In an interview on ‘Edutopia’ Martin Scorsese explains the importance of visual literacy and the overall power of the image. Growing up he wasn’t exposed to traditional forms of literature as his family were constantly taking him to the cinemas. Scorsese was introduced to a world of visual tradition and literacy. As a result of this, Scorsese came to realise that there was ‘another kind of intelligence trying to tell a story through where the director, writer and cinematographer were focussing your eyes’. 

Scorsese recognised that visual literacy occurred through the elements of the camera and how they were used to tell the story such as…

• extremely low angles
• the use of the lens
• the camera movements

Scorsese discovered the ways in which particular tools could be used and how they could become part of a vocabulary. He suggested that this vocabulary is just as ‘valid as that vocabulary that is used in literature and language’. He likened the traditional literature to visual literacy suggesting that in images there are also rules of vocabulary and grammar such as…

• panning left or right
• tracking in or out
• intercutting
• lighting

These elements are used in different ways to convey an ’emotional and psychological point to the audience’. Scorsese suggested that it is critical to look at images and what they mean. He demonstrates that there is a particular way that imagery can be interpreted and it is so important that young people understand how to interpret it.

What I found particularly fascinating is the power and strength that Scorsese sees in an image. He suggests that ideas and emotions are expressed through visual form to the audience. Throughout the process of making my scenes I have had to make particular decisions as to how I am going to convey my story to the audience. Scorsese explains that by taking the camera and filming I am having to ‘frame the image’. By framing the image I am deciding and interpreting exactly what I intend to say to the audience. As Scorsese suggests, I am choosing where the audience looks and I am deciding the emotional and psychological impact that has.

Here is the interview with Scorsese:

After having read about the image system in ‘The Filmmaker’s Eye’, I thought that I needed to watch Park Chan-Wook’s 2003 ‘Old Boy’ to further discover about how it is used within film. Throughout the film there is a lot of repetition used to create layers of meaning within the visuals. Images and symbols were shown repeatedly and the same composition of shots was were reoccurring. Reflection and mirrors were particular motifs that were used throughout the film. They help to develop a sense of emotional depth and symbolism. The image system in ‘Old Boy’ parallels with the narrative by demonstrating the narrative’s themes and motifs. The camera movements, shot construction and shot composition within this particular scene shown below were dramatic and engaging. I like them because they create a layer of meaning within the film that couldn’t be created by just having a good story. The camera movements interchange between slow and fast.  The rapid zoom close ups attract the eye to the character’s central to the narrative and amplifies their emotion.

When thinking about how I will incorporate the image system into my scene I would like to include certain symbols and recurring images to create the layers of meaning and depth. The image system could be used within my scene as a way of visually depicting my story rather than telling it through dialogue and narrative.

Mercado, G 2010, The Filmmaker’s Eye: Learning (and Breaking) the Rules of Cinematic Composition, Focal Press, Burlington.

• The work was prescribed to us-in class exercises, constantly filming and working off scripts
• Throughout this time we had a strong focus on shot coverage
• the epiphanies that came from it, the constant ideas I was having about film:
• I discovered that it is best to keep it simple-a simple approach to an exercise and a direct focus will allow for a well executed scene.
• To take risks with the camera, be experimental with shot coverage and the approach to given exercises.
• use filmmaking as a research tool, practice with the camera
• As a director, I discovered that you need to be certain of your vision before shooting. Know how you will communicate with crew and actors-leave room for experimentation and improvisation however.
• We were to find our own scenes, analyse and deconstruct them-This helped to further my understanding of shot coverage and what makes an effective scene.

