District 9 - Sound

In 1927 the inclusion of sound in film, called the talkie era, was introduced by the film The Jazz Singer (U.S.A., 1927). The use of orchestra’s, piano’s, and organs to add music to silent film would begin to decline, but not without resistance. Synchronous sound recorded as the film was rolling, limiting the movements of the actors and the camera to enable the microphones to pick up the dialogue. Many producers unsatisfied with the limitations of synchronous sound began to develop new ways of adding sound to film. Rene Clair began to film many scenes without sound and dubbed the clips when filming was complete. The development of new sound techniques would affect the filming of movies and the acting styles required forever.

Prior to the addition of sound in film, the tone or pitch of the actor’s voice was relatively insignificant. Silent film stars were critiqued on their looks and ability to evoke emotion by their actions. The realism added by sound reduced the need for dramatic emphasis in scenes to convey the message. Actors were now forced to focus on their spoken words and correlating actions rather than miming their way through a scene. The film District 9 (U.S.A., 2009) exemplifies how accurately sound, even an alien language, can effectively convey emotion. The film requires alien refugees to interact with increasingly less cordial humans. Throughout the film the aliens speak in their native language, only being subtitled during longer dialogue sequences. The sounds the aliens produce are however nearly sufficient to convey their message. The grunts, clicks, and associated sounds of the alien speech effectively displays the emotion associated with a scene, whether it be anger and frustration or patience and caring. The inclusion of sound also changed the way that directors filmed a sequence and what they chose to emphasize.

The silent era of film often required directors to include subtitles or dialogue cuts to convey messages. The inclusion of necessary scenes to develop character often directed the directors rather than the film being shot purely for plot content. The innovation of sound now allows directors to set the tone and mood for a scene with very little visual clues. The sound of a slowly creaking door clearly signifies impending danger, while the sound of happily chirping birds sets a much lighter mood. The contribution of sound to the content of a film allows for increased comprehension of a scene.

Films prior to the late 1920’s required a great deal of exaggeration from the actors and a dedicated effort by film makers to visually develop a story. A vast amount of experimentation and dedication to develop the audible content included in film has influenced the requirements for actors and editors alike. The inclusion of synchronous and nonsynchronous sound working together in modern films has bridged the gap between concerned formalistic and realistic directors. Audible cues such as, an actors tone of voice or the off screen sounds of a crying baby, have given directors an increased ability to influence the emotional involvement of the audience.

Raging Bull - Editing

The use of editing in film added an element of art to the filming process. From a simple perspective editing eliminates unnecessary time and space as well as connecting different shots or scenes within a film. D.W. Griffith’s use of editing to add power or subtlety has been referred to as classical cutting; Griffith has contributed more to the elements of editing than any other individual.

Griffith’s use of the close up was able to add drama and emotion to a scene. In the film Raging Bull (U.S.A., 1980), director Martin Scorcese used close-ups masterfully to garner emotion from the audience. In a scene where the paranoid Jake La Motta confronts his wife Vickie with accusations of adultery, Scorcese uses the close-up to show increasing tension. Jake follows his wife into the bathroom and as the physical abuse from Jake increases the camera draws closer, relaying the fear and intensity of the moment, as the threat subsides so does the camera. Scorcese incorporated many other editing techniques that were perfected by Griffith.

Griffith would often use long extended takes with very few set up to shoot love scenes while conversely utilizing brief cuts during chase or battle scenes. Scorcese having to shoot several boxing matches did a masterful job of utilizing Griffith’s techniques. The title fight that Jake La Motta won, only consumed roughly a minute of actual screen time. In a short time Scorcese was able to convey the intensity and duration of the fight effectively to the audience through the use of short clips carefully compacted together. Considered the Father of Film, D.W. Griffith has made a lasting impact on the industry.

The basic elements of editing had already been developed before Griffith began his career. His vision however, allowed him to use editing techniques to psychologically direct the emotion of the audience. The contributions of Griffith have contributed to the success of many modern films. One great example of Griffith’s continued influences are in the film Slum Dog Millionaire (U.S.A., 2008). Thematic montage is used to show flashbacks throughout the film explaining a young boys ability to answer questions on the game show. Griffith’s work with parallel editing, cross-cutting, and development of thematic montage were among his greatest contributions which will indefinitely influence film editing.

