This following proposal will feature how the utilisation of symmetry within filmmaking, primarily in cinematography, is a stylised technique used to highlight significant events film narratives. This proposal will decipher whether symmetry used as a stylistic filmic technique, is a notable and powerful visual aid that heightens the viewers experience and significance of narrative developments. The purpose of this study is to gauge information about how symmetry showcases a posed and staged approach in filmmaking, and if that will drive the movement of film narratives. Thorough analysis of examples of works by American director Wes Anderson will be conducted throughout this proposal.
Introduction
The highly creative decision of
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This is due to the possibility of symmetry being used randomly and thoughtlessly, running a high risk of creating visual disturbances in the narrative of the film, thus, potentially leading the initial direction of the narrative astray and the viewers to be confused as the film advances (Thonsagaard, L, 2012).
Wes Anderson (born 1969), best know as an Academy Award winning American film director and screenwriter is respected and has mastered the art of symmetry. His films are extremely identifiable, as his constant usage of symmetry within his feature films create a powerful visual aid which are capable of communicating complex meanings that cannot be conveyed visually without the addition of symmetry. Anderson 's work is also notable for his distinctive narrative writing and style and also the inclusion of adding reoccurring collaborations with various actors and creatives (McClintock, P, 2014).
The definition of symmetry follows and refers to “…quality being made up of exactly similar parts facing each other or around an axis” (Oxford Dictionary of English). This proposal will primarily focus on Anderson’s filmmaking, discussing his utilisation of symmetry within his works and how he produces a visual aesthetic and experimental style of filmmaking that has gained him the title of being a respected director in the film industry. Anderson’s reason behind using symmetry instead
The creation and consumption of films are a common favorite pastime for many people and have been for hundreds of years, but while some films can seem deceptively simple, many elements go into creating a scene, much less an entire movie. Directors use these elements which include, but are not limited to style, mood, composition and special effects to create a product that we often don’t acknowledge without looking deeper into the film. These components together are called Mise en Scène (Ebert). Of course, film can be enjoyed leisurely but there are so many more aspects of film to be explored and analyzed such as the composition of camera movement, lighting, color, sounds and music. In this case, I chose to analyze the “Redrum” scene from the renowned film, The Shining directed by Stanley Kubrick. In this scene, Danny Torrence, a five year old boy wanders around his mother’s room with a knife in hand, muttering the word “Redrum” over and over again before scrawling it across the door. I feel that a lot of this scene’s mood and style relies heavily on the camera work of the scene, the lighting and colors, and the music incorporated into the segment.
Throughout the term I have begun experiencing movies in a different way. The class has taken ideas of cinematography, theory, and film history and practically applied it to physically watching movies. By breaking down scenes and movies as a whole, the way I look at films in general has developed. A reflection on two of the films from this term, Casablanca (Curtiz, 1942) and North by Northwest (Hitchcock, 1959) will carry the bulk of the essay. Though, I will also be discussing how this class changed the way I saw a movie just a few weeks ago. Casablanca’s script and acting are of particular caliber, and North by Northwest unfortunately does not deliver with the dialogue and casting of lead actor Cary Grant. Though, overall, they both
Hollywood cinema is primarily subjected to telling stories. The inclination of Hollywood narratives comes not just from good chronicles but from good story telling. The following essay will discuss Hollywood’s commercial aesthetic as applied to storytelling, expand on the characteristics of the “principles of classical film narration” and evaluate alternative modes of narration and other deviations from the classical mode.
During the 1940’s, the idea of the auteur theory arose. It was crafted by Andre Bazin, who was a French film critic, and Roger Leenhardt, a filmmaker. They stated that a film should represent the directors vision. Another French film critic, Alexandre Astruc, enhanced the auteur theory by expressing that directors with their camera should be like writers with their pen. This would make a director’s films all have the same type of aspects. Once a director makes a number of films, a certain “finger print” can be seen throughout his creations.
The director of “Eye of the Beholder”, Rod Serling made the film like it is because
Wes Anderson is a world-renowned filmmaker known for creating vividly colorful films that are consistent with his auteur signature. Though he has only directed 7 films (not including his upcoming film and two short films), he is a perfect example of how even a small body of work can demonstrate auteur theory. Anderson’s films have frequent themes, visual and methodological style and he even uses a lot of the same actors in most of his films. The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004) is a great example to demonstrate Wes Anderson’s stylistic use of pastel color schemes, symmetrical shot composition, and thematic use of story elements such as trust, acceptance, child-like
The directors chosen camera technique, a simple two composition that progresses the scene a steady pace, forces the audience to feel a part of the awkward exchange; obviously, a quality of film that could not be as profoundly achieved through the narrative in the novel.
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).
‘There are…two kinds of film makers: one invents an imaginary reality; the other confronts an existing reality and attempts to understand it, criticise it…and finally, translate it into film’
Art critic Robert Hughes once said, “People inscribe their histories, beliefs, attitudes, desires and dreams in the images they make.” When discussing the mediums of photography and cinema, this belief of Hughes is not very hard to process and understand. Images, whether they be still or moving, can transform their audiences to places they have either never been before or which they long to return to. Images have been transporting audiences for centuries thanks to both the mediums of photography and cinema and together they gone through many changes and developments. When careful consideration is given to these two mediums, it is acceptable to say that they will forever be intertwined, and that they have been interrelated forms of
In this essay I will be discussing five key points throughout Post Production history between the 1900s-1960s. Post Production is seen as a vital component in the cinematic industry as it essentially finalises the final products. Techniques that have been developed over the years are incredibly important, but they all have an origin. Although these techniques started out without overwhelming effect, they are now unbelievably crucial to how films are constructed. The five points I wish to discuss go as follows: The Great Train Robbery and Edwin Porter himself, D.W. Griffith and his overwhelming influence on editing, The Jazz Singer, the Kuleshov Effect and finally, 2001: A Space Odyssey. As well as discussing these key factors, this essay will take into consideration secondary material.
Alfred Hitchcock’s 1954 film, Rear Window, explores many dimensions in cinematography. The phenomenal film is well known for proclaiming its voyeurism issues that goes on in today’s society. Even though voyeurism is an act that should not be done, this film portrays it in an affirmative way. Rear Window introduces primary structural components in the first act which sets the mood for the audience to interact with J.B. Jefferies in a way as it is the audiences duty to help him solve the mystery on whether Thorwald murdered his wife or not.
Wes Anderson has been recognised as one of the most successful directors in the cinematic world with a distinct authorship towards his work. The auteurs approach of analysing films include the more important elements that makes up a film such as: editing, cinematography, lighten, casting, themes, story line, art direction and aesthetic style (Rosenberg, 2010). Anderson’s films all possess distinct techniques that he was heavily involved in producing. The Royal Tenenbaums (2001) featured many of his signature techniques such as using the recurring themes, filming styles, type of music and backdrop to give audiences a better understanding of the film and imprinting a certain tone throughout the film.
The Kuleshov Workshop explored the effects of juxtaposition in film, and how sequential shots convey a
Every so often a movie is released with such tense anticipation and glamorous visual art that the public is drawn to this dramatic rendition of life in the theatre. For even just two hours or so, you are put into a different lifestyle. Action, drama or comedy it may be. We are thrust into a different way of thinking. We are forced to learn the characters thoughts and feelings. The hard work and artistic skill that goes into these magnificent films is not an easy thing to mimic. Out of the thousands of movies released worldwide each year only a handful are truly worthy of the label film art. Most of the great movies are either produced by a multi million dollar