Blog #4

Composition Tools Using "Mystery Train", "Stranger Than Paradise" and "Dead Man" Film Stills

Rule of Thirds: Top, Center, Bottom Composition

This shot from Mystery Train is is a great example of the use of the Rule of Thirds to compose the frame in top, center, bottom positon.  Two vertically standing characters stand on two imagined vertical dividing lines.  The three horizontal dividing lines run through all background and foreground objects at the top, bottom and center of the frame.  The emotional/psychological impact of the framing device is the almost comedic spectacle of these foreign characters left on a train platform in an alien world.  They are surveying their surroundings with an entirely empty clueless perception of where they are.

Rule of Thirds, Left, Center, Right Composition

This shot from Mystery Train is is a great example of the use of the Rule of Thirds to compose the frame in left, center, right positon.  Two seated characters align with the two imagined vertical dividing lines.  The three horizontal dividing lines run through all left, center, right objects in the frame.  The emotional/psychological impact of the framing device here is the dramatic background spanning in the middle of the modern teenage Japanese couple.  They are too busy listening to music and putting on makeup and they have a noticeable lack of reaction to what must be a very unfamiliar landscape.  Ultimately they are entirely blind to the cultural differences of themselves and the land they are visiting.

Rule of Thirds, Foreground, Middle Ground, Background Composition

This is a beautiful example from Mystery Train of a composition using the Rule of Thirds, Foreground, Middel Ground and Background with the two imagined veritical lines running along a foreground object on the left and middle ground object on the right.  Meanwhile the three imagined horizontal lines fall almost perfectly to devide the foreground, middle ground and background objects.  The emotional/psychological impact of the framing device here is the shared visuals of urban decay and juxtaposition of the foreign characters moving through these strange surroundings, looking so lost and out of place.

Eye Room (Lead Room) Composition

This image from Stranger Than Paradise is a great example of the use of Lead Room Composition.  The image includes a view of both where the car has been and where the it can travel in the distance.  This is a unique example of the compositional tool, as Lead Room predominantly is meant to give the viewer a look at where the moving object will go but here we can see where it has been and where it is going in one frame.  The emotional/psychological impact of this tool is the fact that we see where the car is traveling and that is has great distance to travel but the car door is open and the driver in on the room of the car, the only way we know that the car is not actually moving in this image.

Deep Space Composition

This image from Strange Than Paradise is a great example of Deep Space composition.  Here two significant elements of the frame are positioned both close and far away from the camera.  The emotional/psychological impact of the composition is a clear connection with the character who is clearly a traveler, with her luggage, walking away from a plane and runway in the distance.  The audience is forced to wonder where she is going and why she has travled to this place.

Symmetrical Balance Composition

Symmetrical balance is strongly used in this image from Stranger Than Paradise.  The two characters are of similar position and size on either side of the frame as they watch television in a dark room.  The expressions and relaxed positions of the characters lends an emotional/psychological impact of boredom and darkness with a beautiful shadowy feel brought by light coming from the TV in the foreground.

Compositional Stress Composition

This shot from Dead Man is a great example of the use of Compositional Stress.  We see a character holding a gun, obviously a tense and threatening moment but our view of his surroundings is so limited, we are unable to see who he is pointing his weapon at or what or who surrounds our character causing the threat which has lead to his need for the weapon.  The stress caused by the lack of knowledge of the source of the threat in this frame is the emotional/psychological impact brought by this compositional tool.

Blog #3

Select a quote from one of the filmmakers interviewed in the first 10 minutes of the documentary Film Noir that describes a main idea that also appeared in either Out of the Past or L.A. Confidential (or both). Explain how the quote you've selected applies to one or both of these two movies. (Name the filmmakers you quote.)

Errol Morris: “Noire is concerned with errors and confusions, It’s the noir idea, we don’t know what’s going on, but we do know something is bad out there controlling events. For me, the best noir films are films about fall guys, a person who finds himself caught in a net, the more he struggles the deeper and deeper he becomes entwined in nightmare.”

