Documentary Engagement, Origin, and Distinctions

Documentary Engagement, Origin, and Distinctions

Documentary film differentiates from its fiction film counter via distinguishing characteristics. However, the documentary and fiction film realms often converge creating combinations of genres. Hybrid genres still retain the ability to engage and persuade an audience and offer a beneficial, symbiotic relationship between genres. Though the topics of how documentary film started as well as how to differentiate between the different forms of itself come into play.

Citizenfour Movie Poster

           The triangle of communication references the intertwined stories of the filmmaker, the film, and the audience. The story of the filmmaker references how they explain their motives, the film’s story references the viewer’s understanding and interpretation of a film and the audience’s story of the audiences references their perspectives and motives based on previous experiences (Nichols, 2010). This method of communication is an element that assists in making a film engaging and persuasive. These stories manifest an awareness of a documentary film. The viewers become aware that the film came from somewhere and was made by someone (Nichols, 2010). This is evident in the film Citizenfour as we see the director and filmmaker Laura Poitras interact with the social actors such as Joseph Snowden and Glenn Greenwald. In addition, the formulation of a film’s style makes the audience aware of the camera. The audience was allowed to see where the cameras stood as well as to experience most events that occurred whether spontaneous or expected.

Edward Snowden (far left), David Miranda (second left), Glen Greenwald (first right), and Laura Poitras (far right).

13th Movie Poster

           The basis of the stylistic, rhetorical principles of making film compelling stems from documentaries often seeks to tap into the assumptions and expectations of the audience to establish rapport rather than revulsion or projection (Nichols, 2010). In addition, documentary film often appeals to the audience’s desire for information, explanations as well as government policy. The film 13th by Ava DuVernay dutifully captures these elements. DuVernay uses interviews from various credible sources such as Angela Davis—political activist— and Michelle Alexander—civil rights activist—among others to explain facts, statistics, and United States policies related to crime in the U.S. and how it has affected all stakeholders within the black culture. Many documentary films often rely heavily on commentary as a spoken language to replay oppressive themes to the audience. In combination with relevant archival or original footage, the value of documentary stems from the concepts of the spoken language as well as visual and audible representations (Nichols, 2010).

Statistics of the percentage of black men in U.S. prisons from the movie 13th.

    

Origin of Documentary: Workers Leaving the Lumiere Factory

         The voice of documentary—how a documentary offers a proposal or perspective. The desire for realism allowed for the establishment of documentary voice. The mythic origin of documentary manifested from the capacity of the photographic image and how a camera could capture reality. Documentary films give the audience a sense that they are looking beyond their world into an entirely new one. The origin of documentary and realism in the realm of fiction film started with the film Workers Leaving the Lumiere Factory. The first myth states that the filmmaker was a hero who traveled far and wide to reveal hidden corners and remarkable occurrences that were part of our reality (Nichols, 2010). The filmmaker’s desire to record the accuracy of an image deals with the second myth. The second myth states that film images possessed the power to reproduce the world by dint of a photomechanical process in which light energy passed through a lens onto a photographic emulsion (Nichols, 2010). However, the problem with the mythic origin stems from what the camera records as well. The rigorous documentation of what the camera records diverges into paths that differ from documentary—science, and spectacle (Nichols, 2010). Though science and spectacle differ from documentary, they contribute to the development of documentary. The ability of the photographic image as well as the ability to record sound replicates source material creates the scientific modes of representation (Nichols, 2010). Spectacle came from the scientist use of imagery which was called “cinema of attractions.” This concept relied on the photographic image to present viewers with sensational sketches of the unusual depictions of everyday life (Nichols, 2010).

Snowden Movie Poster

Snowden (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) being interviewed. 

