The better a viewer reads an image the more he/she understands:

• Its physical reality

• What it means based on cultural references

• Its various sets of meanings

NARRATIVEQuestions to ask when discussing the

narrative:• What is the chronological order of the film?

Is it told in flashbacks, real time, or over an extended period of time?

• Are there voice-overs or title cards to help narrate the film? What is the plot of the film?

• Is the narrative conforming to the conventions of a specific genre? (Romance, Western, Crime?)

CHARACTERAnalyzing Filmic Characters is similar to analyzing written characters: Are they realistic, how do they change over the course of the film, what do they represent etc.?

Types Of Characters:Round Characters

– Complex, life-like, multidimensional, and changeable– Usually only a few per film– Appear throughout the film– Essential to the plot

Flat Characters– Simple, stereotypical, minor, one-dimensional, unchanging– Appear only in a few scenes– Are rarely essential to the plot but add interest

POINT OF VIEW (POV)

• When is the POV objective (omniscient), and when is it subjective (seen through the eyes of one of the characters)?

• What does this POV tell us about the characters?• How does the camera’s eye limit or control what

you see? How do shifts in POV affect the viewer and the viewer’s understanding of the film?

Point of View

How do the different POVs in these two images create interpretations?

Objective POV in The Matrix (1999)

Subjective POV in The Matrix Revolutions (2003)

MISE-EN-SCÈNELiterally means “put into the scene” and refers to sets and backdrops, the use of props and lighting, as well as the blocking of actors’ movements within the dramatic space. The term is used to describe the space constructed for the camera. It includes two important elements:

1. Setting2. Composition

MISE-EN-SCÈNE: Setting

• Lighting: is it harsh or soft? Tinted or colored? Natural or artificial? What shadows does it create?

• Costumes: what do we learn about the characters from what they wear (or don’t wear)?

• Sets: Are props or sets significant? How do characters relate to them? Are they related to any themes?

Setting: Lighting

How does side lighting influence the interpretation of the frame?

The Sixth Sense (1999)

What is the effect of back-lighting in this image from The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)?

Setting: CostumesCostumes may be used to distinguish main characters from secondary characters, to further the plotline, and to identify good and evil.

Gone With the Wind (1939)

Star Wars (1977)

Setting: SetsSets can reveal how a character has changed. In these two shots from American Beauty (1999), the setting echoes the changing relationship between Lester and his wife.

MISE-EN-SCÈNE: Composition

Some questions to consider when analyzing composition:

– The Arrangement: How are the elements in the frame arranged? (Foreground and Background)

– Photographic qualities: Are the images grainy, distressed, crisp, or processed in a special way?

– Framing: Do elements (besides the screen itself) confine/divide/exclude parts of the image? What is off-screen? How is space created or violated by the frame?

– Camera angle, distance, and tilt: Does the camera itself move (tracking) or does it stand still and just rotate (a pan)?

Composition: Arrangement (Part 1)Foreground and Background

How filmmakers position people and objects in the background and foreground in a given image influences what the image communicates.

The background of an action may go unnoticed because it is obscurely lit or out of focus or because subjects in the foreground draw so much of the viewer’s attention.

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002)

Composition: ArrangementSymmetrical Composition

In symmetrical compositions, the subject(s) is seen in the approximate center of the frame.

American Beauty (1999)

Moulin Rouge (2001)

Composition: ArrangementAsymmetrical Composition

In asymmetrical In asymmetrical compositions, major compositions, major subjects are not offset or subjects are not offset or balanced by other subjects balanced by other subjects elsewhere in the frame. elsewhere in the frame. Asymmetrical Asymmetrical compositions can cause the compositions can cause the viewer to pay attention to viewer to pay attention to an aspect of the shot he or an aspect of the shot he or she might otherwise she might otherwise ignore.ignore.

Thelma and Louise (1991)

When you look at a frame, one of the first things to consider is distance.

How much do you see of the character(s)?

•Is it a close up?•Is it a full shot?•Is it a medium shot?

Can you see the whole body or a part of the body?

A Place in the Sun 1951

American Beauty (1999)

In general the closer the camera gets to the characters, the closer the viewer feels towards the characters.

This is why close ups are often used for:

love scenes

scenes where the character is suffering or fearful

any other scene where the viewer is supposed to understand what the character is feeling.

As the camera moves further away from the character(s), the viewer is provided more information about them or about their situation.

From Rosemary’s Baby 1968 From Babel 2006

The further the camera is from the subject, the moredistant you will feel from what is happening in the sceneor to the character(s). lets theaudience have a look at the subject in relation to itssurrounding.

The Two-Shot

Makes two characters the subject of the frame. It allows you tounderstand how the characters interact and react to each other.

Avatar 2009

Another thing you should consider when observingA frame is the angle or camera position.

Was the frame shot from high above? (a high angle)

Was it shot at eye level?

Was it shot from a low angle?

A frame shot from a high angle is often referred to as God’s eye view because it suggests that ‘someone’ is observing the characters. It can suggest danger and helplessness.

300 2006

Apocalypto 2007

The Fountain 2007

A frame shot from a low angle makes the subject seem larger.

The Postman Always Rings Twice 1946

Citizen Kane 1941

The Dark Knight 2008

Inglorious Basterds 2009

A character that seems larger than another in a frame is usually the dominant character.

From Double Indemnity 1944

From Rebecca

1940

From Gone with the Wind1939

From Letter from an Unknown Woman 1948

The Departed 2006

A canted angle suggests that something is wrong either in the character or the story’s situation.

Artificial Intelligence 2001

Besides shots and angles, you should also watch for symbols.

Some common symbols are:

Images of entrapment are usually shown through characters framed by doors, gates, or confined spaces (like closets).

From The Kid 1921

From Carrie 1976

Pan’s Labyrinth 2006

Atonement 2007

The Hours 2002

The Ring 2002

The Painted Veil 2006

A Beautiful Mind 2001

The Departed 2006

Images of duality are usually represented by characters reflected in mirrors , water, glass.

Psycho 1960

The Lady from Shanghai,1947

Taxi Driver 1976

The Matrix 2003

Mulholland Drive 2001

Black Swan 2010

Stairs, dark alleys, canted angles, darkness enveloping a character, seeing only part of a character are some images of imminent danger.

From Silence of the Lambs

From Kiss Me DeadlyFrom Halloween

From The French Connection

Light cutting through a character(s), lines which divide the frame, usually mark images of characters that are in turmoil.

From The Usual Suspects

From Blade Runner

From The Awful Truth

Sweeney Todd 2007

Other Symbols

Christ figures/Biblical References

From Dead Man Walking

Crosses

From The Omen

Pan’s Labyrinth

From Schindler’s List

Color

Rebirth

The Moon Water

Roads

From E.T.

From Jaws

From North by Northwest

…and many others

Trees

Other definitions• Cliché- overuse of situations, symbols

• Voice over-a narrator whose voice is heard throughout a film

• Restricted narration-limited to one character

• Omniscient narration-changes from one character to another, the viewer receives information from many sources.

Auteurs/genre

• An auteur is a director who manifests a consistency of style and theme across his/her films. Auteur films are inventive and creative. Auteur films emphasize their uniqueness.

• Genre refers to a mass produced product of the Hollywood film industry.It studies the conventions of certain kinds of films. Genre categorizes films according to their thematic and visual similarities.Genres are not static, they evolve. They also create certain expectations in the viewer.

Archetypes- Character

Archetypes- Storyline

• The Journey or Quest• The struggle of light & dark ; good

& evil