• Started our methods of working: My aim this semester originally was to create a successful scene with an overall focus on composition and shot coverage.
• to create a scene of my own-have my own stye and script-I want it to be personal, auteur-my own style will be evident in how I direct and through the artistic selections that I make
• I want to explore the meaning of shots and symbolism within my work
• Filming to edit-this allows for dynamic coverage, more options in edit suite-through the stair scene exercise we didn’t film to edit-this caused for problems with continuity
• Performance: our performances from the start were flawed due to inexperience however we still had successful performances as we performed with confidence and delivered our lines.
• My visual focus-creating a scene with little dialogue-conveying information through visuals
• improvising with my own scene-The “Crossword” scene that I shot from a script given to us in class-I pre-visualised the scene, researched shots that I liked visually and wrote some notes of paper before shooting.

• My aim to further analyse scenes that have a distinct visual style
• look at film art and surrealist film
• to use the camera as a research tool -tripod, no tripod experiment-pick up the camera and practice again and again
• To have a personal creative vision-tell the story through the visuals, don’t let the story lead the way.

Symbols, metaphors and motifs can be used in films to develop emotional impact. The audience can connect their feelings to the symbols in the film and through the particular connotations that the symbols employ. Symbolism can be used to ‘connect aesthetics, cognition, feeling and thought’ (Salm 2010).

I aim to use symbols within my scene in order to help communicate meaning visually. To demonstrate and communicate an intended meaning through visuals rather than through words or dialogue. 

These are some of the symbols within my visuals and the emotional connections that they might have: 

-the character in the bath-could be seen as a symbol of drowning in emotions or cleansing them.

-the empty photograph- the character’s feelings of emptiness, loneliness and no sense of belonging.

-the kettle- a symbol of the character’s emotions hitting boiling point- the climax of his conflict.

-messy hair and dark clothes-reflects that the character is troubled, careless, depressed and chaotic.

-cluttered house-suggestive of the character’s chaotic nature, their cluttered and overwhelming emotions.

-reflections in mirrors-character’s conflict, schizophrenia, divided self, personality disorder

-character arranging photos on the ground-reflects his need for control, trying to find order and figure something out.

Salm, D 2010, April 5 2010.Visual Literacy. Available from: <http://vislit7.blogspot.com.au/2010/04/symbolism-se7en.html>. [9 May 2015].

In this week’s classes we focussed on exposure and lighting. I learnt that when filming it is important that you take note of the focal length and exposure in case you need to reshoot and replicate the shots as this is something that ultimately cannot be fixed in post production.

When shooting it is important that you try not to shoot against white walls because they tend to make the shots look flat and as though they don’t have depth. Furthermore, instead of using ambient lighting it looks more aesthetic if you use spot lighting. It is also important to think about what impact the lighting is going to have to the mood of the scene such as whether you use hard lighting or soft lighting.

This week has made me think about whether I need to focus on lighting in more detail for my test shoots. I feel as though lighting does have a visual impact on the mood of the scene and the emotional and psychological points I wish to convey in visual form.

Epiphany:

Lighting for film is able to achieve something that you can’t achieve in theatre/on the stage. It creates a sense of depth and makes a scene dynamic.

This investigation was purely to see how the actor (Dion) would be able to use the space and what types of shots I would be able to create. Before shooting this I briefly read through the script to get an idea of what the narrative was. I didn’t want to become worked up over the narrative, I wanted my focus to be just creating the visuals, centralising on mise-en-scene, the framing and the camera movements. I haven’t yet incorporated the shots in the kitchen or the bathroom. I have edited the scene together but the editing was not my central focus.

I used hand-held camera for all of these shots. I started off using the tripod but found that it was too restricting when trying to test out shot coverage and tying to get an idea for my framing. I will be using a tripod in further investigations once I have figured out what shots I particularly like.

For this test shoot I trialled medium, close up, high angle, bird’s eye, over the shoulder, long shots, tracking shots and medium close-up shots to try and create a variety of visuals. I will need to incorporate more dynamic shots in my further investigations such as extreme close-ups, tracking shots or panning shots in order for my visuals to communicate more meaning. At this stage, I am not moving the camera as much as I would like to so this will be something to focus on the next time I shoot. I think that the actor will need to move about the space more in order to achieve more dynamic camera movements.