        The characteristics and classifications as documentary are still often debated. This is because documentary films often blur the line between genres, fiction, and nonfiction films, as well as documentary and non-documentary films. However, the modes and of documentary and models of nonfiction films play a significant role to prevent confusion. Snowden and Citizenfour are both films—one being a fiction film and the other documentary—that blur the line and use elements of more than one genre. Snowden dramatizes the events of Edward Snowden’s life surrounding the documentary Citizenfour. Thus, the audience sees Snowden, played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and his internal moral turmoil, issues with epilepsy as well as the ups and downs with his girlfriend Lindsay Mills, played by Shailene Woodley. This fiction film mimics scenes from the documentary film Citizenfour and pretends to be a documentary in some scenes. Citizenfour is classified as a thriller documentary due to the high stakes consequences that Edward Snowden chooses to carry as his metaphorical cross (IMDb, 2014). One of the modes of documentary that could be used to classify this film would be the participatory mode due to the interactions between the director and her social actors. Snowden is classified as a drama/thriller as well as a mockumentary (IMDb, 2016). In addition, the nature documentary Wild China exemplifies the distinctive observational mode of documentary. However, it must be noted the documentaries seldom follow a strict mode of documentary. Wild China is within the observational mode due to the unobtrusive camera style as well as the voice of God narration. However, Wild China also exemplifies characteristics from the poetic mode of documentary. This is because the poetic mode stresses mood, tone, and affect much more than displays of factual knowledge or acts of rhetorical persuasion; though the rhetorical elements remain underdeveloped, but the expressive quality is vivid (Nichols, 2010). This is evident through the vivid, beautiful, and cinematic imagery of South China. 

Wild China Video Cover

Rice Feilds featured in Wild China

        In conclusion, the stories of the filmmaker, film and audience help to make a film engaging as well as persuasive. In addition, the stylistic rhetorical choices made when presenting desired information also encapsulates an audience’s attention. The voice of documentary manifested from the appetite for realism via photographic images. The mythic origin of documentary voice also comes from the development of the nonsynonymous concepts of science and spectacle. Lastly, the scientific modes of documentary representation as well as the models of nonfiction films are a necessity when classifying the flexible nature of documentary films.

Sources:

IMDb. (2014, November 06). Citizenfour. Retrieved April 03, 2019, from https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4044364/

IMDb. (2016, September 15). Snowden. Retrieved April 03, 2019, from https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3774114/

Nichols, B. (2010). Introduction to documentary (2nd ed.). Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press.

The Distinct Style of Documentary

The Distinct Style of Documentary

     Documentary is a distinct style within the realm of cinema. However, the techniques and tools used by filmmakers that create documentaries are the exact same tools used by filmmakers that create fiction films. Thus, the question of what makes a documentary film distinct from other forms of cinema must be asked. The elements of a documentary film are the film’s characteristics, modes of documentary filmmaking — informing logic, ethics and voice.

It has been argued in the past that documentary film did not possess a precise definition. However, there is a definition that was created in the 1930’s by John Grierson which states that documentary is the “creative treatment of actuality” (Nichols, 2010). Bill Nicholas augments Grierson’s definition by adding that documentary films depict reality and things that have actually occurred, real people, and tell stories about what happens in the world (Nichols, 2010). Now that a definition has been established, the next question is to ask whose story is being depicted, the filmmakers or the social subject’s.

     In fiction films, the story is strictly the filmmakers. In documentary film, the ownership of a story can belong to the filmmaker, the social subject, or both. In many cases, this comes down to the informing logic of a documentary. In the film Cameraperson by Kirsten Johnson, she formulated her film to showcase different people and their lives. The film transitions from observing the excitement and beauty of life to tragedy and death. Though the film focused mostly on the lives of others, the film was formulated as a memoir of her experiences with other people. The informing documentary logic of the film stems from the observational, participatory and performative modes.

