The Language of Movies

8/10/2019 The Language of Movies

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The Language of Movies

PAUL MESSARIS, PH.D.

2008 University of Michigan, Yaffe Center. This Note is written for educational classroom

purposes, and may freely be used for such purposes, as long as it is distribu ted in this orig inalunmodified fo rm. For information about the Yaffe Center and its programs, please visitwww.yaffecenter.org.


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TableofContents

INTRODUCTION

3

VISUAL

COMPOSITION

3

(1)CameraAngle 3

TheAmbiguityofLowandHighAngles 5

ThePowerofOverheadAngles 7

(2)CameraOrientation:Directvs.Indirect 7

ExperimentalEffectsofCameraOrientation 8

(3)CloseUps,MediumShots,andLongShots 10

CameraDistanceandInterpersonalSpace 11

(4)LightingandCinematography 12

EDITING

14

(1)EditingSpeed 14

(2)SymbolicConnectionsbetweenImages 16

VisualAnalogy 16

VisualContrast 17

VisualGeneralization 18

(3)VisualAnalogiesinPersuasiveContexts 19

(4)VisualContrastinPersuasiveContexts 21

(5)VisualGeneralizationinPersuasiveContexts 22

FINALWORD 23


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Introduction

Ifpresenttrendscontinue,peoplewhoarenow

beginningtheir

business

careers

will

spend

their

working lives inaworldof falling literacyrates

and increasing fixation on images. In such a

world,effectivebusinessleadershipwillrequire

asophisticatedunderstandingofthepowersof

visual communication, together with a

commitment touse thosepowers responsibly.

With that goal in mind, this survey of visual

language will describe and analyze the major

visualtechniquesthroughwhichthecreatorsof

imagesseek

to

influence

the

attitudes

and

emotionsof theirviewers.The firsthalfof this

discussion will deal with techniques that are

used in the composition of individual images.

Thesecondhalfwilllookatwhathappenswhen

imagesarejuxtaposedintheprocessofediting.

Under the heading of visual composition, we

will examine the following techniques: (1)

camera angles, including low, high, and

overhead views; (2) camera orientation,

includingdirect

and

indirect

views;

(3)

camera

distance, including long shots, medium shots,

and closeups; and (4) lighting and

cinematography.Under theheadingofediting,

we will consider: (1) editing speed; (2) the

symbolic connections between images; (3)

visual analogies; (4) visual contrasts; and (5)

visualgeneralizations.

In experiments conducted over the years,

inexperienced film makers are given cameras

andinvitedtomakemoviesabouttheirlivesor

aboutotherassignedtopics.Theseexperiments

haveproduceda recurring finding:Peoplewho

haventmademoviesbeforeoftenfind itquite

easy to appear in front of the camera as

narratorsorevenasactors.Buttheyrarelyfind

itsoeasytodothebehindthethesceneswork

that is involved in composing shots effectively

and editing them in a professional manner.

Even thoughwe all have expert knowledge of

filmlanguage

as

audience

members,

few

of

us

areabletomakethe leapfromviewingmovies

tocreatingthemskillfully,withoutquiteabitof

additional trial and error. These notes are an

introduction to some of the principal

techniquesofeffective filmmaking, illustrated

with examples frommajor Hollywoodmovies,

from documentary films, and from TV

commercials. Many of the examples are from

moviesdealingwiththebusinessworldand, in

particular,the

rewards

of

success

and

the

meaningoffailure.

Visual Composition

(1) Camera Angle

Whenteachers

try

to

explain

the

concept

of

filmlanguagetopeoplewhoareunfamiliarwith

it, the first example they use is often camera

angle. A low camera angle, with the lens

pointingup,makespeoplelookmorepowerful.

A high camera angle, with the lens pointing

down,makespeople lookweaker.Theconcept

is simple, and the idea behind it is intuitively

easy to grasp and probably doesnt require

much explanation. In real life, height is often

associatedwith

strength,

and

vice

versa.

So

camera angle has become a convenient

exampleoftheway inwhichfilmtechnique,or

language, can be used to influence the

viewers responses. But the simplicity of the

technique can bemisleading. Its actual use in

most movies and TV commercials is not as


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straightforwardasmightbe imaginedfromthis

basicdescription.

