The cinema as a graphic art : on a theory of representation in the cinema (1959)

THE CINEMA AS A GRAPHIC ART general plan of the scene, and, after the editing process, should comprise a development, definition, and accentuation of the single action of the entire episode. Neither the director nor the camera-man should arbitrarily select the degree of scale enlargement of the object, for the scenario and the editing should remain the main determining element in the selection of camera-angle, as they are in the! selection of the set-up for each shot. In addition to our simple setting out of the episode into camera-angles, wq also have differentiation into different planes of distance within a single, unbrokerJ; editing unit or shot. If we have several active objects in a given shot, we can! plan the frame so as to concentrate the spectator's attention on the main object, placing it in the foreground. Thus we demonstrate the spatial connection between the main object and its surroundings. Or alternatively, by placing an actor ml the foreground with his back to the spectator, we can achieve the converse effect, and concentrate the spectator's attention on the action taking place within the depths of the shot. In the latter case, by use of a close-up for the next shot we establish the spatial orientation requisite to effecting a transition to the detailed setting out of the same scene in various close-ups. Finally, by redistributing the object in a shot within the limits of a single,* unbroken editing unit, we can change the plan of distantial planes in the shot in the actual process of shooting. A similar reorganisation of the shot can also be achieved by shifting the point at which the camera is set up in the course of a single editing unit. In the first case we get a moving object in static surroundings,! while in the second case, by shifting the camera, we get a changing background against a motionless object which retains its primary spatial position, and merely* passes to a different plane of distance within the same shot. In all its forms the camera-angle is an essential factor in composition, for almost all the perspective constructions in the shot are achieved by juxtaposing and counterposing the objects distributed in the various planes of distance from the lens. Establishment of the camera-angle (or plane of distance) for the various1 objects or parts of objects shot implies a primary form of organising the shot space. But as the spatial element of a single editing unit or shot functionally depends on that necessitated by the editing construction of the given scene, the cameraangle cannot be determined irrespective of the general plan of shot distribution laid down in the editing scheme. Having decided upon the ' picking out ' of the image to be achieved by the frame limits of the shot, in other words, having decided upon the camera-angle, or, in non-technical language, the plane of distance, our next task in considering the spatial organisation of the shot is to discuss the aspect or foreshortening of the object within that given camera-angle. (c) VIEWPOINT AND FORESHORTENING The camera viewpoint has a large share in determining the direction and angle from which the spectator perceives the photographed object.1 When he selects the camera viewpoint the camera-man determines the spectator's relation 1 Technically, the camera viewpoint is the point at which the camera is set up, in conjunction with the direction of the optical axis of the lens. But the angle at which the spectator perceives the screened film also depends, although in lesser degree, on his view of the screen during projection of the film. Here the essential factors are the angle at which the spectator perceives the screen, and also the size of the screen. — N. 36