Expressiveness of faces

Controlled from within by the

actors and from without by
the makeup artists and the
lighting artists
Lighting
Soft/ harsh lighting:
manipulating a viewer's
attitude towards a setting or
a character; used
expressively or realistically.
Backlighting (the halo
effect on the actors/
actresss hair)
Groupings of actors
Acting spaces in the Elizabethan
theatre:
Entrances and exits through the
two side-doors of the rear stage;
Three basic acting areas (front stage,
rear stage covered by the Heavens
and provided with the discovery
space; the stage gallery);
The performance convention
governing the acting space non-
representational.

The spoken text provided hints as to the
location of the action and helped the
audience image what it might have
looked like.
Settings and Props
In the Elizabethan theatres:
no stage designer: just a simply built stage construction with
furniture according to the needs and some props: trees
made of canvas and wood to signify a forest, grassy banks,
prop dragons, an unpleasant looking cave to represent the
mouth of hell, the balcony at the rear and the wall of the
tiring-house for a castle/ town wall.

Yet, no attempt to imitate reality in terms of setting the
audience invited to collaborate and to use their imagination
so as to make up for the inability of the stage to create
realistic images.
Spatial arrangements and
relationships in film
E.g. being spatially in between
= being caught in conflict;
movements away and towards
another character = shifting
allegiance; rapid regroupings =
confusion; large movements
(battle scenes) / individual
shots
Settings and Props in Films
Realist/ expressionist settings may reinforce or
counterpoint with action, character, themes, and
verbal styles.
Props carrying great symbolic weight that must
articulate and complement what is indicated explicitly
in the text: Not only do words and acts speak in
Shakespeare films. Things speak. (Jorgens 1998:
34)
E.g. the book in the two film versions of A Midsummer
Nights Dream (Noble 1996 and Hoffman 1999); the bicycle
and the phonograph (Hoffman 1999); the umbrella, the
motorbike and the puppet theatre (Noble 1996)
Camera Techniques. Distance.
Establishing shot. Opening shot or sequence, frequently
an exterior 'General View' as an Extreme Long Shot (ELS).
Used to set the scene.
Long shot (LS). Shot which shows all or most of a fairly
large subject (for example, a person) and usually much of
the surroundings. stress more on the circumstances,
less on the individual
Medium shots. (MS) Focus on the actor (up to the waist,
better emphasizing hand gestures); the actor and the
setting occupy roughly equal areas in the frame. Tight
presentation of the actors: e.g. 2 actors: two-shot; 3
actors three-shot)
Shot/reverse shot: one character is shown looking (often
off screen) at another character, and them the other
character is shown looking back at the first character to
create the sense that the two characters are facing each
other.
Close-up (CU). A picture which shows a fairly small part of
the scene, such as a character's face, in great detail so
that it fills the screen. It abstracts the subject from a
context. emphasis on a persons feelings and reactions.

Camera Techniques. Angle
(direction and height of the camera)


The camera is below
the characters level
it suggests the
characters
importance
From above the action
Camera movements
Zoom: actually, the camera does not move, it requires lens focusing.
Zoom in: from long-shot to close-up - the subject is magnified, and
attention is concentrated on details previously invisible as the shot
tightens surprise, disconcerting effect
Zoom out: from close-up to long-shot - revealing more of the scene as
the shot widens. Zooming in and then out creates an ugly 'yo-yo' effect.
Following pan: following a moving subject (space left in front of the
subject)
Surveying pan: slowly searching a scene (used to build climax or
anticlimax)
Tracking: the camera itself is moved smoothly towards or away from the
subject (in contrast with zooming).
Track in: it draws the viewer into a closer, more intense relationship
with the subject. Rapid tracking in exciting.
Track out emotional distance
Track back: diverting attention to the edges of the screen; it relaxes
interest
Editing Techniques
Cut. Sudden change of shot from one viewpoint or location to another. Cutting may:
change the scene;
compress time;
vary the point of view; or
build up an image or idea.
Jump cut. Abrupt switch from one scene to another which may be used deliberately
to make a dramatic point. Sometimes it is boldly used to begin or end action.
Cross-cut: from one line of action to another
Fade/dissolve: gradual transitions between shots
Fade in: the picture gradually appears from a blank screen. Fade out: the
picture gradually disappears to a blank screen.
Dissolve: fading out one picture while fading up another on top of it, hence the
impression of merging suggesting differences in time and place; ripple
dissolves flashbacks in time.
Formats
Shot. A single run of the camera or the piece
of film resulting from such a run.
Scene. A dramatic unit composed of a single
or several shots. A scene usually takes place
in a continuous time period, in the same
setting, and involves the same characters.
Sequence. A dramatic unit composed of
several scenes, all linked together by their
emotional and narrative momentum.
Montage and Narrative Styles
Subjective treatment: the viewer is treated as a participant (e.g. when
the camera is addressed directly or when it imitates the viewpoint or
movement of a character). We may be shown not only what a character
sees, but how he or she sees it. A temporary 'first-person' use of camera as
the character can be effective in conveying unusual states of mind or
powerful experiences, such as dreaming, remembering, or moving very fast.
Moving the camera (or zooming) is a subjective camera effect, especially if
the movement is not gradual or smooth.
Objective treatment. The 'objective point of view' involves treating the
viewer as an observer. A major example is the 'privileged point of view'
which involves watching from omniscient vantage points. Keeping the
camera still whilst the subject moves towards or away from it is an objective
camera effect.
Parallel development/parallel editing/cross-cutting. An intercut sequence
of shots in which the camera shifts back and forth between one scene and
another. Two distinct but related events seem to be happening at
approximately the same time. It adds tension and excitement to dramatic
action.
Montage and Narrative Styles
Montage/montage editing.
In its broadest meaning, the process of cutting up film and editing
it into the screened sequence.
In its narrower sense, it may also be used to mean intellectual
montage - the juxtaposition of short shots to represent action or
ideas - or (especially in Hollywood), simply cutting between shots
to condense a series of events. Intellectual montage is used to
consciously convey subjective messages through the juxtaposition
of shots which are related in composition or movement, through
repetition of images, through cutting rhythm, detail or metaphor.
Montage editing, unlike invisible editing, uses conspicuous
techniques which may include: use of close- ups, relatively
frequent cuts, dissolves, superimposition, fades and jump cuts.
Such editing should suggest a particular meaning.