Asafirstillustrationofhowcameraangleworks

inpractice,letustakealookatwhatmayseem

tobeatextbookcaseofhighandlowangles,a

classic Japanese movie called High and Low

(1963) by the highly respected director Akira

Kurosawa. This movie also happens to be an

enduringly important portrayal of a business

person facing a major moral dilemma. The

movies story line is built around two

contrasting situations. High above the city of

Kobe, on a hill that marks the crest of the

horizon line, sits an imposing mansion, the

property of Kingo Gondo, an executive at

NationalShoeCompany.Inanotabledeparture

fromthenegativeportrayalofbusinesspeople

foundinmanyfictionalmovies,Gondoisshown

to be dedicated to quality and to producing

value for his customers. Disgusted at the

shoddiness of the companys product, he is

planning a hostile takeover and has gone into

debt,

including

a

mortgage

on

his

home,

to

raise the huge amount ofmoney that he will

need toachievehisgoal.Meanwhile,however,

downbelow thehilltopmansion, inoneof the

tightly packed, tiny dwellings that house the

citys poorer residents, someone is watching

Gondo and planning a nasty surprise. At a

criticalpoint inGondosconfrontationwiththe

companysdirectors,hereceivesananonymous

phone call. His son has been kidnapped, the

callertells

him.

Unless

he

pays

up,

the

boy

will

die. But, moments later, it turns out that

Gondos son is safe. The kidnapper has

accidentally abducted the son of Gondos

chauffeur.Whenhediscovershismistake,will

the villain insist on getting Gondos money

anyway? And, if so, will Gondo pay, even

though the sum ofmoney that the kidnapper

has asked for will wipe Gondo out financially

and destroy his takeover plans? These

questions set in motion the suspenseful tale

thatfollows.

As this brief description suggests, High and

Low containsanumberof standardexamples

of the uses of high and low angles. From the

windows of Gondos spacious living room,we

repeatedly catch birdseyeview glimpses of

theteemingcitybelow.Fromthephonebooth

usedby thekidnapper,wegetanexaggerated

perspective ofGondos abode towering above

us. But the function of these shots is not

entirelystraightforward.AlthoughGondo isthe

movies protagonist and the kidnapper is the

villain, the high and low camera angles may

actuallyservetounderminethosepositions.By

emphasizingthekidnapperslowlysocialstatus,

the high anglesmay encourage the viewer to

feelmore sympathetic towardhim,or at least

to empathizewith hismotives. Conversely, by

demonstrating

how

thoroughly

Gondos

house

dominatestheskyline,the lowanglesmay lead

theviewertosharesomeoftheresentmentfelt

by the residents of the lowincome

neighborhoods that crouch under its looming

profile. These themes are clearly present in a

scene in which two police detectives try to

determine which phone booth the kidnapper

hasused forhis calls toGondo.Afterdeciding

that one particular booth is too close to

Gondoshouse,

the

detectives

comment

about

the way the kidnapper must feel to be living

under the houses shadow: The kidnappers

right.Thathousegets toyou.As if its looking

down at us. Then the detectives walk away,

but the camera lingers on the scene, titling

down to give us a view of a drainage canal


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runningparalleltotheroadthedetectiveshave

taken. In the canals garbageinfested waters,

wesee themurky reflectionofamanhurrying

along in the opposite direction from the

detectives.Thisturnsouttobeourfirstviewof

thekidnapper:

upside

down,

seen

from

above,

reflected in sewage. The contrast with the

houseoverheadcouldnotbesharper.

The Ambiguity of Low and High Angles

Theambiguouseffectsofcameraanglehavent

receivedmuchattentionfrompeoplewhowrite

about film language, but experienced film

makers arewell aware of them.Although low

angles are often referred to as hero shots,

they are much more likely to be used in

depictions of villains. By the same token,

directors with a really good understanding of

visualvocabularywilloccasionallyuseaslightly

high angle when depicting a powerful

protagonist,inordertomakehimorherappear

more sympathetic in the eyes of the viewer.

