Sergei Einstein from Film Form

Reading Einstein's description of different aspects of film and how they create the feeling and meaning of the film several points stuck out to me. The first was his description of the relation of the film frame to a "frame" of a drawing. He explains that drawing within the paper is similar to fitting film elements into the frame of the camera. Within the paper, one can create a composition any way they want as long as it stays within the edges, although pieces of a drawing can lead off the page, or in a painting a person can be looking outside the frame. Within the frame of a film itis the same idea of composing an "image" or a scene that fits into this frame, but can have off screen space that is not within the frame the audience sees.

I also found Einstein's descriptions of the changes in tempo and color interesting. With tempo, a director can change the speed of the film, such as making a scene that would in reality take about a single minute, last for several with "cuts" (which he also explains opens up the possibility for new methods that stage acting cannot allow) through the use of stop motion or slow motion. When reading this I actually thought about two scenes from The Royal Tenenbaums, (one related to tempo, and another related to color and tone). The scene when Margot gets off the bus and sees Richie, the slow motion makes the scene have a much stronger impact, and the audience takes notice that this is a scene we should pay attention to. It also makes the short time it would have taken her to walk to him seem infinitely long, and the cuts back and forth to their reactions creates an emotional connection that would not be possibile without the use of this method.

The way color and tone can affect a film is also seen in the scene in the Royal Tenenbaums when Richie is in the bathroom, shaving his head, right before he slits his wrists. When the lighting and color go to a blue tone, it gives the film a much more serious, almost eery feeling, and the audience is aware that something bad is about to come since the rest of the film has been full of bright colors and although drab settings, well lit places. The change in color and tone change the audiences perception of what is taking place in the film and catches our attention more so than just a simple cut to Richie in the bathroom doing the same motions in a different light.