Stephanie Colb - Exploring Film Technique

Stephanie Colb – Exploring Film Technique Blog

The rhetorical techniques used in filming can communicate clear and underlying themes. The use of imagery can have a major impact on one’s interpretation of a film. In the films, Bunny, Northfork, Paris Texas, Pink Floyd, and Cabeza de Vaca; the ways in which images, shots, backgrounds, and scenes were created helped put forth the meanings being aimed to portray. Each of these films had individual characters; however, they all had similarities as well.

In the first clip, Bunny, there were a lot of religious reflections that were displayed. The way that the film was created allowed the audience to interpret the film with a religious view. The picture frame with the bunny’s late husband held significance because a moth flying around hit the frame causing it to turn to a crooked position. After the hit, the husband was positioned higher up on the wall displaying he was the head of the house and she was struggling without him around. This moth was a reoccurring annoyance to the bunny; it was constantly surrounding her, driving her crazy. Finally, after hassling with the bug, she hit it causing it to land in her baking mix. She stirred the mix with anger making sure that it stayed in there and then putting it in the oven. After a while, the oven began to shake; the bunny opened it only to see the moth flying around surrounded by a tunnel. The moth was attempting to get the bunny to follow it into the tunnel to reach the light. The final scene has the bunny reaching the light and becoming happy. The idea of death is prevalent in this clip; the bunny’s journey of dealing with her husband’s death is shown as well as her own journey to death. Following the light reveals the religious beliefs of reaching the lights of Heaven and God; just as the bunny did.

The second film, Northfork, had a large amount of filming techniques to alter its imagery in a specific way. All of the images shown had detail and were done or placed in a way used to send a message. The showing of the buffalo helped viewers understand what was occurring at the time; buffalos have a strong presence. The use of these buffalo helped portray the strong coming of the community the film is based in. Another representation of using film technique was seen when a coffin was sitting on top of a car, rather than a normal suitcase. The background of this image added further meaning to the scene as well. The director of the film chose mountains instead of any other background; mountains tend to represent struggle or hardship. Having a car holding a coffin with a background of large, rough mountains created an image of how long term struggle can lead to harm or even death.

Next, in Paris Texas, the imagery and filming techniques were largely used to display improvements in communication and show the passing of time. In the beginning, Travis, the main character, is walking in a desert; looking lost and confused. Throughout the film uses objects such as phone lines, motels, train tracks, airports, and freeways to create a sense of time passing us by in our own personal worlds. These images were important to help the audience understand the concept of time and how things were changing; not only in their society, but in Travis’s life. Another use of filmography in a specific way was through the visions of Travis’s wife in the window. Through the different phone conversations between the two, the darkened window disallowed her to see who Travis was. Each of their phone calls created a memorable image through the use of filming technique and timing. Using these techniques helped establish a feeling of emotion between the husband and wife as well as within the audience. In my opinion, the film had a focus on imagery involving time and emotion.

Another film that was viewed, Pink Floyd, imagery and filming technique was vital to have in order to create the emotional appeal in the viewers. In the beginning, children were shown as individuals being their own people. As time passes in the film, so do the images seen and the film techniques being used. The idea of war begins to come into play along with not allowing education, which had a result of conforming the children to lifeless objects who were all the same. The fires, bags placed over children’s heads, machines, and dark setting helped successfully get the film’s message through to viewers. The transformation of children’s personalities, songs, individually, and the setting of the film itself was a clear technique used in filming.

Through all of these films, it is clear that the filming techniques and imagery used was important in helping audiences understand the underlying or the clearly presented themes. Whether the techniques were people, characters, props, backgrounds, or music; all are important in the creation of film.