In the first scene of Paul Morrissey’s 1968 film Flesh, the viewer is taken on a brief journey through the streets of New York City. The perspective taken is that from a passive observer looking into the life of the main character. The camera does not tamper with the images nor try to impose new meaning on them – we see the sequence of events as it actually unfolds. Throughout the film clip, a main theme is centered on the banality of the protagonist’s existence, and his restless state is reflected within both technical and organic aspects of the clip.
The opening shot looks like it was taken with a handheld camera, as it is somewhat shaky and we can hear a background noise. We are introduced to the character right away. We see a reflection of him at first, and then the camera proceeds to pan up until we can see his whole body. His head is turned away, so we can only see his profile. He is wearing casual clothing and a red headband. We know he is in New York City because we can see Queensboro subway station behind him. He looks to the side of the camera as it makes a few quick cuts. He crosses the street and the camera is behind him, a safe distance away. It zooms in and out and makes another series of quick cuts as it observes him reading a newspaper. He is never really in the centre of the shot and does not appear to be the main focus of the camera. We see people pass by and block our view and we even see him from the back. The next shot, at 1:50, shows his back as he’s having a conversation with somebody, whose face we also cannot see. The next shot is him sitting on a car, smoking a cigarette. Another man approaches him and they proceed to talk briefly. We cannot hear what they are saying. After another series of cuts, w...
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...ere also plays with the notion of suture in regards to the role of the audience. We enter into a dialogue with the film (using the shot/reverse/shot technique cutting/excluding/??), but then we realize that something is missing, the camera is hiding something from us (faces, names, speech, etc.). The scene is not complete, and we as an audience can only be passive observers. This is further demonstrated by the camera angles and how the camera seems to follow the protagonist as opposed to being side-by-side with him.
Paul Morrissey has created an atypical piece of cinema in which we view a character’s banal existence through the focal point of a choppy and broken editing style. This clip takes the viewer by surprise as it does not follow the conventional norms that we as an audience are familiar with, such as smooth transitions, clean editing, and sound dubbing.
The main character is a boy named Ledge. In the book when someone turns 13 they will receive a special power called a Savvy. When Ledge received his Savvy, he was hoping he could impress his father by gaining the power to run really fast. Later he found out he gained the power to build and destroy objects. He was really disappointed and only thought of his father. Later he learned that running isn’t what he wanted to do, and learned that he can use his Savvy for good. He found he is a great sculptor and he can create great works of art. Ledge didn’t discover he could build at first. He thought he could only break things. He discovered he could fix things when Ledge and his cousin took his cousin’s car
Movie makers have agendas. They get their ideas across by using cinematic techniques and styles which make us view a certain subject in the light that they put it in. I will discuss the differing techniques used by the makers of "Stepping Razor" and describe what the overall impression of the movie has on the viewer, and what the agenda of the director is.
Australian artist Eddie Perfect’s play, “The Beast” was presented by Melbourne Theatre Company in association with Melbourne Festival and Melbourne International Comedy Festival in late 2013. It premiered at the Southbank Theatre (home of Melbourne Theatre Company) and ran from October 3 through to November 9 of 2013. This dark satire is a modern day rant on the middle class, and the dreadful things people do in order to be seen to be good, as opposed to actually doing good. It’s the story of a close group of couples that vow to take on a more sustainable lifestyle in the country after experiencing a close shave with death. When they are forced to kill a free-range calf that they purchased for “nose to tail eating”, tensions boil over as they come face to face with alarming truths.
Question/Section #2 Why and how are these strategies creative? Do these strategies correspond with stages of development mentioned in the textbook?
During the opening six minutes of Nicholas Roeg’s film Don’t Look Now, the viewer experiences a dynamic mixture of film techniques that form the first part of the narrative. Using metaphor and imagery, Roeg constructs a vivid and unique portrayal of his parallel storyline. The opening six minutes help set up a distinct stylistic premise. In contrast to a novel or play, the sequence in Don’t Look Now is only accessible through cinema because it allows the viewer to interact with the medium and follow along with the different camera angles. The cinematography and music also guide the viewer along, and help project the characters’ emotions onto the audience because they change frequently. The film techniques and choppy editing style used in Don’t Look Now convey a sense of control of the director over the audience and put us entirely at his mercy, because we have to experience time and space as he wants us to as opposed to in an entirely serial manner.
