Throughout the semester, we’ll be looking at films from a variety of perspectives, including thematic and ideological. However, we will also be employing cinematic syntax; that is, visual and aural traits within a given movie. Filmmakers employ them to underscore their messages.
     Below is a roster of techniques for you to keep in mind. While not all these traits will apply to every film we’ll be studying, most of them will apply to every film.

LIGHT AND SHADOW – The significance of light and shadow is almost universal. Generally, light is seen as signifying knowledge, goodness, joy and heaven, while darkness connotes fear, ignorance, evil and secrecy. Thus, an antagonist may be shot in dark shadows while a protagonist may be well lit.


LIGHTING – There are three major categories of lighting, and they are geared to project different moods:

     High Key lighting is bright, even illumination, with few if any shadows. It is generally used for comedies and musicals.

     Low key lighting is atmospheric, with pools of light, and it is most common is mysteries and thrillers.

     High contrast lighting, found in tragedies and melodramas, employ strong streaks of light and shadow.

Also consider whether available lighting (natural lighting) is used, versus lighting that is artificial.

Lighting placement also provide us with clues: A character lit from above (haloed) looks angelic vs. one shrouded in shadow and lit from below, who looks ominous. If a character blocks out the light or is usually pictured wearing sunglasses, even at night, this can also be symbolic.
 

COLOR – Unlike light and shadow, color is subjective, depending on one’s era, country, and culture. For example, in some societies, black is the traditional color of mourning, while in others, such as China, it is white. Similarly, both ancient Egyptians and Cherokee Indians consider red the color of success and victory, while many Americans think red represents such discrete qualities as ardor or bloodshed.  (The still at right, from Bram Stoker's Dracula, is suffused with red to symbolize the bloodshed caused by the Holy War led by Prince Dracula, at the Church's behest, before he becomes a vampire.)  Because colors can have such different connotations, in film analysis, one must take into account what is happening within the narrative and where a given film is set, as well as when and where it was made.
     Colors also connote multiple meanings. Green, for instance, can represent money, being naïve (a greenhorn), jealousy, hope and rebirth, or fertility. It is also the color most associated with the supernatural. (The latter may be because for a long time, Christians banned green because they felt it symbolized paganism.) Thus, a viewer must be judicious in deciding the symbolic representation of a particular color.
     Consider how and why some filmmakers use black-and-white film stock, or even a combination of color with black and white, as in the film still at right, from Schindler's List. (Because early newsreels were in black and white, black-and-white film stock may be used in contemporary films in order to suggest reality.)  Also, ask yourself whether a particular film's use of color is naturalistic, unnaturally vibrant or washed out, and why.
     For more on the symbolic use of color, consult http://members.tripod.com/ClanOfDanu/colors.html


CAMERA ANGLES – There are five major camera angles: The bird’s eye view, sometimes called an eye-of-God shot, is from overhead; high angles look down on a person or object, making them seem harmless or insignificant, as in the still at right from The Green Mile; eye-level shots, which approximate the view of a person in a theatre watching a show, are the least commentative; low-angle shots, which look up at a person or object, make them seem threatening or powerful; and the oblique angle involves tilting a camera to gives a skewed look. It suggests an imbalance or psychological trauma within a character, perhaps due to drinking, taking drugs, or madness. Keep in mind that the more acute the angle, the more intense the message.
     Also pay attention to point-of-view shots. Along with close-ups and voice-over narrations, p-o-v shots – from whatever angle -- help put us in a character’s shoes.  This is an important criterion if the director wants us to empathize with a given character.

CAMERA DISTANCES – Information is also conveyed by how close or far away the camera seems from a subject. The range is: extreme close-up (a detailed feature of a person’s face, such as just the eyes), which communicates deep psychological impact; close-up (a person’s head, as in the shot from the film Amelie, at left), for reading a character’s emotions; medium shot (somewhat close, showing a person from the knees or waist up), often used in dialogue scenes; long shot (roughly equivalent to the audience view of the stage within a live theatre, but can include the human body in full, with the head near the top of the film frame and the feet at the bottom); and extreme long shot (usually taken out of doors, and it can be as far as a ¼-mile away). Close-ups help us empathize with a character, whereas longer shot help us keep an emotional distance from a person.