A documentary can be organized into one or multiple of six modes. The modes of organization are expository, observational, participatory, reflexive, poetic, and performative. Each mode adheres to a specific purpose that represents viable methods of using cinematic resources. The expository mode emphasizes verbal commentary and an argumentative logic; observational emphasizes a direct engagement with the everyday lives of people through an unobtrusive camera while participatory emphasizes the interaction between the filmmaker and the subject via interviews, conversation, and provocations. The reflexive mode acts as a call to action for the discussion of documentary ethics, poetic emphasizes visual associations, tonal/rhythmic qualities, descriptive passages, as well as formal organization, and performative emphasizes the subjective or expressive aspect of the filmmaker’s own involvement with a subject (Nichols, 2010). The performative mode is often mistaken for the participatory mode due to the filmmaker’s involvement with the film. Nicholas states that the difference between the two is that the performative mode constructs subjective truths that are significant to the filmmaker and the participatory mode constructs truths that are supposed to be evident by the audience (Nichols, 2010).

     A documentary’s ethics and methods of representation also set this style of film apart from fiction film. A documentary is supposed to offer the audience a sense of recognizable familiarity of the world, represent the interests of others, and propose an interpretation to win consent or influence opinion (Nichols, 2010). The existence of ethics in the field of documentary was established to govern conduct over matters where fast rules or laws will not do. Nichols states that ethics are a measure of the ways negotiations between the filmmakers and social subject take place (Nichols, 2010). This is necessary to identify the consequences for subjects as well as the audience. The principle of informed consent was introduced to relay the consequences of a social subject’s actions. In addition, three formulaic approaches were introduced to documentary photography to make sure that all parties involved in a documentary are represented appropriately. These approaches involve relationships that take place between the filmmaker, social subjects, and audience. The first approach occurs when the filmmaker takes on a persona and addresses the audience directly. This process can also occur through a surrogate voice-of-God narrator. The filmmaker closes the gap of separation, that is typical, between the subject and the audience. The second approach occurs when the filmmaker speaks about the social subject to the audience. The second approach is the most common in documentary filmmaking and can be subclassifications. The first subclassification betrays the sense of separation than can occur between the social subject and the audience. The film appears to be addressed to the audience. The second subclassification puts the filmmaker on the same level as the social subject. The specific name of this subclass is autoethnography—the efforts of indigenous people to make films and videos about there own culture so that they may represent it to the audience (Nichols, 2010).   

     Lastly, the voice of a documentary showcases a distinctive style. Everything that the audience sees and hears represents how the filmmaker wants to speak about the world. It derives from the director’s method of portraying their take on reality.  The voice of a documentary has the ability to make claims, propose perspectives and evoke feelings. Documentary voice also relies on the same cinematic film techniques as fiction film style. The editing, sounds, the source of footage, timeline portrayal and the mode of documentary all play a role in documentary voice. Voice can also be divided into two categories of address; that of direct and indirect address. In regard to issues that require the debate of morally, value, interpretation, and judgment a rhetorical method of thinking and speaking must be used. Rhetoric must be credible, convincing and compelling. Classical rhetoric thinking involves a films invention—the construction and argument of the world, arrangement—gathering evidence and how it’s put in order, style—cinematic tools that the filmmaker uses to speak to an audience, memory—the recollection of participants and interviewees and delivery—the final result.

     In conclusion, documentary is a distinctive style that uses portrays reality using modes of documentary filmmaking—informing logic, ethics and voice. Modes are used to organize and represent information and subjects. Ethics are used to govern groups in scenarios where fast rule and laws will not do. Lastly, documentary voice can be used directly or indirectly through different methods of formulation. These methods always involve the three-way relationship between the filmmaker, social subjects, and audience. In regard to issues that require debate, classical rhetoric thinking must be applied using the five divisions of rhetoric: invention, arrangement, style, memory and delivery.

Sources

Nichols, B. (2010). Introduction to documentary (2nd ed.). Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press.

