Space in Cinema, Part OneA Window Onto A World

Edward BowenMTSU EMC 3000

Space

• Space in Cinema is defined by “the frame.”• The frame is a two-dimensional boundary, a rectangle with height

and width, a window through which, at any given moment, a part of the world of the film is revealed to us.

Space

“Cinema is a matter of what's in the frame and what's out.” Martin Scorsese

Space• In an essay from 1929, “The Filmic Fourth Dimension,” Sergei Eisenstein

wrote about the impossibility of “the single-meaningness” of the film frame, which “can never be an inflexible letter of the alphabet, but must always remain a multiple-meaning ideogram.” And part of the frame’s meaning lies outside of the frame itself, in the implied off-screen space that surrounds it, accumulated in fragments from places the film has already taken us.

http://www.filmmakermagazine.com/news/2012/07/the-blue-velvet-project-143/

Space

Inside the frame is material, physical, specific.

Outside the frame is imagination, suggestion, memory.

Space

Inside the frame is material, physical, specific.

Outside the frame is imagination, suggestion, memory.

http://www.filmmakermagazine.com/news/2012/07/the-blue-velvet-project-143/

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Aside – The “frame” also defines time in cinema, but that’s a different definition of frame. More on that later.

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• The frame obviously comes in different sizes, depending on the viewer’s choice of medium.

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• An aside from Director David Lynch

http://youtu.be/wKiIroiCvZ0http://youtu.be/BcNLEwf2pOw

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• The frame also comes in a variety of shapes.

SpaceThe frame’s shape is described by a ratio of its width to its height, its aspect ratio.

SpaceAspect Ratios

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• Standard or Academy ratio (4 X 3 or 1.33:1). In adopting the 35 mm format, early filmmakers established the standard aspect ratio as a classical rectangle with a ratio of four units of width to three units of height. Thus if the projected image is twenty feet wide it will be fifteen feet high.

SpaceAspect Ratios – 1.33:1 or 4:3 Academy Ratio

Space• The frame’s shape is described by a ratio of its width to its height,

its aspect ratio.• Widescreen. Experiments in wider aspect ratios are almost as old

as cinema itself. Early filmmakers often employed mattes to reshape their images WITHIN the 4:3 ratio, straining against the tyranny of the frame.

Space• The frame’s shape is described by a ratio of its width to its height,

its aspect ratio.• Widescreen. Experiments in wider aspect ratios are almost as old

as cinema itself. Early filmmakers often employed mattes to reshape their images WITHIN the 4:3 ratio, straining against the tyranny of the frame.

“The Wildcat” Ernst Lubitsch (1921)

SpaceAspect Ratios – 1.66:1 European and British Standard Widescreen

SpaceAspect Ratios – 1.85:1 Standard Widescreen

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Aspect Ratios – 2:35:1 Anamorphic of Super 35mm Widescreen

“The Grand Budapest Hotel” (Wes Anderson, 2014)

1930s

1985 to Present

1960s

Space• The frame’s shape is described by a ratio of its width to its height,

its aspect ratio.• Widescreen. In 1927, director Abel Gance’s combined three side-by-

side regular-sized screens, producing an effective aspect ratio of 3.99:1, for “Napoleon.”

“Napoleon”– Abel Gance (1927)

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http://vimeo.com/26322723http://youtu.be/cMlnRP3qOYE

Space• The frame’s shape is described by a ratio of its width to its height,

its aspect ratio.• Widescreen: Efforts to introduce widescreen technology were not

successful until the 1950s when cinema tried to counter program against television. Some of the 1950s widescreens had a ratio of as much as 2.66:1 (CinemaScope).

Fred Waller – Inventor; Oversaw the photographic research and special effects department for Paramount Studios in the 1920s and 30s

Aside

http://www.in70mm.com/news/2002/this_is_cinerama/chapters/index.htmhttp://www.ferdyonfilms.com/2008/persons-of-interest-fred-waller/243/

Fred Waller – Akwa Skees

Aside

http://www.cineramaadventure.com/skees.htm

Fred Waller – Director

Aside

http://www.cineramaadventure.com/featurette.htm

Fred Waller – Director

Aside

Duke-Ellington-and-his-Orchestra-Symphony-in-Black.movhttp://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7653085842645884021#

Fred Waller – 360 Degree Still Camera

Aside

http://www.widescreenmuseum.com/widescreen/wingcr1.htm

Fred Waller – Vitarama (Developed for the 1939 World’s Fair

Aside

http://jimlanescinedrome.blogspot.com/2012/08/ups-and-downs-of-rollercoaster-part-1.html

Fred Waller – Waller Gunnery Trainer

Aside

http://www.cineramaadventure.com/trainer.htm

Fred Waller – Waller Gunnery Trainer

Aside

http://www.widescreenmuseum.com/widescreen/waller01.htm

Fred Waller – Waller Gunnery Trainer

Aside

http://www.in70mm.com/cinerama/archive/war/index.htm

Fred Waller – Cinerama (2.60:1)

Aside

http://www.in70mm.com/cinerama/archive/story/index.htm

Cinerama (2.60:1)

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Cinerama (2.60:1)

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Cinerama (2.60:1)

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Cinerama (2.60:1)

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http://youtu.be/lII5rXbxcCs

IMAX – 1.36:1Standard IMAX screen is 22 × 16.1 m (72 × 52.8 ft)

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The Dark Knight Rises Premieres in IMAX at Liberty Science Center http://youtu.be/Wm2vIaD3GYQ

IMAX – 1.36:1 (old shape, new size)Space

http://youtu.be/Ou6_MkIvKOo http://youtu.be/2p8OALI74h0

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The World Seen Through the FrameSo, what do we see through this frame?• The Real World?

