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CHAPTER 4
CINEMATOGRAPHY: FRAMING WHAT WE SEE
KEY OBJECTIVES
• Outline the development of the film image from an historical heritage of visual spectacles.
• Describe how the frame of an image positions our point of view according to different distances and angles.
• Explain how film shots use the depth of the image in various ways.
CHAPTER OVERVIEW
Chapter 4 is the second of four chapters that deal with elements of the formal and technical powers of film
form. It starts with a history of the evolving technologies of the cinematic image from the invention of photography
to the digital future. From there, it discusses attributes of the shot, point of view, and what happens once the frame
begins to move. It closes with a discussion of the different ways of thinking about our relationship to the cinematic
image: as presentation or representation, and as presence or text.
Cinematography is rooted in human physiology. In this chapter, students learn how to master concepts like
depth of field, framing, and various camera movements by associating them with physical movements. They also
become aware of how closely advances throughout film history hew to the technological developments that make
formal innovation possible. Finally, this chapter illustrates that what is outside the frame can play just as important a
role as the image itself in enriching each viewer’s film experience.
TEACHING THE OPENING VIGNETTE
Quentin Tarantino’s The Hateful Eight (2015) offers students an excellent opportunity to consider framing,
especially in anticipation of the section in this chapter on widescreen processes, and the Viewing Cue that asks
students to identify the native aspect ratio of a film they are studying. To begin, an instructor may wish to show clips
from two or more films that were shot using the aspect ratio used by Tarantino, 2.76:1. A good choice might be the
title sequence from William Wyler’s 1959 epic, Ben-Hur, which was shot in what MGM called its Camera 65
technology—which was sold a few years later to Panavision who renamed the format Ultra Panavision 70, the same
TEACHING THE CHAPTER
We are part of an increasingly visual culture. Advances in digital image-making occur so rapidly it may be
difficult for students to appreciate how technological limitation as well as innovation helped shape the art and craft
of cinematography. Images today can be viewed the second they are captured and manipulated or even deleted just
as easily.
The physical movement of the camera and the ways in which an image is framed might be easier for students to
grasp at first. Students are also incredibly savvy about animation and special effects. The challenge lies in
persuading them that even the images they consider eye candy can be consumed actively and critically. In time, a
discussion of the “realness” or “fakeness” of each film image can become an analysis of whether these images
document a world or define it. Is seeing believing anymore? Was it ever?
AVC-3260 vacuum tube video cameras that were cutting edge during the early 1980s, when this period film takes
place.
1990s to the Present: It can be difficult to talk about our current digital moment critically. It surrounds us! To
illustrate in class the advantages and disadvantages of the shift to digital images, you may want to consider this
observation Adam Cook made about Transformers: Age of Extinction for the movie site Daily Notebook: “One of
franchise.” (https://mubi.com/notebook/posts/dialogues-talking-robots-or-michael-bays-transformers-age-of-
extinction) Ask students whether they agree with the assertion that celluloid somehow represents traditional
American values now superceded/threatened by technology. Another useful resource is Hito Steyerl’s essay in e-flux
journal, “In Defense of the Poor Image.” She says, “The poor image has been uploaded, downloaded, shared,
reformatted, and reedited. It transforms quality into accessibility, exhibition value into cult value, films into clips,
From a Formal Perspective
Aspect Ratio: To help students distinguish aspect ratios, screen the same sequence from a movie in both the
letterboxed and full-screen versions. Discuss what gets lost in the latter version of the film. Or try to track down
both versions of Martin Scorsese’s New York, New York (1977) to see the effects of panning-and-scanning an image
composed and shot to take advantage of a widescreen aspect ratio.
Masks: One way to explain masks is to make analogies to present-day masking techniques that draw viewers’
attention to something in the frame using binoculars, or maybe a car’s rearview mirror.
Another approach to explaining how masks work is to discuss how Renaissance perspective—diagonal lines
Camera Distance: Consider getting students on their feet and having them act out the different camera distances
and shots—long, medium, and close-up.
Camera Angles: Again, asking students to get up and demonstrate where cameras would be positioned for low–
angle, high-angle, and crane shots of the classroom can add a kinetic memory to their comprehension of new
vocabulary.
Depth of Field: It might help to relate deep and shallow focus to how the world looks to people without their
glasses on. For example, a rack focus could be someone with bifocals switching from the bottom to the top of the
lens. Consider bringing in a couple of pairs of drugstore reading glasses or magnifying glasses and passing them
around the room.
