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

THE CINEMA AS A GRAPHIC ART But are the reasons for the difference in perception and compositional treatment of the filmed material to be sought solely in the peculiarities of visual culture ( its of this or that camera-man ? We maintain that visual culture, understood only as a biological, innate quality, or even as a quality developed by corresponding training, cannot be regarded as the sole factor in determining the stylistic differences in camera-men's jo art. In reality the camera-man's creation, connoted by the simple term ' visual culture ', is much more complex than appears at first sight. By the experience of the work of those camera-men in whom we find intelligent it, creation, i.e. creation pre-supposing deliberate exploitation of the expressive resources and methods of cinema technique, we can trace the process of formation of visual ideas which afterwards are realised in the compositional construction of the shot. In the process of analysing the scenario, and penetrating into its content, the camera-man arrives at an understanding of the idea of the work and the principle of its construction. Then, coming into contact with the concrete material, in other words, with the various objects to be filmed, he organises that material, subjecting it to the idea of the work. Mentally comparing his idea of the image to be filmed with the representation he sees through the camera, he logically modifies the set-up, camera-angle, foreshortening, lighting and so on, < until the representation seen through the camera approximates to his idea of the given image. Such should be the creative process of constructing a shot, and in the majority of cases the guiding element for the camera-man is the preliminary i idea which arises from his analysis of the production scenario. The mental ideas arising from analysis of the scenario and study of the concrete material of the film, like the subsequent associations accompanying all the stages of embodiment of the visual image, are the basic starting-points for the camera-man. His visual culture, understanding these words in their narrow sense, serves only as a condition enabling him to master the material and realise the conceived composition. In order to represent an object in a shot the camera-man must first and foremost not only know the object itself, but must conceive it, must give it one or another treatment, must connect one or another group of associations with the exposition of that object. To choose the set-up for the object involves making a definite estimate of that object. Here the camera-man's creative attitude to the exposition of the object and the manifestation of its typical features and peculiarities of texture is revealed. It can be said with confidence that, if in the course of ; shooting the object the camera-man has found two set-ups, and both seem equally acceptable to him, then in reality he has not found the right set-up at all ; he does not yet possess a clear idea of the conceived picture. In the absence of such an idea ' visual culture ' will not save him from lack of clarity and the confusion of a fortuitously composed shot. For me [says Henri-Matisse in his Notes of a Painter] all is in the conception — I must have a clear idea of the whole composition from the very beginning. I could mention the name of a great sculptor who produces some admirable pieces, but for him a composition is nothing but the grouping of fragments, and the result is a confusion of expression. Look instead at one of Cezanne's pictures ; all is so well arranged in them that no matter how many figures are represented and no matter at what distance you stand, you will always be able to distinguish each figure clearly and you will always know which limb belongs to which body. If there is considerable order and clarity in a picture, it means that that order and clarity has existed in the mind of the artist from the very beginning, or that he has recognised their necessity. 2l6