Cinematic Techniques In The Great Gatsby

The “curtains” have human-like qualities, for they are making “whip and snap” sounds. Also, the “picture” has human-like qualities of “groan.” Fitzgerald adds these sounds to show the awkwardness setting in the Buchanan’s house. Just walking in the hallway of Tom Buchanan made Nick feel unease; it was so quiet that Nick can hear the cry of a picture and the lash of the curtain moving.

In Strictly Ballroom, Luhrman uses many different camera angles and lighting techniques to exaggerate scenes, settings and even characters’ personalities. An example of this is at the start of the film, when Scott Hastings is dancing by himself in a room, there is a bright, white spotlight on him as he dances, drawing the audience to watch him. This happens whenever Scott dances and it shows the audience that Scott has a sense of purity and that he is the protagonist of the film. Luhrman uses low angle shots when Scott and Fran are dancing at the end of the film, this is a good technique used so the audience can see them dancing and also gives the audience the impression that they are dominate and confident. Another character who is a good example of camera angles and film techniques being used on them to portray their personality is Barry Fife. Barry is a mean character and Luhrman uses dark, reddish lighting to make him seem evil.

F. Scott Fitzgerald’s 1925 novel The Great Gatsby ( Turvey, 2008) tells the story of Jay Gatsby, a rich young man, whose life is a mystery and becomes a friend with the narrator of the story Nick Carraway who is Daisy’s cousin the love of Gatsby’s life. Gatsby hosts a big public party and a lot of New Yorkers come to these parties to have fun and to drink a free liquor. After Gatsby meets the unhappy married Daisy in Nick’s house they fall in love again and have a great time with each other until they confess to Bucannan, Daisy’s husband with the truth about their affair and how it happened before Daisy met Tom. Tom has a fight with them and Daisy drives recklessly and hits Myrtle Wilson. Her husband accuses Jay Gatsby with the death

This is accomplished with different camera angles as well as the movement of the camera. For example, in many scenes as the camera follows the action it is shaky rather than sturdy, as if you as a viewer are walking around and seeing the action through your own eyes. One may also notice that an escalated level of action or conversation on the screen is mirrored by the pace of the film from frame to frame. In essence, a heated argument would involve a quick paced transition of shots, going from a close-up of one character to another at a rapid pace in tune with the argument.

The classic American novel, The Great Gatsby, presents a major theme of passing time. Losing Daisy meant losing Gatsby’s entire world, which he only kept alive through his hope of repeating the past. Daisy is a symbol of everything he values and therefore became the entity of his dream: his dream of spending the rest of his life with Daisy, the woman he loves undeniably. But Gatsby doesn’t realize his dream is unattainable because unfortunately, he cannot go back in time or recreate the past. Gatsby is stuck in the past, longing for the relationship between him and Daisy, and can’t accept the future, resulting in his own death. This is depicted in

The third chapter of the great Gatsby takes place at Gatsby’s luxurious mansion where he hosts a very lavish party where guests sometimes “came and went without having met Gatsby at all”, many guests “were not invited”, but they still “went there” (page 41). Fitzgerald utilizes visual imagery to portray how Gatsby’s lavish home attracts people to his parties not because they identify themselves as friends nor even acquaintances, but because of his wealth, people do not seek him out nor do they thank him for his hospitality, they treat his home like an “amusement park” (page 41). The use of this simile demonstrates, again how his so-called guests views his parties. Fitzgerald uses auditory imagery to show how Gatsby’s guests do not seem to respect

Another technique that is used is changing light with reference to the plot structure. The use of lighting has allowed the audience to see the obvious contrast between the beginning when Szpilman was having a happy life, and after the Nazi came and occupied so that how Polish Jews are getting dehumanised. For instance, the light was extremely bright at the beginning of the film, Szpilman was playing the piano at the radio station and having a meal with the family. When the Nazi

Baz Luhrmann’s films Strictly Ballroom, Australia and The Great Gatsby take their viewers on a journey. They hold the audience’s attention and are able to teach them something. However, I do not think that all three films are completely fulfilling. All films take an attentive audience on a journey. The deciding factor for a great film should not be whether the journey took place but whether the journey was enjoyable.