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Color: The Wizard of Oz (1939) is an obvious candidate for color discussions. A look at how Traffic’s (2000)
various story arcs are delineated through the use of different color filters might also lead to interesting conversation.
Or, show a hand-tinted silent, like The Great Train Robbery (1903) or one of Georges Méliès’ silent films that
appear in Martin Scorsese’s Hugo (2011).
Pans and Tilts: Demonstrate the differences by the movement of your head with your neck as the pivot.
Tracking Shots: Move through the classroom, pausing for “close-ups” and so forth.
Handheld and Steadicam Shots: Instead of the Goodfellas (1990) sequence, show the homage from Swingers
(1996), or the five-minute re-creation of the Dunkirk evacuation from Atonement (2007).
Animation and Special Effects: CGI and rotoscoping will be the most familiar animation techniques. Consider
hunting down a movie with Ray Harryhausen’s stop-motion animation effects or showing an old Disney or Warner
Bros. animated short. For other special effects that employ models or mattes, look at the end of Star Wars (1977),
From a Contextualized Perspective
A suggestion: it could be fun to track down and show footage from Raiders of the Lost Ark: the Adaptation (1989),
the shot-by-shot remake of Raiders of the Lost Ark that Eric Zala, Chris Strompolos, and Jayson Lamb began
shooting in 1982, when they were twelve years old, as an example of low production values.
Teaching Technical Vocabulary and Key Concepts
This would be another good chapter to teach vocabulary and key concepts by conducting cinematic “dictees”
during class: students watch a film clip, then alone or in groups describe it using as many terms from the chapter as
they can. Ask them to present their “translations” to the rest of the class. This chapter covers a lot of ground, so you
may want to choose only vocabulary relating to the shot, or camera movement, or framing, then revisit the same
sequence but with another emphasis.
TEACHING THE VIEWING CUES
A Short History of the Cinematic Image, p. 135
Think about the cinematography of your class’s most recent film screening in relation to the larger history of the
image. Does the film include shots that seem like paintings, photographs, or other kinds of visual displays? Explain
how a specific shot or series of shots affects your understanding or interpretation of those images or the entire film.
This Viewing Cue works best as a journal-entry prompt and may serve as the basis for subsequent class
discussion.
Four Attributes of the Shot, p. 140
Watch the clip from Touch of Evil (1958) and make a sketch or sketches of each shot. Describe how the framing
contributes to the perception of the scene.
This Viewing Cue is best suited as a journal-entry prompt, or as a graded assignment. Or set up a site where
students can upload scans or hand-drawn work or sketches made with an animation program. Could they “sketch”
the shots using emoji?
Aspect Ratio, p. 143
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Camera Distance, p. 144
Look for a pattern of framing distances in the next film you view for class. Do there seem to be a large number of
long shots? Close-ups? Explain how this pattern reinforces themes of the film.
The sequence toward the beginning of Film in Focus movie Vertigo, when Gavin Elster asks Scottie to follow
Madeleine, could offer opportunities to discuss how the positioning of the two men within the frame suggests a
power differential between them and stands in contrast to the subsequent scenes of Scottie trailing Madeleine at a
distance through the streets of San Francisco.
Movement, p. 153
Examine this clip from Rear Window (1954) and describe the moving camera (tracks, pans) and/or mobile framings
(zooms) that are used. Why is a moving frame of a single shot used here instead of a series of shots?
The provocative aspect of this clip comes at its end. Several times throughout the film we are treated to a
mobile reframing of the various denizens abutting the courtyard of Jeff’s apartment building. Our presumption—that
Movement, p. 153
Examine this clip from The Battle of Algiers (1967), and describe the cinematography techniques it uses that are
reminiscent of newsreels. How do these choices contribute to the movie’s effects?
A good option here is to show the “March of Time” sequence from Citizen Kane, and to discuss how the
sequence faithfully models RKO’s (and later 20th Century Fox’s) theatrical newsreel, “The March of Time,”
TEACHING THE FORM IN ACTION
Color and Contrast in Film, p. 150
Students may not have been alive when black-and-white televisions were still prevalent, but they should be
familiar with adjusting the color and contrast of an image on a flat screen television, tablet, or smartphone. Pairing
Flowers and Trees (1932) and Up (2009) can point out the role technology plays in manipulating color without the
distractions of live-action subjects. Or look at the cartoonish DeLuxe color of The Girl Can’t Help It (1956)
alongside director Frank Tashlin’s earlier animated shorts for Warner Bros., such as Swooner Crooner (1944).