Such a quote easily personifies the true noir of Out of the Past or the neo-noir of L.A. Confidential. Both narratives utilize plots that exemplify the quote. In Out of the Past Jeff Bailey has his mysterious past catch up with him one day when he's ordered to meet with gambler Whit Sterling. Whit's new job for Jeff is clearly a trap, but Jeff's precautions only leave him more tightly enmeshed and ultimately framing him. Bailey is aware of this throughout, unsure of whom to trust, but the only way out is through. The same thing holds true for L.A. Confidential where we have an intricate noir tale of police corruption and Hollywood sleaze. Three very different cops are all after the truth, each in their own style. Only by working together are they able to solve the conspiracy of the Night Owl murder but become targets themselves in their search for truth. Again, the only way out is through.

How to spot a femme fatale:

Which description in the documentary of the femme fatale best identifies Kathie from Out of the Past? Do any fit Lynn from L.A. Confidential? For each, explain how, why/why not. (Give the name of the filmmaker whose description it is.)

Certainly both women exemplify “That Black Widow sensibility” as Paul Shrader calls it.  Both women live independent lives in society. Both are dangerous due to their sexuality for which the men in their respective lives cannot help but succumb to. Kathie however is far more intelligent and far more manipulative. Lynn is a convenient plot device but she is more a tool of manipulation (By way of Pierce Patchett) than the driving force behind it. Katie has her own agenda and attempts to play everyone for fools. Both use their sexuality to get things they want. Both use it as a tool to manipulate others, but ultimately Lynn wants to return to a “normal” life with Bud that represents traditional gender roles and she succeeds in does so.

Noir photography, lighting, and location:

Recall how the use of shadow and light, the use of deep focus, AND the type of locations used for shooting in Out of the Past help to create the world of film noir. How do these same elements show up in the neo-noir film L.A. Confidential? How do you think the use of color photography changes the effect of these elements?

The visual style of all Noir films utilized German-expressionistic chiaroscuro style lighting, giving harsh shadows with prominent key lighting that allows for an overall sense of foreboding. Light against dark represents good against evil and the inability to distinguish what lurks in the shadows helps to frame the ambiguous characters in the narrative. This also helps to externalize characters that are often trapped in the plot. There is no light, there is no release, and thus there is no escape. The colorization of L.A. Confidential certainly dilutes the impact of high contrast black and white. Certain scenes like the Victory Motel shootout still allowed for high contrast moments. The colorization of the noir helps root the story in reality however, which is an ardent goal of all noir. For as much as we love classical noir, they rarely hold up to modern audiences due to being dated as “B Movies”.   The other noirish elements are still used in Confidential however. The production design is simple and functional and representative of isolation and alienation. Beyond the depth of field and production design (including costuming) however, L.A. Confidential uses noir more in structuring the plot, then portraying the classical visual style.

Setting is a significant element in both Out of the Past and L.A. Confidential, but used in different ways due to the change from black and white to color photography.  L.A. Confidential is a much brighter film, using daytime and color extensively in many locations for many scenes but manages to maintain a seedy noir feel simultaneously with the use of detailed locations that convey the feel of 1950's Los Angeles.  From City Hall, to movie premiers in the background, to the sparse and foreboding Victory Motel, setting is what allows L.A. Confidential to convey noir without the same dark contrast used in films like Out of the Past.  Out of the past travels to vastly different locales from Lake Tahoe, to Mexico, to urban San Francisco and despite these varied settings, maintains a constant dark grainy feel that is the traditional style of noir.  Both are enjoyable to watch for their own reasons but L.A. Confidential is a modern twist on noir film-making that is great fun to take in.

Blog Post #2

Diagetic vs. Non-diagetic Sounds in the Film Out of the Past

One example of non-diagetic sound in the film, Out of the Past, comes at 5:00 mins. Our main character, Bailey, is fishing with his fiancé Meta. In the background is melodic score music, clearly not heard in the world of the film but meant to convey a sense of peaceful serenity in the majestic outdoor scene. Another example of non-diagetic sound is score music playing at about 11:00 mins. It begins as Bailey is driving with Meta to Lake Tahoe and he begins his story of his true past. It is clearly not heard in the world of the film but is meant to put the audience on notice of Bailey’s mysterious story that is about to unfold.

An example of diagetic sound in the film is the band playing at 15:00 mins. as Bailey, now recounting his past experiences searching for Katherine Moffett, meets with a former employee of Katherine’s, Eunice Livit, at a crowded New York African American dance club. The scene opens on a trumpet player playing loudly with a band surrounding him. The band is in the world of the film and people are dancing to the music in the background. Another example of diagetic sound in the film is at 20:10 min. It takes place as Bailey enters a bar called Pablo’s in Acapulco hoping to meet Katherine there. Bailey stands at the bar as violin music begins playing. You clearly see the violinist and piano in the background. Katherine suggests this place because they play American music. The music is clearly a part of the world of the film.

