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cinematography-analysis · 10 years ago

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Cadillac Records (Part 01)

Cadillac Records

In this tale of sex, violence, race, and rock and roll in 1950s Chicago, "Cadillac Records" follows the exciting but turbulent lives of some of America's musical legends, including Muddy Waters, Leonard Chess, Little Walter, Howlin' Wolf, Etta James and Chuck Berry. (Written by Sony Pictures)

Look at the 'earthy', comforting colours of his recording studio, it's a comfortable place to be. When somebody walks through a door, our attention immediately focuses onto the new 'intruder' in the space.

When he walks further, the camera follows him, keeping him on thirds. Also notice the clothes rack behind him pointing towards his head.

Reveal shot of what he is looking at. Main figure is placed on thirds. Notice the lines of the white board behind her pointing towards her and the pianist is also looking at her. The board also frames the pianist and the singer. The frame is balanced out by the black boards on the left; if they weren’t there, the frame would be too heavy on the right.

The man walks towards her, coming in from the right in front of the camera. She was singing, and we were focusing on her, so it’s as if he is intruding her/our space - she stops singing. Look how she stands out against the pattern of the board behind her. She is placed on thirds. Also notice the colour of her dress; a complementary colour of the curtain and of the overal colour palette of the frame; she stands out!

The pianist walks behind her out of frame. He walks out of frame to the left, not the right, because they want us to focus on her, not the man in the black costume; the pianist is literally guiding our eyes to her head. He is not in focus so we don’t get distracted by him. Notice that even when the characters are moving, a triangular placement of characters is used.

Closer cut of her expression. Look at the lines pointing to their heads. She says to him 'I know what you are doing, you are going to sell the company’; this reflects into the placement of the characters, as if she is pushing him in the corner of the frame. There is less space behind him than behind her; she is dominant (in their conversation).

Reveal shot of his expression.

Back to her, but now closer; we feel the passion between them. There is an important thing you must know to understand the following frames; the man is the owner of the record company, but he has to sell it - his heart doesn't want to, but his mind tells another story. She, Etta James, is a sort of embodiment of the record company - he loves her, but he can't (he has a wife already).

She is taking place to sing for him for the last time, she turns around and walks out of frame on the right (she also walks away from the conversation; her song will do the talking). This is also a beautiful shot that shows us both their expressions at the same time!

She takes place behind the microphone, notice all the lines pointing towards her, she is also on thirds. Also notice that she is standing right in front of him, we need to focus on her, not him. She is going to sing with her back to him, this tells us a lot about their struggling relationship.

Wider shot to show the placement of characters. She is on thirds, also notice that she is the only one lit, and her head forms the highest contrast in the frame. Contrast attracts our eyes!

Because we cut from the previous wider shot to this intimate close-up, we feel even more involved. Contrast can also be created by contrasting types of shots, in this instance wide vs close.

Rack focus to the man, but she is moving in front of him; he is thinking about her, no matter how he tries to cut her off, she will always be in the picture.

POV (point-of-view) of what the man sees, she looks over her shoulder, a classic teasing posture.

Now we see him clearly, he is on thirds and many lines are pointing towards him - they are starting to drift apart (her and him, the record company and him).

Notice the microphone stand in the foreground, it forms a barrier between the 2; the image is split in 2 parts.

The camera pans to the left, leaving the man out of screen on the right; the drifting apart is even more apparent. Notice the many lines pointing towards her, and she is placed on thirds again.

Back to him, the viewer is getting 'teased'; what will he do next?

But still no reaction of the man. Rack focus back to her, we clearly see that she is emotional, tears are beginning to show. Because they shifted our attention from the man to her, it's clear that she is crying over him.

Notice the contrast on her head, she is lit, no one else. The man is now a very big silhouette, in black; he is the 'villain', she is the 'victim'. Notice the lines pointing to her head. Both are placed on thirds.

We are zooming in on her, to draw us into what she is feeling. The camera is moving more when she is in the picture, because she is very emotional. When he is in the picture, the camera is static; this reflects his personality.

Cut to the backing vocals we are hearing.

Closer shot of her face, we really get to feel her emotions.

Now we see a closer shot of him, without her in the picture. He has made up his mind (he is going to leave).

