Cinematography-Theory-And-Practice

Figure 3.1. (previous page) Avisually strong and expressiveframe from The Conformist, shotby Vittorio Storaro.Figure 3.2. (above) This framefrom the finale of The Big Combois not only graphically strong incomposition, but the many visualelements all work together toreinforce and add subtext to thestory content of the scene.MORE THAN JUST A PICTURELet’s think of the frame as more than just a picture — it is information.Clearly some parts of the information are more important thanothers, and we want this information to be perceived by the viewerin a certain order — we want the information organized in a particularway. Composition (and lighting, which can be part of composition)is how this is accomplished. Through composition we are tellingthe audience where to look, what to look at and in what order tolook at it. The frame is fundamentally two-dimensional design. 2-Ddesign is about guiding the eye and directing the attention of theviewer in an organized manner that conveys the meaning that youwish to impart. It is how we impose a point of view on the materialthat may be different from how others see it.If all we did was simply photograph what is there in exactly thesame way everyone else sees it, the job could be done by a robotcamera; there would be no need for the cinematographer or editor.An image should convey meaning, mode, tone, atmosphere, andsubtext on its own — without regard to voice-over, dialog, audio,or other explanation. This was in its purest essence in silent film, butthe principle still applies: the images must stand on their own.Good composition reinforces the way in which the mind organizesinformation. In some cases it may deliberately run counter to howthe eye/brain combination works in order to add a new layer ofmeaning or ironic comment. Composition selects and emphasizeselements such as size, shape, order, dominance, hierarchy, pattern,resonance, and discordance in ways that give meaning to the thingsbeing photographed that goes beyond the simple: “here they are.”We will start with the very basic rules of visual organization thenmove on to more sophisticated concepts of design and visual language.The principles of design and visual communication are a vastsubject; here we will just touch on the basics in order to lay the foundationfor discussion.cinematography38