Excellent demonstrations of both of these

principles

are

contained

in

the

famous

1941

movie Citizen Kane. Twothirds of a century

after its premiere, Citizen Kane is still

regarded by many as the greatest American

movieofalltime,anditscreator,thelateOrson

Welles, isaregularoccupantofthetopspot in

bestdirector polls. Somewhat ironically, the

theme of this allAmerican movie can be

described as a very skeptical depiction of the

American Dream. The movies protagonist,

businesstycoon

Charles

Foster

Kane,

achieves

great wealth and power, but he loses the

affection of all his friends and associates, and

he endsupdying a lonely,unlamenteddeath.

This theme is verymuch in linewith the anti

business sentiments that have always been

present in Hollywood cinema, but it is worth

notingthatthemovie isamarkeddistortionof

thereallifepersonsandeventsonwhichitwas

based. As is well known, Charles Foster Kane

was a heavily fictionalized portrayal of

newspapermagnateWilliam RandolphHearst.

Byall

accounts,

the

real

Hearst

was

ahighly

sociable, gregarious person,who in contrast

toCitizenKaneenjoyedaclose,affectionate

relationshipwithhismistress,actressMarion

Davies.Still,whateverhislapsesmayhavebeen

as a chronicler of the lives of the rich and

famous, Orson Welles was an undeniable

master of visual effects, and Citizen Kane

could serve as a virtual encyclopedia of

cinematicdevices.Forourpurposes,twoscenes

tiedirectly

into

the

topic

of

high

and

low

cameraangles.

In the first scene, early in the movie, Charles

FosterKaneisonthefirstrungsofhisascentto

fameandpower.Having inheritedan immense

fortune from his mother, he has decided to

enter thenewspaperbusiness.Despitehis lack

of

any

previous

experience

in

publishing,

he

succeeds in generating huge amounts of

publicity by adopting a reckless, scandal

mongeringstyle.Heisconfrontedangrilybyhis

financial adviser, W.P. Thatcher (a character

thatmayhavebeenbasedonreallifefinancier

J.P.Morgan),who isoutragedatKanesmuck

rakingattacksontheunethicalpracticesofthe

capitalist elite, including Thatchers own Wall

Street cohorts. But Kane is unfazed, and he

respondsto

Thatcher

with

amemorable

declaration:It'smypleasuretoseetoitthat

decent,hardworkingpeopleinthiscommunity

aren't robbed blind by a pack of moneymad

pirates!


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Fastforwardtothesecondscene,muchlaterin

the story. Having reached the apogee of his

power, Kane is now on his way down.

Forgetting his commitment to the community,

hehas squanderedhis fortuneon extravagant

purchasesand

alienated

everyone

around

him

through his selfish, arrogant actions toward

them. In this scenehehasa sadmeetingwith

his closest friend,who announces thathe can

no longertolerateKanesbehaviorand isgoing

tomove to another city in order to get away

from Kanesmalignant presence. At first Kane

tries todissuadehim,butthenhebowsto the

inevitable and proposes a fairwell toast: A

toast,Jedediah,toloveonmyterms.Thoseare

theonly

terms

anybody

ever

knows

his

own.

Two scenes, two very different images of

Charles Foster Kane: in one scene, he is Kane

thechampionofthemasses;intheother,Kane

thepatheticoutcast.Afilmmakerwhowentby

thebookwoulduselowanglesinthefirstscene

andhighangles inthesecond.ButWellesdoes

the exact opposite. He shoots the dynamic,

idealistic Kane from a slightly elevated

perspective, corresponding to the perspective

of Kanes indignant financial adviser.

Conversely,thescene inwhichKane isrejected

by his best friend is filmed with the camera

pointingverydramaticallyupward.

Over the years, film makers and creators of

advertising images have come to the same

conclusionthatOrsonWellescametoinhisuse

ofcamera

angles

in

these

two

scenes.

