Formalism is a style of editing where the director intends to manipulate space and time. This technique creates several emotions within the audience, yet it creates a clear narrative. Certain elements create formalism such as the thematic montage where several shots are connected via theme. Also, abstract cutting is a purely formalistic and just completely manipulates the senses. Shots are more concerned with the duration of the shot rather than the actual film.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=_b6S8tpQtdw
This clip is a clear example of formalism because it manipulates time and space several times during this scene. For instance, at 1:10; when he jumps on the hood of the car. Everything slows down, it seems unreal but it’s purpose it to highlight the impact of the jump. Then everything suddenly speed up and that's putting back what was taken away previously which is speed. Furthermore, after he jumps to the car we see a reaction shot of a passenger indicating how scare he is. This is called constructive cutting because the meaning is creating through juxtaposition. Continuing with the scene, next we see the first car he jumped crashed in slow motion, in an unrealistic time period and space.
Realist films use sequence shots to tell the story. They are continuous takes for one recording of time and in realist films, these sequences last uncomfortably long. They never have any edits or cuts at all because directors want the audience to decide for themselves what they want to focus on. Early cinema started with long shots taken in one lengthy take. With this technique for filming, directors could only make simple stories.
The clip above is the opening sequence from Saving Private Ryan. The movie may be a war movie, but this opening sequence has a realist feel to it. Many of the shots are from a certain point, mainly off to the side and the shots are no shorter than 5-10 seconds long. The camera moves with the people, giving it a realist feel trying to make it seem as though you are in the battle along side all the soldiers. The shots are held or a very long time and the camera doesn't move from certain spots much. There is little editing, at least for a war film and the scene is a realist style of filmmaking.
Classicism is an editing technique directors want in their films to create a more complicated sequence of events. It tries to show fluidity of an event without literally showing every single step (from point A to B). By condensing actions without leaving anything essential out, an editor can make a film that establishes a clear cause and effect relationship. Also, classicism in editing interprets and action by emphasizing certain details over others (e.g. with the use of close ups etc.). Overall, a director wants this because he or she wants the audience to focus on certain aspects of a film in order to show the one meaning a director is trying to get across.
Aside from a brief sequence of quick cuts between 0:23 and 0:30, the clip above taken from Roy Andersson's En kärlekshistoria is exemplary of classicist editing in that the cuts between the characters Annika, Pär, and Eva are done with the intention of emphasizing the impact of Pär's initial departure and regretful return.
No comments:
Post a Comment