Discussing Narrative and Genre

Narrative and Genre

      Within the realm of film, narrative and genre become structural elements that shape the final result of cinematic media. The narrative of a film references the story and plot elements while genre uses a formula or template to categorize narratives. Often, the word plot is often confused and used synonymously to represent what is supposed to be the story of a film. To better understand these concepts, an analysis will be conducted on the film Once Were Warriors

Once Were Warriors Movie Poster

      The purpose of a story is to be the set of all events in a film’s diegetic world. This includes all events that are and are not depicted. Thus, the story includes every explicit and implicit action. In the case for Once Were Warriors — directed by Lee Tamahori — the story takes place in the Auckland slums of New Zealand and follows a struggling, Maori family of seven. The story focuses on the father — Jake — who is unemployed with a vicious temper, the mother — Beth — who tries to care for her children while suffering domestic abuse. The oldest son — Julian — is disconnected from his family and joins a gang, the oldest daughter — Grace — copes with her familial and mental struggles by finding a form of solace in her diary, and the middle son — Boogie — gets sent to a welfare house once it is seen that the living conditions of his home are not conducive to his growth as a young man.

Once Were Warriors Cast (from left to right top row) Julian, Jake, Beth, Boogie, and Grace. (From left to right bottom row) Huata, and Polly. 

      The plot presents the specific material that the filmmakers choose and the order in which the material is shown. In Once Were Warriors, the plot is linear, and all events happen in a logical sequence. In addition, the plot pattern of the film contains elements of emotional lack, obstacles to challenge the characters, as well as a journey of enlightenment. This mixture of plot patterns is attributed to the dysfunctional dynamic of the family. The three older children feel disconnected from their parents. The sense of emotional lack is evident when the audience starts to see that Jake is associated with feelings hatred due to his violent tendencies and Beth is seen as untrustworthy and unreliable. The family household was often the location for a hotbed of sin and was not a safe place to raise children. The children sought emotional stability, and  Beth wanted a healthy relationship with her husband. The main obstacle with many of the characters was the Jake’s anger. In the film, Beth mentions that Jake himself is a slave to his own anger. The journey of enlighten reaches is resolution once the eldest daughter Grace hangs herself in her backyard. In this case, their journey references the Maori warrior past. Beth is a descendant of a revered tribe while Jake was the descendant of slaves. Thus, the inheritance of mana — spirit — is seen to be exercised in only Beth once she finally decides to lead a better life for her family away from Jake. Beth, having grown up more traditionally, represents what the Maori were while Jake represents what the Maori have become.

Beth being presented with a backlight shining on here representing her final growth during the denouement.

      In regard to genre, Once Were Warriors is classified as a foreign drama film. Typically, a film is categorized based on if the film is or is not a narrative, if the film is fictional or nonfictional, as well as the purpose and intentions of the film. In addition, a film’s story formula, themes, character types, setting, presentation, and even celebrities can help to identify the genre of a film. The story formula for a drama includes the exposition to provide basic information, rising action, the climax or turning point that acts as the focal point of the film, falling action, resolution, and the denouement.

Dramatic Plot Structure - Freytag Pyramid

 In the case for Once Were Warriors, for reference, the turning point of the film started to unfold when Grace was confronted with her greatest obstacle and concluded when she ended her life. One of the overarching themes of the film is the conflict between the traditional Maori culture versus the results of modern-day western influence. The character types are vulnerable and struggle at interpersonal communication, the setting primarily takes place in the slums, and the presentation of the film is dominated by high contrast color correction as well as lighting. On a separate note, film scholars find that genre films to be rich artifacts that can reveal a lot about the culture that drove the film’s story and plot (Barsam, & Monahan, 2016). This film did not exhibit overt themes about Maori culture; however, the film did present the sense of pride and reverence that the Maori people have for their culture. Lee Tamahori’s film was adapted from the bestselling fiction novel written by Alan Duff and thus is classified as fiction. However, Duff’s novel was inspired by his real-life experiences.

      In conclusion, when talking about narrative, it involves the story and plot of a film. The purpose of the story is to set the diegetic world and tell information that is explicit and implicit. The purpose of the plot is to present the information in a sequence that the filmmaker believes best represents the film. When discussing genre, the purpose is to categorize a film based on a set of criteria. There are various ways to do so from identifying the purpose of a film to analyzing the presentation. Narrative and genre play a major role when analyzing and discussing filmography.

Sources

Barsam, R. M., & Monahan, D. (2016). Looking at movies: An introduction to film (5th ed.). New York: W.W. Norton & Company.

