The art of filmmaking
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.
Spielberg, along with long time collaborator Janusz Kaminski shot the film with a sobering mis-en-scène combined with stark black-and-white imagery. The film’s subject matter is king and what leaps out at me is how powerful less is more can be.
From one point perspective to simple head and shoulder turns of an actors body, we will look at the basics of staging and blocking and the visual mastery that ensues when one grasps these essential techniques. You can’t run before you learn to walk, and too many filmmakers, from amateurs to Michael Bay himself just don’t seem to grasp this importance.
Let us look at parallel editing. A cinematic convention in which two or more concurrent scenes are interwoven with each other. Parallel editing illuminates the stark difference between the hardships of the Jews and the comfort and optimism of Schindler and the Nazis in Poland.
Keep in mind, and I’ll remind you at the end; the initial scene would not have the same emotion and impact if shown separately.
Schindler’s List
by Steven Zaillian.
Final draft.
EXT. CRACOW - DAY
In BLACK AND WHITE and absolute silence, a suitcase thrown
from a second story window arcs slowly through the air. As
it hits the pavement, spilling open -- SOUND ON -- and,
returning to COLOR --
Thousands of families pushing barrows through the streets of
Kazimierz, dragging mattresses over the bridge at Podgorze,
carrying kettles and fur coats and children on a mass forced
exodus into the ghetto.
Crowds of Poles line the sidewalks like spectators on a parade
route. Some wave. Some take it more soberly, as if sensing
they may be next.
POLISH GIRL
Goodbye, Jews.
EXT. PATIO, GOETH’S VILLA - DAY
A patio table set with crystal, china, silver. Goeth and
Hujar are there, in pressed SS uniforms, and two
industrialists, Bosch and Madritsch. One chair is empty.
HUJAR
Your machinery will be moved and
installed by the SS at no cost to
you. You will pay no rent, no
maintenance --
Hujar glances off, interrupted by Schindler's arrival.
Although he's never been here, the industrialist comes in
like he owns the place. All but Goeth rise.
SCHINDLER
No, no, come on, sit --
He works his way around the table, patting Bosch and Madritsch
on the back -- he knows them -- shaking Hujar's hand, who he
doesn't know. He reaches Goeth.
SCHINDLER
How you doing?
Goeth takes a good long look at the handsomely dressed
entrepreneur and allows him to shake his hand.
GOETH
We started without you.
SCHINDLER
Good.
Schindler takes a seat, shakes a napkin onto his lap, nods
to the servant holding out a bottle of champagne to him.
SCHINDLER
Please.
Goeth watches him. The others watch Goeth.
SCHINDLER
I miss anything important?
HUJAR
I was explaining to Mr. Bosch and
Mr. Madritsch some of the benefits
of moving their factories into
Plaszow.
SCHINDLER
Oh, good, yeah.
Schindler clearly doesn't care, but nods as though he did.
He drinks. Goeth just watches him with what seems to be
growing amusement. He nods to Hujar to continue.
HUJAR
Since your labor is housed on-site,
it's available to you at all times.
You can work them all night if you
want. Your factory policies, whatever
they've been in the past, they'll
continue to be, they'll be respected --
Schindler laughs out loud, cutting Hujar off. Hujar glances
over to Goeth nonplussed.
SCHINDLER
I'm sorry.
He's not sorry at all, and starts in on the plate of food
that's set down in front of him.
GOETH
You know, they told me you were going
to be trouble -- Czurda and Scherner.
SCHINDLER
You're kidding.
Goeth slowly shakes his head no... then smiles.
GOETH
He looks great, though, doesn't he?
I have to know -- where do you get a
suit like that? what is that, silk?
(Schindler nods)
It's great.
SCHINDLER
I'd say I'd get you one but the guy
who made it, he's probably dead, I
don't know.
He shrugs like, those are the breaks, too bad. Goeth just
smiles. The others watch the two of them, unsure how they're
supposed to react.
What i love is that when Goeth leans in, the natural thing to do would be to show a Close Up of Oscar, but we do not. This keeps Oscar distant; in power. Keep this in mind for the later scene in the office when Goeth lean into the frame.
INT. GOETH’S OFFICE - PLASZOW - LATER - DAY
The others have gone. It's just Goeth and Schindler now.
Goeth pours glasses of cognac.
GOETH
Something wonderful's happened, do
you know what it is? Without planning
it, we've reached that happy point
in our careers where duty and
financial opportunity meet.
Schindler nods pensively, perhaps in agreement, perhaps at
some other thought. There's a silence, broken finally by --
SCHINDLER
I go to work the other day, there's
nobody there. Nobody tells me about
this, I have to find out, I have to
go in, everybody's gone --
GOETH
They're not gone, they're here.