Low

angles tend tobeused inanegative sense, to

make charactersappeararrogant,overbearing,

ormenacing,while high angles are commonly

enlistedasmeansofelicitingsympathy.Inother

words, image makers have concluded that

viewersaremorelikelytoresentpowerthanto

feel obsequious toward it. Conversely, they

have also concluded that viewers are often

morereceptivetocharacterstowhomtheycan

feelsomewhatsuperior. Incontemporaryprint

and Web advertising, extreme high angles

suchas

those

found

on

the

Web

portal

of

Legal

PlacementServices,aWisconsin legalagency

havebecomea standard technique formaking

product spokespeople appear more appealing

or trustworthy.As for thenegativeuseof low

angles,oneneed lookno further than 1984,

the famousTV commercial thatAppleused to

launch the Macintosh line of personal

computers. This commercial was directed by

film maker Ridley Scott, who had previously

madeBlade

Runner

(1982),

aclassic

example

of dystopian sciencefiction, in which the

world of the future is being oppressed by a

tyrannicalcorporation.

As it happens, the Apple commercial also

features a tyrannical corporation. The

commercial depicts a totalitarian society in

which

rows

of

downtrodden

citizens

are

being

harangued by a dictator whose image looms

above them on a giant video screen. This

oppressiveorderisupendedbyayoungfemale

athletewhochargesontothesceneandthrows

ahammer at thedictators face, smashing the

screen andobliterating his image.At the time

that thiscommercialwascreated,theworldof

personalcomputerswasdominatedby IBM,so

a knowledgeable viewer would presumably

havebeen

able

to

infer

that

the

dictator

in

the

commercialwasmeant tobe a symbolof that

company, while the young athlete was

supposed to represent Apple. The dictatorial

portrayalofIBMisreinforcedbydirectorScotts

use of camera angles. There are several

different shots of the big face on the screen,


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and, as the commercial progresses, the face

gets larger and the angle gets lower. The low

angles are in part a simple reflection of the

scenes physical layout, since the dictators

screen image is positioned higher than his

audience.However,

on

an

emotional

level,

the

low angles contribute significantly to the

menacing atmosphere that the commercial is

intendedtoevoke.

The Power of Overhead Angles

Beforeweleavethetopicofcameraangle,one

final example will serve to underscore the

power of high angles as subtle means of

influencing the viewers sympathies. This

example comes from The Pursuit of

Happyness (2006). Based on reallife events

describedinabookbythesametitle,thismovie

tells the inspirational story of Chris Gardner

(portrayed by Will Smith), who rose from

poverty to become a hugely successful

stockbroker. Both the book and the movie

emphasize Gardners dedication to his son

(played

wonderfully

by

Smiths

own

son,

Jaden),

whomheraisedmostlybyhimselfdespitegoing

throughaperiodofextremefinancialhardship.

The low point in Gardners time of troubles

comes one night when he and his son find

themselveshomeless,afterhavingbeenevicted

from their apartment and amotel because of

hisinabilitytopayhisdebts.Seekingshelterina

subway station, Gardner engages his son in a

fantasygame,pretending that theyhavebeen

transportedback

to

the

age

of

dinosaurs

and

that theyneed to take cover ina cave.Father

and son then lock themselves in the stations

washroom. This is where they will spend the

night, lyingon thebare floor.Gardner cradles

his son in his arms, and the child sleeps. But

Gardnercannotsleep.Tryingvainlytoshutout

thesoundsofotherpeoplewanting touse the

washroom,he isovercomebygrief,andatear

rolls down his cheek. This emotionally

wrenchingscene isfilmedpartly incloseup,so

thatwecanseeGardnersfaceclearly.Butthen

thecamera

goes

up

above

the

scene,

and

we

get an extreme high angle in fact, a direct

overheadviewofthefatherandsonhuddled

togetherinthetinyspaceofthewashroom.The

pathos of this downwardpointing shot is

overwhelming,as isthewaveofsympathythat

washesoverthevieweratthatmoment.