IMDb. (n.d.). Once Were Warriors. Retrieved February 21, 2019, from https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0110729/fullcredits

Schwartz, D. B. (n.d.). Dramatic Plot Structure. Retrieved February 21, 2019, from http://cola.calpoly.edu/~dschwart/engl339/plot.html

Wilson, Pamela Dr. (2019) Narrative [PowerPoint Slides]. 

Cinematography Analysis on Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

Cinematography

Cinematography is typically known as a method in a camera is used to convey the message of a film. However, there is more to this art form than just the placement of the camera’s eye. Cinematography processes multiple facets that are used to construct a motion picture. The type of film stock, format, color, lighting, composition, et cetera. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon will be the focus when discussing said elements.

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon was directed by Ang Lee, made in China and released in the year 2000. The film takes place in early 19th century China and follows the intertwining lives of Li Mu Bai — played by Yun-Fat Chow —, Yu Shu Lien — played by Michelle Yeoh —, Jen Yu — played by Ziyi Zhang — and Jade Fox — played by Pei-Pei Cheng. The connection between each character manifests because of knowing of Li Mu Bai or his legendary sword called the green destiny. The film showed that composed scenes tended to start with extreme long shots, though they were used mostly to establish scenes at specific times. Then the extreme long shot would evolve into wide shots, medium shots and close-ups.

Establishing shot of the town hosting Li Mu Bai's famed sword.

Guard patrolling the grounds.

Guard looking off into. 

Guard senses something that just passed by on the roof. 

The director of photography for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Peter Pau, used a rhythmical and innovative mixture of crane shots, wide shots and close-ups. Pau’s methods were used to capture as much action as possible with — crane and wide shots — while allowing the viewer to see what is going on in a character’s world — close up shots. Pau was hired because the director, Ang Lee, only worked with the drama genre. Thus, help was needed to plan the gravity-defying martial art scenes. To achieve the product that audiences see in the final rendition of the film, Pau needed to analyze other films that he worked on earlier in his career. Each shot was character driven to compliment the strength of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, its multi-layered characters.



              The fight scene that took place in a luscious bamboo forest between Li Mu Bai and Jen Yu perfectly exemplifies the goals set out by Pau. The movie was filmed on Eastman as well as Kodak 35mm film and colored by Technicolor. These specifications definitely shine through in the bamboo forest. The 35mm film allows for enough space to be shown in both wide and close up shots and the color bleeds off the screen vividly capturing lively greens and calm blues. It adds a sense of wonderment and compliments the artistic nature of martial art combat.     

Video of the fight between Li Mu Bai and Jen Yu https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KXIJv1NoXmo

                    

            Throughout the scene, the lighting switches a couple of times from harsh contrasting light to soft light seemingly coming from an overcast sky. This allowed for a subtle visual switch. The change of light changed the camera’s focus. When the harsh light reigned throughout the scene, beautiful contrasting extreme wide shots were used to bring a high level of framing to the composition. Once the lighting became soft, more close up shots were used to bring focus back solely to the actions of the characters. In addition, the colors portray Li Mu Bai's sense of whimsy while playing around with Jen Yu. 

Jen Yu (left) making the first move against Li Mu Bai (right). 

Jen Yu (left) locked in combat with Li Mu Bai (right). 

The composition of the characters during the fight was expertly done and excellently told a story from the character’s thoughts and feelings toward each other as well as both character’s individual worlds. As mentioned, the cinematography was purposefully used to highlight the characters and their traits. This is mostly evident during close-ups of the character’s faces. It put the audience directly in a position to semiotically read facial expressions. This gives the audience a view into the motivations that carry Li Mu Bai and Jen Yu throughout the scene. During the beginning, both characters started traveling in opposite directions, using the bamboo to guide them. Close up shots of both character were used interchangeably to show communication between the characters. The aesthetic was excellently carried out through due to the cross dissolves allowing for all movements to be present while they stare into each other’s eyes.