An Uncommitted Child The novel, High Fidelity by Nick Hornby, describes the life of a man who lives through his music and his childish ways. Rob Fleming is a man who struggles with commitment when it comes to what he needs, yet commits to what he wants. This lack of commitment leaves Rob struggling with the relationships with the people in his daily life. Living his life in a careless and childish manner, Rob Fleming burns the bridges with those who are close to him, and as a result realizes how much he truly cares for them when it’s too late. There were many jobs that Rob had taken over over the years; with each job he has there is a lack of passion and drive which results in his lack of commitment.
Godard creates a unique editing style in Contempt and Breathless through the combination of long takes and jump cuts. Godard’s use of these two editing techniques express two separate ideas in regards to an individual’s place in society. In Contempt, Godard’s use of editing illustrates how an individual can exist separate from society. While in Breathless, editing conveys the idea of how society can isolate an individual.
David Sedaris is a one of the best-selling authors. One of his books is called "Naked." In this book he talks about his life. David Sedaris is a great writer who wrote about his family and himself when he was growing up. While most people usually don't like talking about the humiliating moments of their lives, he presents the reader with his own obsessions and the numerous interesting and funny events from the life of his family. Sedaris uses a lot of sarcasm in his book; therefore it is very appealing and interesting to read. Sedaris was able to see the irony in any situation. I think this quality is very important in dealing with different issues in our lives.
In Wim Wenders’ 1984 film, Paris, Texas, we find its theme of loneliness harboured in Travis Henderson, but very much so in the film’s imagery, eloquently captured by Dutch cinematographer, Robby Müller, “When I choose to work on a film, the most important thing to me is that it is about human feelings. I try to work with directors who want their films to touch the audience.” And his imagery does just that in Paris, Texas.
Maya Angelou once said, “you may not control all the events that happen to you, but you can decide not to be reduced by them.” Jean Paul Sartre devotes his second chapter in Being and Nothingness on ‘The Body,’ demonstrating his historical knowledge, following an influence embedded in Hegel’s theory. In the film, Cleo From 5 To 7 , director Agnès Varda demonstrates a reflective perspective on freeing oneself from the bias of what others view as the ideal vision of beauty. Sartre shows that the being-for-itself, or the human being starts to become more aware of his or her own moral existence, only when he or she sees themselves being perceived by another being for-itself. Sartre says that we become more aware of ourselves in the hands or comparison
As an audience we are manipulated from the moment a film begins. In this essay I wish to explore how The Conversation’s use of sound design has directly controlled our perceptions and emotional responses as well as how it can change the meaning of the image. I would also like to discover how the soundtrack guides the audience’s attention with the use of diegetic and nondiegetic sounds.
Rhodes, John David. Meshes of the Afternoon. London: Palgrave Macmillan on Behalf of the British Film Institute, 2011. Print.
This film then turns out to be a story of his life where we are shown with the camera angel going around him in a 360 view. The screen shot pauses completely and is frozen as the camera rotates around Rocket. You then realize this entire film will revolve around this one character and what he is about to set out to do and how he will achieve his goals. The camera uses a close up to Rocket to emphasis his expression witch shows some sort of displacement with his neighborhood. The camera angles and movement show this character in a complete different way than what the director showed in the other people of this town. When we are introduced to the town’s people, the gang, and head of the gang, life seems harsh and intense but when the camera moves to rocket the audience is able to feel a sense of relief. That maybe this characters world does not revolve around violence, in fact it revolves around what could be the complete opposite, art. The calm camera movement shows this character as a deep breath of relaxation after a chaotic run in the slums. The different camera angles of this scene emphasize to the audience who is in power, For instance, there is a shot that is behind the gang leader, over his back you see everyone is behind him and that in reality this specific character is gang leader, he is in complete power, even over the
Gunning, Tom 2000, “The Cinema of Attraction: Early film, its spectator, and the avant-garde.” Film and theory: An anthology, Robert Stam & Toby Miller, Blackwell, pp 229-235.
The development of editing - Editing - actor, film, voice, cinema, scene, story. 2014. The development of editing - Editing - actor, film, voice, cinema, scene, story. [ONLINE] Available at:http://www.filmreference.com/encyclopedia/Criticism-Ideology/Editing-THE-DEVELOPMENT-OF-EDITING.html#ixzz2sNiIEQqt. [Accessed 10 February 2014].