Visions of Light: The Art of Cinematography

We take sound for granted in movies. We hardly ever think about it. Who in their right mind would be willing to go see a movie without a soundtrack? It’s preposterous! However, when movies were first made there was no sound involved at all. Cinematography advanced rapidly and there was some truly astounding camera work being done. After The Jazz Singer in 1927 no movie could possibly be without sound and remain commercially viable. Filmmakers were forced to find ways to hide bulky microphones to record sound. This meant that once the microphone was hidden behind something, a camera could not be moved or else it would reveal the microphone, not to mention that the camera had to be in a sound proof box, which made it virtually impossible to shoot outside. Experts say that this set back filmmaking decades and only recently have we reached the place we were at in cinematography before the advent of sound.

Everyone makes mistakes, even critically acclaimed cinematographers like Gordon Willis. In “Visions of Light” Willis admits that there are times in The Godfather, Part II when he got a little carried away with the lighting. He had become enamored with stark contrast between light and dark and wanted little gray in between. This also highlights how filmmakers are always striving for perfection in their work. Even projects and efforts that are globally considered masterpieces, the filmmakers will find faults of their own to pick apart and destroy. But, it takes a big man to admit he has made a mistake and Willis should be given credit for that at the very least.

Just like the advent of sound, the advent of color had a profound impact on the industry. The first film to use the Technicolor process was The Wizard of Oz and was marked by Dorothy’s famous line of “Toto, I don’t think we’re in Kansas anymore” and they certainly weren’t. Color is one of the milestones in cinema (along with sound) that really mark the beginnings and ends of eras. It adds a new dimension to film and makes it more lifelike than ever before. Interestingly enough, it is not without its detractors, with some current directors preferring to shoot movies in black and white despite it no longer being the norm. Martin Scorsese with Raging Bull and George Clooney with Good Night And Good Luck are prime examples of this. It just goes to support the notion of cinema as art and the final product is the vision of the people working on it and it can be whatever they want it to.

"Oscar Winning Boston Movie" Review

“Improv Asylum” strikes comedy gold with their parody short “Oscar Winning Boston Movie.” They take advantage of the recent surge in gritty dramas set in Boston, lampooning Good Will Hunting, The Departed, The Town and The Fighter among others. “Oscar Winning Boston Movie” picks on the stereotypes of these gritty dramas and creates a trailer that can essentially be applied to any and all movies set in or around Boston. The script involves the return of a hometown hero, Teddy Owens, and is well written and made even better by the supreme production values of the short.

Like a typical movie trailer, the shots start out longer, establishing characters and plot. The beginning highlights the main character, his friends, enemies and what problems he will have to overcome. Further into the video the pace picks up with faster cuts and more violent and intense imagery before finally slowing down again with a final dramatic line.

The short opens with an extreme long shot of a view of the infamous fluorescent “Citgo” sign across the Charles River. The length of this shot is accentuated by the fade-in and fade-out transitions and the calm voiceover during the shot. From this shot alone, we know our location and we know what time of movie this will be (or at least what type of movie it is making fun of).

Midway through the short, Teddy Owens and his best friend are walking down a street, presumably in Southie or some similar neighborhood. It is a medium shot, capturing the two men from the waist up. A handheld camera is used for this shot, continuing the theme of a gritty drama. From an interpretative view, the handheld camera is also used at this point to highlight the uneasiness and lack of foundation in their relationship at this point in time.

The final shot in the short slows the pace down again with a view of the Prudential Building lit up blue. A quick pan from the building reveals an actor who remarks on the fact that “a storm’s coming.” The shot ends with the actor being in a close up in the foreground of the shot and the Prudential Building out of focus, but still visible in the background.

The short is funny, clever and entertaining. The best part of the short is easily the climatic montage involving gunfights, cocaine and a baby being thrown of a building. Of course, this is all handled in a comic manner, which makes it impressive how it never becomes offensive or anything like that considering the subject matter. “Improv Asylum” really understands how trailers work and what makes the public want to see a movie. They use numerous clichéd tricks to their advantage to achieve the comic effect intended from the short.

There is not much to complain about or critique negatively in this short. The only criticism might be that it is a little on the long side, it is 3.5 minutes when trailers are 2.5 or less in real life. But that is such a minor complaint and a small point to make on an otherwise perfect short.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hq99S8Euslk

-rbtJR.