Jen Yu staring at Li Mu Bai.

Cross dissolve used to focus on her intense stare.  

Cross dissolve used again to bring focus to Li Mu Bai. 

The cinematography of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon also carries the eyes of the audience, elegantly, across the scene. A prime example of this occurs when Li Mu Bai and Jen Yu share a bamboo stalk. The scene starts off with a wide shot to show the relation of space between the characters. The camera cuts to a wide, then medium shot, of Jen Yu's face to show her reaction to the situation and then to her feet to show her action. Seamlessly, the camera then cuts to Li Mu Bai's feet to show that Jen Yu's actions have no effect on him and finally the camera cuts to his face and then a wide shot to show the end result of the moment. 

Wide shot of Li Mu Bai (left) and Jen Yu (right). 

Jen Yu trying to gain balance and composure.

Jen Yu trying to force Li Mu Bai off of the bamboo stalk.

Jen Yu' trying to balance on the bamboo stalk. 

Li Mu Bai perfectly balancing on the bamboo stalk. 

Li Mu Bai smiling at the futile efforts of Jen Yu. 

Li Mu Bai (left) jumping off the bamboo stalk to make Jen Yu (right) fall.

  In conclusion, Peter Pau brought an abundance of cinematic artistry into Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. His cinematography presented the martial art scenes with grace and kept them visually intact with no breaks in the flow. The camera also told more than just the plot story. It told the story of the characters in an up close and personal manner. Every technique was used for the main purpose of framing and highlighting Lee’s multi-layered complex characters.

Sources

Evanerichards. (2013, December 06). The Cinematography of "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" (2000) – Evan E. Richards. Retrieved February 13, 2019, from http://evanerichards.com/2009/377#comments

IMDb. (n.d.). Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon Full Cast and Crew. Retrieved February 12, 2019, from https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0190332/fullcredits

IMDb. (n.d.). Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon Technical Specifications. Retrieved February 12, 2019, from https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0190332/technical?ref_=tt_dt_spec

Koehler, M. (2018, July 10). "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" Film Analysis. Retrieved February 12, 2019, from https://www.lightsfilmschool.com/blog/getting-smart-with-story-structure-crouching-tiger-hidden-dragon

Xie, B. (2016, July 26). Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: A Lesson from Cinematographer Peter Pau. Retrieved February 11, 2019, from http://www.reelasian.com/industry/crouching-tiger-hidden-dragon-a-lesson-from-oscar-winning-cinematographer-peter-pau/

Mise-en-Scene

Mise–en–scene references the staging and composition of a scene. Elements of mise-en-scene include the setting, decor, lighting, depth of space, costumes/makeup, camerawork et cetera. Baz Luhrmann’s Moulin Rouge (2001) and Zhang Yimou’s Hero (2002) provide fantastic examples of scene composition through every element. However, setting and costumes will be the only elements discussed.

Setting refers to time, place and location of a scene. Moulin Rouge has an abundance of beautiful scenery. When Christian visited the Moulin Rouge for the first time, the setting was used to display the magic of theatrical performance. The movement of the dancers and their positions sold the fact that they were self-proclaimed creatures of the underworld. In reference to editing, the scene can be juxtaposed with another scene from the movie The Devil and Daniel Webster (1941). Both movies present figures that identify with the underworld as dancing in a quick and unearthly manner.

Christian (Left) reclaiming his love with Satine (Right). 

Hero also comes armed with an array of mesmerizing and purposeful scenery. Throughout the movie, the camera brings the viewer back to the present conversation between Nameless and the Qin king. The scene is minimal but very purposeful. The army of candles the separate the two men provide visual clues about Nameless’ mission objective. Another scene beautifully frames the fabricated conflict between Flying Snow and Moon — Broken Sword’s servant. The yellow leaves gracefully surround the two as they fight. Once Moon is dealt a fatal blow, the leaves turn red like their clothing. Lastly, in a manufactured fight between Nameless and Broken Sword, they dance across a lake with their blades seeming to channel the kinesis, grace and elegance of a crane. Having the actors be compared to the revered animal is most likely a detail Yimou purposefully directed. The crane is the second most honored bird in Chinese culture only second to the Phoenix.

