The Language of Film - English 124: Film and/as Literature

The Language of Film

Prof. Myrna Monllor Jiménez English 124 © copyright Myrna Monllor Jiménez 2013

The great thing about literature is that you can imagine, the great thing about film is that you can’t. James Monaco, How to Read a Film

The Theater VS. The Cinema In plays, the audience always observes the entire stage and all the actors within that stage. In film, the filmmaker controls what the audience sees and how by choosing the information that viewer will see.

Mise-en-Scène/ Placing on Stage How everything that appears on the screen is arranged • Actors • Lighting • Décor • Props

Mise-en-Scène

Blancanieves 2012

Mise-en-Scène

Blancanieves 2012

The better a viewer reads an image the more he/she understands it.

• Their physical reality • What they refer to based on cultural references • Their various sets of meanings

When you look at a frame, one of the first things to consider is distance.

Spiderman 3

How much do you see of the character (s)? •Is it a close up? •Is it a full shot? •Is it a medium shot? Can you see the whole body or a part of the body?

In general the closer the camera gets to the characters, the closer the viewer feels towards the characters. This is why close ups are often used for:

 love scenes  scenes where the character is suffering or fearful  any other scene where the viewer is supposed to understand what the character is feeling.

The Great Gatsby 2013

As the camera moves further away from the character(s), the viewer is provided more information about them or about their situation.

From Rosemary’s Baby 1968

From Babel 2006

Wall-E 2008

The further the camera is from the subject, the more distant you will feel from what is happening in the scene or to the character(s).

Another thing you should consider when observing A frame is the angle or camera position. 

Was the frame shot from high above? (a high angle)



Was it shot at eye level?



Was it shot from a low angle?

A frame shot from a high angle is often referred to as God’s eye view because it suggests that ‘someone’ is observing the characters. It can suggest danger and helplessness.

Anna Karenina 2013

300 2006

Paranorman, 2012

Apocalypto 2007

A frame shot from a low angle makes the subject seem larger.

The Wolf of Wall Street 2013

The Postman Always Rings Twice 1946

Django Unchained 2013

The Lone Ranger 2013

Black Swan 2011

The Dark Knight 2008

Inglorious Basterds 2009

Paranorman, 2012

Looper, 2012

A character that seems larger than another in a frame is usually the dominant character.

Elysium 2013

The Departed 2006

Citizen Kane 1941

A canted angle suggests that something is wrong either in the character or the story’s situation.

Artificial Intelligence 2001

Besides shots and angles, you should also watch for symbols. Some common symbols are: Images of entrapment are usually shown through characters framed by doors, gates, or confined spaces (like closets). From The Kid 1921 From Carrie 1976

Pan’s Labyrinth 2006

Atonement 2007

The Hours 2002

Drive 2010

The Painted Veil 2006

Inception 2010

Coraline, 2009

Alice in Wonderland, 2010

A Beautiful Mind 2001

The Departed 2006

Images of duality are usually represented by characters reflected in mirrors , water, glass.

Psycho 1960

The Matrix 2003

Taxi Driver 1976 The Lady from Shanghai,1947

Black Swan 2010

Black Swan 2010

Stairs, dark alleys, canted angles, darkness enveloping a character, seeing only part of a character are some images of imminent danger.

From American Psycho

From Silence of the Lambs

From Halloween From Kiss Me Deadly

Light cutting through a character(s), lines which divide the frame, usually mark images of characters that are in turmoil. From Blade Runner 1982

From The Usual Suspects 1995 From The Awful Truth 1937

Sweeney Todd 2007

Other Symbols

Christ figures or Messianic figures/Biblical References From Dead Man Walking 1995

Crosses

From The Omen 1976 Pan’s Labyrinth 2006

From Hell 2001

Inception 2010

Shadows

The top

Rebirth

2006

Color 1968 From Schindler’s List 1993

Eyes

From The Blair Witch Project 1999

From Un Perro Andaluz 1929

From Psycho 1960

From Spellbound 1945

Phallic symbols

From King Kong 1933

From Blade 1998

From Rear Window 1954

Blood

Destruction or desecration of symbols

1976

From Planet of the Apes 1968

Trains

Slumdog Millionaire 2008

The Moon

Water From Jaws 1975

From E.T. 1982

Roads

From North by Northwest 1959

…and many others

Trees

From Taken 2008

From Alexander 2004 From The Ring 2002

The Black Dahlia 2006

The Power of the Editor • The editor as storyteller – Cuts the film for transition purposes and to provide information to the viewer – Omits/eliminates the sections of the story that are too obvious or unnecessary (ellipsis) – Alternates two or more scenes usually happening simultaneously that culminate in a place where the characters face each other (cross cutting/parallel cutting)

Cross Cutting/Parallel Cutting Example: Quantum of Solace 2008

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OD0h7WcgJ5w

Crosscutting: The Godfather

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S_I82117oAw

The Kuleshov Effect

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MCK53Lb4-pI

Other definitions • Cliché- overuse of situations, symbols • Voice over-a narrator whose voice is heard throughout a film • Restricted narration-limited to one character • Omniscient narration-changes from one character to another, the viewer receives information from many sources.

Auteurs/genre • An auteur is a director who manifests a consistency of style and theme across his/her films. Auteur films are inventive and creative. Auteur films emphasize their uniqueness. • Genre refers to a mass produced product of the Hollywood film industry.It studies the conventions of certain kinds of films. Genre categorizes films according to their thematic and visual similarities.Genres are not static, they evolve. They also create certain expectations in the viewer.

Bibliography Buckland, Warren. Teach Yourself Film studies. Hodder & Stoughton, 1998.

Monaco James, How to Read a Film. Oxford University Press, 3rd edition, 2000. Elements of Cinema.com http://www.elementsofcinema.com

Copyright2013 ©Myrna Monllor Jiménez