Tag: cinematography

Reading: Elementary illumination

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Key point for me

There are two basic steps to lighting for film:

  • finding the best angle – photographing the subject from an angle that puts most surfaces in view of the camera
  • lighting the object – the illusion of depth can be enhanced by separating foreground and background; each surface should have a different brightness; the background should be of a different tone

 

Alton, J. (2013) Writing With Light. Berkeley: University of California.

Reading: Framing – The Building Blocks of a Scene

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The Frame

Setting the frame – a series of choices that determines what the viewer sees and does not see.

First choice – camera placement in relation to the scene.

Further choices – field of vision; movement.

These work together to influence how the viewer perceives the shot

  • content of the scene
  • emotional undercurrent
  • subtext to action and dialogue

Further reading – ‘Framing’ in Film Art, pages 177-209

 

Static Frame

Proscenium – the viewer is a third person observer.

This is especially true if everything about the frame is normal: normal level, normal lens, no movement, etc.

It can be a useful tool; carries its own implications of POV and world view.

For example: Barry Lyndon (1975) dir. Stanley Kubrick – each scene is played out within a fixed frame. Fixed, well-composed, balanced frames that reflect the static hierarchical society in which everyone has their place in a society governed by rules. The actors move within this frame without being able to alter it. The static frame reflects the world in which they live; implies a lack of mobility.

Another example is Strange Than Paradise (1983) dir. Jim Jarmusch.

 

The Building Blocks of a Scene

 

Inserts

  • Informational inserts – give viewer some essential information the need to know (e.g. clock on wall, file pulled from drawer).
  • Emphasis inserts – usually connected to the main action, but not essential to see it (e.g coffee cup jolts as hand pounds table; window rattles in wind).
  • Atmosphere inserts – the little touches that contribute to the mood, pace or tone of the scene; add symbolism or visual allegory; used for stylised filmmaking; must be used with caution.

Connecting shots

  • Shows both characters in one shot – often in the form of over-the-shoulder or wide shot.
  • Make scene feel more complete and whole – rather than simply using POVs and reaction shots.
  • Connecting shots tie things together in a way that clarifies and emphasises the physical.
  • Good shooting – visual elements reinforce the narrative elements.

Pickups

  • any type of shot, master or coverage, where you are starting in the middle of a scene.
  • shots filmed in order to make a good edit.

Transitional shots

  • not parts of a scene themselves, but instead serve to connect two scenes together.
  • some are simple cutaways (e.g. a scene ends, cut to shot of sunset, cut to next scene).
  • a visual code

 

Key points for me

Framing is key. There is nothing random about framing shots. It requires careful thought and considerable understanding to build a scene visually. Applying the grammar of film requires a knowledge of the various shot types and how to apply them within a scene.

 

Brown, B. (2012) Cinematography: Theory and Practice 2nd edition New York: Focal Press

Film Art

Reading: Cinematography – Writing with Motion

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Cinematography: Writing with Motion

Cinematography – Greek root meaning writing with motion.

Cinematography is ‘the process of taking ideas, words, actions, emotional subtext, tone, and all other forms of non verbal communication and rendering them in visual terms’ (Blain, 2012, p.2) – the process of adding layers of meaning and subtext to the context of a film.

Building a visual world – create a visual world for characters to inhabit; the visual world is important to how the viewer will perceive the story, ‘how they will understand the characters and their motivations’.

The cinematographer should ask:

  • How do we communicate the story through visual means?
  • What are the essential elements we work with and manipulate to create this visual world?
  • If cinema is a language, then we must as what is the structure of that language?
  • What is the vocabulary, what are the rules of grammar, the structure of this cinematic language?
  • What are the tools, the essential techniques, methods and elements that we can use to tell our story visually?

The Conceptual Tools of Cinematography:

  • The Frame – direct audience attention; convey story through choice of frame size; composition, rhythm, perspective.
  • The Lens – various lenses render images in different ways; ‘Every lens has a personality – a flavour and an inflection it adds to the image’ (e.g. contrast, sharpness, focal length).
  • Light and Colour – powerful visual tools; special power within the art of film; touch people at an emotional level.
  • Texture – manipulating the image adds visual texture; by changing colour and contrast, desaturating colour, adding filters, fog and smoke, rain, or digital manipulation.
  • Movement – film is one of few art forms that employ motion and time; dynamic motion serves the storytelling process.
  • Establishing – the camera reveals or conceals information; the visual equivalent of exposition – conveying important information or background to the viewer; accomplished by the choice of frame and lens; can also be achieved with lighting that reveals or conceals certain details in the scene.
  • POV – the camera becomes the perception of the viewer; make the viewer more involved in the story; the viewer inhabits the character’s mind and experiences.

Visual Subtext and Visual Metaphor:

  • Cinematography extends far beyond simple ‘photography’.
  • It is about adding visual subtext to the scenes.
  • Also about adding visual metaphor.

 

The key points for me

Cinematography is more than simple ‘photography’, it is the art of communicating a story visually, building a visual world with added layers of meaning and subtext. In order to achieve this, the cinematographer employs a range of conceptual tools.

 

Brown, B. (2012) Cinematography: Theory and Practice New York: Focal Press

Reading: Cinematography Robby Muller

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Linda Van Deursen & Marietta De Vries (2013) Cinematography Robby Muller. Zurich: JRP Ringier

I discovered Deursen & De Vries’ book Cinematography Robby Muller while browsing through Ashley Lauryssen’s OCA blog. Organised thematically, the book collects together hundreds of shots from fourteen films Muller worked on during his career with directors such as Wim Wenders, Jim Jarmusch, Peter Bogdanovich and Lars von Trier.

Rather than analysing and discussing the techniques Muller used within individual films, the authors present a series of film stills, organised around several key themes found in Muller’s cinematic practice; such as filming road movies; filming in natural light; filming at different times of the day; filming lens flare. Most of the stills are accompanied by captions, in which some of the directors and technicians Muller worked with offer a brief comment on the images, providing a pithy insight into the way in which he worked.

The book contains stills from fourteen films on which Robby Muller worked as cinematographer, of which only Paris, Texas (dir.  Wim Wenders) and Down By Law (dir.  Jim Jarmusch) are familiar to me.

Alice in den Stadten (1974)
Falsche Bewegung(1975)
Im Lauf Der Zeit(1976)
Der Amerikanische Freund (1977)
Die Linkshandige Frau (1978)
Saint Jack (1979)
Repo Man (1984)
Paris, Texas (1984)
Down By Law (1986)
Barfly (1987)
Mystery Train (1989)
Dead Man (1995)
Breaking the Waves (1996)
Dancer in the Dark (2000)

What struck me about the film stills is the way in which Muller uses light to convey a mood. His ability to use both natural and artificial light in a way that appears so natural to the location. This is summarised nicely in the caption to the stills from Saint Jack (1979), in which Theo Bierkens, the best boy on the film, says ‘He always looked carefully at what a location had to offer and enhanced that. Not in a dogmatic way, but more intuitive’ (Duersen & Vries, p.89).

Together, these film stills are a wonderful resource on the creative practice of a cinematographer who is passionate about light, how it works and how it falls within a scene. It’s the kind of book I can browse through, look at a single shot or a series of shots, and see exactly what Muller saw when his eye was to the viewfinder. It’s a book I shall be returning to again for advice and inspiration when lighting my own moving images.

References

Van Deursen, L., & De Vries, M. (2013) Cinematography Robby Muller. Zurich: JRP Ringier