Deadpool is a good example to show the use of extra-diegetic gaze in cinematography as it constantly has the protagonist “breaking the 4th wall” and monologue to the audience, as well as looking at the camera, reminding the audience that they are watching a movie.
Dunkirk(Dir. Christopher Nolan) is a historical WWII Thriller/Drama movie based around three storylines. Nolan wanted to make Dunkirk seem different to other war films, and to do this, he decided to focus on sound and specifically the realism and verisimilitude to try and make the audience hear all of the things that a soldier would hear.
The Filmmakers did not want to use any Generic boat and plane sounds, and therefore, many of the sounds heard have been recorded specifically for Dunkirk so that it would sound unique, while also being as realistic as possible. For instance, Richard King, (Dunkirk’s sound editor) placed around 25 microphones around several spitfires, with some behind the pilot, in the engine bay and in the fuselage of the plane so he would have an extremely wide variety of realistic sounds to use. King wanted to convey the “physical sensation” of being in the plane by using a lot of the rattles and shakes caused by the panels of the plane.
For the sequence where there are two soldiers carrying a stretcher, King estimates that they used around 30-40 different tracks, then when editing the scene when the ship is torpedoed, he said the number of tracks used was into the hundreds. King also stated that he didn’t want Dunkirk to remind the audience of other movies and this was the main reason he wanted to “rethink every sound”. A good example of this is when the bombs are being dropped on the beaches. Where most films would bring the pitch of the bombs lower the closer they got to the ground, king decided to do the opposite, saying “when you think about it, the noise should increase in pitch as it gets closer. We reversed all incoming shell sounds so they rose in pitch”. The Sound Mixer, Gary Rizzo, said that Nolan wanted to create “an altered sense of perception” and as many of the soldiers were so young that this would be the first time that they had heard things like a bomb falling in the sand or bullets whizzing past which would have most likley sounded different to how they would have imagined. Nolan creates this feeling for the audience as well, by using different sounds to the kind that the audience would be used to. Almost all of the sounds in Dunkirk had to be re-recorded due to the harsh conditions of wind and rain, not to mention noisy IMAX cameras. Nolan and King put a lot of thought into every sound used throughout the film, even the smallest subliminal ones. Ironically, all of the work that they have put in is intended to make the effort unnoticed to the audience.
Nolan and the film’s composer Hans Zimmer used a technique called a Shepard Tone. This effect is named after the American scientist Roger Shepard, and gives the impression that there is an endless buildup by stacking different pitches of sound waves on top of each other. one high pitched sound getting quieter, one medium pitched sound staying at the same volume, and one low pitched sound getting louder and vice versa. This creates the sense of rising tension as effect will seem to continuously get louder, similar to that of a barber shop pole which will seem to rise forever, but is really just a trick on your eyes; The Shepard Tone is the same trick, but for your ears. This was combined with the ticking sound of Nolan’s personal watch to create a sense of urgency and panic to keep the audience on edge. This sound effect, on top of the original and unique sounds produced for the film, makes the audience feel immersed in the film, creating verisimilitude as well as tension for the audience.
The final scene of the movie Whiplash(Chazelle, 2014) uses a wide range of different editing techniques. The movie’s editor, Tom Cross, does an incredible job creating several very tense moments throughout the movie using cuts, eyeline matches, cross cutting, cutaways and more.
Cross’ use of very fast cuts fills the scene with tension, and these quick cuts of the drum kit to the cutaways of longer sweeping shots of the brass section creates a sense of tension for the audience, knowing that Andrew must keep in time. The editing style of this movie is important as without it, the scene can become boring. The use of quick cuts keeps the viewer entertained and interested. The Editor manages to make sure these shots are not too jarring for the audience. For this reason, the editor has included longer shots to ensure the viewer doesn’t get confused.
The use of eyeline matches and shot reverses are also incredibly important for building tension and stakes for the audience. These techniques are used between Andrew and Fletcher several times in the final scene, and helps show the feelings behind the characters, both of which are using predominately facial expressions to convey emotion. The editor uses these shots when they are trying to get the audience to focus on the character rather than his actions, For instance; instead of focusing on Andrew’s drumming, it cuts to him looking at Fletcher, and then is followed by a shot of Fletcher looking at him. This helps build character, but also gives the audience a break from the intensity and fast paced cuts of the drumming to create a moment made to develop the characters.
There is also the use of a sequence shot between Fletcher and Andrew where the camera quickly flicks between each of the character. While it is possible that this scene uses different, well hidden cuts each time the camera quickly changes direction, it helps visually describe the relationship between Fletcher and Andrew, it also creates an intensity for the audience as it seems like the characters are almost fighting for control over the whole band. This shot makes the viewer feel as though they are a part of the scene, as the nature of the shot is sequential, and therefore makes it seem more realistic for the audience.
This scene also has one specific instance of a cutaway. I find that this is an incredibly important shot for character development of Andrew, as it shows how even though he has alienated his friends and family throughout the movie, the shot of his surprised father through the concert hall window shows that there are still people that care about him and are proud of him for his accomplishments, as for a lot of the film, Fletcher has been a sort of father figure for Andrew. While this could be considered a fairly throwaway shot, I find that it has significant importance to the plot, once again showing how important the editor’s job is for almost every aspect of the movie. This shot in particular adds character more than the all of the writing in this scene combined.
A sound editor’s job is to assemble and put sounds together to create all of the sounds needed throughout the film including dialogue and sound effects as well as music, where as the sound mixer’s job is to edit and blend the sounds that the sound editor has put together, make sure they are at the right levels and volumes, to make sure it ready for the final product.
The steadicam tracking shot of Danny riding around the hotel on his tricycle creates a sense of uneasiness for the viewer. The shot makes it seem as though Danny is being chased by something represented by the camera. The image of a child being chased adds to the narrative by implying that there is something evil within the hotel, which is chasing Danny around the hotel. Kubrick also uses a long tracking shots when following Danny, which further emphasizes the sense that he is being chased by something evil.
Deigesis, or the diegetic gaze, is when a film can create a believable scene using camera placement/techniques in relation the rest of the scene (Using props, depth of field, etc.) is a very good example of a diegetic film, as it creates a very believable world through the costumes, sets and also camera work.
The Depth of Field is controlled by the focus and aperture of a camera and is the distance between the nearest and furthest image in the frame. For instance, if a shot is using a shallow focus, the background will be more blurred out, making it easier to have a specific character stand out to the audience.
Whereas a deep focus will have everything in the frame in focus, with nothing necessarily standing out more than anything else. For instance, The Revanant (Alejandro González Iñárritu, 2016) used a a lot of deep focus shots throughout so as to keep everything of equal importance in the frame.
