Visual symbolism in the theatrical Harakiri (1962)
Some definitions for terms I find myself using...
"Screens like a movie of the week"
>Lighting setups not changed and scenes lit flat to make shooting faster.
>Shot mostly with masters and occasional closeups without much thought about how the film will be edited.
>Edited usually from master to close ups.
>Conservative lighting done out of the fear that detail in mids and dark areas will drop out.
>Music, wallpapered throughout a scene, provides an emotional cue for what's happening; music substitutes for shooting/editing/performances.
>Overly-dependent on dialogue.
>Generally speaking, highly budget-conscious film aimed at ensuring the point gets across, safe film that doesn't take chances.
"Screens like a feature"
Pretty much the opposite of the above.
"Looks small"
>Everything is shot tight because of the difficulty of getting big sets/locations.
>Use of matte paintings to try to give the illusion of size. Therefore, none of the wide shots move or none of the subsequent shots in a scene are wide.
>Use of tricks (like lots of fog) to hide small sets or miniatures. Sometimes this is an artistic choice.
Example: Underworld Evolution, The Undead. Star Trek TNG TV series.
"Looks cheap"
Green screen, visual effects and other tricks used poorly to make a film seem like it has a bigger budget. Examples: Revelation, A Sound of Thunder.
"Theatrical"
>Stylized, as in Japanese film.
>In many shots, characters and camera are virtually immobile. Action comes from the cuts.
>Ritualistic performances.
>Some wide shots shot straight-on (this doesn't look good too close) or straight on with a push in.
Example: Harakiri, Lot in Sodom.
"Flat"
>Lighting not used to model objects/people.
>Lack of camera movement prevents feeling of entering into space.
>Lack of use of foreground/middleground/background to create depth in compositions.
>Poorly lit items shot straight on and too close.
At one time I would have said theatrical IS flat. Now I distinguish the two and find my tastes run to theatrical but NOT flat.
"Face acting"
Scrunching up one's face and other facial gymnastics aimed at projecting emotions, usually sincerity; indicating. Example: Kentaro Seagal in Seamless. One of my students calls this mugging, but I reserve "mugging" to describe the use of expressions and gestures intended to produce a specific effect like something Sandra Dee would do.
"Film"
Refers to intent and tradition rather than a medium. For example, I would call Superman Returns a film through it was shot digitally. From my observation, these kind of terms stick around long after they don't make any real technological sense (like "desktop publishing"). "Cinema" just sounds too pretentious.
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