“The Hollywood protagonist is typically goal-oriented, trying to achieve success in work, sports, or some other activity. The hero’s goal conflicts with the desires of other characters, creating a struggle that is resolved only at the end – which is typically a happy one.”
-Bordwell & Thompson
Film Art: An Introduction
“I’m drawn to film making that can transport me. Film can immerse you, put you there.”
-Katheryn Bigelow- Director of The Hurt Locker
Is it not wonderful to watch a film and to just become completely engulfed in it-?
So that you believe it is your story. So that you believe that you are there.
“…costume helps pick out characters. Colour design is particularly important here.”
-Thompson & Bordwell
Film Art: An Introduction (2007)
Costumes are definitive when watching a film. They add characteristics to the personas that we see being played. Not only are the articles of clothing themselves important, but also their colourings.
For example how would we assume the following characters to be from just their clothing;
1) A pink frilly dress
From this we would expect a young girl or even a very girly girl. Someone who is young perhaps.
2) Red hot pants and a leopard print low cut top with black shiny heeled boots
This outfit would tell us that this character is a bit trashy, maybe they think themselves to be sexy. Red is a colour of lust and that is a reason as to why this colour fits well with this character’s profile.
Costumes are also so essential in movies inspired by comic books- Superhero movies.
Everyone knows the costumes of Superman or Spiderman or Iron Man. Again these costumes have become so iconic that fans will watch the films and compare the clothing to those drawn up in the original comic books (I am guilty as charged) People can just look at these clothes or a part of the costume and immediately recognize it as belonging to a character.
Superheroes are more than none adorned in blue, red and white- America’s home colours and the home of the superhero comic. These are patriotic colours, bold colours which relate the characters as good guys among the public.
Villains in these films are given the opposite style and colour of clothing. See Magneto from X-Men for example. His clothes are dark and he wears a shrouded cloak- he looks like a dark evil dictator of some sort. His dark colours immerse him in a menacing light and the audience can automatically identify him as the enemy.
Costumes also set the scene and setting of a film. From costumes we are able to identify what time period the film is in.
This screen shot from the movie The Help depicts three woman. Clothing goes on to show the audience that the film is set in the 1950s. We know this from the first lady’s dress- a poodle cut summer dress with a floral print. Low heels were also fashionable in this time period as was big big hair-which again is evident from the two front characters. The first lady looks like every part of the American house wife of the 1950s. The faithful loving wife who would tend the home and the children. Both she and the second character look to be of a high class. We know this from the character as she is wearing fur and gloves and both ladies are dripping in pearls and diamonds. The sunglasses that the second lady is wearing are also commemorative of a style very popular back in the 1950s- again another hint to the time period. The third character is of a lower class. We know this from the maid’s costume and we can assume that she works for them. She is also plain, not wearing any jewelry and assuming her job, the time period and the fact she has no extravagant touches like the other two ladies, she is most likely a poorer lady.
Framing and placement of characters is another very important technique that has been used here to show the matriarch at the front- she is the leader of the household. The fact that she is walking ahead proves this and the fact that the maid is the last person in the line would affirm her position as her maid.
Costume is so important in telling us about characters and about the film that it is definitely a feature that must not go overlooked!
“Of all the techniques of cinema, mise-en-scene is the one with which we are most familiar.”
Thompson & Bordwell
Film Art: An Introduction (2007)
This could not be a more true or more accurate statement. Every film is adorned with multiple components of mise-en-scene; actors, props, settings, costume and makeup. It would be hard to think of one film that bares not one element of mise-en-scene.
Mise-en-scene is so important in recognising characters and creating who thy are. Props also become famous parts of the film and replicas (or even originals) can sell for thousands-perhaps even millions!
Every character in every film have their trademarks- let’s look at a few very familiar ones;
Sound is a very important and powerful technique in every movie.
Sound consists of dialogue-voices and speech, music and sound effects. This then splits off into volume (how the loudness changes depending on the scene) the pitch of sound (how high or low the sound is),tone of voice and even the depth of sound.
Other types of sound include diegetic and non-diegetic sound;
Diegetic:- Natural sound within the film, sound that characters from within the film can hear, objects in the scene and sound that has been extracted from a visible source onscreen/offscreen.
Example- dialogue, if a band is playing in a scene, if a character has turned on the radio, objects in the scene, some environmental sounds.
