Audio in a film
includes anything with sound, including dialogue, music, and sound
effects. Sporre states that sound in accompaniment with editing can
elicit audience emotion (Sporre, pg 177). When we are watching a
movie and there is a beat and as the seen progresses the beat
quickens, the tension in the audience builds (Sporre, pg 177). I
have noticed this mainly in horror films. To me the sound of a
single repeating beat represents that heart beat and as the danger
comes closer the beat quickens just as the human heart would when
coming closer to danger. Very symbolic and daunting at the same
time. Another thing to be said about audio is the music/score used
in movies. The music is always appropriately matched to the scene
and the emotion that the film is trying to pull from the audience. I
love a movie with great music. It adds so much to the emotional
value of the movie. Matching visual images with music can take the
viewer on an emotional roller coaster of happy, sad, reminiscent,
romantic, angry, scared, etc. One of my favorite endings in a movie
is the ending of the Breakfast Club, and it is mainly because
of the fantastic fusion of music. The visual and the music made a
beautiful marriage that still makes me want to throw my hands up and
cheer!
Friday, February 8, 2013
Structural Rhythm
Sporre explains it
best when he says, “Filmmakers create rhythms and patterns based on
the way they choose to tell their stories or that indicate deeper
meanings and relationships. The manner in which the various shots
join together and juxtapose with cinematic images, both visual and
aural, we call structural rhythm” (Sporre, pg. 175-176). To create
a rhythm, filmmakers often use symbolic images such as there hero
dressed in all white and the villain dressed in black (Sporre, pg.
176). The video below shows the trope of black and white between the characters of good and evil in the popular Harry Potter series. I think the point of these images is to give the audience
clues into what is happening in the film and also to give additional
meaning in to what they are watching. Repetition of images can also
be used to set a structural rhythm. After a while the audience will
expect it so when the repetition is broken it can surprise the
audience into to laughter (Sporre, pg. 177).
Magnitude and Convention
The medium on which
the film is shown is taken into consideration when filming. A scene
that is shot for a large theater projection, may lose its true effect
when shown on a small television screen. The reversal can also be
true. If a scene was meant for a small television screen, it may not
translate as well on the big screen. “In considering the magnitude
of a film we must be aware of the means by which the film is to be
communicated,” as stated by Sporre (Sporre, pg. 174). I can only
imagine that this can be especially tricky for movie makers. When a
movie is first released to the public, it is shown in theater, but
eventually it will go to DVD or Netflix, so it will have to work for
both. Magnitude is an important element in film because I have often
said “I have to see that in theater!,” or “That's a rental.”
The movies that I usually want to see in theater are the ones with a
lot of action because sometimes that action and/or graphics can
become muddled on a small television screen.
“Film as theater,
has certain conventions or customs that the viewer accepts without
hesitation,” states Sporre (Sporre, pg. 174). Basically, as the
audience there are things that we will not question or criticize, we
just accept as a part of the movie going experience. When music is
played in a movie, we do not question where the music is coming from
or if a movie is in black-and-white we do not question where the
color went. I have included a short clip The Wizard of Oz when Dorothy exits black-and-white and enters technicolor.
Direct Address
As defined by Dennis
J. Sporre in Reality Through the Arts, direct address is “a
technique whereby the actors appear to address the audience directly”
(Sporre, pg. 179). Asides from viewpoint, crosscutting, tension
build-up and release, direct address is another method used by
directors of film to capture the audiences attention (Sporre, pg.
172-173). I have recently taken a film class where this
method was discussed, but my professor referred to this method as “breaking 4th wall.” This term is very old, dating back to Ancient Greek theater as stated in Theories of Performance by Elizabeth Bell. The fourth wall is the imaginary wall between the actors on stage and the audience. Traditionally, the actors would perform on a three walled stage of a proscenium theater, so the front of the stage would be like an imaginary wall (Bell, pg. 203). When a character gives direct address
or breaks the 4th wall, the actor acknowledges their fictionality by directly or indirectly addressing the audience (Bell, pg. 203). I have seen this mostly seen this method being used in comedies. We watched many movie clips in my theater class and I remember one such clip with Charlie Chaplin where all kinds of shenanigans happened and then he turned stared directly into the camera. Sporre defines this as the camera look (Sporre, pg. 173). Other silent film actors that were known for using the camera look are Buster Keaton, Stan Laurel, and Oliver Harding (Sporre, pg. 173). I think the first time that I ever saw direct address being used was while watching a 1990's teen sitcom show, Saved By The Bell. On a regular basis, the main character, Zack Morris would turn, look straight into the camera and talk to me. I thought it was just the funniest thing! When we watch a movie or television we are always the outsiders looking in on all the action, so it was a bit of a treat to be talked to directly, as if you were a part of the show. I think that this is a very engaging and successful method to use in comedies.
method was discussed, but my professor referred to this method as “breaking 4th wall.” This term is very old, dating back to Ancient Greek theater as stated in Theories of Performance by Elizabeth Bell. The fourth wall is the imaginary wall between the actors on stage and the audience. Traditionally, the actors would perform on a three walled stage of a proscenium theater, so the front of the stage would be like an imaginary wall (Bell, pg. 203). When a character gives direct address
or breaks the 4th wall, the actor acknowledges their fictionality by directly or indirectly addressing the audience (Bell, pg. 203). I have seen this mostly seen this method being used in comedies. We watched many movie clips in my theater class and I remember one such clip with Charlie Chaplin where all kinds of shenanigans happened and then he turned stared directly into the camera. Sporre defines this as the camera look (Sporre, pg. 173). Other silent film actors that were known for using the camera look are Buster Keaton, Stan Laurel, and Oliver Harding (Sporre, pg. 173). I think the first time that I ever saw direct address being used was while watching a 1990's teen sitcom show, Saved By The Bell. On a regular basis, the main character, Zack Morris would turn, look straight into the camera and talk to me. I thought it was just the funniest thing! When we watch a movie or television we are always the outsiders looking in on all the action, so it was a bit of a treat to be talked to directly, as if you were a part of the show. I think that this is a very engaging and successful method to use in comedies.
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