ITAP Moving Image 2

ITAP Moving Image 2

CINEMATOGRAPHY

1)    What is the role of the cinematographer in film making?

The cinematographer concentrates on the imagery within a film to focus mood, feeling and visual interpretation. This would be worked on as an artistic theme that would be agreed in advance of production with the director and built into the story boarding and scheduling so that the appropriate light can be captured for the various scenes, natural light etc. It can also include the selection of camera mounting, i.e. handheld, dolly, jib, crane, aerial etc. all of which have distinct qualities as well as frame composition, shot type, panning and zooming.        

From what we saw in the film, the amount of involvement or direction the cinematographer brings to bear, depends on the relationship they have with the director and the reason they got the assignment in the first place.

While a lot of the production styling is programed, it seems important to have the ability to adapt and enhance scenes in real-time, break conventions to offer a fresh dimension to the production.

2)    Why did director Roman Polanski insist on using hand held camera in the film Chinatown?

Polanski wanted to use handheld cameras to generate intimacy and authenticity. Having a smaller camera would allow to use a real environment, instead of a set. Handheld cameras offer more fluidity and a natural dynamic of human movement, which helps the audience to immerse themselves into the film, as well as having the advantage of eliciting a response from the actors from the close proximity of the camera.

3)    Name two films which use colour in a very symbolic way, and describe what they suggest.

The Last Emperor used colour in a very prescriptive symbolic style. It was explained that red represented birth, orange family and safety, yellow the identity of the emperor, and green education.

The film Doing The Right Thing, 1989, used colour symbolism in a much simpler way, well at least I understood this one. The film was based on the hottest day of summer in Brooklyn. To symbolize this they used the appropriate props, clothing, and makeup, as you would expect, but the detail to there colour and that of the environment, which they painted, gave the audience a sense of the searing heat. In one scene a regular brick wall is painted dark red, that gives off a reflection, while 3 characters sit in front of it, 2 of them hiding in the shadow of a parasol, as a passerby walks across the set, the scene just oozes heat.   

4)    In the film Raging Bull why was the fight scene filmed at different speeds?

They wanted to try and emulate the imagery from Life Magazine of the period the film was set in, early 1940’s, running at 48 frames helped to evoke those memories and set a contrast for the 24 frames which seemed quick by comparison, again a bit like the filming of the day. The technique also offered detail of power shots and emotive pauses within the action. The basic rule that they adopted was the engagements, fighting, would be shown in real time and the breathing time would be in slow-motion, this also helped pace the action and theme in the narrative.  

The film strove for authenticity, hence being in black and white, realistic fight chorography, all of which resonated with the audience of a vintage to remember the 1940’s and received critical acclaim. However, coming as it did, 3 years after the first Rocky film, it was lost on the younger generation, as it looked a bit old and naff and subsequently, as its just the later age group that are the mainstay of the cinema goers, it bombed, grossing $23m against a cost of $18m but it did received 2 Academy Awards, while Rocky grossed over $225m, in its first year, at a cost of under $1m, its initial reviews were mixed, but went on to obtained 3 Academy Awards.

5)    Who is the cinematographer for the film Apocalypse Now, and what is his philosophy? See “Visions Of Light, The Art Of Cinematography”

Arnold Glassman was the cinematographer on Apocalypse Now, his philosophy is that photography is an “individuals art, like a painting, like music, like writing, and that cinematographer is an art of a commune that can not be expressed by an individual”. That individuals have roles that let them contribute their artistry to the production, actors, writers, cinematographer, the editor, they could all take divergent ideas, someone needs needs to be responsible and take control. Presumably that would be the director.