Non-Diegetic:- Sound that has been editing in the film, sound that the characters cannot hear.
Example- voice over, narration, mood music, soundtrack.
Sound is an essential part of any movie. It evokes emotions, sets the scene and can even become a memorable tune that easily brings you back to that film. However, before we even had movies jam packed with dialogue and a soundtrack, silent films were the first movies to grace our screens.
Silent Film Era
Silent films introduced movies to the world. By using just acting- miming was especially important- and text cards in between shots of scenes, a movie would have been created with no dialogue, yet a story would unfold right before our eyes. The talents of Charlie Chaplin and Laurel and Hardy created iconic films with no sound but packed with exaggerated facial expressions and body language, creating comedic and memorable scenes.
Music was used however. This was performed by a live band/orchestra whilst the film was being showed to an audience and in some other places in the world, live opera singers and narrators would tell the story to the audience.
This film clip of ‘Jaws’ is packed with mise-en-scene, effective use of sound and a selection of cinematography techniques.
The extract opens with a close up of the character, police chief Martin Brody. We can see characters sitting on a beach wearing swimsuits and sunglasses on a warm summers day; our setting has been laid out for us.
Within the first couple of seconds of the clip we can see Brody in the foreground of the shot and away from the other characters; we can see from these shots that he is a principle character in this scene and something . As a secondary character comes over to talk to Brody, he becomes distracted and the camera shot transforms from a two-shot to Brody looking over the shoulder of this man.
The secondary character is cleverly blocking Brody’s face until his eyes peer over. Brody’s eyes are the only part of his face that is visible from this angle; it indicates that he is looking at something further in front of him, something that he is more aware of rather than the man sitting opposite him in close proximity.
The next shot is another over the shoulder shot but this time, we are seeing through the eyes of Brody in a point of view shot. We as the audience, now become aware of what was distracting him, a girl seemingly by herself in the water. We no longer focus on what this man is telling us but instead we too are distracted by the girl. The girl begins to scream and wave around and Brody reacts by standing up panicked. When we see she is not alone, he sits down again but a tense feeling has been set up. Brody is unsettled and obviously jumpy at this destination. He feels on edge and this makes us as the audience also feel this tension.
When the mass of children get up to play in the sea I feel a sense of uneasiness. We hear Brody’s wife mention he is worried to let them play in the sea and he relents, though his eyes never leave from the sea view ahead of him. The children jump in together and we become aware of a character already in the water on an inflatable further away and by himself. The yellow of the inflatable and the fact that he is on it rather than being submerged in the water as well as his distance from the other children brings our focus to him. You can sense that something could perhaps happen, especially with the false start of the girl screaming, however as optimists we hope and believe that no harm would come to the children innocently playing in the water.
Again Brody is joined by another character and we get another over the shoulder shot, this time with Brody, the other character and the children playing in the water all in shot. This still signifies to use that Brody is still concerned and watching the events in the water ahead of him. This character also goes on to mention that Brody does not go in to the water and so it makes the audience believe that perhaps his fear of the water is making him feel unsettled and not something else. At this point the audience can also see that Brody is not dressed in a swimsuit but a black tshirt and shorts. This could again define how he is not comfortable being at the beach.
Diegetic sound is also used at this point as a song on the beach is playing from what sounds to be a radio. The song is audible for the characters and its slow tempo and soft female voice suits the characters moods to relax on the beach.
Our attention then draws to children playing. The camera zooms in until we are at a close up. The scene then cuts to a man search, ting’ for his dog Pippin. The camera then pans over to a lone stick in the water, giving us a sense of impending doom and that there is something in the deep blue sea. The next shot we see is underneath the surface of the water. The camera is looking up at the children’s legs and we have suddenly become the eyes of the villain- the eyes of the shark. Que the Jaws theme music.
The music is introduced slowly and quietly but it carries a dangerous undertone to it. The build up of the slow tempo which eventually crashes into a louder pitch creating suspense and tension. The camera then zooms into an extreme close up of legs paddling on an inflatable bed. It is the child from the scene before. Instead of seeing the action underwater, the camera follows through to the surface and from a wide shot we see the imminent death of the child. Mise-en-scene is used here in the use of a pool of blood that spreads across the blue water-creating a stark contrast. we can also see from this that the child has been attacked, injured and possibly killed. Drawn once again in the view of the shark, we see the child being pulled below the surface in a bath of blood. It gives us a sense of doom. The child, whom we hoped initially would be spared, has been killed.