POSITIONING WITHIN A FILM FRAME – There are messages in how characters are arranged within a film frame. For example, characters off to one side, or even out of the frame entirely, are marginalized, while those in the central portion of the screen, especially the upper middle, are generally of most importance. However, this can be mitigated by other qualities. If, for instance, a character is moving around and/or dressed in a color that contrasts with both the background and others around him/her, he/she will attract our attention more, no matter where they are on the screen.
     Characters may be symbolically entrapped within a film frame. If a character is off to one side of the frame and enclosed by shadows while the rest of the frame is well lit, then there is a sense of entrapment as in the movie still at right. Similarly, a character can be "caught" between strong vertical lines, which create a symbolic prison. There are also other forms of entrapment. Think about a character shown behind a fence, stuck in the midst of a crowd with no escape, or photographed behind a fish tank, presenting a sense of drowning.
     Consider, too, that if a character walks in and blocks another character from our view, we may consider this threatening.

TYPES OF CAMERAS AND LENSES, CAMERA TECHNIQUES -  Filmmakers can also manipulate the narrative by employing different cameras, camera lenses, and camera techniques.  For example, at one point in The Graduate, the protagonist is running.  Because he is shot straight on, i.e., running towards the camera, and a wide-angle lens is used, it looks as though he is running in place and heighten our suspense as to whether he'll reach his destination on time.  A hand-held camera usually connotes a sense of unrest and immediacy.  This is not only because the picture is shaky, but the fact that hand-held cameras were first used by reporters doing news stories.  (This type of camera is lightweight, compared to bulky stationary cameras, allowing reporters to carry the cameras with them and get right into the midst of the action.)

Also consider the fact that usually only the foreground, middle ground or the background can be in focus at any one time.  However, there is a technique called rack focusing that allows the cinematographer to change the focal point.  By blurring a person/object that was previously in focus and clearly focusing on someone/something that was previously blurry, the cinematographer can direct our gaze to a particular part of the film frame, indicating what is important for us to look at.

However, there is one kind of camera, called a deep-focus camera, that allows everything within the film frame to be in sharp focus simultaneously. Orson Welles, for example, made prodigious use of the deep-focus camera in his masterwork Citizen Kane.  When everything is in focus within this film, there are actions going on in the foreground, middle ground and the background.  Because there's so much action going on in this shots, Welles held these shots for a lengthy period of time so that viewers can absorb everything that is going on on all three planes of action.  In the movie still at right, there are two figures seated in the foreground, a man standing in the middle ground, and a child in the background, all in focus.


PROXEMICS - How close or far apart characters appear within the film frame is also telling.  If they are practically touching, there is a sense of intimacy, while if they are far apart, there is a sense of distance.  In other words, the physical distance or closeness of characters intimates the emotional distance or closeness between them.  The shot above is taken from Lost in Translation. Because the characters are seated so far apart, it is natural to assume that there is an emotional distance between them. (By the end of the film, these two characters will bond, and the proxemics will, for the most part, change to reflect that.)

SHAPES – The human eye finds horizontals to be the most restful. Throw strong verticals into the mix, and a sense of visual unrest results. Add diagonals and a palpable sense of visual disarray results. Thus, you’ll find strong diagonal lines in scenes where there is a sense of tension.
     Spiral shapes also proffer a message. Whether it's with a camera rotating 360o, characters moving in circles (perhaps while dancing), a ceiling fan, merry-go-round, revolving door, or a close-up of someone’s fingerprints, spiral shapes generally indicate a sense of craziness.  For example, Tim Burton uses a lot of them in his film Sleepy Hollow to emphasize the sense of murder, mystery and mayhem. In the still from Cabaret, at left, there are strong verticals and spirals, along with a few horizontals and diags, making for a visually complex shot.  It is an apt choice, as the film delineates the chaos in Germany between the First and Second World Wars, as the Nazis gained power.

