Research

Cinematography & The Inspirations Behind..

Cinematography is combining art with the image of the shot to bring it to life. Through the use of lighting, mise-en-scene and camera, the world of the film can be created. Through the cinematography the tone of mood of the shot is created. It is translating ideas into images and expressing a story within a space. Krzysztof Kieslowski says of his film making that it is interesting but hard work. In his trio of scenes, “Three Colours” he uses a key element in each to keep the scenes connected. He keeps the source of sound in the scenes, for example the flute in “Blue” and the harmonica in “White”, ambiguous until the action of the scene finishes to suggest the character is brought into this world through the action. Kieslowski also uses close ups frequently in his work to show the action through the characters eyes. The close up shows what they are concentrating on and what within the scene is important to them. We could use this technique in our film to show the main focuses of Alfie’s world which can also show his revengeful motivation. A close up of Marie and Johnny holding hands could be his main concentration as this is the only thing he is bothered by in the scene as it angers him. The close up rejects everything surrounding in the scene and brings us into the characters world as we see things from their perspective. Also, from Kieslowski and his example of “the sugar lump shot” we see the importance of detail in cinematography. Even if the minor details are shown on screen for a minimal time they need to be perfected to create the best effect. In our film, we can use this detail for when Marie finds the matches and petrol lying on the floor, by making sure everything is perfected correctly, and is shown for the right length of time.
A respected cinematographer whose very un-Hollywood approach has come under hot demand is Chris Doyle whose films include “Bare Witness”, “2046” and “In the mood for love”. Doyle believes western cinema is for people who cant understand film so it is shown step by step in an idiots guide, whereas in his films he prefers for the audience to discover what he is saying. Doyle uses the mood of his film in the setting, like in “2046” when the cracked, ruined, textured walls represented the loneliness. In our film, our main use of setting is the science lab. This setting matches the thematic unity for our mild thriller and also matches the isolated, suspecting mood we want it to create. A key technique Chris Doyle uses in his cinematography is “the dance”. Filming without a tripod he uses the dance between the camera and the actors to engage the audience. There is no set rhythm which allows the scenes to be more intimate with the actors. It would be effective if we opened our film using this style of camera work when we film a flirtatious, sexual scene between Marie and Johnny. The intimacy of the filming can be reflected in their actions. Colour is also a way which cinematographers can suggest emotions. A red mist can be used to create a sense of anger, which would be effective if we put this in our film when showing Alfie’s anger and frustration, and also through make up and costumes as colour can effect the mood of the scene.