The most effective shot used in this movie clip is the vertigo camera shot. As the camera draws into Brody, we understand his panic and fear and it’s almost as if his world is crashing down. We as the audience are literally brought into the scene and we too feel dread and fear just as the character. The music used to accompany this particular shot fits perfect with it. It has a slinky feel to it and the pitch accentuates with the dolly zoom of Brody. The musics tempo speeds up and gets louder as it matches up with the chaos of the people on the beach. The vacationers are worried and trying to run out of the sea as their parents rush in to meet them.
Finally the music cuts and as the characters draw backwards and out of frame, a mother runs in front. The silence and her being in the shot pretty much by herself accentuates her panic and as the audience we too worry for her and pity her; we can understand now that she is the mother of the doomed child.
The final scene shows the yellow inflatable- yellow, a colour of warning and hazard- the prop that drew us to the character to start with, wash up on the shore. It is ripped up, covered in blood and deflated signifying the child’s fate also.
Name: The Raiders March (Indiana Jones Theme)
Film: Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
Composer/ Conductor: John Williams
The theme to accompany the film, Indiana Jones, is perhaps one of the most iconic pieces of music known to the world today.
I feel as though the theme has been composed to sound similar to a regal/militant march; the name of this piece is actually entitled, ‘The Raiders March’. The use of brass instruments, string instruments and percussion that are played in this piece are also instruments used when conducting royal entrances and victorious military procession. This bodes well with the setting of the film (set in 1936 -the beginning of WWII and Hitler’s rule-all very army orientated).
I noticed that the beats to this piece of music actually match up to the syllables of the titular character’s name; Indiana Jones.
When I hear this piece of music it leaves me with a jubilant feeling. It leaves a sense of courage, accomplishment and adventure. I know that when I hear this piece in the movie, Indiana Jones is coming to the rescue. He will beat the bad guys, get what he needs and save the day. It is a strong and proud piece, much like Indiana Jones himself, and the music reflects his personality as well as the defining moments of defeating the bad and achieving his mission.
I feel happy when I hear this music play because I know that Indiana will prevail at the end. This theme is by far one of my favorite pieces in movie theme tune pieces and one of the most recognizable movie themes in the world.
“Cinematography is infinite in its possibilities…”
-Conrad Hall (Cinematographer)
Writing in Movement.
This is a direct English translation of what cinematography means.
Cinematography is a fundamental element within film making. It is the style, the look and the feel- essentially it is the film!
Each of these elements are transcribes through each important factor;
COSTUME & MAKEUP
Costume and makeup in ‘Pan’s Labyrinth’ is very important as it contributes to creating the atmosphere and setting of the film. The costumes describe the period in which the film was set; we can see this through the soldiers uniforms that there is a war going on, a time of tension and trouble. We can understand that these soldiers are of a higher place in society than the peasants that serve under them. The soldiers wear a perfect uniform with neat parted hair whereas the peasants wear dull rags and aprons. Vidal (the leader of the soldiers) is the villain of the film. Modeled similar to Hitler with his uniform and hair, we can understand immediately that he is the enemy.
However, there is a great contrast to the war theme and that would be the fantasy aspect of the film. The costumes and makeup really contribute to the magical theme that the movie has. Characters such as the Pan and the Pale Man in the film are prime example of this.
Pan the fawn has been designed after the mythical God himself. We can see that extensive costume and make up had been used to create Pan. The actor, Doug Hyde, endured several hours of make up to achieve both looks. I believe that this special effects make up has been created so immaculately that these fantasy creatures look real and believable.
The Pale Man’s is a disturbing character that the protagonist must encounter on her travels. He has no eyes on his face, they are instead on his hands and his body is tall, large and sagging. The makeup used to create the Pale Man depicts him as a monster and a character that the audience is supposed to feel anxious and afraid of. 
Everything about these two characters have been covered in costume from head to toe- the human actor is not recognizable beneath it all. I believe that this they are both extremely impressive characters that have developed through the use of makeup, costume and prosthetics. They add the gothic, mysterious and mythical element to the film and they are memorable characters that stick in your mind.
cmartuccidmu 