Reading Log #4

William A. Wellman, Harry d’Abbadie d’Arrast are the two directors of the film Sunrise (1927). The viewers are invited to engage with the German expressionist film through the use of framing techniques. When a husband was about to kill his own wife, a medium to close up shot and a low-angle shot of the husband is used to show his power along with his murderous (yet confused) facial expression over the scared-crouched wife. In the other hand, the wife is shown in a point of view shot, medium-close up and high angle shot to imply her fear and state of being powerless.

The sequences in Sunrise are complemented with a few panningand tilting camera movements. This technical code symbolizes time passing and also to follow the character walking across a continuous shot. This technique is often used as a strategy of creating a diegetic effect. Unlike a cut, in which the viewers can notice the editing, continuous shot with panning and tilting creates an illusion of perspectives. The use of framing in Sunrise has contributed to its form of narrative. Long takes on the city sequence shows the overall setting and also mise-en-scene. Therefore camera techniques and composition has developed the visual aesthetics and narratives of the film.