Audio Experiment

The Rear Window: Film Analysis and Audio Study

In this scene from Alfred Hitchcock's film, The Rear Window, some audio effects we can hear are the sounds of distant music from the composer's house, children shouting and playing in the background, and cars driving by on the street.

This particular scene is showing how this neighborhood is small and secluded, yet everyone in it stays secluded themselves, given from the visual information that everyone stays in their house. No one engages with their neighbors, who are in close proximity to where they live. Also, this scene answers the question as to how he's able to explain the basic plot line in this one shot. He shows everyone's individual lives and how they don't necessarily care about their neighbors, which leads to the almost-too-easy murder that one of the neighbors eventually commits.




This analysis clip explains a lot of different perspectives when analyzing this particular movie. What I've noticed is that the person who made this video points out that almost immediately, the main characters are introduced, which allows you to get to know their personalities and how they play a role in the overall story.

My Own Analysis: The Rear Window definitely captures the lifestyle of someone who is bound to one location for a long amount of time. Without following one's day-to-day routine, one can become very lonesome, bored, and even morbidly curious about his new surroundings, since one may have nothing else to do while bound to one place. Alfred Hitchcock does an excellent job of portraying someone in this scenario. I also like how extended amounts of time is used to build suspense. If the scare came instantaneously, it wouldn't be as satisfying as if key elements to the story built up and culminated in the big scare near the end.

Avant Garde Film Project - Don't Text And Drive

Resolution: the total number of pixels displayed on your computer or television screen. Generally, the higher the resolution, the higher is the quality of the image.

Aspect Ratio: the ratio of the width of an image to the height of the image. This ratio is expressed as x:y, and differs in case of different images used in photography, television, computer applications and so on. Changing this ratio may distort the images.

How They Relate: Both the resolution and the aspect ratio help to improve the quality and visual experience of the film. For example, the higher the resolution, the bigger the aspect ratio can be stretched while still holding quality. If the resolution is low, then the aspect ratio may distort the image if changed.

Successes Of My Project: Some successes of my Avant Garde Project are my use of visual effects and newfound experience using them to improve the visual experience of the viewer. Another success is the sequencing to tell a story, which is not to text ad drive.

Things I Would Change: For this project, I would change the soundtrack I composed for this project. I would want a better-suited score for the film in order to bring an element of vivid auditory experience like a real film.

The Kuleshov Effect

The Kuleshov Effect is a film editing (montage) effect demonstrated by Russian filmmaker Lev Kuleshov in the 1910s and 1920s.It is a mental phenomenon by which viewers derive more meaning from the interaction of two sequential shots than from a single shot in isolation.




In this shot from the movie Silence Of The Lambs, the Kuleshov effect is used when the man is lowering something into the pit where the woman is. Scenes flash between men with guns sneaking up to the house and the pit. This indicates that the man and the woman both feel fearful of the men with the guns approaching the house.

Film Analysis Summarizer - "Metropolis"

1. Fritz Lang created this film. We know this information through the credits in the film.

2. Fritz Lang wanted to create the film because he wanted everyone else to see how he viewed the city. In an interview, Fritz Lang stated that "At night the city gave only the impression of living; it lived as illusions do. I knew that I must make a film of all these impressions." We know this information because of the interview, which is located in the following link: http://cinefantastiqueonline.com/2010/05/fritz-langs-metropolis-the-best-film-of-this-or-any-other-year/. He also, from another interview, stated that he "looked into the streets – the glaring lights and the tall buildings – and there I conceived Metropolis."

3. We can tell that the filmmakers all had the same sense of awe with big cities and a German Expressionist viewpoint. Lang also wanted to twist the sense of reality. We know this information because of the way the film is shot; the film, in its entirety, is a fine example of German Expressionism. Also, a majority of the problems portrayed in the film were problems that Germany was facing.

4. This film was directed towards average citizens, people with jobs ranging from laborer to business owner. We know this information because in the film, the upper and lower classes unite at the end.

5. Outside influences include government and problems in Germany. We know this information because the conflicts portrayed in the movie were, as I mentioned earlier, present in Germany at the time the movie was made.

6. The film takes on a German Expressionist tradition. We know this because:

• It was made in the German Expressionism era.
• The entirety had a German Expressionist feel, which was portrayed by contrasting colors (light vs. dark) and conflicts between social classes.

7. Metropolis is connected to nearly all science fiction movies made today. Metropolis inspired the genre itself. We know the information because a lot of visual imagery and plot is used in several other science fiction movies in this day and age,

German Expressionism Investigation

1. Nosferatu
2.

 3. June 3rd, 1929
4. F. W. Murnau
5. The actor takes on many disguises, which, according to German Expressionism, represents unrestricted terrors of that time period.
6. Dracula films



1. Faust
2.
3. 1926
4. F. W. Murnau
5. Murnau shoots the main character from a low, cockeyed angle, which distorts the perspective and heightens emotions.
6. Fantasia (1940)


1. Metropolis
2.
3. March 13th, 1927
4. Fritz Lang

5. It's main focus was on the visual aspects on the screen meant to express emotions that would trigger more personal reactions from the audience.

6. Every sci-fi film that came after it.

Chase Scene

Reflection:
Camera movements are used to evoke various emotions from the audience. Difference in camera movements from scene to scene can change the entire mood of the film. For instance, if panning movements are used to capture the size of a room, then the room seems larger than compared to a still shot of a room. If a dolly is used to move a camera from left to right to show two people looking at each other, it would be more emotionally appealing rather than a normal two shot.

Camera angles also play a huge part in filmmaking. Camera angles gives different perspectives on the situation in a film as opposed to one perspective from a handheld camera that is only focused on one object. For example, a long shot shows the actor's entire body as opposed to just his upper half. The deep focus shot keeps the foreground, middle ground and background all in sharp focus.

Successes/Recommendations: I think that my group did a good job with camera angles and capturing the plot line, a chase scene. I think we could've done better with dolly movements, as they were a little choppy.