(2) Camera Orientation: Direct vs.Indirect

Althoughhighandlowanglesoftenseemtoget

the lionsshareofattention inresearchonfilm

language, there is another type of angle that

has not been studied as thoroughly but is

arguablymore important.This typeofangle is

notamatterof lookingupordown.Rather, it

has to do with the following question: How

directlyisthecamerafacingtheperson(s)inthe

shot? Is this adirect, facetofaceview? Is ita

threequartersview? Is itasideviewora rear

view?Andsoforth.Themostsignificantaspect

of this type of camera angle is the difference

between a facetoface shot, looking straight

into someones eyes, and an indirect shot, in

which the camera is slightly to one side. The

bestway togetasenseofwhy thisdistinction

matters

is

to

look

at

an

example

in

which

the

camera switches from one orientation to the

otherinthespaceofasingleshot.

Thiskindof transitioncanbe found ina scene

fromJFK(1991),directorOliverStonesmovie


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abouttheassassinationofJohnF.Kennedy.The

movies protagonist is Jim Garrison, the New

Orleans District Attorney who pursued an

investigationintothepossibilitythatJFKsdeath

was the result of a conspiracy. In themovies

climacticscene,

Garrison

(played

by

Kevin

Costner)addressesthejuryattheconclusionof

theonlycasethatwasactuallybroughttotrial.

Speakingwithgreatemotion,hetellsthejurors

thatitistheirresponsibilitytoupholdAmerican

values ofjustice and freedom of information.

His concluding words are: Its up to you.

Throughout most of his speech, Costner is

filmed from a slight side view,which is in fact

the standard view fordialogue scenes inmost

fictionfilms.

However,

right

before

he

utters

the scenes finalwords,hisgaze shifts,andhe

looksstraightintothecamera.Toaviewerwho

isreally involved intheemotionsofthisscene,

the effect of this switch can be electrifying.

Suddenly, the viewer is being addressed

directly, as if Costner had reached into the

space of the movie theater or TV room. The

direct view makes his words more engaging,

more personally relevant, perhaps even more

persuasive.

A more extended demonstration of direct

camera views can also be found in Intern

(2000), amovie about the enduringly popular

theme of a young womans first steps in the

fashion business. As an intern at a fashion

magazine, the movies protagonist, played by

DominiqueSwain,

has

been

assigned

the

task

of

conductinga tourof themagazinesoffices for

the benefit of a visiting videographer. This

lengthysceneservesasthe introductiontothe

movies main characters, as well as to the

protagonist herself, who is oncamera almost

continuously,andwhounfailingly looksdirectly

into the lensas she tellsusaboutherjoband

her colleagues.Herdirectorientation, coupled

with a selfdeprecating tone,drawus intoher

worldandmakeuscareaboutherstory.

Experimental Effects of Camera Orientation

Theseeffectsofdirectcamerashotshavebeen

demonstrated more systematically in an

inventive experiment by Stanford Professor

Jeremy Bailenson. The basic setup of the

experimentwasas follows:Twopeople,Aand

B, listen to a third person, X, delivering a

persuasive message. The peoples interactions

with each other take place entirely in a

computercontrolled virtual environment. In

other words, they are equipped with virtual

reality goggles and can only see each others

computergenerated avatar, not their real

selves. This setup allows the experimenter to

have total control over how directly the

speakers avatar addresses each of the two

listeners. Inoneversionof theexperiment,Xs

computergenerated avatar shifts his gaze

equally

and

regularly

between

A

and

B.

However,inanotherversionoftheexperiment,

each of the listeners gets a direct view of Xs

avatar100percentofthetime. (Sincetheyare

interacting in computergenerated virtual

space,therearenophysicalconstraintsontheir

locationvisaviseachother.)Asourdiscussion

of the scene from JFKwould have ledus to

expect,whenA and B get a continuousdirect

view, they feel more involved and are more

receptiveto

Xs

arguments

than

when

they

only

getadirectview50percentofthetime.

If direct views are more engaging and

compelling, is thereany reason touse indirect

views instead?There areat least twokindsof


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situations in which the latter may indeed be

more appropriate. The first of these two

situations arises in nonfiction contexts (for

example,apressconference,aTVinterview,or

apoliticaldebate),whenanoncameraspeaker

istalking

to

an

interviewer

and/or

an

audience.