Group Photo Project

As a group Team U.S.A. worked well together. None of us knew each other before we started the project so it was really anyone’s guess as to whether we would work well together. After the Newseum trip it was clear that we all got along well together and that are creative interests were similar, yet different enough to produce some interesting results for the project. Communication was never an issue and everyone met deadlines with ease. I volunteered to burn the project to a CD for class but when I realized that my older version of PowerPoint did not support the file I emailed everyone in the group to see if someone else could help. Within minutes everyone had responded and we figured out a solution to the problem. It was simple moments like this that made working together so easy and efficient.

Personally, I would try to come at the assignment from a different angle if I were to do it again. I took the word and came up with solid, but rather obvious examples for the word. Other people in the group went with some more creative shots and were a little bit more daring in their pictures than I was. Working with the group I was hesitant to try something that might not work and might hamper the groups progress but next time around I would try to push myself a bit more.

The finished project truly was a group effort. We brainstormed together and after we went out to individually shoot the images we picked out our favorites together. The final pictures used were pretty evenly split up, with everyone in the group contributing at least two of their own images to the final ten.

The most important thing that I learned from this project was that photography takes time and persistence. It is hard to set up a shot just the way you want it and a lot of photography is waiting for that opportune moment where everything falls into place and you get that perfect picture. Especially with a deadline, it is easy to feel rushed and the pressure of a time limit affects the way you think about the assignment, but it is important to be patient and wait for that perfect shot.

My favorite image from the project (and I am very biased on this one, because it is one of the ones that I took) is the picture of the student sleeping in the library. Taken from behind a row of books this was one of those times that the image just came together perfectly. Framing was key in this image as the bookshelves created a neat frame-within-a-frame of the student. Also, the lines from the bookshelf, the lines on the ceiling and the lines on the floor all run diagonally at the student and direct the attention of the viewer at the sleeping student. It is clear that the student is the center of the image and he is what the viewer’s gaze is directed to immediately. This image also follows the rule of thirds with the student placed off on the left of the image. It would have been just as easy to look straight down the aisle and take the picture head on, but this slight angle through the shelves and at the student add an interesting dynamic to the picture. The tiredness of the image is helped by the colors of the bookshelves. They are duller than usual and create a sleepy color scheme around the edges of the image (also, the fact that they’re books can put you to sleep right away). When the colors are combined with the rule of thirds it creates a sense that although the student is trying to read and stay awake (the dynamic of the rule of thirds) he is having a difficult time not falling asleep (the color and the dullness of the books).

Benetton Advertisements

Benetton is a clothing company that in 1989 and the years that followed used shock advertising as a major part of their advertising department and budget. Shock advertising can be defined as anything that incites or arouses interest through provocative, unusual or other images that are out of the ordinary or considered taboo. As a company for nearly twenty years, Benetton established itself as edgy and daring through their controversial ad campaigns. They had numerous different campaigns that included images of multi-cultural “harmony”, “charitable” causes and pictures of death row inmates. All that would accompany these images would be a simple Benetton logo and nothing else.

In fact, nearly all the time Benetton products were not used in the images. So what were they advertising? Benetton executives and creative director Oliviero Toscani claimed they were raising awareness for the causes and trying to help those people who did not have a voice. This is all well and good, but then it does not seem right to put the Benetton logo on the image and use it as an advertisement. If Benetton was truly concerned with these causes and did not want to exploit the tragedies such as death row inmates or David Kirby and his family. What they should have done instead was set up a non-profit and using the money from the Benetton corporation produce ad campaigns that would raise awareness and not mention Benetton or their products at all.

It is also a rather confusing chain of campaigns because Benetton has nothing to do with the images and it is like comparing apples to oranges. There was one particular image of a priest and a nun kissing with the Benetton logo small and in the corner. What is this ad suggesting? That if you buy clothes from Benetton the strictness of the Catholic Church will disappear or that if you buy clothes from Benetton the morals of members of the clergy will disintegrate? Both scenarios seem incredibly unlikely and neither really benefit anyone.

By giving attention to these campaigns and even discussing them, we are giving them credence. Even if we point out their flaws or declare them inappropriate. These campaigns are still being talked about over twenty years later so clearly they achieved their purpose. The goal was to spread the word about Benetton and make them a more common name. If you truly dislike the ads or find them offensive, simply ignore the ads altogether, ignore Benetton and they will quickly fade away.

