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Film Studies

Explore the coexistence and interaction of realism and formalism in films, delving into how filmmakers manipulate reality, the impact of photography on capturing reality, and the role of artists like John Constable in interpreting reality. Uncover the truth effects in cinema and the audience's perception of reality.

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Film Studies

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  1. Film Studies Reality Effects and Truth Effects

  2. René Magritte’s painting of Cecin’estpas une pipe (This is not a pipe) The picture is not the pipe itself, but its image, even if it is life-like,

  3. Problems of Film Realism A film re-presents objects, people and landscape Or re-traces (an event); re-calls (an event); re- produce (reality), re-enact (an event/reality); re-build (reality); re-construct (reality): re-stage (reality / an event) Film is realization in ‘second-time’; thus filmmaking described with verbs with suffix ‘re’; spatiallydifferent and temporally deferred from what it shows.

  4. Problems of Film Formalism Even fantasy, fantastic images, and forms are constructed on our perception of reality. It is impossible to create a world totally detached from reality.

  5. Even a creature from Mars have two eyes, a nose, a mouth, two arms, fingers, two legs, language and emotion.I’ll be right here

  6. Tim Burton, Mars Attacks! (1996)

  7. Ridley Scott Alien (1979)

  8. Coexistence and Interaction Realism and formalism coexist and interact Every film is constructed by a dialectic process of film realism and film formalism: of mimicking and changing reality at the same time.

  9. Ridley Scott’s SF film, Blade Runner was inspired by futuristic or postmodern reality – the cityscape of Osaka

  10. Coexistence and Interaction • Film is not reality itself but the representation of it. Thus, filmed reality is subject to filmmaker’s interpretation and manipulation. • It is impossible to create anything which has nothing to do with the reality we perceive; the filmmaker always rely on what he/she knows, has learned and experienced in real life. Filmmaker’s imagination and creation is controlled by real existence.

  11. Coexistence and Interaction Realism and formalism coexist and interact in every film Our task is: - to identify the extent to which a film is realistic, formalistic or both; - to explore how filmmakers achieve realism or formalism

  12. Take or Make a Photograph • Photography is a modern invention which has enabled us to record reality ‘as it really is.’ • Question: Is photography an objective recording of reality as it is?

  13. Choices of exposure and shutter speed They reflect the photographer’s intention

  14. Dedham Vale from Langham John Constable’s two drawings of the same spot.

  15. Photographer must find an interesting moment and ‘compose.’ Photos by Henri Cartier-Bresson

  16. Photographer compose a frame

  17. Photographer compose a frame

  18. The choice of colour or black and white • The choice of a spot • The choice of weather • The choice of time • They depend on photographer’s aesthetic sensibility and intention.

  19. Take or Make a Sketch John Constable’s series of paintings of the sky

  20. Constable’s studies on cloud-formation based on Alexander Cozens

  21. Problems of Realism • Constable did not simply record reality but learned how it looks. • Artist learns how to record reality. • Filmmakers, even those of realist film, learn and plan how they record and film reality. • Filmmakers, even those of realist film, always interpret and alter the form of reality.

  22. Reality Effects and Truth Effects • Film (like photography and painting) is not, no matter how realistic it is, the simple, objective recording of reality but the rearrangement of it. • ‘Virtual reality, O.K. You know what virtual means? O.K., it is like really real. So virtual reality is practically, totally real. But not. -- Jennifer Jason Leigh as Lois Kaiser in Robert Altman’s Short Cuts

  23. Reality Effects and Truth Effects ‘Realism’ is a relative concept in two senses 1) There is no pure or perfect form of realism. Some films are only more realistic than others. 2) The filmmaker’s and the viewer’s ideas of reality are relative. An alternative way to describe realism - to discuss realism in terms of effects which a film create on the audience.

  24. Ivan Shishikin’sOak Grove

  25. CamilePissaro’sThe Boulevard Montmartre

  26. CamilePissaro’sThe Boulevard Montmartre ‘If you ask me what the world looks like to me, it looks like a painting of Pissaro. E.H. Gombrich

  27. Dominique Ingres, Princess Albert de Brogile

  28. EdouartMannet, Suzanne Manet

  29. Reality Effects and Truth Effects An alternative way to describe realism To discuss realism in terms of effects which a film (or art and literature) create on the audience.

  30. Reality Effects and Truth Effects ‘Reality Effects’ - they come into being when representations in moving images give the audience the impression that they mimic the ‘facticity’ of the world around us, or surface appearance. Roland Barthes

  31. Reality Effects and Truth Effects ‘Truth Effects’ - they come into being when representations in moving images agree with viewer’s ideas of what is true about the world in a general sense. They have to do with whether texts conform to what she generally believes about experience. Michel Foucault

  32. Reality Effects Richard Attenborough’s biographical film, Gandhi, imitates how Mahatma Ghandi looked, how he spoke, how the world in which he lived looked like and what his life was like – gives audiences an impression that the film is mimicking facticity - a reality effect.

  33. Reality Effects Jinnah and Ghandi Gandhi and Jinnah 46.45

  34. Reality Effects and Truth Effects • Moving images have trutheffects, even when they are ‘objectively’ untrue. They have truth effects, as long as they agree to what the audience believes true. • Samuel Fuller’s House of Bamboo (US, 1955) display the images of Japan and Japanese women. False for those who know Japan and Japanese women, but ‘true’ for those who believe them true.

  35. Film Realism and Reality/Truth Effects • Our impression of whether moving images being realistic or not depends on reality and truth effects that they exert on us. • Reality and truth effects as alternative to film realism

  36. Reality and Truth Effects • Analyse the reality and truth effects that a film make on you. • RisoAmaro, Giuseppe de Santis’s 1949 film. • Francesca and Walter are a criminal couple. To avoid the police, Francesca joins a group of migration workers and is later rejoined by Walter in a rice farm. Robbery, triangle love and murder takes place. Risoamaro

  37. Reality and Truth Effects • ‘Truth’ • Shot on location in the countryside of Vercelli and in Veneria and Selve Farms in Lignana, Piemonte. • Non-professional actors found locally. • Local dialects used • Costumes worn by those who worked in rice farms around 1949. Historical research. • ‘Lies’ • SilvanaMangano as Silvana, Miss Italia contestant. • Rice was not planted as we see on the screen; gender division of labour; farm workers sang work songs.

  38. Analyse the reality and truth effects that GilloPontecorvo’sThe Battle of Algierexerts on you. Battle of Algiers

  39. Reality and Truth Effects • ‘Truth’ • Record of Algerian straggle for independence • Shot on location in Algiers • The film based on the accounts of SaadiYacef, a FLN military commander. • Record of Algerian straggle for independence • ‘I have never been to Algeria, but it looks like being shot in Algiers as the title says so. • ‘I know that struggles for independence took place in Algeria and they must be as depicted in the film.’

  40. Reality and truth effects work & fail to work • Film deliberately shot in black & white. Reality has colours. • Reality does not come with music or sound effects. • Algerian music for Algerian actions and the sounds of gunfire, helicopters and engines for French actions • As if we were watching a newsreel or documentary. American version has a disclaimer, ‘not one foot of newsreel was used.’ • Music and sound effects make emotional effects clearer

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