Use of Familiar Image in the Film Out of the Past

A Familiar Image in the film, Out of the Past, is the use of a door, left open. This image is used in two separate scenes of the film. The first comes at 27:08 as Bailey and Katherine come running to her cottage in Acapulco in the rain. They sit on the couch drying each other’s hair and expressing their love when the wind blows the door open and Bailey gets up to close it slowly. At 39:08 this similar image is seen again after the fight with Fisher, Bailey’s old partner who tries to blackmail them, during which Katherine shoots and kills him. Bailey is shocked that Katherine shot him and as he turns around, she’s gone, the door standing open. Once again, Bailey slowly gets up and closes the door as Katherine is seen driving away. Both of these scenes feature a small cottage where Bailey and Katherine are going to be together. Director Jacques Tourneur likely crafted these scenes to be so similar to emphasize the way in which Bailey is misled by Katherine. He falls in love with her, despite her shady past. He trusts her despite many reasons not to, believing that her having shot Whit was justified and over with. The scene at the forest cottage shows Katherine’s treacherous nature. Bailey’s heart is broken as he learns she did steal the money from Whit and is truly a cold-blooded murderess. The door standing open is a symbol of how easily Katherine is able to claim her undying love to Bailey only to turn around, commit murder and run through that open door without a second thought.
The above film clip shows Katherine's cold-blooded murder of Fisher after Bailey fights him.

Film Noir and the Film Out of the Past

Out of the past is a classic example of Film Noir. The visual style utilized German-expressionistic chiaroscuro style lighting, giving harsh shadows with prominent key lighting that allows for an overall sense of foreboding. The contrast and dramatic shadows helps frame the thematic, morally ambiguous characters that make up the narrative. The main character acts as a hard boiled private detective and Katherine represents the quintessential Femme Fatale running from the quintessential jealous boyfriend. The story itself uses heavy voice over narration and flashbacks as standard devices to tell the story. The plot also uses such devises as betrayals and double crosses which are standard hard boiled film noir devices. Noir stories like to show people in unwanted situations that have an uncertain outcome of events that often ends in tragedy. Out of the Past is no different in this regard.

Blog Post #1

Any trivial element of a movie can make it noteworthy, from the technical elements like Direction, Cinematography and Editing to a single performance, scene or ensemble. A movie could be “noteworthy” for the subject matter or the style in which it’s told. I think all movies are noteworthy for every conceivable reason, including how bad it is. Every movie we watch, be it good, bad, perfunctory or excellent, becomes “of note” in our minds, especially the ones we wished we didn’t waste our time on, as much as the ones we find compelling or deserving of an award.

A compelling movie is simply a movie an individual finds interesting. Unlike being “noteworthy” however, a compelling movie is one in which the pluses out weigh the minuses and the movie itself is worthy of spending ones time watching and remembering for many different or singularly isolated reasons.

A movie deserves an award, or becomes “award caliber” when it reaches the highest level of achievement in a given category. Movies that are made in such a way, tell a story in such a way, evoke emotion in such a way, that it has reached the heights of cinematic quality and is worthy of praise. The term “awards caliber” however is called into question by the proliferation of awards like “The Razzies” in which people feel compelled to note the poorest quality films and give them an award for it.

CASABLANCA (1942) – Casablanca sits at #3 on the AFI top 100 list and for good reason. It holds noteworthy and compelling performances from Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman. Their performances are iconic entries into the canon of film history. It has managed to pass the hardest qualification out there, the test of time. It’s balance of themes and tone as well as possessing highly quotable dialogue, makes this an easy choice. It won awards for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Screenplay.

ALIEN (1979) – Alien is easily the greatest Science Fiction and Horror film of all time. It is both noteworthy and compelling due in large part to the design of the film and the manifestation of H. R. Giger’s dark imagination. Of note is the strong performance of female lead Sigourney Weaver in a time where women were not thought to be able to open a movie. Not to be outdone, the movie is masterly crafted by Ridley Scott, creating tension and realism in the fantastical universe of outer space. The combination of futurism, realism, and special effects allowed it to win awards for Special Effects and Art Direction.