Thursday, September 17, 2009
Stacy's Discussion Thread
In Chapter two of "Film Art, an Introduction" the idea is meantioned that artwork cues its viewers (readers, watchers, etc) to "perform certain activities." Such as how a novel would cue our minds to imagine a scene. It also says that these cues are "organized into systems" and are not random. Does everyone agree with this? Is each cue (such as scenary, or lighting) in a movie fulfilling a specific purpose? Or does the author, director, or artist put these "cues" out unintentionally?
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I think that all effects utilized in films are there for a purpose. It takes a film twice as hard as a novel to express emotion and consciousness through its characters. When reading a novel we can acknowledge those emotions first hand because the author provides details in words. I think that both the film maker and author have their own creative methods in how to express their thoughts to the audience. These creators do not add in details unintentionally.
ReplyDeleteI believe that both the novel and the film are interactive artworks. If that was not the case then people would have the same opinion on every art work they experience. It is the individual's reactions to the different cues in films that makes the viewer enjoy or hate the film. Movies just use different strategies then novels do in order to provoke strong emotion from the audience. The acting of the different characters are simply not enough when there is the absence of what the characters are thinking. In a book the author can literally spell out for us what someone is thinking and how we should feel about it becomes obvious. In a film however, the acting is coupled in with choice of music, camera angles and so much more. These cues are so powerful that sometimes they can make us feel things that are even contrary to what the acting would call for us to feel. An example is when we laugh when someone falls and hurts themselves or are happy when someone in a movie dies.
ReplyDeleteCues induce behavior active. Because the proper arrangement of words, images and sounds serves as the most empowering force of self change with the advent of recorded, moving pictures, sound a powerful new tool was released for directly accessing the subconscious portion of the mind, and to strongly influence it via rapid visual cues.
ReplyDeleteGood topic Stacy. I have to imagine that some aspects in a film are accidental. With so many people working on a film set there is a good chance that a shoe or a pan gets placed in a mise-en-scene by a technician walking by. Does that pan have intention? If it doesn't what effect does it have on the viewer?
ReplyDeleteI would have to say that these symbols or ideas are put into the film for a reason. Such as the idea of a subliminal message. Or as discussed in class, the idea of propaganda in movies. It isn't always obvious to the viewer that their mind is being effected by what they are watching but once the movie is over, the viewer is often left with an opinion of what they just saw, whether it was their initial judgment being strengthened or their perspective entirely changing.
ReplyDeleteI believe that movie makers, for the most part, intentionally plan on putting certain things into a film. Movie making is a complicated and long process so I feel that if a director puts a random flower pot in the scene or makes the lighting in a room really dim, the director usually does that to make us see or think something specific.
ReplyDeleteDuring the making of a movie every scene is laid out to look a certain way. Each scene hopes to grab your attention in different ways, such as having different scenery and lighting. It is meant to draw us into a movie. Cues allows to separate parts of the movie, and understand it as a whole. While reading a novel we have to imagine what something is like, and instead of a movie where we can actually see it. Novels and movies have intended meanings, and every little detail means something.
ReplyDeleteCassandra's Response:
ReplyDeleteI too believe that cues are "organized into systems". I feel that film makers make a viewer feel certain emotions by use of lighting, camera angle, and focus. Background music is intentionally added to manipulate audiences emotions, it sets the mood of a film wether its a suspense or a comedy. Everything in a film has a purpose. The director wants viewers to see his imagination come to life on screen, to do so all cues must have been intentional
I imagine that each cue is implemented into a movie with a specific purpose. Each part of a movie has to have a little bit of an effect on each audience member. I believe that some are more obvious than others, such as background music, as Cassandra suggested. Each cue sets the tone for the scene we are viewing, and I believe a good director would know exactly how to set up each cue in order for it to produce a certain effect. This is especially important for movies because we don't really have room for imagination when watching a movie, the way we do when reading a novel. Just the way a novel has words which impact us, a movie has cues which impact us and draw our attention to something, or help to produce emotion. Every little bit counts in a film.
ReplyDelete