By the term the spectrum of the arts, monacco sees different arts in different ways, he sees the arts as if they are on a spectrum, ranging from practical to musical, and then different arts fit into different categories. The spectrum of the arts it’s a way to visualise how different types of art fit into and reflect our society in different ways. For example there is the performance arts, which happen in real time. There is the representational arts which rely on established codes and conventions of language. And there is the recording arts, which form a more direct path between subject and observer. However he also talks about one of the oldest theories of art which is the spectrum of abstraction. The spectrum represents how art imitates reality through a medium, and how different types of arts fit into different mediums. There is practical, with things such as architecture in it, then there is environmental, followed by pictorial  with things like painting and graphics in it. Next is dramatic with stage drama in it, followed by narrative with novels and stories fitting into it. Then lastly there is musical which obviously contains music but also partly poetry.

The opening scene of Joker is an example of how composition creates a certain emotion in this movie. The way Arthur is positioned in the centre, illuminated by the lights on his mirror, creates the impression that he is alone and insignificant in a much bigger, threatening society. This, right of the bat, allows the audience to understand Arthur’s battle with being alone and having nobody to care for him.

This scene in Joker amplifies the effect makeup can have on the emotion and atmosphere of a scene. The way Arthur is painted in a ghost-like pale white wash serves the purpose of acting like a clean canvas for the blood splattered on Arthur’s face. This could be interpreted to further understand Arthur’s pre-existing intent to kill and the Directors choice to paint Arthur as a clearly unstable, psychotic individual.

Costume plays a crucial part in differentiating between characters in Joker, the way ‘regular’ citizens such as the men Arthur killed on the subway are dressed in contrast to how Arthur chooses to dress in the resolution of the movie tells the audience a lot about Arthur’s atypical mind and his intent to embrace his ‘different’ personality. Whilst the men on the subway wear regular suits and tie, Arthur wear a brightly coloured red and yellow suit in order to suggest a more amusing, less mundane expectation of a person. This eludes to the fact that Arthur is treated as an outcast by others and has always been considered a black sheep.

The scene in which Arthur imagines himself appearing on the tonight show with Murray utilises lighting and its effect on how an audience perceives a scene. The use of overhead lighting could be interpreted as a heaven-like representation of who Arthur aspires himself to be. The fact that this appeared only in Arthur’s imagination tells the audience that Arthur may only reach heaven or be perceived as ‘good’ in his dreams, this is important for the audience in deciding on Arthur’s morals and better judgment further on in the film.

Colour grading in the Joker contributes heavily to the emotions portrayed throughout the movie, whilst the movie is predominantly colour graded with a blue toned or green toned wash, eluding to a mundane, depressed world, this scene has a yellow tint and as a result feels lighter, happier. This could be interpreted to how Arthur finally feels some hope for happiness in a world that has given him nothing but pain and injustice. This being one of few yellow coloured scenes in the film is important to understand how Arthur rarely feels this way and as a reproduction falls in a psychotic and depressive killing rampage.

This scene is an example of how Set design can be used in order to suggest emotion and patterns in the ending on Joker. The way the curtains surround Arthur in blue eludes to the fact that the underlying sadness Arthur feels is present throughout the whole movie, even when living out Arthur’s dream of being a guest on the Murray show. The way Arthur is lit up by the lightbulbs on the mirror pays homage to the opening scene of Joker in a cyclical technique and tells the audience that, despite Arthur’s new found interest in killing and the arguably successful fact that he is on the Murray show, he still feels isolated and alone like he did in the beginning due to the fact that he has no one to love him and care for him. This fact is further illuminated but how Arthur is standing in the dark behind a curtain, this could be interpreted to reference how Arthur has always been in the shadows, never receiving help from others and even covered up by a curtain so as not to upset the more wealthy who don’t help those in need in society as a whole.

What does James Monaco think the spectrum of the arts is.

Reading a film is subjective to everyone who watches it. Some may “read the film” differently to someone else and pinpoint areas of the film that other wouldn’t class as reading it. I believe reading a film is understanding and analysing what you see on screen, as well as acknowledging the films elements, themes and ideas presented that makes up the film’s language.

The writer of the book ‘how to read a film’, James Monaco, has a section in his book called the nature of the arts. In this section he mentions an idea called the spectrum of the arts. I believe the spectrum of the arts is the shape, form, colour, texture, and space. An example of shape is when Monaco explains that you can use shape and geometry to trigger emotions. The brain can give abstract meaning to different shapes such as in the field of animation, villainous and evil characters are shown frequently with sharp, rigid and pointy features like noses, fingernails etc as it brings out a sense of fear and intimidation in the brain.

Form is what a viewer perceives in a film. This includes its elements that bring the film to life such as its colour and camerawork and music. The various film techniques used add form to the film as an art piece. For example, Colours are used to identify prominent settings in the film, such as in iconic 1939 film, The wizard of Oz. In the film the location of Kansas was in black and white but when they arrived in Oz the film exploded with colour and became a very bright movie.

Texture is the quality and nature of shots and is the most important factor of the spectrum of the arts. I believe this as without texture your shots will feel like a dull group of geometric shapes. Lighting and colour can be manipulated using digital effects; however, texture cannot be manipulated and is unique because of that. This is because texture shows the personality of the location. Showing factors like age and condition.