SCHINDLER
They're mine!
His voice echoes into silence. An acquiescent shrug from
Goeth finally. And a nod; Schindler's right.
SCHINDLER
Every day that goes by, I'm losing
money. Every worker that is shot,
costs me money -- I have to get
somebody else, I have to train them --
GOETH
We're going to be making so much
money, none of this is going to matter --
SCHINDLER
(cutting him off)
It's bad business.
GOETH
(shrugs)
Some of the boys went crazy, what're
you going to do? You're right, it's
bad business, but it's over with,
it's done.
(pause)
Occasionally, sure, okay, you got to
make an example. But that's good
business.
Schindler pours himself another shot from the bottle, nurses
it. He's in a foul mood. They study each other, trying to
determine perhaps who's more powerful. Eventually --
GOETH
Scherner told me something else about
you.
SCHINDLER
Yeah, what's that?
GOETH
That you know the meaning of the
word gratitude. That it's not some
vague thing with you like with some
guys.
SCHINDLER
True.
Goeth tries to put the situation in perspective:
GOETH
You want to stay where you are. You
got things going on the side, things
are good, you don't want anybody
telling you what to do -- I can
understand all that.
(pause)
What you want is your own sub-camp.
Schindler admits it by not disagreeing. Goeth thinks about
it, nods to himself again, then frowns.
GOETH
Do you have any idea what's involved?
The paperwork alone? Forget you got
to build it all, getting the fucking
permits, that's enough to drive you
crazy. Then the engineers show up.
They stand around and they argue
about drainage -- I'm telling you,
you'll want to shoot somebody, I've
been through it, I know.
SCHINDLER
Well, you've been through it. You
know. You could make things easier
for me.
Goeth mulls it over, his shrug saying "maybe, maybe not." A
silence before --
SCHINDLER
I'd be grateful.
There's the word Goeth was waiting to hear.
I want you to think about a few things. From the start we get an opening shot from a one point perspective; one of the most basics of art design. When was the last time you went out and looked at a shot from ANY perspective ? Do yourself a favor and wiki perspective. Instead of shooting a random master shot, look at your subject with perspective in mind.
Look at the staging and blocking. No dramatic line manipulation, simple head and shoulder turns of the body to establish and create new vantage points. This opens up so many coverage areas while
controlling your audience.
Watch the film and count the seconds between cuts. Don’t be afraid to stay wide and allow your scene to play out. Change your compositions without cutting; use your camera and talent to move towards and away from the frame, but make sure you have balance and design in each bookend.
Pay particular attention to the line when the line “How could it be any worse?” is spoken. Imagine yourself standing in the THIRD PERSON, standing there, watching. The natural thing to do would be to look behind yourself at what he is looking at. Right ?
And finally, parallel editing. How can you tell your story by combining two different thematic elements in a series of cross-cuts to empower your story ? Think about it.
I hope you enjoyed this breakdown. I swear, E.T. is coming soon, but my undiagnosed ADD got the better of me.
The most expensive habit in the world is celluloid, not heroin, and I need a fix every few years.
– Steven Spielberg (Time, 1979)
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3 comments for “VISUAL LANGUAGE - Schindler’s List”
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Just a brief comment to say that I find the Visual Language series of articles extremely educational and invaluable. I never went to film school so everything I know is learned from experience or from something I’ve read. I’m always trying to improve my cartoons in every way possible, and direction/editing are some of my biggest areas that can be improved upon.
Thank you for these!
“Shindler’s List” is one of those films that sort of defied the odds. A box office success shot in black and white, about awful events, that happened well over sixty years ago. I can’t imagine anyone except Spielberg pulling it off. No other film about the holocaust resonates with me the way “Shindler’s List” does. Not Polanski’s “The Pianist” or Alain Resnais’ “Night and Fog”; both extrodinary films. The scenes above work on so many levels that it’s hard to know where to begin when discussing them. You can see the influence of German Expressionism in the use of shadow. Such as in the scene were Goeth and Shindler are discussing establishing a sub-camp. Each scene has layer upon layer of meaning. The girl yelling “goodbye Jew” is dressed in rags, the woman she’s yelling at is wearing a fur coat. This briefest of moments in the film speaks volumns about historical context. Hitler, in his madness, whipped-up anti-semitic fervor by playing on impoverished German’s resentment towards well educated, wealthy German Jews. Smart writing and wonderful direction.
[...] Cineobscure is one of my favorite sites. Among other things they offer insightful visual breakdowns of landmark films such as Jaws, War of the Worlds, Christine, Aliens, Braveheart, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Tombstone and of course Schindler’s List. [...]