Author: Caleb

Week 5 Blog Post

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Caleb

Hello class,

I chose to look at starwarswars.com and the How Not to be Seen videos.

Starwarswars.com was a project I’d heard about before but had never looked into. This project combines the first two trilogies of Star Wars films and plays them simultaneously, one on top of the other. This was done, as Marcus explains in the about section on the website, through an effect that only displays the brightest pixels in each video layer. He says that’s why Hoth from Episode V takes up a large section of the project as the white pixels of the snow are the brightest.

How Not to be Seen was a trip. I was thoroughly confused at first, but as the video continued, I think I got a grasp at the message behind becoming invisible. Pixel manipulation allows for any object, person, place or thing to be changed or altered on screen. Green screen, resolution, image layering, all are methods used to alter what the audience sees.

Tying these examples to the main question for this blog, how is the realism of traditional cinema challenged by techniques such as this? As the audience, we are keen on determining whether something is real or not. Is this scene CGI or is its traditional footage? Pixels determine what’s visible, and what’s not. As creators, we can choose what we want or don’t want to be seen. We can choose what’s real or what’s not real.

Thanks for reading!

Caleb

Week 3 Blog Post:

,
Caleb

Hi everyone,

I chose to look at this clip from Duel.

This was one of the first scenes where the audience truly gauged just how insane the truck driver was. The tension begins with a continuous shot of both the truck and car for about 20 seconds. It’s a long shot for all those seconds until the camera cuts to a close up of David, which gives the viewer the sense he’s going to do something, and indeed he does by pulling off to the gas station.

We see an example of a reverse shot between David and the attendant where the camera goes from  a close up of David looking right, to a close up of the attendant looking left, then returning to David. This shows the audience a grand sense of space, being the whole gas station and particularly the conversation between the two characters, while the truck looms ominously in the foreground. A technique not mentioned is the depth of field transitions between David and the truck when David turns to look at it. The camera matches this action in a single shot to show the audience a focus on things going on within the frame.

As David enters the phone booth, the camera cuts multiple times to the truck and back to David as each shot shows the truck moving closer to David. A match-on-action appears when the truck transitions into David’s series of shots as it collides into the phone booth. A cut happens to show David’s realization the truck is heading right for him.

Sound plays a major part in this film, especially for the truck. The horn, the diesel engine and rattling metal add to the suspense brought upon each scene. It’s cleverly used to build suspense, slowing increasing the volume of the engine as the truck approaches the phone booth, and alleviates suspense too when the truck stops moving. Undoubtedly a unique use of cinematography and sound to create a tension-filled experience for the audience.

Thanks for reading!

-Caleb

Week 2 Blog Post

, , ,
Caleb

Hey everyone,

I’ve chosen to take some clips from Bladerunner 2049 and discuss how the shots I’ve taken carry the scene’s momentum.

Here’s the clip itself:

 

A closed eye.

^Extreme close-up (ECU).

^Extreme close-up (ECU).

^Extreme long-shot (ELS).

^Extreme long-shot (ELS).

^POV shot from inside the car.

^Medium close-up (MCU).

^Still-pan downward for the previous three frames.

^Medium / medium close-up.

^Pan downward with focus on water reflection.

^Long shot (LS).

^Medium shot with potential focus on long shot object.

^Long shot (LS).

^Extreme long shot (ELS).

^Close-up / medium close-up (CU or MCU).

The editing of this opening sequence sets the tone for the film. A close up of an eye, not only referencing the original Bladerunner, acts as a signal for the audience to prepare themseleves the complexities of a futuristic world. The grandeousness of the next few scenes shows off this new world and allows ample time for the audience to take it all in.

We cut to a POV shot inside the car which then cuts to the the backside of the main character, K. The audience gets the cue that they are traveling somewhere with K as they’ve now seen the inside of the car and are actively moving.

We then cut to another character as they are shown working before acknowledging the car the audience was just in. We see K leave his car in a foggy long shot, K walking toward the camera which then cuts to an extreme long shot of the building.

Here K enters, and we are finally shown a clear close-up of our main character for all the audience to see.

Immersion is the goal of this opening sequence and it succeeds at doing just that through intuitive frameing.

Thanks for reading!