The Man who Invented Camera Shots

One of my favorite films of all time is actually one of the first films in history: "Man with a Movie Camera (1929)" posted down below, directed by the great Dziga Vertov and masterfully edited by his wife Elizaveta Svilova.

In this film Dziga Vertov films the life of the people in different soviet cities in the Ukraine. The cinematic and stylistic elements of the film however are its main attributes. In the film, Dziga deploys an enormous variety of camera angles, movement and techniques that despite being experimental at the time, became standard with the passing of times. Many of them such as filming a vehicle in movement from below as if running over the camera, have become cliche.

Throughout the film we see an awesome succession of extreme close-ups, double shots, freeze frames and other camera as well as edit techniques which back then were almost a miracle. Panoramic views of the city are succeeded by close shots of a girl dressing up in the morning. Action shots such as following a horse drawn carriage or a truck packed with soldiers with the camera were all experimental moves back then.

Really folks, just watch it. Its long but fast paced and full of detail, the soundtrack (not the original) of this version is awesome and the subject as well as the quality of the technique are a treat for any film lover.

Using Camera for Interpretation Response

I was pleased that the author made references to theatre in explaining the fourth wall. I personally have never gotten the experience on a round stage, but I have on a three-quarter stage and it is quite a different experience from performing straight out in front of oneself. The importance of angles and camera placement often goes unnoticed as the viewer takes in the story through the way it is presented, rather than paying attention to the technical presentation. Videos allow us to take in the world through many more perspectives – as if we are a fly on the wall and can see more than just what is in front of us. Funny enough, when we participate in watching videos, we are only focused on what is in front of us even if what is in front of us provides us with multiple perspectives.

In high school, I was assigned to analyze a movie scene by scene and, while it took an incredibly long time, I gained a greater appreciation for camera techniques. If every movie and television show were shot from the same angle, there would be little to no depth. One television show that plays around with camera technique and angles is That 70’s Show. In That 70’s Show, there is a recurring joke called “the circle” where the characters sit around in a circle and get high – much like the actual practices of teenagers in the 1970s. What makes this recurring joke so effective is the camera technique: in what is called a ‘360’, the actors sit in a circle and the camera is mounted on a swiveling dolly and panned in to each actor’s face. The effect is that the viewer feels that they are participating in the circle and can fully immerse themselves into what they are watching. 

(start at 3:00)

I believe that the goal of television and cinema is not just to entertain, but to let the viewer escape their daily life and jump into a fantasy world. As McLuhan would say, the medium is the message and in videos, using different camera techniques only makes the message stronger.

Using the Camera for Interpretation - Ekin Erkan

The resurgence of narrative experience via stylistic approach has been most deeply exposed via the Dogme 95 movement. As John S. Douglass and Glann Harnden mention in Using the Camera for Intepretation, cameras with larger focal lengths (35 mm still and motion picture film with a focal length of 50 mm for example) render a seemingly real theatrical depiction - there is no vast and extreme depth of field, with the subject's background much blurred. This is similar to what the human eye sees, with longer focal lengths accentuating small portions of the screen - punctuating and isolating small details much like the gazing observer. This narrative style, close to traditional storytelling, is what inspired filmmaking's roots - the emulation of reality (consider the strikingly real Lumiere brothers' L'Arrivée d'un train en gare de La Ciotat).
The Dogme 95 film movement is essentially a step to that of classical filmmaking in a narrative sense -
in an era where production and editing had wholly consumed modern film/Hollywood at the expense of aesthetic transportation, Lars von Trier and Thomas Vinterberg established a manifesto in which filmmaking freedoms were restrained to those essential of bare storytelling:

1. Shooting must be done on location. Props and sets must not be brought in.
2. The sound must never be produced apart from the image or vice-versa.
3. The camera must be handheld. Any movement or mobility attainable in the hand is permitted.
4. The film must be in colour. Special lighting is not acceptable.
5. Optical work and filters are forbidden.
6. The film must not contain superficial action.
7. Temporal and geographical alienation are forbidden.
8. Genre movies are not acceptable.
9. The film format must be Academy 35mm.
10. The director must not be credited.

Lars Von Trier's Menthe is a classical depiction of this bare filmmaking style, avant-garde in influence but minimalist in aesthetic. The starkly monochromatic film emphasizes incorporation of motif, threading storytelling through symbolism (it being ascension here, a motif Lars Von Trier would continue to implore in his later works). Rather than glamorous sound and editing, the grainy cassette-like narrative is hauntingly real and unadorned. Inspired by the novel Story of O, the film attempts to recreate the pain of human experience - entirely an emotional and unfiltered revulsion from the audience - with whitewashed scenes of chains and violent torturing. This is an ode to the deeply lost emotional core that can cause an audience to throb and rivet via aesthetic experimentation, not Hollywood kitsch bullshit. This is human art through storytelling, not Los Angeles soap opera.

Soundscape: Remembering Electric Sheep

Sound Project "Record Record" by Cassia

Sound Project "The Escalator"

Sound Project " Silent Killer" By Harris

Sound Project "Audition"

Sound Project "Just Thoughts"

"Just Thoughts" by Aishwarya Krishnamoorthy

Sound Project "The Last Date" by Agnes

THE LAST DATE.

Scotsman's Day

This is just not a good day for Alex, better known as "Scotsman." This introvert individual will clash against doors, people, and the weather. His only escape: music.

https://soundcloud.com/pedropinera05/scotsmans-day

Project1 "Library Awareness"

We own plenty of libraries in this country. Every college, every community, every city. Library now seems to be so common and old-fashioned that we become reluctant to split out attention on. What used to be the shielder for minds has been reduced into a storage for dust.
Let's take three minutes, follow the voice, explore this common item in your life with a new perspective.

Sound Project

"Finals" by Adrian Petrou

Finals

"Where have all the flowers gone" --a soundscape by Jenny Hansler

She Knows, A Soundscape by Caroline Salis

She Knows, by Caroline Salis
Here is my soundscape experiment that juxtaposes the ever-changing, more casual view of experimental drug use versus more traditional views of experimental drug use. Through a first person narrative, I aim to express the ways in which these two conflicting mindsets are still prevalent in today's youth - that "just say no" is still effective yet the force behind the words is not as necessary. I hope this soundscape encourages people of all ages to consider the importance of openly discussing drugs in a safe environment, the affects that drug use has on relationships with others, and that love is more effective than scare tactics.

Sound Art Experiment - Ekin Erkan

Here is a link to my experiential ambient-art noise piece titled Skuzzy Lie Brain. Enjoy.