1. How would describe the characteristics of the camera camera work: composition, angle, movement
2. How would describe the difference in the edit?
3. How would describe the quality of the story being told/narrative?
GRAVITY-REALISM
A recent movie, Gravity, showed its emotional prowess through extremely long shots and the thoroughly engaging storyline.
Gravity uses A LOT of extebnded shots. I don't know how many edits there actually in the movie but the movie did a very good job at hiding these edits. Many close up shots that exposed true emotions and a plethora of extremely long shots that showed us the scale of space that the main characters had to face. The movie invoked great emotion as it gave us a sense of a known mystery. We know how space is like, we know what can happen, we think of what can happen, and we an astronauts worst nightmare unfold before our eyes. The story was well told and the acting was phenomenal. The streotypical characters were displayed in a much more different "space". Clooney played the experienced veteran, while Bullock played the "new guy". The environment of space, while being silent and calm, became more of a field of fear and death. It showed the worst case scenario that could happen in space: speeding shrapnel, no communication, empty space, no oxygen. The movie starts with an extremely long shot that introduces each of the characters and manages to start the intensity quick and keep the audience on the edge of ther seat for most of the rest of the movie.
RHYTHMUS 93- FORMALISM
Rhythmus 93, a film made in 1991, was one of the films in the series of 'Rhythmus' by Hans Richter. This version although is a manipulated version because it uses color and sounds were added into the film.
Rhythmus, from my perspective, had no discernible camera work. There were certain angles that were seen, only flat images. The edit is what makes this an abstract Formalist film. The edit seems to be random without any discernible pattern. A sense of rhythm is there, through the straight lines and the similar movements by the shapes and EYEBALLS. At first glance, there seems to be no certain story within this film, if there is one, tell me because I just do not understand.
Rhythmus, from my perspective, had no discernible camera work. There were certain angles that were seen, only flat images. The edit is what makes this an abstract Formalist film. The edit seems to be random without any discernible pattern. A sense of rhythm is there, through the straight lines and the similar movements by the shapes and EYEBALLS. At first glance, there seems to be no certain story within this film, if there is one, tell me because I just do not understand.
THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION-CLASSICISM
The Shawshank Redemption has very nice camera as it takes advantage of the many angles a prison can provide. It provides shots of low angle, showing the superior guards on the roof with their guns, it also uses pipes to block the certain beating that Andy Dufresne is getting. The film, being intense, uses a good amount of close ups in order to get the full effect of their emotion and also uses long shots to capture the emptiness of life within a prison.
The edit in this film seems to manipulate space and time as we see the main character, Andy Dufresne, become older as the film progresses. It condenses years of prison time in 142 minutes of film. The edit is much more tame compared to that of Formalism and much to that of Realism. It finds its balance within the middle of those two extremes.
The story told about a prison is only enhanced by the edit. The shots were not too long so that things would not get awkward between the characters, but long enough in order to get reactions from those same characters. Andy Dufresne's escape brings upon the downfall of the hierarchy of Shawshank. The story was very well told, as the plot was easy to follow while throwing some curveballs at the audience along the way. A good film that doesn't reveal the full story before it happens.
The edit in this film seems to manipulate space and time as we see the main character, Andy Dufresne, become older as the film progresses. It condenses years of prison time in 142 minutes of film. The edit is much more tame compared to that of Formalism and much to that of Realism. It finds its balance within the middle of those two extremes.
The story told about a prison is only enhanced by the edit. The shots were not too long so that things would not get awkward between the characters, but long enough in order to get reactions from those same characters. Andy Dufresne's escape brings upon the downfall of the hierarchy of Shawshank. The story was very well told, as the plot was easy to follow while throwing some curveballs at the audience along the way. A good film that doesn't reveal the full story before it happens.
Nice post. Remember that the distinction between these 3 styles has to do with the amount of camera and editing manipulation in the service of telling a story. Realism tries to let the audience decide what to see as important by allowing the action in the frame to the tell the story, not the camera angles, edit, and manipulation of time and space.
ReplyDeleteAs you mentioned with Rhythmus, it's meant to be an experience that is personal, not defined but loose an open to interpretation.
Keep it up!