Visual Language
VISUAL LANGUAGE - WAR OF THE WORLDS
No introduction is needed in this latest Visual Language article. Yall know the deal. Let’s get started and then let’s get to the shots.
Steven Spielberg and Janusz Kaminski. Masters. This film went into pre-production in August 2004, with shooting dates of December 8, 2004 through March 7, 2005. It was released, June 29, 2005. Thin about that and the scope of the film. 10 Months from Pre-production to Theatrical Release. This is because these guys know exactly what their doing and why it’s so important to understand the art of filmmaking.
The Machines.
War of the Worlds is a 2005 science fiction disaster film based on H. G. Wells’ original novel starring Tom Cruise and Dakota Fanning. It was directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Josh Friedman and David Koepp. It was released on June 29, 2005.
If you are serious about learning the art of film’s visual language, keep in mind this Quote from Steven Spielberg:
“I’m more interested in concept shots and money shots than I am in tons of MTV coverage, which certainly takes a lot of time. But if I can put something on the screen that is sustained where you get to study it and you get to say, ‘How did they do that?’ That’s happening before my eyes and the shot’s not over yet, it’s still going and it’s still going and my God, it’s an effects shot and it’s lasting seemingly forever. I enjoy that more than creating illusion with sixteen different camera angles, where no shot lasts longer than six seconds on the screen. To pull a rabbit out of a hat, because you are really a smart audience and you’re in the fastest media, the fastest growing new media today and you know the difference between sleight of hand visually and the real thing. I think what makes War of the Worlds, at least the version that we’re making, really exciting, is you get to really see what’s happening. There’s not a lot of visual tricks. We tell it like it is, we show it to you, and we put you inside the experience.”
War of the Worlds
I want you to look for certain elements and techniques, as I have noted in the breakdown.
Camera Angles - One of the hardest things to absorb is the 180/30 Axis and Line rules (Google it), Spielberg wields his wand and smacks the line around, using angles that flirt with the line.
Hand Held - The camera is the mind of Tom Cruise’s character. His mind races, as does the camera. The camera dictates to the audience and Tom what we’re going to do next.
Alright check it out, I have to get back to writing my feature.
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If you like this then please subscribe to the CHRISTINE - John Carpenter’s visual peak.
John Carpenter’s Christine is a 1983 horror film about a supernaturally malevolent automobile and its effects on the teenager who owns it, adapted from a novel written by Stephen King. One of my favorite films of all time and John Carpenter’s most underrated and least talked about films.
The original theatrical One Sheet.
The movie starred Keith Gordon as Arnie Cunningham, the typical high school nerd with only one friend, a childhood companion named Dennis Guilder (John Stockwell, who is a director now; Turistas (2006), Into the Blue (2005)) a popular jock. Arnie’s life changes when he discovers Christine, a red 1958 Plymouth Fury. Arnie begins to restore Christine to her original beauty, but as he spends more and more of his time repairing her, those in his life notice that he is changing as well.
Arnie metamorphoses from timid and insecure to confident and assured. But this transformation is filled with an evil streak and a very jealous, supernaturally possessed car.
As the film develops, we discover the car the car has a deadly past. The previous owner, Roland LeBay, became consumed with Christine and he paid for it with his life. Dennis and Arnie’s new girlfriend, Leigh, played by Alexandra Paul, try to save Arnie from a similar fate. They realize that the only way to save Arnie is by destroying Christine. Christine, however, isn’t ready to give up Arnie without a fight.
I thought this was Carpenter’s last real good work and showed him at the top of his game in visual terms. After that, he seemed to have lost the edge. As much as I like his body of work, yes, even Vampires and Ghost of Mars, Carpenter seems to have peaked with this film. His glory years being from 1976 to 1983 when we were given the masterpieces The Thing, Escape from New York, The Fog (okay, campy, I know, but I love it), Halloween and Assault on Precinct 13, Carpenter gives us such wonderful visual language and efficiency in this film. A true Auteur of his time.
What I want to look at in the following scene, is Carpenter’s use of the P.O.V., Blocking and impressively, his use of generally longer takes that keeps the camera moving and actors staging in a constant flux, changing the frame and composition.
Finest smell in the world, except for maybe …
VISUAL LANGUAGE - Jaws
Jaws. The defining film in my life. The first film I remember seeing as a child remains my favorite film of all time. Steven Spielberg was a Welleian 26 years old when he directed this masterpiece and it forever changed the landscape of the Worldwide Box Office, the film formula and Hollywood’s marketing machines.
Theatrical One Sheet
Based on the novel by Peter Benchley, Jaws tells the simple story of a small New England town terrorized by a great white shark but it’s in the 2nd act with what starts as a simple horror story turns into a Moby Dick tale at sea fueled by the 3 archetypes of Chief Brody, Matt Hooper, and Quint, our salty Ahab.
As much as it’s been compared to Melville’s Moby Dick, I don’t recall Dick giving people true fear. What Hitch did with Psycho and shower curtains, Spielberg to this day makes me think of what’s underneath me whenever I step foot into the ocean.