I believe James Monaco came to his conclusion that the spectrum of the arts is a combination of all the important film techniques that make the film unique and an art form. Texture doesn’t work at its best without lighting and colour and vice versa. Without this combination of art, the film would be left empty and lifeless.

By Josh Wright.

Monaco describes a ‘spectrum of the arts’ to mean a differentiation between different art forms and effect it has on the viewer. The spectrum includes performance arts (which happen in real time), representational arts (to convey information to the observer) and recording arts (which provide a more direct path between subject and observer). 

An example of performing arts is theatre, Monaco seperated this type of art from into the ‘pictorial-dramatic-narrative’ section of the spectrum, this is because theatre creates a ‘real time’ image in order to convey a story and experience to the viewer. Monaco also describe art to be a human endeavour that is more of an attitude than activity.  

An example of representational art is literature, Monaco depicts how representational art establishes the conventions of language, this is important in understanding how representational art, such as novels and poetry falls between the ‘dramatic-narrative’ subsection of the spectrum. 

The last type of art form Monaco explores in the recording arts, an example of this could be music. Music has an emotional and narrative effect on the listener as much as it does any other type of art form. To thoroughly understand Music as a type of recording arts, Monaco depicts music to be in the musical section of the spectrum of arts. 

By ‘the spectrum of the arts’, Monaco is referring to the everchanging definition of what ‘art’ is – in the constant cycle of new ideas, methods, and styles being considered art, widening the spectrum, and then being factored away as part of something else and no longer considered an art, honing the definition of ‘art’ back down once more. These cores were originally history, comedy, tragedy, poetry, dance, astronomy, and music.

For example: over time, poetry branched off into lyric, dramatic and epic poetry, forming the subgroup ‘literary arts’ along with history, comedy, and tragedy. From here grew the need of structure, rules for these arts; grammar, logic, and rhetoric, all made so that it became simpler to categorize. As mathematics became more and more important, geometry replaced dance.

Further along in time, the lines between ‘art’ and ‘method’ slowly blurred, and the two melted together, to mean ‘skill’. If you were especially good at something, you had mastered the ‘art’ of it. But then, the definition started to head back to its original size– painting and creation, the ‘fine arts’ became closely linked to and eventually synonymous with ‘art’ itself, whilst the more structured, logic driven ‘arts’ like sciences and mathematics were slowly being removed. Art was no longer skill, it was creation.

This is just one example of the cycle of what is considered part of the spectrum of art, fluctuating as humanity develops, viewpoints change, and new technologies and means of expression are invented. Art is a ‘spectrum’ because it can’t and never will be defined – this is because art is relative to humanity, and we cannot be wholly confined to a definition either.

What makes a film good, this is a question asked constantly in the film industry. A film being seen as good depends on the persons individual opinion and how they understand the movie. The film I am going to be analysing in this essay is the 2017 film Blade Runner 2049 and its micro and macro elements that make this film good.

Blade Runner is in the science fiction and neo noir genre. It embraces themes of loneliness, identity, society and class and technology and modernization. It uses lighting, a quite minor toned soundtrack, and real life sets to make the world feel alive.

The film’s main protagonist, K, is presented as a lonely man trying to discover purpose in a society that isolated people from one another. The films’ themes of discovery of identity are major parts of the story of blade runner.

The film deals with the theme of loneliness and purpose in many unique ways that differ from other pieces of storytelling. The main character, K is a “replicant” which is an artificial human, because of this he deals with discrimination from his peers and others around him. He also has a fake hologram girlfriend called Joi who is his only escape from the dull and lonely dystopian future he lives in. Her personality contrast to the rest of the cast of characters in the movie as she is always bright and cheery, and everyone else accepts their miserable world they live in. The film is great at presenting this idea of how artificial satisfaction is destroying our lives. This makes it engaging as some can relate to the themes of the movie. Well-choreographed action scenes are also sprinkled into the movie which keeps tension throughout.

The film uses techniques such as lighting and contrast to convey emotions and even messages in scenes without the use of saying it to the audience. For example, the director of the movie, Denis Villeneuve, links the colour yellow to information. We see him do this as the library of knowledge is a yellow room, as well as Vegas in the movie is a yellow dusty city which is the area where the protagonist learns the truth about his identity.

The film also has stunning visual effects and impressive set pieces that make the world of Blade Runner feel real and lived in. This adds to the cinematic experience of this world and makes it engaging to the audience.

The Film’s graphic and depressing presentation of this dystopian world in the future is also a message to the watcher. Denis Villeneuve warns us that environmental damage, dehumanisation and personal estrangement could lead our society to what is is in Blade Runner. 

In conclusion, what makes a film good is its micro and macro elements and how well they are shown. Blade Runner 2049 does this to near perfection by making use of its unique style to convey powerful messages, making a wel

l written narrative. Because of this, we can see how audiences relate to the movie and show the film excellent quality.

mise en scene definition- To organise every single aspect that can be visually seen within a picture, to create an effect on the viewers.

Ext. Mise en Scene regardlessly focuses on the actual visual objects within the viewframe of the camera that intendedly impacts the audience’s perspective on the film