Movement – Run Lola Run

The carefully choreographed movement that occurs in a film between characters, camera, and setting goes relatively unappreciated. Kinetics, camera movement, and the distortion of movement work in unison throughout a film to persuade the viewers’ perception. The film Run Lola Run (Germany, 1998), directed by Tom Tykwer, masterfully choreographs movement to accentuate events as they unfold.

The film opens with a bird’s eye view of a city. The camera swoops down and zeros in on a single apartment. The camera carries us through the window, down a hallway and into a room where the camera zooms in on the red telephone. This journey zooms us from the vastness of the world into the small world of one girl, whose life is about to be changed by a phone call received on a relatively insignificant telephone. The speed at which this journey occurs is significant. It is fast paced and symbolic of the adventure Lola is about to face. If the shot were filmed at a slower or even real time pace the significance would have been lost and misleading, presenting a sense of calm or normalcy that the audience would have associated with a slower movement. This distortion of movement is also a distortion of time, but just one of many ways movement can affect perception.

Lola has received her fateful phone call from Manny who is desperately seeking her help. Once the call has ended Lola is standing alone in the middle of the room trying to collect her thoughts. The camera swirls frantically around Lola who is stationary at the center of the shot. Flashes of acquaintances that may provide her with some help are seen. The urgency of her thought are portrayed by the speed of the camera circling her, as she gains focus the intensity of the swirling slows to a halt as the viewer learns that she will seek her father’s help. This representation of thoughts through the swirling camera movement associates Lola’s thoughts with the feeling most people experience when urgently seeking a solution.

Throughout Run Lola Run the many uses of movement available to a director are used. Most of the movement in the film is achieved through camera movement and mechanical distortions, such as animation or slow motion. There are moments when kinetic movement of the actors contributes to the content of a scene, most notably when Lola and Manny are surrounded by the police resulting in fatality. Tom Tykwer’s use of movement resonates throughout the film, dramatically contributing to its overall content.

Mise en Scène – The Placement of Objects to Represent Symbolism

The placement of characters and objects on screen are carefully choreographed to contribute content to a film which helps to develop mood and character. The audience is typically unaware of the directors’ efforts in each scene, but rather feels the emotion drawn from the carefully filmed representation of the directors’ vision. This scene from the film The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus (U.S.A., 2009) is filled with the elements of mise en scène, but most notably the symbolic placement of the characters which contributes to the development of future events.

This frame of the film shows Anton and Tony as the dominant objects and is shot in a murky low key with high key spotlights on them both. The shot seems to be a medium shot with a social camera proxemic range. The eye level shot shows the notable color contrast between the white clothes that Tony is wearing and the dark clothes of Anton. This good versus bad color scheme is representative of Valentina’s view of them in the scene. The shot appears to be done with a standard lens and no filter was used. Low density leaves the majority of the focus on the three characters with the subsidiary contrast on Valentina. The image also uses the rule of thirds with all three areas being utilized, the closed form suggests the confrontational manner of the shot. The three depth planes of the shot are the two characters confronting each other, Valentina above in the middle ground and the traveling stage-home as the background. Valentina is placed high in the shot showing that her feminity is superior to the confrontational men below who are in the profile position facing each other. The proximity of both men to Valentina is personal showing their attachment to her, but it is social between them as their difference’s separate them.

The most telling aspect of this shot is the character placement. The frame suggests a struggle between the two men as they battle for Valentina’s affection, a theme that persists throughout the film. The separation placed between Anton and Tony is apparent. The almost sarcastic color choices of each characters clothes represent Valentina’s wandering perception. The placement of Valentina in the top of the frame is representative of the forthcoming control she will ultimately have over the decisions of each man. This one simple shot is a telling representation of the upcoming struggles faced in the film, symbolically foreshadowing the future event before they unfold.