Nameless (Left) accepting his reward from the Qin king (Right).

Moon's last gaze upon Flying Snow before her death.

Broken Sword (Left) and Nameless (Right) fighting on water. 

Costumes are also an important aspect of mise-en-scene. Costumes possess the ability to present information about the characters wearing them as well as the setting before a viewer is formally introduced. In the case for Moulin Rouge, the costumes designed by Catherine Martine and Angus Strathie introduce the main characters wonderfully. The main characters Satine — Nicole Kidman — and Christian — Ewan McGregor — wear costumes that show off their personalities, financial wellbeing, and social status. Satine’s clothes revealed her desire for a luxurious and eventful life. Her clothes also foreshadowed her material nature as was also conveyed by the first song she sings Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend. Christians clothing was typically humble in nature since he was a penniless writer looking for love.

Christian writing the story of the Moulin Rouge.

Satine performing Diamonds Are a Girls Best Friend.

Video: Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend

In the case for Hero, the costumes designed by Emi Wada were color-centric and worked in tandem with the matching movie sets. The different colored costumes were used to distinguish between variants of Nameless’ — Jet Li — story of triumph against the famed assassins Sky, Flying Snow and Broken Sword. The main colors used were black, red, blue, white, and green. Black distinguished the present time from the past as well as fabricated events. It also symbolizes the power of the Qin empire. Red represented past events that were made up by Nameless to gain the trust of the Qin king. Red also represents Nameless’ murderous intent directed toward the Qin king. Blue signified the king’s version of the story knowing that Nameless’ tale held no truth. White represents the whole truth and doubles as the Chinese color of mourning to honor the deaths of Flying Snow and Broken Sword. Green was used as a part of Broken Sword’s past encounter with the king. Broken Sword, unlike the other characters, believed that the Qin king had the power to bring balance to ununified China. Chinese symbology identifies green as the color of balance, harmony and benevolence.   

The Qin king being surrounded by his court. 

The Zhao calligraphy school under attack by the Qin king's army

Nameless (Middle) showing his swordsmanship skills to Broken Sword (Left) and Flying Snow (Right).

Flying Snow (Right) crying over the death of Broken Sword (Left).

The Qin king (Middle) yielding helplessly to Broken Sword (Right). 

In conclusion, mise-en-scene is an important aspect of film that encompasses all the elements that control the atmosphere of a film. Each element contains encoded information for the viewer to interpret and decode. A key role of mise-en-scene is to create a sense of naturalness for the pleasure of the viewer.

Sources

Barsam, R. M., & Monahan, D. (2016). Looking at movies: An introduction to film (5th ed.). New York: W.W. Norton & Company.

IMDb. (n.d.). Hero. Retrieved February 05, 2019, from https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0299977/fullcredits?ref_=tt_cl_sm#cast

IMDb. (n.d.). Moulin Rouge! Retrieved February 05, 2019, from https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0203009/fullcredits

Gehrmann, V. (n.d.). Symbolism of Colors, Asscociations of The Five Elements in Chinese Beliefs and Feng Shui. Retrieved February 05, 2019, from https://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/Chinese_Customs/colours.htm

McGrail, L. (2018, July 03). 5 Essential Elements of Successful Mise en Scène in Film. Retrieved February 05, 2019, from https://www.lightsfilmschool.com/blog/mise-en-scene-in-film-afk

Nazmial Antique Rugs. (2018, September 13). Cranes in Chinese Art | Chinese Crane Significance Symbolism & Meaning. Retrieved February 05, 2019, from https://nazmiyalantiquerugs.com/blog/cranes-chinese-art-symbol-meaning/

The Passion of Joan of Arc

Silent films ushered in the Age of the Silver Screen. The Age of the Silver Screen was an era that birthed many film stars within the film industry. One of which is was Renee Maria Falconetti, the lead actress in the silent film directed by Carl Theodor Dreyer The Passion of Joan of Arc. Silent films are a form of media that mastered the craft of visual storytelling. Dreyer’s construction of his 1928 film presents a great example of visual storytelling.