MOTIFS – A motif is a visual or aural effect that is repeated  -- not just appearing once or twice -- throughout a work. For example, in the film Jaws, we don‘t have to see the killer shark to know he’s there, as the same musical refrain  -- an aural motif -- accompanies every attack he makes. In the neo-noir picture Chinatown, there is a motif of water: The L.A. water department, the race horse Seabisquit, a place called the Albacore Club, two drownings, and a character named Noah (a biblical reference to the flood), are just a few of the ways in which the water motif surfaces.

Similarly, in Mike Nichols' seminal film The Graduate, Mrs. Robinson is almost always dressed in an animal print, underscoring her predatory nature. Entrapment imagery, mentioned above, can be yet another motif.  And many noir films feature fog, cigarette smoke, and a conniving femme fatale wearing a veil, indicating that something is being hidden or held back, precluding us from getting the whole picture.

SOUND -  Whether in the form of dialogue, background noises, or music, sound is another important element.  It can be used realistically, where we hear things just as they are, or it can be stylized.  For example, the camera can capture two people riding in a car from outside the vehicle, yet we'll hear their conversation clearly, as if we were in the car with them.  Or perhaps a filmmaker will "erase" peripheral sounds, such as crickets chirping or a dog barking, if he/she thinks it will be a distraction.  On the other hand, there are directors such as Robert Altman, who are known for their complex use of sound, often layering different voices and sound effects.
     Often, realistic sound is synchronous, which means it emanates strictly from the image.  For example, if there music is heard, sound will be synchronous only if someone is humming or playing an instrument, or a radio or stereo is on. When sound comes from outside the image, is it called nonsynchronous. Usually a film's soundtrack is nonsynchronous.  A deliberately funny instance of mistaking synchronous music for nonsynchronous occurs in Mel Brooks' Blazing Saddles.  Sheriff Bart is riding on the plains, and we hear a jazz piece from the Count Basie Orchestra in the background.  We naturally assume it's nonsynchronous, until Bart, quite improbably, comes upon the orchestra in the middle of the prairie, belting out a jazz number.
     Make sure you listen any songs that are used.  Often the lyrics to the songs we hear (whether synchronous or non) are commentative; that is, they comment on the situation at hand.  I once read that Quentin Tarantino claimed he would not have made Reservoir Dogs if he couldn't have secured the rights to use the song "Stuck in the Middle with You." The tune, which plays right in the middle of that movie and involves an ordeal from which characters cannot extricate themselves, perfectly encapsulates the prevailing mood.  Similarly, Thelma and Louise includes Marianne Faithfull's song "Ballad of Lucy Jordan," which tells of a woman who has put away her illusions.  It's a fine choice, for it underscores that Thelma, a put-upon housewife, has finally realized that her dreams will never be actualized:

At the age of 37, she realised she'd never drive through
Paris in a sports car, with a warm wind in her hair...

Her husband, he's off to work and the kids are off to school
And there were oh so many ways for her to spend her day.
She could clean the house for hours or rearrange the flowers
Or run naked through the shady street screamin' all the way.

     Dialogue can also provide clues.  Some filmmakers have their characters speak in a highly stylized way.  Writer/director David Mamet, for instance, is known for "Mametspeak," dialogue with a uniquely rhythmic and clipped patter, often laced with obscenities.  (Legend has it that he has his actors rehearsal in time with a metronome to get the tempo of the dialogue correct.) 
     We'll hear a form of stylized dialogue later in the semester, in the film The Grey Zone.  What's intriguing about the use of mannered dialogue in this particular film is that it's juxtaposed with a highly naturalistic style of filmmaking.
     For more on sound, including how the presence of silence can be instructive, see http://www.scaryguys.com/soundideas1.htm

