Viewing balance

What is pretended here is understanding the rule of thirds. To achieve the goal is recommended to analysed part of the work that I've already produced. Sometimes, it will feel that I've followed this guideline of composition, whereas in other cases it will be just the opposite. At least, that is what I thought. However, going over my previous work reflects that I was always close to what was expected. Probably because I didn't pay too much attention to the things that I could get when not applying the Golden Section. I mean, I don't know that I could alter the message conveyed by my footage just by composing my frame in a different manner from the academic one. Therefore, my examples are not very interesting. Actually, I think that I'm a very big fan of the rule of thirds so I guess that it should be good for me to begin with a little experimentation.

Picture 1: Funnily, I didn't take on any lighting thing because I really liked the overexposure effect that the window makes it. Otherwise, the composition is pretty avarage. I wonder if I could get another impression from this having played a little bit with the composition. We'll never know. 

Picutre 2: Likewise happens in the picture just mentioned, this is a shot that fits well with the theory. And I could have made the most of it whether I had changed the arrangement of elements within it. Given that this is the decisive moment of the sequence and, besides, the drama is there, it seems that it is not a good idea to be very conservative.  

Once my productions have been reviewed, it's time to look for good samples in real life. So, starting by a broken composition balanced between shots, I would like to introduce this one from a thriller, "The Village". Two characters are having a conversation about what love is and the like and, all of a sudden, the one with the long hair stabbed the other one. Then. the rule of thirds is not any longer there, I suppose, because this helps to create tension and distress.

Another interesting still captured comes from the series "House of Cards". It shows three people in a significant disagreement. And to upset the viewers in a manner that can feel themseves part of the scene, the protagonists are not at all where they shoud have been. if the situation were a relaxing one.  

Finally, it's my intention to present how changing the position of a subject on the screen can give us a totally different sensation about what we're watching. But firstly, let me explain the narrative here. We have a man who is very confident on his stance in a discussion with another man. As the conversation between them goes along, this confident disappears entirely ought to something else that the other man has said to him. So, moving to the shots, on the one hand we have this guy perfectly placed when his pretty sure about what he is talking about. His eye line and the bottle of beer makes the harmony which the rule of thirds needs. On the other hand, once the bad news for him has been broken, we can see him not in the middle of the frame or located in a line a third of the way in from either the right or the left. In this manner, his strain is perfectly noticed by the audience. 

Viewing - part 2

This exercise is about choosing a particularly interesting scene and, after watching it a number of times, ask the following questions about the shots that are withing the sequence:

• How does the scene feel?
• How has this been achieved?
• Has the mise-en-scene played a part in this?
• Is there any meaning conveyed by the mise-en-scene?

My choice was the last scene of the film "Moneyball":

Probably, this not the best example of a mise-en-scene from the perspective of putting elements in the frame in order to get an specific feeling. It's more that the framing makes it. The protagonist is pretty unhappy because he's turning down a job opportunity for personal reasons. At some point, he falls apart and breaks out into tears. The sadness is well represented by a close up of the eyes of the character. However, when analysing the scene shot by shot, it transpires that there's an intention behind the arrangement of items to boost the despair of him. 

In the first shots, it's difficult to see something else apart from the logical setting which is the inner part of the car - the radio, the mobile. And it could be said that, as the car goes along, the movement is reflected by a slight tilt of the camera just when the man is looking for the CD. 

But, at the same time, the atmosphere is established from the beginning. This is down to the background that appears through the windows. It's an industrial area and the factories here provides a more than hopeless scenario. 

Then, there is the close up that confers all the meaning. Nonetheless, this shot is combined with shots of the background where lorries and cranes can be seen clearly. These footages reinforce the sense of anguish that surrounds everything. 

The scene ends by showing how this person looks at the horizon like he was wondering what he is doing. There are other things that can be added to the composition and contribute as well to produce the meaning of misery like the song that is played on the radio and the lighting - the car, so dark, and the background, not very sunny.

Viewing - part 1

This exercise intends to deciphers the meaning behind some scenes from different films and series by having a look at the mise-en-scene of some shots from these scenes.

Confrotation - Breaking Bad

I’ve chosen this shot as an example of confrontation.  The frame feels tension and rivalry as we can see how two gangs face each other in an open space. It’s easy to get this impression as the arrangement of items and actors splits the picture into two groups of elements. It’s possible to draw an imaginary line along the middle in such a way that it’s clear the conflict. Likewise, the distribution of objects produces the sense of stress – it all perfectly placed like they were waiting to the start of the battle. Besides, the cars reinforce this idea as they have been parked aligned.  Finally, by my reckoning, the open space also contributes to the atmosphere because there’s nothing there and this implies there won’t be any witness of the fight. 

Terror - I know what you did last summer

A terror film is always a good source of settings thought to create frightening atmospheres. I could have gone for many when watching "". Eventually, I took this one because it achieves the feeling if suspense without needing a particular use of the lighting, music or something else. Just the presence in the background of a door half open is enough to create discomfort and doubt among the audience. Was that door open before or not? And having asked ourselves this question the threaten is made. Furthermore, the fact that there's no more information placed within the shot, helped to focus the viewer's attention on the door. 

Stress - Seinfeld

It goes without saying that this is an arrangement of elements that pretends to show to what extent the protagonist is busy. The items give us the meaning of being in a very oppressive space. Moreover, the mid shot emphasises precisely that. After many hours of working, we have got a cluttered area full of things. For obvious reasons, neither a close up nor a wide shot would fit well with the purpose of conveying strain. In adittion to this, it has to be taken into account that the background is also busy, having several objects to squeeze the footage a little bit more.