Cut to what he is seeing, she turns her head away from him, their connection is cut of completely.

He walks in front of her away (and thus also away from the record company). Our attention is on her, as she is in focus and he is not.

We zoom in on her, it's her we are worried for.

Cut to show us he is walking out the door, he is literally walking away from her. Both are on thirds.

Tears are rolling over her cheeks, very emotional close-up shot.

Contrasted with the close-up before, we feel the static personality of this shot and him. This shot also shows us where he was walking to; his office (notice how dark it is). He is placed on thirds, many lines are pointing towards him, and the place where he stands is lit.

Back to her, just as before; the camera is moving more when she is in the picture, and is more static when he is in the picture (contrast in camera use!).

Closer shot of him, he is still on thirds. We don't hear any sounds coming from in the office, we just hear her singing; she (the woman and the record company) is still on his mind.

This shot confirms it, as he is looking at a picture of her. Only the picture is lit, so it's clear that all our attention goes to the photograph.

Cut back to her, big contrast between her on the photo (static) and her singing (moving, emotional); she has changed.

He starts to smash up his office, we still don't hear any sound effects - she is still singing.

Cut to the outside of the record company, this shot has also been established in the beginning of the film. The company was brand new, and this logo/sign was put up on the wall.

Cut to him looking in the rear-view mirror, but where is he driving to?

He turns the mirror to the sign; 'ah, he is driving away from the record company'. We still just only hear her singing, we hear no other sound. She is singing 'don't walk away from me baby', and remember that I said she was the embodiment of the record company => he is driving away from her AND the record company.

We see him getting a heart-attack behind the wheel, the car is slowing down. Also notice the cool colour palette in contrast with the warm colour palette from inside the record company.

The car 'strands' on the pavement, but not only the car has stopped. Also his life, his love, his record company. The car in the back drives behind his car, to lead our eyes to his car. The music starts to diminish. His car is on thirds.

He dies with his eyes fixed on his love/ the record company. The record company couldn't leave him, nor could he leave her. A voice-over even confirms this. Notice he is on thirds.

This is the video I've used to analyse the frames above: link

#cadillac records #cinematography #adrien brody #beyonce #analysis #film analysis #chess records #etta james

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cinematography-analysis · 10 years ago

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Zarafa

Sudan, 1827. Maki, a young boy, lives under the rule of a French slaver named Moreno. One day, Maki manages to escape. Pursued, he is saved by a giraffe who dies after being shot by Moreno. Her baby, Zarafa, now an orphan, is captured by Hassan, a Bedouin charged with finding a baby giraffe for the Viceroy of Egypt. Maki follows the hunter and eventually wins his sympathy. When they arrive in Alexandria, the Viceroy asks Hassan to take the baby giraffe to France to give as a gift to the French king in order to seal an alliance between the two countries. Hassan and Zarafa fly to Paris in a balloon. Believing he’s left Maki behind, the hunter realizes the child is on board a pirate ship that's following them. After much discussion, Hassan and Maki land in Paris, but their adventures are far from over. (from www.showtimes.com)

Close-Up shot to show expression. Look how the lines of the sails are pointing to her head, leading our eyes to her eyes. Her head is on thirds, and the hands too. Also note the colour of the ring; red - complements her red lipstick and shirt. Red = fiery character!

Cut to a wider shot, to show us what is happening; they are arm wrestling. She is still on thirds, but hands are now in the center of the frame. The muscular arm in the foreground leads our eyes in the frame, towards the hands (Westerners read from left to right, and also often look at an image from left to right. Those who read from right to left also get a lead into the frame towards the hands, but via the woman's left arm, through her shoulder and head). Look at the triangle that is formed between the arms and the hands, the hands are on top of the triangle. The lines of the sails are leading our eyes towards the hands and the woman's head. It's clear that the hands are the center of our attention.

Now our attention shifts to the woman: lines pointing towards her, she is on thirds, and there is a big contrast of the black hair and darker toned clothes, against the pale blue sky. Contrast attracts our eyes!

Close-up shot to show us her expression. Again, note the many lines that are leading our eyes towards her head.

