Narrative vs. Montage

Film exists in layers of physical existence and reality. You have the layer the audience views of the film’s world - setting, characters, and plot - and then you have the layer the film production workers view of the film’s world - actors, the set, and the story. Like photography, film is able to establish a physical existence. However, unlike photography, film uses two very unique and different techniques in order to establish its physical existence. According to Siegfried Kracauer, film establishes its physical existence through representation of reality as it evolves through time and with the help of techniques and devices exclusive to cinema cameras (Kracauer 187). All the world is a stage for film, however Kracauer lists specific techniques of film he refers to as cinematic due to how these techniques are read on the cinematic medium. Although Kracauer wrote his theory on Establishment of Physical Existence in 1960, the 2015 movie Tangerine contains a fair amount of content that can be serviced as examples in order to support Kracauer’s theory. Using the 2010’s movie Tangerine directed by Sean S. Baker, modern cinema examples from various scenes of the film can be provided for examples on Siegfried Kracauer’s theory of Establishment of Physical Existence through cinema’s recording functions of nascent motion, cinema’s revealing function of transients, and cinema’s revealing function of blind spots of the

The aesthetics of realism in each film can be utilized in many diverse ways to offer certain truths about the world of the film to further express the film’s story. These theatrical elements emphasize what the film attempts to relay to the audience; moreover, it intensifies the authenticity of each aspect of the film. The use of real people, on-camera interviews, textual information, and of direct address to the camera displays the realism of each film.

For a movie to proceed to its final “point”, a filmmaker must have an image of what has to be and not be familiarized. Source three unveiled, ”Clements

It appeals to the audience’s desire for familiarity. To know that their choice of film will provide them with the expected entertainment. But what if your goal isn’t to recreate the same spark, but to forge ahead and always strive to create something new?

Theorist Vsevolod Pudovkin claims that narrative films are mainly a “product of construction” and cautious compilations of “selections of images that have been shot” (Renée).

In Bazin’s realism, a film must be created in the way that it can be presented to the audience as a representation of real life (Bazin, 2005; Memorial University, 2007). This meant that in Bazin’s view, film must be created in a realistic style—with little interference from the filmmaker (Bazin, 2005; Memorial University, 2007). This means no elaborate special effects that take away from the authentic, real-life feeling of the film. To Bazin, film is not meant to create an escape from reality but is instead meant to preserve reality for the viewer (Bazin, 2005; Memorial University, 2007). The idea of a filmmaker needing to have little interruption into the production may seem consistent with documentaries at first glance, but many documentaries are highly edited, often for the purposes of creating dramatic effect. Bazin specifically mentions the editing technique “montage”—a technique often used in documentary films—as being an unhelpful manipulation of the film’s images (Bazin, 2005; Memorial University, 2007; Blakeney, 2009). Comments can be taken wildly out of context and the filmmaker has the ability to be highly selective about what they choose to show to their audience. Beyond this, many documentary films use a great deal of editing using effects like the previously mentioned montage technique or other effects such as abstract staging or dramatic makeup effects (Blakeney, 2009), which all further remove the

Film techniques are used to represent clear images of what the filmmaker has in mind for the viewer. Mise-en-scène is a technique within filmmaking that displays what is to be filmed in front of the camera. Composition refers to the frame of the image that is being observed. Filmmakers utilize the space within each frame to bring attention to significant objects, characters, colors, backgrounds or lighting. Compositions can be symmetrical such that all contents are organized to convey a sense of unity, or can be asymmetrical where each side of the frame is different than the other, showing different depths. Composition can be seen in Joseph Paul’s film of There Will Be Blood through his use of minimal props and lighting throughout the scenes, to show a more gloomy and serious setting. The workers do not converse much with anyone nor interact in any other activities other than drilling for oil. This shows the importance that oil had served in the lives of the Plainview family and his

Film is a distinct form of art composed of a level of complexity made of many separate and interrelated elements that are carefully stitched together to form a story. The quick moving aspects of movies make this form of art difficult for even the most thorough viewers to completely understand and analyze – creating the component of invisibility in the art of film. This invisibility aspect is created by movie directors through transitional techniques which manipulates space and time before viewers. A common transitional technique used by directors is the fade-out/fade-out technique. Barsam and Monahan’s (2016) text, Looking at Movies, defines this cinematic element as one in which the last shot of a scene grows gradually darker (fades out) until the screen is rendered black for a moment and the first shot of the subsequent scene then fades in

Tension. That is what makes or breaks a movie. For a film to create tension, to keep a viewer at the edge of their seat. To reduce them to tears. To highlight a way of life so foreign to them. To find redemption in the most broken of characters. That is the mark of a great film.

By analyzing film it helps the audience visualize and understand the message the director is trying to cross. We put ourselves in the director’s shoes and reflect upon the plot what’s happening in the film. Also people can relate to the characters and situations on set that we experience in our day-to-day lives. The way I see movies has helped me see a deeper purpose in the films and examine the theme of the film. Examining the films I’ve seen has made me see a different cause what the message of the film is explaining and sometimes I would be out of focus because the lack of entertainment in the film. Now I realize that watching a film with a motive can help you develop critical thinking skills. Comprehending the use film theory and criticism

It is very beneficial to distil a concept to its essence to assist with the exploration of certain notions. Knowing what lies at the core of our subjective message as film makers will ultimately have the ability to capture the target audience more effectively, especially with an experimental production where the subject can be allusive or a test to grapple with.

The Kuleshov Workshop explored the effects of juxtaposition in film, and how sequential shots convey a

When looking at early cinema compared to modern bodies of work, one thing that has changed dramatically was the way films were edited. From the 1900s through the 1960s, films such as L’Arroseur arrosé, Battleship Potemkin, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari and Citizen Kane, all had their own way of telling a visual narrative. I’m going to give examples of how editing evolved and what techniques were developed.

The quote, “Clarity of vision – what you’ve been looking at from the wrong angle and not seen at all,” was stated in the 2008 movie “It might get loud.” This quote is true to life today. We often look at things one way, and one way only. We repeatedly have to be reminded to take a step back and look at a situation from someone else’s shoes. When we look at certain situations through another angle, often times our perception and emotions toward the situation change. While reading several short narratives this semester, I recognized the same thing. The characters were put into situations, and I only had one view point. As a class, coming at it from a different perspective, we saw things differently. Seeing different viewpoints and how it alters our perception of the dream affects the realism of the narrative.

By making small but significant changes to the conventions of cinema, the artificiality of the