Pulitzer Prize Winning Image At The Newseum

The most fascinating aspect of this photograph is how it not only captures one scene, but nine miniature scenes within the larger photograph. There is of course the main picture, which is of passengers on a plane watching as a fallen Marine’s casket is removed from the cargo hold. But within that there is so much more. There is no better use of framing, or frame-within-a-frame than this picture. The entrance to the cargo hold and the windows all act as separate pictures and make the viewer wonder what could possibly be going through all of these peoples minds. In a way, this photograph is a collection of portraits showing the effect of death and war on the common people. And anyone can easily put himself or herself in the passenger’s seat, which is one of the reasons that this picture is so accessible and powerful.

The rule of thirds is prominent in this photograph, with the centerpiece of the image (the Marines unloading the casket) being placed in the lower third of the shot and off center. It is easy to understand this is the most important part or the core of the photograph with literally everyone’s eyes in the photograph are directed towards the casket in the bottom left of the shot.

Even the colors of the image, despite being patriotic red, white and blue are rather somber. They are not bold, bright colors used for the Fourth of July, but much darker and convey the message that something terrible has happened for America. There are shadows darkening the entire scene and in fact the main source of light is coming from within the plane itself, which serves to highlight the people in the plane and helps darken everything else.

This photograph is one of the best ever taken because it has so many levels to it. It is quite possible to spend an hour on each of the faces in the window alone. It stands for a dark time in American history that many choose to ignore or put out of their minds. But that is wrong, and as a country we should not forget about our fallen heroes. This photograph and what it stands for helped to waken our collective consciousness as a country. Major Steve Beck said that all of the people on the plane are “going to remember being on that plane for the rest of their lives. And they should.” The same applies for anyone who simply sees this image, whether it is in magazine or the Newseum.

Personally, there are few images or photographs that stand out as truly impressive in my mind. There are so many of death and destruction (especially among the Pulitzer Prize winners) that I try to put most of them out of my mind. But for some reason, I could not do that with this particular image. It stuck in my brain and I kept thinking about it. It not only stands for a dark time in America, but also the hope that we will come together as a country and be able to make it through together through the support of each other.

Self Portrait Project

This image was certainly the most 'daring' that I did and I really messed around with Photoshop on this one. The walls in this picture had a nice "frame-in-frame" effect which I was pleased with but decided that was a little too boring and conflicted with the loose pose that my body was in. So I decided to liquify the walls which gave it a cool, wavy looser effect. Now I'm not entirely sure if adding all the effects to my body (Black & White: all colors up to 300% except blue) added to the picture, but this was an exercise in Photoshop and it does give it a sort of comic book-y nature to the picture which is certainly different and less conservative than my other pictures.
Unfortunately, this picture came out slightly blurry when I took it, but I didn't want to waste this shot. So, I used the "posterize" effect to blur the edges even more and give it a kind of unclear, 'mysterious' aura to it. To add to this aura I put a Photo Filter over it again, specifically the "Deep Blue" filter. (It came down to either using "Deep Blue" or "Deep Emerald" but the emerald gave me a slight sickly look which was not really what I was trying to achieve with this image.
This was a relatively simple picture. All I did was take a picture of myself in front of a mirror with the lights off. The flash from the camera provides all the light needed and it even covers up the camera making it look like I am holding some ball of light instead of the camera. I used the least effects in photoshop, all I did was put it in black and white (and then messed around a little with the color levels, nothing to drastic though) to highlight the contrast and get a crisper picture overall.

Business Card + Contact Sheet

The Telecaster

The Telecaster

The first picture of the Telecaster here is of the body of the guitar showing reflections of the room that it is in (Sherlock Holmes poster, light, etc.) It is by no means a great picture, but the reflection makes the guitar almost 'invisible' and you can barely tell that it is even a guitar with a quick glance. A neat feature is how the guitar is blurred and/or out of focus, but the reflection is quite clear and sharp while it is usually the other way around. Guitars a just an instrument and it is not what they are themselves that makes them special and unique, it is what a musician does with it to make it that special. Anyone can own a guitar but that does not mean that they can play it and create meaning with it. There's also some nice contrast between the white of the top and the bottom and the dark in the middle. This contrast symbolizes the power and versatility of the guitar as a musical instrument. Not only is it capable of making light, beautiful music, it is quite capable of playing heavy death metal type music with screeching guitar solos and a much darker ambience.