Another effect that helped emphasis the portrayal of the persona of the characters, was the costume design. Catherine Martin (winner of AACTA best achievement in costume design and product design for The Great Gatsby) did an outstanding job of designing the costumes for each of the characters in the film The Great Gatsby. The costumes seen in the film add to the visual feast that The Great Gatsby truly is. Martin went above and beyond trying to achieve a sense of authenticity whilst still being influenced by modern style, she worked closely with one of America’s oldest clothing retailers, to ensure this, the Brooks Brothers in order to get the costumes that best fitted the golden age setting the film was in. The creative process in which Martin

The Crash Course video brought light to a few items in the novel I did not quite make connections to and it also added more support to the themes that I had picked out of the novel The Great Gatsby. The video talked about how Fitzgerald incorporated the color of gold which many consider wealthy and something that is worth reaching for in the novel as something that is not inherently good to reach for in the capacity many do. The video drew back to the fact that many people reach for wealth but along the way must make awful sacrifices and the shining of the gold is dulled by the things people must give up; the video related back to a passage in the novel that I had over looked about a butler that lost his sense of smell for the pursuit of money.

The film that made an impression on me because of its techniques was The Great Gatsby. The director, Baz Luhrmann presents certain themes and ideas for the viewers. To do this, Baz Luhrmann proficiently uses a range of techniques to demonstrate these ideas. The Great Gatsby is about a man who orders his life around one desire: to be reunited with Daisy, the love he lost five years earlier. Gatsby's quest leads him from poverty to wealth, into the arms of his beloved, and eventually to death. The techniques I write about that illustrate the themes of the film are; camera shots, setting, lighting and symbolism. The scenes I will be concentrating on are the final scenes which feature the Great Gatsby.

The 2013 drama/romance movie, The Great Gatsby, is the second movie adaption made based off the novel written by F. Scott Fitzgerald in 1925. Co-written and directed by Baz Luhrmann, this film received both glory and criticism upon its release. The Great Gatsby is well known for its “Gatsby era” as well as the love encircled between money and power. Without the glitz and glam of this story in conjunction with the forever love Jay Gatsby, a millionaire known for his magnificent parties, holds for Daisy Buchanan, The Great Gatsby would not be as acclaimed of a story. Baz Luhrmann makes sure to emphasize these characteristics throughout the film through his use of symbolism, irony, and imagery.

and this is also achieved by having the man look right at the camera. As he speaks, the camera slowly pulls out and then we start to see a slight increase in the surrounding detail of the scene. We can now see part of the back and side of the Godfather, (Marlon Brando) but still we have only a slight highlight on his side, and no detail. Now the man gets up and moves to Brando’s side, and he too is in complete shadow; we can only really make out the fact that there are two figures present here, no more. Then the shot changes as the man leaves the Godfather’s side, and it is a revealing frontal MCU of Brando. This shot is lit much more than the previous shot. Where the other shot’s background was pitch black, this shot is lit so that almost the whole space and all objects in it are visible. Brando has a key, fill and backlight on him, and his character is revealed with much intensity because of the dramatic light change from shot to shot. When the shot comes back to the man, in an over the shoulder (Brando) style, again the backround is totally black. Having the man in that particular lighting, and having Brando lit the way he is serves two psychological purposes. First, having the constant black background behind the man isolates his problem and makes us aware of how consumed he is with his problem.

The Great Gatsby is a movie set in the 1920’s. The main character Nick Carraway lives next to the mysterious Jay Gatsby. Throughout the movie you experience the roaring 20’s first hand. They take you to the lavish countryside, through the struggling “valley of ashes”, into the bustling cites, and down into the bootlegging speakeasies. Gatsby is a secretive man and no one knows the truth about him. By the end of the film you find out his past and his secrets are revealed to us by Nick. Nick was like Gatsby’s best friend through the film. Nick was like a middle man between Gatsby and Daisy. Daisy Buchanan was a woman who lived, with her husband Tom, across the bay from Gatsby. Tom had been sleeping around behind Daisy’s back and nick was the only one who knew who it was although everyone suspected he was. Although there are many characters to follow the main one was Gatsby his life was the main purpose of the film.

1. Point of view – the view or perspective of how the story is narrated (i.e first person)