Triangular placement of the characters. You probably have looked at this image in the following way: you first looked at the middle character, because he is on top of the pyramid, in the center of the frame and the knife of the left character is pointing towards him. Then you see the one on the left, and eventually the one in the back. However, you maybe have seen the left character first because there is a big contrast of his head against the sky, because he is on thirds, and because Westerners read/look from left to right, as I mentioned earlier.

Notice her triangular stance and the many lines pointing towards her. Even the shadows on the ground are leading our eyes to the middle of the screen. She is captain of the ship, hence why she is standing in the middle of the frame.

The man who is yelling high above is on thirds, many lines are drawing attention towards him. This upshot (looking up at something) is probably chosen to give a sort of POV (point-of-view) of the pirates standing on deck. We viewers may feel as if we are standing on the deck ourselves, looking up at the man high up in the masts.

Cut to a very wide shot, to show the incoming cows falling from the sky. The horizon points towards the ship, which leads our eyes into the triangular shape, towards the cows. They have put the horizon low in the frame, so we have lots of sky to notice the falling cows and to not cut the frame horizontally in equal sides (which they would've done if they had put the horizon line right in the middle).

Cut to an upshot; we get a feeling that the cows are falling on top of us.

Both cows land on thirds, shadows are pointing in their direction.

Reaction shot of the pirates. It's clearly visible that the woman is the dominant figure in the frame; she is in the center of the frame, above the others, and is involved in all the triangular character placements.

Ropes form a triangular shape, pointing towards the sky where the falling ball of hay is inserting the frame.

Notice again the many triangular character placements. Also note the gun pointing towards us; we feel vulnerable, danger is 'looming'.

Cut to a wide shot, a POV (point-of-view) of someone looking from above, through a lens. This is also a 'frame-into-frame' method, making the black borders the outer frame.

Reveal shot of the character, of which we have just seen the POV shot. Notice the triangular character placement and the ropes that are pointing towards the 2 men.

Cut back to the ship. Again, notice the triangles; they have placed the characters so, that there isn't a clutter in the frame. Also note that the colours of the woman's clothes are very different of those in the back; the clothes distinguish her from the rest. She is also leaning a bit over us; she is dominant.

Cut to reaction shot. Cows block of the frame on the left and right, keeping our eyes firmly in frame. The stairs are pointing towards the little boy's head.

Downshot of the deck, gives us an overall view of how the characters are placed. Notice the shadows, they are all pointing towards the woman. Also look at the dotted line I've drawn; it looks like it's a border between the woman and the child, preventing the child to step over the border into the captain's 'territory'. ��The mast on the right points towards the direction they are looking at, and also gives a great depth as foreground element.

Upshot/Reveal shot of the balloon, nicely placed in an open space against the sky (contrast). It's almost placed on thirds, and the mast is pointing towards the balloon. The foreground is not in focus, the balloon is. It's clear that everybody will have noticed the balloon the moment the frame appears.

Reaction shot of a pirate who's talking. Notice the guy in the foreground, whom is not in focus, but his eyes leads us to the other pirate.

Rack focus; shifting the focus from, in this instance, the pirate in the background to the pirate in the foreground. Now the pirate in the foreground is talking, and drawing our attention. Also note that they are both placed on thirds. Some also may feel a bit uncomfortable with the pirate being so close to our face.

Now the woman is even more dominant in this upshot. Also note her triangular stance. The ropes left and right borders off the frame nicely.

The clip that I have used to analyze the images above can be found here.

#zarafa #animation #cinematography #analysis #film

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cinematography-analysis · 10 years ago

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12 Years A Slave

Based on an incredible true story of one man's fight for survival and freedom. In the pre-Civil War United States, Solomon Northup (Chiwetel Ejiofor), a free black man from upstate New York, is abducted and sold into slavery. Facing cruelty (personified by a malevolent slave owner, portrayed by Michael Fassbender), as well as unexpected kindnesses, Solomon struggles not only to stay alive, but to retain his dignity. In the twelfth year of his unforgettable odyssey, Solomon's chance meeting with a Canadian abolitionist (Brad Pitt) will forever alter his life. (Written by Fox Searchlight)

Look where the main character, Solomon, stands; in the opening between the fence and big tree. This immediately attracts the viewers eye, because the contrast is the biggest in this spot. Also note the static pillars of the house, no ornaments at all; this says something about the owner of the house.