EDITING – There are many ways in which a filmmaker can effect a transition. Some cutting techniques are seemingly invisible, while others call attention to themselves as cinematic constructs.  One editing technique is to simply cut from one shot to the next; another is to use a dissolve to fade out one shot while fading in the next (with a few seconds of both images blended in superimposition); a filmmaker can also pan instead of cutting, if he/she wants to focus on action happening simultaneously within the same area. A third is a wipe. This forms a transition in which a line passes across the screen, eliminating the first shot as it goes and replacing it with the next. A very dynamic and in-your-face transition, it is generally reserved for action or adventure films. Yet another device is the eyeline match, in which we see a character and then the shot shows us what that character sees. (As mentioned above, such point-of-view shots help us identify with a character.) Then there is the abrupt or jarring transition referred to as a jump cut.  First popularized in the 50's and 60's by the directors who belonged to the collective called the French New Wave, jump cuts can work in party scenes where the scene moves, along with the perspective of the main character, from spot to spot (or person to person) at the party, showing on the screen things like the number of people coming and going or getting drinks, or guests standing alone and others in groups. 
     Cutting can be used to compress or elongate time. For example, time will be drawn out if the filmmaker uses cross-cutting, also known as parallel editing, which showcases events happening simultaneously in different locations. This is often used to build up a sense of suspense.
     Also take into account how long a shot is held. Usually, shots held for a long time convey a sense of tranquility, perhaps during a dinner table sequence where everyone is getting along, while a series of quick shots underscores a sense of frenzy and disharmony, as in a cattle stampede.

CINEMATIC SHORTHAND - Unlike a novel, which can unfold at a leisurely pace, time is of the essence in the cinema.  For this reason, filmmakers may employ a number of codes to visually or aurally underscore what is happening within the narrative.  Some of these "shorthand" techniques are below:

Animal lover - Usually a protagonist's goodness will shine in the kind way he/she treats animals animals while an antagonist may be cruel to animals.

Phallic imagery - If a story concerns a woman who is a feminist (or trying to be one), she may be associated with phallic imagery, such as cigars or cigarettes, a snake, oil derricks, guns, knives, telescopes and/or baseball bats.  She may also be shown wearing men's clothing, and her independent spirit may be underscored by depicting her in open forms, e.g., on horseback, dancing, driving a sports car (especially if it has a stickshift) fast , etc.

Doubles - The use of doubles frequently indicates that characters are two-faced or have a duplicitous nature.  Doubles can show up in mirrored images, as in the still from Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho, at left.  There can also be double letters in a character's name, two characters who strongly resemble one another, the depiction of both a character and his/her shadow, the repetition of phrases, etc.  

Setting at circus or fairgrounds - Harkening back to the silent screen classic The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, in which a sideshow somnambulist is compelled to kill, circuses and fairgrounds have long been locales where something crazy is about to occur.  Perhaps it's the profusion of spirals (balloons, merry-go-rounds, ferris wheels), but whatever the reason, it has become common, in films such as Freaks, The Net, The Pelican Brief, Stagefright, Strangers on a Train, The Crying Game and Sleeping with the Enemy.  (It's also overt in the fairly recent HBO series Carnivale.)

PERSONAL IMAGERY
Martin Scorsese, who studied for the priesthood before becoming one of America's greatest film directors, often uses fire imagery in his films, as in the still at left from his early work Mean Streets.  Scorsese uses fire in two ways: to evoke the fires of Hell or a purification process.  Similarly, Alfred Hitchcock incorporated storms and birds in his films as harbingers of chaos.  Hitchcock also had his villains die in dramatic falls, in a symbolic fall from Grace. All of Tim Burton's films, such as Batman, Beatlejuice, Edward Scissorhands, Ed Wood, and Big Fish, showcase characters who are outsiders within mainstream society, and they often look different.   

ETCETERA
Movement - The human eye generally moves across a movie screen from the left to the right, so showing a movie character moving or looking in that direction may symbolize moving ahead, while depicting a character moving or gazing from right to left  may mean they're dwelling on the past.

P-O-V - A filmmaker can use a variety of techniques to put us in a particular character's shoes: Through the use of a voice-over, where we hear the character's take on a situation; with close ups and extreme close-ups; with subjective point-of-view shots, showing us what a character sees; and presenting sound from a character's point of view.  In The Graduate, for example, there is a scene where the protagonist is wearing a scuba diving outfit.  The scene is shot from inside the scuba mask, so we're obviously getting his perspective; in addition, though, we hear only what he hears, which means we aren't privy to any of the conversations going on; rather, we hear only his aspirations and his feet slapping against the ground.