Graphics
Credits = listing the main actors, the director,
and so on.
normally shown at or near the beginning, whilst
those listing the rest of the actors and programme
makers are normally shown at the end.
frequently superimposed on action or stills, and
may be shown as a sequence of frames or
scrolled up the screen.
Sound
Music
establishing a sense of the pace of the accompanying
scene and dictating the rhythm of the cuts, reinforcing the
mood of the scene through its emotional colouring
Background music = asynchronous music which
accompanies a film. It is not normally intended to be
noticeable. Conventionally, background music accelerates
for a chase sequence, becomes louder to underscore a
dramatically important action. Through repetition it can also
link shots, scenes and sequences.
Foreground music = often synchronous music which finds
its source within the screen events (e.g. from a radio, TV,
stereo or musicians in the scene). It may be a more credible
and dramatically plausible way of bringing music into a
programme than background music.
Sound
Non-musical sound: acoustical props like owls, clocks, cannons, tolling bells
battles sounds, crowing cocks, thunder, etc.
Direct sounds (live sounds) - a sense of freshness, spontaneity and
'authentic' atmosphere, though not acoustically ideal.
Selective sounds = the removal of some sounds and the retention of
others. - used to make significant sounds more recognizable, or for
dramatic effect - to create atmosphere, meaning and emotional nuance. By
amplification, it can become a subjective device, the viewer identifying with
the character. They could also contribute to creating the impression of
distance or sound perspective.
Commentary/ voice-over narration: Commentary spoken off-screen over the
shots shown. The voice-over can be used to:
introduce particular parts of a programme;
to add extra information not evident from the picture;
to interpret the images for the audience from a particular point of
view;
to link parts of a sequence or programme together.
The commentary confers authority on a particular interpretation, particularly if
the tone is moderate, assured and reasoned. In dramatic films, it may be the
voice of one of the characters, unheard by the others.

Filming modes
(according to the relative distance from the language and
conventions of the theatre)
The theatrical mode:
It has the look and feel of a performance worked out for
a static theatrical space and a live audience.
preference for medium or long shots stressing the
durational quality of time;
the frame acting as a kind of portable proscenium arch;
meaning largely generated through the words and the
gestures of the actors.
no need for heavy cuts or rearrangements of the text.
Filming modes
(according to the relative distance from the language and
conventions of the theatre)
The realistic mode:
taking advantage of the cameras ability to show
things, people, places. screen realism (the most
popular filming mode in Shakespeare films owing to
the audiences feeling that at bottom Shakespeare is
a realist. Jorgens 1998: 19)
use of authentic costumes and settings;
requiring significant cuts from the original
Shakespearean text and scene sequences
subjectivity of adaptation which focuses more on only
one level of meaning.
shifting stress from the actors to actors-in-a-setting,
hence the risk of the loss in focus, of the proper
emphasis on powerful and significant details.
Filming modes
(according to the relative distance from the language and
conventions of the theatre)
The filmic mode:
shifting the stress from the aural to the visual; the
aural is made visual, the poetic texture is turned
visual poetry.
exploring through sounds and images the
Shakespearean subtext.
similarity with the realistic mode: the use of many non-
theatrical techniques (a great variety of angles,
distances, camera movements).
emphasis on the artifice of film, on the expressive
possibilities of distorting the surfaces of reality.