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The World Seen Through the FrameSo, what do we see through this frame?• The Real World, Staged?

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The World Seen Through the FrameSo, what do we see through this frame?• The Real World, Dressed?

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The World Seen Through the FrameSo, what do we see through this frame?• The Real World, Dressed?

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The World Seen Through the FrameSo, what do we see through this frame?• The Real World, Dressed?

Behind the Scenes: Filming Marvel's The Avengers in Cleveland, Ohiohttp://youtu.be/h9eKsv-icXQ

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The World Seen Through the FrameSo, what do we see through this frame?• Location - A real place chosen to shoot one or more shots for a film.

Jaws filming locations http://youtu.be/7cRpoMpUgC0

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The World Seen Through the FrameSo, what do we see through this frame?• A Constructed World?

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The World Seen Through the FrameSo, what do we see through this frame?• A Constructed World?

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The World Seen Through the FrameSo, what do we see through this frame?• A Constructed World?

Film psychology THE SHINING spatial awareness and set design 1of2 http://youtu.be/0sUIxXCCFWw

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The World Seen Through the FrameSo, what do we see through this frame?• A Constructed World?

Film psychology THE SHINING spatial awareness and set design 2of2 http://youtu.be/IfJ8rK7eJeQ

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The World Seen Through the FrameSo, what do we see through this frame?• Stage Set - A place built to specifications as an environment for one

of more shots in a film.

New SKYFALL Production Videoblog http://youtu.be/GK5ws85Rxd8

SpaceThe World Seen Through the Frame• Set Extension - Extending or replacing various elements within a

scene through various special effects.• Glass Shots and Hanging Miniatures.

http://mtmedia.mtsu.edu:8888/ebowen/Hollywood Glass Shots Miniatures.mov

SpaceThe World Seen Through the Frame• Set Extension - Extending or replacing various elements within

through various special effects.• Foreground (hanging) miniatures. “Ben-Hur” (1925)

SpaceThe World Seen Through the Frame• Set Extension - Extending or replacing various elements within

through various special effects.• Foreground (hanging) miniatures. “Ben-Hur” (1925)

http://mtmedia.mtsu.edu:8888/ebowen/Ben Hur.mov

SpaceThe World Seen Through the Frame• Set Extension - Extending or replacing various elements within

through various special effects.• Mattes. “Ben-Hur” (1959)

SpaceThe World Seen Through the Frame• Set Extension - Extending or replacing various elements within

through various special effects.• Mattes. “Ben-Hur” (1959)

SpaceThe World Seen Through the Frame• Set Extension - Extending or replacing various elements within

through various special effects.• Mattes. “Ben-Hur” (1959)

SpaceThe World Seen Through the Frame• Set Extension - Extending or replacing various elements within

through various special effects.• Mattes. “Ben-Hur” (1959)

SpaceThe World Seen Through the Frame• Set Extension - Extending or replacing various elements within

through various special effects.• Mattes. “Ben-Hur” (1959)

SpaceThe World Seen Through the Frame• Set Extension - Extending or replacing various elements within

through various special effects.• Virtual extension.

Stargate Studios Virtual Backlot Reel 2013-Demo http://vimeo.com/53122532

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The World Seen Through the FrameSo, what do we see through this frame?• A Generated World?

SpaceThe World Seen Through the Frame• Virtual Set - An environment created through digital effects.

“Tron: Legacy” (2010)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhyScbAZrFs

SpaceThe World Seen Through the Frame• Virtual Actors – “Tron: Legacy” (2010)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhyScbAZrFs

SpaceThe World Seen Through the Frame• Virtual Actors - “Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow”

(2004) Laurence Olivier (1907-1989)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AqGBt0124bY

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The World Seen Through the Frame• Virtual Actors - “Terminator Salvation” (2009)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L7YYfgx_cHo

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The World Seen Through the Frame• Virtual Actors - “The Avengers” (2012)

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The World Seen Through the Frame• Virtual Actors

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The World Seen Through the Frame• Virtual Actors - The Uncanny Valley

SpaceThe World Seen Through the Frame• Virtual Actors - The Uncanny Valley

SpaceThe World Seen Through the Frame• Virtual Actors - The Uncanny Valley

Dirtgirlworld - Get Grubbyhttp://youtu.be/rR2Ac3ZvidU

SpaceThe World Seen Through the Frame• Virtual Actors - The Uncanny Valley

http://research.universityofcalifornia.edu/stories/2012/02/uncanny.html

SpaceThe World Seen Through the Frame• Virtual Actors - The Uncanny Valley

Technology of Motion PicturesIntrashot Communication• Virtual Actors - The Uncanny Valley

Extra Credits: The Uncanny Valley http://youtu.be/9K1Kd9mZL8g

Technology of Motion PicturesIntrashot Communication• Virtual Actors - The Uncanny Valley

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CNdAIPoh8a4

Technology of Motion PicturesIntrashot Communication• Virtual Actors. “Sim0ne” (2002)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=salcZxwspxg

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The World Seen Through the FrameSo, what do we see through this frame?• An Animated World?

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The World Seen Through the FrameAnd how are we meant to perceive this reality.

As Reality?

As Idealized Reality?

As Stylized Reality?

As Fantasy?

Gotham City (1989)

Gotham City (1989)

Gotham City (1992)

Gotham City (1992)

Gotham City (1995)

Gotham City (1997)

Gotham City (2005)

Gotham City (2008)

Gotham City (2012)