Notice where the shadow and lit areas are, Solomon stands in shadow, whilst Edwin (the land and slave owner) and his house are lit by the sun. Even though Solomon is not lit, our eyes are still drawn to him because the horizon line and the branch above him point to his head. The tree in the upper left corner blocks of the frame, so that our eyes don't wander off to that open blue space of sky.

A wide shot is used; the viewer does not take part in the conversation and watches from afar. The use of a wide shot creates a big contrast with the intense discussion (bust shot) that follows. Edwin steps into the shadow, which gives us an indication that something 'bad' is going to happen. Also look at the space each character has behind him, Edwin has way more space behind him than Solomon. It is as if he has the upper hand and is cornering Solomon in the left of the frame, with no way to escape.

Cut to a more intimate view, the viewer is now engaged in the discussion. The background is out of focus, to not distract us from what they are saying. Look how much space there is now left behind Solomon, he is completely cornered by Edwin. The pillar in the background balances out the heavy weighted foreground (characters) and the roof of the house behind them points to their faces, making sure we look at them.

Character is now placed on thirds. Many items are leading our eye to the character, such as the fences and roofs. Here the pigpen is introduced, which will have a storytelling factor later, when it forms an obstacle for Edwin to catch Solomon.

Look at where the shadow is, the people in the background don’t take part in the discussion, and are in the sunlit area. It is as if the shadow forms an area where Solomon can’t escape from. Because the main characters are so close to the right of the frame, it gives Solomon no option than to go to the left (see next scene). The little house in the back balances out the frame.

Solomon is on thirds, and still in shadow area. A wider shot is used because there is lots of action/motion. Roof of house in background leads our eyes to characters.

Edwin falls in pig stall, which was introduced before. Car and roof of house in the back points to landlord. The branches of a tree in the upper left corner blocks of the open space of the sky. Solomon is still on thirds and both are still in shadow.

Solomon is now standing out of the shadow in a sunlit area; he has 'escaped'. Edwin is still in shadow, the fences form a barrier between shadow and lit areas. Horizon line points to Solomon's head.

Edwin falls over fence, in the sunlit area; the 'battle' is over. Look at where Solomon stands, in the middle of the frame, with many objects leading our eyes towards him - he has 'won'.

Closer cut to Edwin so the viewer can get a better look at his facial expressions. He has trouble breathing, hence the little 'breathing space’ in front of him.

The clip I have used to analyze the above shots can be found here.

So this is my first proper analysis, I really enjoyed doing it! If you have any remarks or you find some hidden cinematographic gems, let me know! I'm eager to learn :D!

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#12 years a slave #cinematography #film analysis #film #review #study #film techniques

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cinematography-analysis · 10 years ago

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Introduction

Hello, my name is Louis. I'm currently studying animation in Brussels, Belgium. I have many online blogs, an art blog and inspiration blog, which you can find in the sidebar on the page if you want to have a look. Now I will start a third blog, a cinematographic related blog, because I want to study and analyze some film scenes to educate myself (and maybe others) about cinematography, and to share my very little knowledge about the subject with others. What I post on this blog is completely my view on things, how I look at the scenes, what draws my attention, and what I think the cinematographic aspects applied mean. However, I'm not a pro, not at all, so many mistakes will crawl into my posts but I'm hoping that you can help me out with that. Thus if you see something interesting or another cinematographic aspect that I didn't see (which will be many, trust me), please send me a message to let me know! The image below shows how I will be posting images:

You can see the images bigger by just clicking on it, a new tab will open with the original image.

As you can see, I will always provide the name of the film and production house(s) on the left side, and the cinematographer of the film on the right side. Beneath the picture, I will put the colour palette of that image, going from the darkest colours on the left, to medium colours in the middle, to lightest colours on the right. So that was all for this post, hopefully you and I can learn a lot! :D Oh and if you want to follow this blog on blogger (blogspot), head on over here: http://cinematographicstudies.blogspot.be/

P.S. The first scene I will be analyzing will be from '12 Years a Slave'!

#cinematography #new blog #film

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