The film is perfect and I chose a very simple sequence too look at. A sequence which on the page was 3 sentences long. Keep this is mind all of you
VISUAL LANGUAGE - Schindler’s List
Although JAWS is my all-time favorite film (for so many reasons) I find Schindler’s List to be director Steven Spielberg’s greatest achievement; a masterpiece on every level and a film that must be put into a time capsule for future generations to bare witness.
Schindler’s List is a 1993 biographical film directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Steven Zaillian, telling the story of Oscar Schindler, a German businessman who saved the lives of more than one thousand Polish Jews during the Holocaust. It was based on the novel Schindler’s Ark by Thomas Keneally, and starred Liam Neeson as Schindler, Ralph Fiennes as Schutzstaffel officer Amon Göeth, and Ben Kingsley as Schindler’s accountant Itzhak Stern. The film was both a box office success and recipient of seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Score.
VISUAL LANGUAGE - Aliens
James Cameron first came into the limelight with 1984’s The Terminator, but really caught Hollywood’s attention with Aliens. As much as I like the original film by Ridley Scott, I always found Cameron’s vision to be a masterpiece, a rock star’s version of space terror.
57 years after Ripley’s encounter in the first film, Ripley is sent back to LV-426 as a consultant after the corporation loses contact with the colony of workers that are there.
VISUAL LANGUAGE - Braveheart
Produced and directed by Mel Gibson, who also starred in the title role, portraying legendary Scot, William Wallace, who gained recognition when he came to the forefront of the First War of Scottish Independence by opposing Edward I of England.
One Sheet
The film won five Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director. This film is one of my all-time favorite films. I chose a segment from the film that we might find ourselves in. Read the script segment, think how you would shoot it, how many set ups, coverage. And then we’ll break it down.
VISUAL LANGUAGE - Raiders of the Lost Ark
I first saw this film in 7th grade and it was then that I realized there was someone called a director. Fresh off the critically panned and commercial bomb of 1941 (I love that film!) the film told the tale of an archeologist and adventurer named Indiana Jones who is hired by the US government to find the Ark of the Covenant, before the Nazis do.
Indy One Sheet
I remember the trailers on television “Indiana Jones, the new hero from the creators of JAWS and STAR WARS!”. The film blew my mind. Nominated for 9 Academy Awards including Best Picture and Best Director, Spielberg would be robbed by the Academy.
This scene study is simple, yet very effective. Read a passage from the script and decide how you would block this one out. How many cuts ? What kind of coverage ? Then we’ll take a look at the scene, shot by shot.
VISUAL LANGUAGE - Tombstone’s ok corral
Tombstone, 1879. Legendary Dodge City marshall Wyatt Earp, his wife Mattie and his brothers come to Tombstone hoping to seek thier fortune but Tombstone is a lawless municipality inhabited by a bunch of carousing locals known as the Cowboys.
When I first thought of breaking down the shootout from Tombstone, it sounded like a good idea at the time. Little did I stop to realize that it would come in at over 125 different cuts. I can’t even bother to count the Set-ups on this break down. My mind is already mush. But there doesn’t appear too many set-ups as it is, but more one cut after another from a handful of them.
There isn’t anything to run home and scream about in terms of cinematic brilliance with this film. Rudiment direction, cinematography and score, it is the ensemble cast that makes this film such a treat, most notably Val Kilmer’s portrayal of Doc Holiday. Make no mistake, it is one of my favorite films for sheer entertainment value. But I did notice some some things worth discussing whilst breaking this apart, mainly regarding the Axis Line. This can be a major hurdle (and obstacle) for any new filmmaker. Many do not even know about it and many more just can’t seem to grasp it. It can become a complicated mess on-set especially with an action sequence.
VISUAL LANGUAGE - Color, metaphor and subtlety.
In Part 2 of a series of articles on visual langauge, I wanted to look at subtlety and using your actors to motivate the scene. It is not always neccesary to have a whole lot going on in a scene to get even the most intense moment delivered.
“I know it was you Fredo.”
Those famous lines from the Acamemy Award winning The Godfather: Part II gave us a powerful moment in the film when Michael lets Fredo, his brother, know that he’s done, with a kiss of death. But an even more powerful scene is the reveal that Fredo betrayed Michael and the family. This is the scene that sets a huge story plot into motion that finally culminates with a fishing trip. If you haven’t seen this film, run and get it now.
I want to look at a few elements in this great scene from the film.
1. Using your talent in subtle ways; using the eyes to communicate without so much head wobble.
2. Metaphors and action in a scene that can symbolize the bigger picture.
3. Minilmism. Less really is more.
4. Color signs.
5. Blocking and placement of key characters.
6. Contrast.
VISUAL LANGUAGE - The Point of View
My suspicion for some time is that in this day and age of shaky cam epilepsy (see Bourne Ultimatum) that films visual language is slowly being lost. Todays young filmmakers don’t seem interested nor inclined to the study and practice of these fundamentals. Like all artforms, understanding proven methods and techniques only strengthens ones palette.
How long does it take for a man to die in the desert ?
This will be the first article in a series that examines (and hopefully inspires and educates) the visual language of film. Brian De Palma, the visually obsessed master once said “… I try to develop pure visual storytelling. Because to me, it’s one of the most exciting aspects of making movies and almost a lost art at this point.”
Visual Language. It’s a basic core of education for a director, but a complcated one…
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