In this scene I have shot from outside looking in (frame within a frame) aiming to create a voyeuristic shot. I did this to make it feel as though someone is watching the character sitting on the couch. I had problems with this shot as I could see my reflection in the window. I thought that if I was to shoot at night time I wouldn’t have this same problem. This would allow me to get quite an interesting observant shot of the character. I would like to film at night for my next investigation to see what difference the lighting has on effecting the mood of my scene. Does it communicate a different meaning for my scene?

Location-the living room, bathroom and kitchen.

Aspects that I want to focus on for my first shoot:

• shot coverage
  • variety of shots
  • dynamic shots
• natural lighting
  • lighting the off-side of the face
• focus pulls
  • using focus pulls from an object to the character
• hand-held camera
  • shaky
  • voyeuristic
  • movement of frame
• framing
  • balance
  • composition
  • frame within a frame

Visual rhetoric/ visual literacy are terms that have popped up whilst researching the image system. The article, Visual Rhetoric/ Visual Literacy explores the ways in which you can approach film as a visual medium. It demonstrates that just by being an active viewer rather than a passive viewer of film can help you in understanding how the images and sounds within a narrative convey meaning, ‘not just through the characters’ actions but also through framing, camera movement (reframing),editing, optical effects, lens choice and sound.’ These are elements that can be forgotten about when the focus of the audience is to find the plot of the film.

Visual rhetoric and visual literacy is ‘how/why visual images communication meaning’ (Visual Rhetoric/Visual Literacy). Visual rhetoric looks into how visual images communicate instead of dialogue or verbal messages communicate. Visual literacy is about the process of reading an image and how we respond to it.

Some of the visual strategies employed by a film to create a particular effect are:

THE IMAGE:

-mise-­en-­scène and framing

and what effect does this have?

MOVEMENT:

-the pacing-quick or slow

-how does the camera move

-how long are the shots

and what effect does this have?

These are all aspects that I will need to consider when producing my scene. If I am to consider the visual rhetoric of my work I will be able to more effectively communicate through visuals rather than through dialogue.

Visual Rhetoric/ Visual Literacy: Writing about film. Writing Studio, Duke University, Available from: <https://twp.duke.edu/uploads/assets/film.pdf>. [3 May 2015].

From further readings of Gustavo Mercado’s book ‘The Filmmaker’s Eye’ I have come across a term that is unknown to me called ‘the image system’. According to Mercado the term was developed my film theorists who were trying to create a ‘systematic understanding of film through analysis of images, editing patterns, shot composition, and ideological tendencies of certain directors.’ (pg.21). Gustavo suggests that in some film theories, image systems have been used to decipher and figure out deeper meanings from the visuals. These meanings depict the connotations that particular images have ‘in addition to their literal meaning’. (pg.21).

I think it would be useful for me to explore the ways in which visuals are used in films to create connotations and symbols. I would like to employ some of these within my scene in order to use visuals to convey the narrative.

I like the way that this scene in ‘Nightcrawler’ has been shot. Although it is dialogue heavy I feel as though the visuals play the most integral role in creating a focus on the characters emotions, their status and the tensions. The visuals determine which character is central to the story and the focus of that moment in time.

-shot 1

A low angle medium shot as the character opens the door to the inspectors. The low angle is used to establish their authority and communicate their power over the other character.

-shot 2

-shot 3

The camera frames the character in a close up shot. The height of the camera is now at his level, making us feel as though he is not threatened by the inspectors.

-shot 4

The inspector enters the room, her figure dominates the frame in a medium shot. This creates tension and suspense as we feel as though she is going to find something that will get the character into trouble.

-shot 5

The inspector is looking at a camera in a medium shot. This shot communicates that her objective is to look at the footage on the camera.

-shot 6

-shot 7

Another low angle shot is used to frame the character. He is surrounded by both inspectors which communicates that they have possibly figured out that he has done something wrong.