Sergei Eisenstein-From Film Form

One thing that stood out to me that Sergei Eisenstein talked about was, the multiple aspects of film and how those can be related to convey meaning and feeling in film. One thing that I noticed that Arin touched base on was film frame in relation to "frame" of a drawing, and how that is similar to frame-by-frame work in films. I liked when he talked about how Japanese theater makes use of slow tempo, and compares that to nothing we are used to in US filming. He talks about the emphasis they use in particular scenes on "slowing down of all movement." One thing that also stood out to me was when Eisenstein talked about what Japanese most interesting link is in theater. I would have never guessed that it would have been sound. For some reason when I think of Japanese films, I think of animation cartoons. I would have thought to link Japanese theater to sound film etc. I think what Eisenstein was trying to get across was stressing the importance of fundamentals and technique that go along with cinematography.
I also had a difficult time understand what exactly he was trying to get at when talking about MONTAGE?! could someone explain that to me a little better?!
I also enjoyed reading about how silent films reached a new peak as people began to take on to them more and more.

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.

The Paradox of Conformity and Non Conformity in "The Man With the Movie Camera"

"The Man With the Movie Camera" is undoubtedly an avant-garde and experimental film. It seems to have no real narrative or plot, shows us what happens behind the camera (something films rarely do), and uses a strikingly wide range of interesting filming techniques, such as when the camera becomes "drunk" in the bar, double exposure, slow motion, split screens, and fast motion. Additionally, the film uses unique transitions such as the extreme close up of the editor's eye and when we actually see the editor cutting together scenes from a beauty parlor with images of manual labor. The film is also singular in the way it uses the camera not just to capture and passively reflect to the audience what is happening in the misc-en-scene, but also to actively reflect what is happening, such as when the camera does a magic act of its own during the shot with the magician. What makes this movie especially memorable, however, is that it seems the cameraman has no boundaries; he even ends up in a beer glass.

Experimental films, a category which "The Man With the Movie Camera" certainly belongs to, are inherently non-conformist, and while watching this interesting film there is no question that Vertov openly flouts our expectations of cinema. Yet, while reading Graham Roberts analysis of the film, especially the chapter regarding the film's history, I could not help but reflecting on the irony of how, when stripped down to just a central message, the film is in reality incredibly conformist. It is not only a documentary and experimental film, but a piece of propaganda meant to glorify Stalin's ideas of "socialism in one country."  The glorification of machines, workers, and transportation throughout the film is in direct concordance with Stalin's goals of industrialization.  Moreover, the portrayal of peasant drunks juxtaposed next to the "good" Soviet worker is a not-so-subtle criticism of the peasantry, who often opposed Stalin's policies, such as in the case of the non-existent grain surplus they were expected to share with the rest of the country mentioned by Roberts.  The film, as a whole, is a celebration of the Soviet city, the heart of Stalin's Soviet Union.

"The Man With The Movie Camera" is a paradox.  Although it shocks us by its lack of normalcy, when examined farther it is actually a piece of conformist propaganda hidden beneath the facade of an experimental film.

Man With the Movie Camera

In the opening credits of The Man With the Movie Camera it was humorous for me to see the words across the screen stating "A film without a scenario." Since I had not read the book upon viewing the movie I knew that this production was one of the first documentary films automatically after reading this. Knowing that it was a documentary, I immediatly tried to detect the message of the film. This was very hard for me to accomplish with all the flashes of scenes and fast imagery in a world I am not accustomed to. However, when the camera flashed back to the audience I was able to understand that there was a profound meaning in the images and political statement being made which I was not able to grasp. I am happy however, that I was not aware of Vertov's message since this enabled me to focus more on the visual beauty which was on screen as well as the musical score presented. I normally do not get this opportunity when watching many films since I am so captured by the plot and characters. Watching The Man With The Movie Camera before reading the text, gave me an appreciation for the art of the film which I am confident I would not have noticed had I known the context and message of the film.

The first of it's kind?

I found Robert’s reading of The Man with the Movie camera to be exceptionally helpful in trying to understand the film. Unfortunately, history is not my strong suit so understanding a film like this in the context of Russian history is incredibly hard for me to grasp on my own. His chapter on “The Historical Context” was invaluable in allowing me to make some sense of a film that made absolutely no sense on first viewing. In addition to Film Analysis, I am also taking a French Cinema class this semester. One of the films that we screened in that class was called Ballet Mecanique. It was made in 1924 by Fernand Léger. The film is only 19 minutes long and is visually similar to The Man With the Movie Camera. In the film we see montage of people, instruments, transportation and machines. In an analysis, the film can be understood as a critique of the rise of industrialization and humans as machines. This came to mind because of the first sentence of the Preface of Roberts book “… [The Man With the Movie Camera] is unlike anything that came before or after it… in the history of film”. Although Ballet Mecanique may not be a political commentary similar to Man with a Movie Camera, it is interesting to note that there are similarities present that Roberts does not allude to. After reading this book by Roberts, I am intrigued to watch Man with a Movie Camera again to get a deeper understanding of the film.

I am pasting below a YouTube link to the first part of Ballet Mecanique if you are interested in taking a look.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9SgsqmQJAq0

Man With A Movie Camera

The ManWith A Movie Camera, was quite interesting to say the least. The more and more that I think back on watching the film, I would have to say that I enjoyed it, in a “weird” abstract artistic way. After watching and reading the film, and the book I came across things that I hadn’t anticipated. Not having any previous knowledge about the film, I thought that it was interesting that one of the first few lines in the book stated that the film had NO formal plot. When I think of all of the films that I have watched over the time, I don’t ever remember a film not having any type of formal plot to follow. I think no having a plot made the film more interesting, but at the same time it also made it difficult to follow. I found the film jumping from scene-to-scene often, and sometimes things didn’t really make sense. I loved the different camera angles such as; ESL, split image, freeze frame etc. I notice a lot of different camera techniques and angles and it made the film much more interesting. This was probably my first and last film to watch without dialogue! Until now I never realized how important dialogue to me is, in the films that I watch. Though it was difficult to follow and understand without dialogue, the sound in my opinion was the “savoir” to helping me understand the film. I noticed an array of orchestral arrangement in the film. I also took note of the crescendo and decrescendo’s that took place. The crescendo’s and decrescendo’s in the film went along with the scenes for the most part and played the role of the Rising Action.

Jordan Goldblum- I had to post on Aleandra's because my blog account won't let me log in.

The man with a movie camera was "interesting".   It is definitely an artistic film which was probably a rebellious move to go against the soviet norms of that era.  There was great emphasis placed on the daily rituals of soviet citizens. I'm not accustomed to watching black and white films, but this one appeared to be rather clever.  The double exposures, split screens , and fast and slow motion appear to be ahead of its time for a movie made in 1929.  The shot of the man being superimposed into the picnic was very impressive.  As well as the shot of the two buildings intertwining.  Vertov was very risky for his time with the sexual overtones of the women riding exercise bikes and shots of women's bare breasts.  Although the movie would begin to drag out at times the change in pace of the music would help it to move along.