I forgot to take picture of the scene I am describing here, but I think people who went to the screening will get which part I am describing.
While watching, I noticed that often whenever a new period of description or a demonstration of artworks start, there often accompanied a sequence of background sound. For example, the use of guitar sound when introducing electrons and how they move, and the Jazz music that played along when discussing the modern usage of electrons in precise instruments.
These sounds often brings my attention back to what the artists or researchers are discussing. Also, that sound that play alonged with interview make me less prone to loss interest when watching the relatively less interesting interview. In addition, it smooth transitions between sections that could otherwise feel discontinuous.
In week 7, we are going to discuss about sound, and I think I might expand more on the topic after studying more in depth.
In chapter 6 argues that editing is not just a tradition, but it is a viewer-oriented tool. The directors use these tools to shape viewer’s experience by manipulating time, space, and pictural qualities. These techniques can decide how the film is ordered, transitioned, and presented to guide the audience’s understanding of the whole film.
180 degrees system (axis of action).
This technique fixes the camera placement to one side of an imaginary line on screen, so that the spatial relationships stay the same. This makes the audience able to understand how the characters are doing within a scene.
Eyeline match.
The eyeline match connects the glance into shot A of character A into shot B of character B. Because of the space it created through the 180 degrees system and the space created through the connecting look, we can sense how it builds space for us to see.
Shot/reverse shot.
This shot pattern alternates views from two ends of the axis, typically with two people, each shot can represent one person talking or their relationships.
After reading chapter six, I would like to discuss it along with some shots of a film I watched recently called the Contratiempo, or The Invisible Guest.
This scene is from the ending of the story, where Adrian and the fake Ms. Goodman are discussing where exactly Adrian sunk the car, and how he should respond to the court to not get caught and be in jail.
This part starts with a side shot of Adrian’s face, then it went on to have the 180 degrees system in the apartment room.
Then follows a close shot of Ms. Goodman (fake). At this point their line of view already started to come at one point, where they each star each other into the eye. Ms. Goodman (fake) is acting angry as a lawyer role for her client not cooperating, while Adrian is angry that Ms. Goodman always leads him to say things he hide inside his heart that “will be good for him on court”.
Then it went to medium, over-shoulder shots that records their conversation. We can also see the shot/reverse shot technique used here
The last part is a long shot, but still on the 180 degree system, with the two apart, suggesting their fate will not eventually come together, and the “Ms. Goodman” will not win her case on court.
We see how the director used the 180 degree system to show their final conversation carried on, and how different camera positions on the 180 degree system is used to achieve different effect and feeling for the audience.
In short, the scene use continuity to stabilize comprehension, and create a clear map of space, time and causality, so performance carries our attention. The filmmaker can modulate intensity of a clip and its meaning through editing, and make the dramatic logic work more fluently.
While watching the film, I find out that there are often times two people in the frame.
Before getting into the cinematography of Portrait of a Lady on Fire, we can first see a quote from Claire Mathon, the cinematographer of Portrait of a Lady on Fire. “The THALIA 70mm T2.6 Prime was one of our favorite focal lengths to capture this film about the looks and the proximity of these women.” (https://www.red.com/news/claire-mathon-afc)
We must first know how wide different lens with different focal length capture before analyzing. In actual usage, photographers often use 35mm or less to capture the environment and create a overall livelier mood and add more context. These shots include more background, and characters are more of an element rather than the main component. The 50mm, are close to the view of the human eye, and most commonly used in POV shots.(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ImFXpyAA1b8)⬇️
As a result, the persistent use of a 70mm lens by fixing the film at a human-scaled distance from the two women the director is letting us to observe.
The persistent use of 70mm gives us the relaxing compression and at the same time give minimal edge distortion, and make the camera less intruding while giving us all the necessary details. It captures the expressions of Marianne and Heloise, and allow the audience to have their attention on both of them rather than one at a time.
Both their faces are evenly proportioned, paired with the smooth and warm lighting, the 70mm will give the audience enough emphasize on the character while at the same time not so much isolation among the two women.
By locking the film into a 70mm perspective, the director visually compresses characters within their surroundings. This reinforce one of the themes, which is freedom, and the 70mm technique visualize the character’s lack of freedom. As a result, the 70mm lens transform isolation into actual experiences for the viewer, turning form into an extension of theme.
My question is:
Does the director use all these techniques, such as the 70mm, lighting, and all the mise-en-scene elements to frame the love between Marianne and Heloise as a rebellion (maybe the large usage of 70mm is a rebellion against the common used 35mm), that is destined to fade after they are separated and can only be kept in their memories, or a durable, long lasting relationship that persists through history? Which kind of relationship he is trying to present.
