Cinematography II: Elephant (Gus Van Sant, 2003)

After today’s section we will be able to… be able to talk about and use cinematographic techniques in order to… 1) perform a film analysis of Elephant, and ultimately, 2) make and support interpretative claims about the film

Review Cinematography Last week: movement and framing This week: Other techniques zoom, dolly zoom, rack focus/pull Lenses telephoto lens, wide-angle lens Composition in depth deep space – foreground, middle ground, background deep focus Shot duration - the long take *Please note: deep space, deep focus, and long take are different!

Andre Bazin on film realism “The Ontology of the Photographic Image” (1960) “mummy complex” (106) The photo is indexical, depending not on the human hand but the “instrumentality of a nonliving agent” (168) Film can serve to “embalm time” (169) “The Evolution of the Language of Cinema” (1967) “those that put their faith in the image” vs. “those that put their faith in reality” (42)

Clip analysis - worksheet Looking at the football scene and bedroom scene While watching the clips, please pay particular attention to the cinematographic techniques of the long take, deep space, and deep focus Other techniques? (zoom, dolly zoom, rack focus/pull) Lenses? (telephoto lens, wide-angle lens) Framing? (aspect ratio, masks, onscreen and offscreen space, camera distance, angle, height, or level) Movement? (pan, tilt, tracking/dolly shot, steadicam, crane shot, helicopter/airplane shot, drone shot)

Essay prompt What is the effect of Van Sant’s deliberate style (especially the use of long takes) for this particular narrative? Establish ideological theme/s of the film Support your interpretative claim with a filmic analysis of his prominent use of long takes, as seen in particular scenes Contextualize your application of long takes in a discussion about Bazin’s ideas of film realism Optional: support discussion of use of long takes with other salient cinematographic elements that convey the theme/message stylistically?