The second picture shows the guitar in a very different light. It is a much warmer and softer feel, almost as if it were shot on film. The image is slightly skewed with the visible part of the guitar tilted off to the right, which prevents the image from being to static and adds some excitement to the image. With the right filter this could be a very cool vintage shot of the guitar because even right now without altering the image it feels a little older than the guitar actually is. The Telecaster model of guitar has been around for over fifty years and this shot of a modern guitar with a realistic vintage feel harkens back to the original days of this type of guitar. It acts as a bridge between years and shows how even in this modern age there are still similarities between now and the past. You would also expect the contrast to be sharp between the guitar and the background, but fortunately, the silver on the guitar acts as a sort of transition between the gray background and the wood of the guitar making the transition much softer on the eyes.

This last picture is rather similar to the first in that it becomes interesting once the reflection is considered in the picture. It achieves the same effect as the first, except perhaps a little neater without all the reflection from the walls. It is a nice, symmetric image that balances the top and the bottom of the picture quite well. The symmetry demonstrates the mathematical qualities of the guitar or music in general. Yes, music is about freedom and expressing yourself, but there are also rules of numbers and scales, chords, etc. that need to be followed. The shine of the light off the knobs here finish the image off with an almost dreamlike quality that is accentuated by the perfect reflection below. The shimmering, shining lights off of the knobs again remind us that it is capable of create noises that shimmer and dance. If one were to play some nice melodies in a major key it would seem as if the guitar itself was sparkling and shining along.

rbtJr.

Covered In Snow - DIsneyland Paris

Back in December the “Disney Parks Blog” team took advantage of a rare opportunity: natural snow in Disneyland. Disneyland Paris is the only Disney Park in the world to experience snow naturally and even for them it does not happen too often. What resulted was a series of photos that showcased different iconic attractions and locations, from “it’s a small world” to “Sleeping Beauty Castle”, in a new and different way for many people. One definite highlight of this series was the picture of the “Mark Twain Riverboat” and “The Haunted Mansion.”

The image is tilted (or skewed) to the left, which is hardly noticeable if you just take a quick look at the picture. A tilted or canted angle adds a dynamic to the picture that prevents it from being too static or unmoving (Photo Idea Index p. 32). When you take a longer look, it is apparent the image is tilted because of all the people leaning to the left. The tilt gives the picture, or more specifically the subjects of the picture, an interesting perspective. “The Haunted Mansion” in the background is even creepier and there is an eerie almost otherworldly quality to the image.

The creepiness of the mansion is added to by the contrast of it and the “Mark Twain Riverboat.” Basically, contrast is just when the differences between two objects or scenes are highlighted and have a larger effect on the image. The white of the riverboat contrasts with the dark of the mansion making the mansion look even darker that it truly is. Most likely accidental, but all of the people near the mansion are dressed in black while the people on the riverboat have more variety in their colors, with some reds and some whites in the mix. Nevertheless, this small detail adds to the contrast featured in this picture. More importantly than the color though, is the lines of the mansion and the curves of the riverboat (Photo Idea Index p. 102). The straight edges of the mansion make it darker, more controlled, less free than the riverboat. The riverboat, for the most part has many curves which help to highlight the fact that is continuously in motion, even if it is frozen in time in the picture. Not to mention that in this shot it is coming around a bend in the river.

Finally, one element that can never be forgotten about in a picture is water, and its uniqueness as a reflective surface (Photo Idea Index p. 68). A reflective surface is pretty self-explanatory, anything such as a mirror, water, or any other surface where there is a mirror-image or reflection of an object. It can serve several purposes, any of which include extending the image, highlighting its power in the shot, etc. The river in this picture accomplishes several things that nothing else really can, or at least if it did, it would not do it as well as the water. The reflection of the white riverboat stands out in stark contrast to the rest of the dark, gray water. It extends the riverboat making it seem bigger and giving it a much larger presence in the picture. This extension of the boat (and the top floors of the mansion) prevent the image from seeming static and having the boat and the mansion sitting in the middle of the shot awkwardly. The reflection conveys movement and makes the riverboat appear to have more power over the river than it actually does. A neat sub-image of this main picture could be focused on the water or the birds in the water. If the rest of the image was cropped out and only the water remained it would be clear that this is a stormy, bleak winter day and it had just or is about to snow. The photographer responsible for this picture did a tremendous job in showing us another side of Disneyland Paris, as was his goal, because if you looked at this image without context, the last place you would guess where this picture was taken was in fact in Disneyland Paris.

-rbtJr.

Photo taken from http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2010/12/a-view-from-disneyland-paris-2/