The majority of Dreyer’s film was composed of close up and medium shots (Ebert 1997). Each shot presented Falconetti’s character—Joan of Arc—and her tormentors—the clergymen— from a low angle. However, Joan always looked up, and the clergymen always looked down at her. This shows that the clergymen possessed power over Joan from the start of the film. The close-up shots of Joan were tighter on her visage to showcase her facial expressions and emotive sense of character. The majority of the camera’s movements—pans, tilts, and moving crane shots—only occurs when the clergymen are involved with the scene. In addition, the camera granted the viewer with visual symbolic imagery. For example, a drawing of Joan depicts her as a fire breathing dragon on the walls of the prison. This drawing encodes that the clergymen believe she works for Satan. In another, the stake used to hold Joan in place while she burned was placed in the foreground of the church cross. In combination with the chaos unfolding on the church grounds after Joan’s death implicitly states that Satan won the day.

Right - Drawing of Joan as a demonic dragon. 

Left - Cross is in the background representing the church's loss.
Right - Stake that Joan was burnt on is in the foreground representing Satan's victory. 

Dreyer used the lighting in his scenes to help exaggerate and portray emotive facial features and to display a character’s moral standing within the realm of good and evil. Joan is primarily shown with a key light shining on the front of her face, symbolizing her purity and dedication to God. The clergymen are always presented with a light shining above them, highlighting their wrinkles, disenchanted expressions, and Pharisee characteristics. 

Regarding the performance of the actors, Falconetti’s portrayal of Joan is known to be in a class of its own. Her countenance wonderfully portrayed disconnection, determination, dismay, fear, and agony without the need for words (Rose, 2010). Her reactions were exaggerated yet not silly or cliché. Falconetti’s dazed gaze throughout the film showed a sense of disconnection from her situation and the church. That she lent an ear to God and His wisdom and presented herself as the physical manifestation of the John 18:36 “If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world; therefore the world hates you.” (Open Bible, n.d.). The performance of the clergymen was also very exaggerated and worked well in tandem with their anger towards Joan. Their wide eyes, shaking heads and spraying spit conveyed a great sense of the clergymen’s uncouth pharisee like behavior. The film’s plot having been inspired by authentic manuscripts of the trial of Joan of Arc may have something to do with the actor’s grand performances.

Close-up of Joan.

Close-up of one on the lead clergymen

The editing style of The Passion of Joan of Arc is very different from modern film media. Joan and the clergymen were not often shown in the same shot. The film cuts back and forth between Joan and the clergymen. The camera presents them separately for much of the film, highlighting the disconnection between Joan and the men of God. In addition, the mise-en-scene is only shown when the camera is focused on the clergymen throughout the beginning of the film. The camera mainly keeps Joan in a tight close-up in front of a plain background.

In conclusion, The Passion of Joan of Arc told the story of the young 18-year-old French heroine through a mix of great camera work, lighting, actor performance, and editing. The camera mainly isolated Joan for much of the film to create a connection between Joan and the viewer. The set lighting allowed for the moral standpoint and for a crucial character’s true colors to be revealed. The actor’s performances were exaggerated to set the atmosphere and tone of the film. Lastly, the editing compliments the camera work in achieving the disconnection between Joan and the clergymen.

Sources

Ebert, R. (1997, February 16). The Passion of Joan of Arc Movie Review (1928) | Roger Ebert. Retrieved January 28, 2019, from https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-the-passion-of-joan-of-arc-1928

Open Bible. (n.d.). 98 Bible Verses about Not Of This World. Retrieved January 29, 2019, from https://www.openbible.info/topics/not_of_this_world

Rose, S. (2010, October 20). The Passion of Joan of Arc: No 22 best arthouse film of all time. Retrieved January 29, 2019, from https://www.theguardian.com/film/2010/oct/20/passion-joan-arc