Alternatively, distribute black-and-white copies of a frame grab to each student and ask them to hand-tint the image.
Gather, display, and discuss the effects of variations in hue on the viewer.
TEACHING HISTORY CLOSE UP, p. 156
In his memoir, Animated Life: A Lifetime of Tips, Tricks, and Stories from a Disney Legend (New York, Taylor
& Francis, 2013), Floyd Norman writes that he was never ill at ease being the only African American at Disney’s
animation department (he even took some measure of pride in being referred to by some of his colleagues as “The
TEACHING THE FILM IN FOCUS
From Angles to Animation in Vertigo (1958), pp. 162–163
Hitchcock takes full advantage of the framing opportunities that the widescreen aspect ratio called VistaVision
afforded him. The framing of each image only reinforces the framing of Scottie that propels the plot. Revisit
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Scottie’s nightmare, the (false) Madeleine’s plummet from the church tower, and the stepladder scene in Midge’s
apartment.
Discussion Question 1: What is the importance of camera angles, if not the effectiveness of animation, on the effect
these three scenes have on the viewer?
Discussion Question 2: How does the framing play off the angular nature of San Francisco’s streets, Spanish
mission architecture, and the Golden Gate Bridge?
Additional Suggestions: To approach the topics of angles and animation from a different angle, consider screening
Amelie (2001), or either Waking Life (2001) or Run Lola Run (1998). Discuss the innovation in motion capture
ADDITIONAL SUGGESTIONS
Alternative Activity
This activity could be used as a short paper assignment:
Select a scene from a widescreen movie. Shot by shot, describe what you would leave out of the frame if the
same scene had been shot in academy and European aspect ratios, respectively. What if it was a silent film? What
FILMS CITED
Alice (1988)
Alien (1979)
All That Heaven Allows (1955)
Alvin and the Chipmunks TV series (1983–1990)
Amelie (2001)
Andrei Rublev (1969)
Atonement (2007)
Avatar (2009)
Babel (2006)
Bambi (1942)
The Battle of Algiers (1966)
Ben-Hur (1959)
Bend It Like Beckham (2002)
The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)
Blonde Venus (1932)
Bonnie and Clyde (1967)
Carrie (1976)
Cars series (2006–2017)
The Celebration (1998)
Despicable Me series (2010–2017)
Duck Amuck (1953)
The Earrings of Madame de . . . (1953)
Eat Pray Love (2010)
El Dorado (1967)
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Everest (2015)
Far from Heaven (2002)
Fish Tank (2009)
Flowers and Trees (1932)
Floyd Norman, an Animated Life (2016)
The 400 Blows (1959)
Frances Ha (2012)
The Freshman (1925)
Full Metal Jacket (1987)
Ghostbusters (2016)
Ginger & Rosa (2012)
Inception (2010)
Intolerance (1916)
Jaws (1975)
The Jungle Book (1967)
Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003)
King Kong (1933)
King Lear (1910)
The Kiss (1896)
L’Argent (1983)
Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
Little Big Man (1970)
The Little Mermaid (1989)
Lord of the Rings trilogy (2001–2003)
Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)
Madagascar series (2005–2018)
The March of Time series (1935–1951)
The Matrix (1999)
The Master (2012)
Metropolis (1927)
Midnight Cowboy (1968)
Monsters, Inc. (2001)
Napoléon (1927)
New York, New York (1977)
The Night of the Hunter (1955)
Nosferatu (1922)
O Brother Where Art Thou? (2000)
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Personal Velocity (2002)
Pi (1998)
The Piano (1993)
Pleasantville (1998)
The Seven Samurai (1954)
Shane (1953)
The Shining (1980)
Shrek (2001)
The Shop on Main Street (1965)
Side by Side (2012)
Silly Symphony series (1929–1939)
Sleeping Beauty (1959)
The Smurfs TV series (1981–1990)
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)
Star Wars (1977)
Star Wars: Episode II—Attack of the Clones (2002)
The Star Wars series (1977–2017)
Swingers (1996)
Tangerine (2015)
Train Arriving at the Station (1896)
Transformers: Age of Extinction (2014)
Tyrus (2015)
Up (2009)
Vertigo (1958)
Visions of Light (1992)
Waking Life (2001)
Waltz with Bashir (2008)
The Wedding Singer (1998)
The Wizard of Oz (1939)
Written on the Wind (1956)
Zentropa (1991)