and act freely; The frame encloses or limits the world by closing it down and providing only one view; Generally employed in antirealistic films
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composition – framing
frame – moveable border between what the filmmaker wants us to see and everything else
a film’s frame can move, and this reframing results from what is called a moving frame
framing implies point of view (POV)
POV can be omniscient or subjective or ambiguous
Organization, distribution, balance, location, and relationship of actors and objects in each shot
Open frames – depict a world where characters move freely within an open, recognizable environment; Frame as “window” – generally used in realistic films
Closed frames – imply that other forces have robbed characters of their ability to move and act freely; The frame encloses or limits the world by closing it down and providing only one view; Generally employed in antirealistic films
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composition – framing (2)
open frames – depict a world where characters move freely within an open, recognizable environment; frame as “window” – generally used in realistic films
closed frames – imply that other forces have robbed characters of their ability to move and act freely; the frame encloses or limits the world by closing it down and providing only one view; generally employed in antirealistic films
Organization, distribution, balance, location, and relationship of actors and objects in each shot
Open frames – depict a world where characters move freely within an open, recognizable environment; Frame as “window” – generally used in realistic films
Closed frames – imply that other forces have robbed characters of their ability to move and act freely; The frame encloses or limits the world by closing it down and providing only one view; Generally employed in antirealistic films
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Open frames – depict a world where characters move freely within an open, recognizable environment; Frame as “window” – generally used in realistic films
Closed frames – imply that other forces have robbed characters of their ability to move and act freely; The frame encloses or limits the world by closing it down and providing only one view; Generally employed in antirealistic films
Source: Adapted from Leo Braudy, The World in a Frame: What We See in Films (1976; repr., Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1984).
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The frame is the moveable border between what the filmmaker wants us to see and everything else.
A film’s frame can move, and this reframing results from what is called a moving frame.
Framing implies point of view (POV).
POV can be omniscient or subjective or ambiguous.
CREDIT: Rear Window, © 1954 Paramount Pictures
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Chinatown (1974). Roman Polanski, director. Onscreen and offscreen space: the cigarette smoke (screen left), implies offscreen space outside the frame.
CREDIT: Chinatown, © 1974 Paramount Pictures.
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Mise-en-scène : composition
Q’s to ask while watching films:
How are shots framed? Where are figures and props placed in the frame?
How does the film use movement? Are frames open or closed? How do the figures move?
How do the composition choices make you feel?
What do they make you think about?
How—and why—do the filmmakers do this?
W4 feature…
Rear Window
Alfred Hitchcock, 1954, 115 min
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