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

THE COMPOSITIONAL CONSTRUCTION OF THE SHOT s ground of sky. In addition, such a viewpoint gives us a perspective of the wings not existing in the previous illustration. Shifting the viewpoint to the left, we get a diagonal view of the building, I: which preserves the general balance of the composition, but endows the repreen sentation itself with a relatively dynamic quality. Fig. 13c is a sketch based on )ii photographs taken from such a viewpoint. In Fig. 1 3D the viewpoint is shifted to the right, and nearer to the building. PhtfThe right arch is differentiated from the others by disproportionate enlargement, % and becomes a dominating factor in the composition. etc) In Fig. 13E the viewpoint is lowered. The building is thrown backward and its architectural unity is lost. i By raising the viewpoint above the average height, we get Fig. 13F. The mf statue is thrown against the background of the columns, and the building as a whole uc loses its monumental quality. 31 This brief example of compositional construction of a static object reveals in t the paramount importance of correct choice of camera viewpoint. In certain cases, when the camera-man is faced with the necessity of displaying the specific es features of a certain type of architecture for instance, his choice of viewpoint is ec! dependent to some extent on this circumstance. For instance, the balanced 0 statics of a Renaissance building demand symmetrical, frontal composition, and A so dictate a central viewpoint, whereas Baroque architecture needs predominantly hi a viewpoint to one side, in order to reveal the dynamics of the lines and planes of if; the projecting pediments, cornices, etc. Here we are directly dependent on the e> nature of the building, for by a simple change of viewpoint we can change the \i impression of the photographed object, either emphasising its characteristic n 1 features, or completely suppressing them by the deliberate choice of another viewpoint. Hitherto we have been discussing single cases of static construction, in which the choice of viewpoint is motivated chiefly by the specific features of the object in its various aspects. The correct choice of viewpoint is just as essential when we are shooting a continuous process, since on it depends the exposition of the 0 essence of that process. Supposing that we have to take several shots of a potter i at work, showing the most important details of the process. If we shoot him from a viewpoint level with him, as in Fig. 14, the result is only a general presentation j of the form of the potter's wheel and his position when working. Such a viewi point does not reveal the characteristic features of the potter's process. But if we 1 choose a viewpoint from above, we get the photograph shown in Fig. 15. In this picture the essence of the process is clearly revealed, and so provides a motivation justifying the choice of viewpoint from above. In this example we have not touched upon the question of the aesthetics of compositional construction. Of course the aesthetics of construction cannot be isolated from the problem of displaying the object's functions and the specific features of its form and spatial situation. But whereas the predominating factor in the composition of a scientific, technical or educational film is the display of the object's functions, in artistic construction the predominating factor is the organically combined display of the function of the shot in an aesthetically significant composition. It is highly essential to take the aesthetic factor into account when choosing the viewpoint of an object, but there are no hard and fast rules or compositional canons to govern this problem. The camera-man will only be able to display the most important of the complexity of factors influencing perception when he has a thoroughly clear understanding of the scenario-editing 39