According to some findings from research on

politicalcommunication,whenaspeakershifts

her/his gaze from the reallife interviewer or

audienceto thecamera,there isadanger that

she/he will be seen as too slick and

manipulative.Inotherwords,whatthespeaker

gains in terms of greater immediacy and

engagement may be counterbalanced by a

perceivedlossofauthenticity.Thispointshould

bekept

in

mind

by

politicians,

business

leaders,

oranyotherpublicfigureswhentheyarebeing

interviewed or giving a speech while being

recordedbyacamera.

Asecondsituation inwhich indirectviewsmay

be more appropriate than direct ones is best

introduced by comparing two examples that

differ

with

regard

to

this

variable.

Both

examples are TV commercials, and both are

parodiesofascenefromStanleyKubricksThe

Shining (1980). In the original scene, a little

boy pedals his tricycle through the empty

hallways of an immense resort hotel that has

been closed down for the winter. The only

otherpeopleinthehotelaretheboysparents,

who are there as offseason caretakers.

Suddenly,as theboypedalsaroundthecorner

fromone

corridor

to

another,

he

comes

face

to

facewith an apparition of two little girlswho

hadbeenmurderedinthathotelbytheirinsane

father. This eerie scene is replicated fairly

closely in one of our two parody examples, a

Swedishonline ad solicitingdonations for the

improvement of childrens hospitals (from the

Websitebarnsjukhuset.nu).Weseea littleboy

pedalingatricyclethroughtheemptycorridors

ofanominouslookingbuilding,weseetheboy

looking fearfully at a fleeting glimmer of light

behind a door, and then we see the boys

encounterwith

the

ghostly

figures

of

two

little

girls,oneofwhomholdsoutherhand tohim

beseechingly.Theboycovershiseyesinhorror,

but then the image of the girls dissolves, and

the boy resumes his pedaling. As he moves

away from us down a grim, dimlylit corridor,

theadsmessageappearsonthescreen:Help

uscreatebetterhospitalsforchildren.

Our second parody of The Shining is less

closelytiedtothethemeoftheoriginalmovie.

Itoccurs ina2008VerizonWirelessad that is

part of Verizons Dead Zones campaign. A

man walks down a corridor with a laundry

basketinhishands.Suddenlytwoboys,dressed

inantiquestyle,loomaheadofhim.Theyspeak

to him in unison, in affectless voices: Hey,

mister,areyougoing to the laundry room?I

was,

he

says

warily.

Its

a

dead

zone,

they

warn. Reception is terrible,and callsgo away

foralleternity. Ihave theVerizonnetwork,

the man counters, and, as he speaks, the

camera cuts to a team of Verizon technicians

who reassurehim that all iswell. Immediately

theboysretreat.Seeyouaround,theysayto

theman,andtheadsmessageappearsonthe

screen as theywalk away: Dontbe afraid of

dead zones. In terms of camera placement

duringthe

encounter

in

the

corridor,

the

Verizonad is somewhatsimilar to theSwedish

hospitalad.StanleyKubrickwaswellknownfor

hisdirect,headoncompositions,andbothads

followhisstyle intheirpresentationofthepair

ofchildren.TheboysintheVerizonadareshot

headon, and so are the girls in the Swedish


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10

hospital corridor. But the two ads differ

crucially in their handling of the other side of

theencounter.

TheVerizon ad retainsKubricksdirect style in

the shotsof themanwith the laundrybasket.

However, in the Swedish ad, the closeups of

the littleboyashe looksat thegirlsare taken

froman indirectview,somewhattothesideof

his face. The Swedish ad has clearly been

directed with considerable care, so it is very

unlikely that this use of an indirect camera

orientationwasanaccident.Whatmightbethe

reason forshowing theboy from theside,and

whymight sucha viewbe superior toadirect

shot in this context? The answer to these

questions comes from studies of audiences

identificationwith characters inmovies.When

the protagonist of amovie is interactingwith

other characters, audiences feelings of

identification with the protagonist are

strengthened iftheothercharactersareshown

through the protagonists eyes in other

words,

if

they

are

shown

in

direct,

head

on

views. However, identification with the

protagonist is actually diminished if we also

viewhimorherdirectly,because thenwe are

being placed in the position of the other

charactersinthescene(weareseeingthrough

their eyes). Consequently, directors who are

concernedaboutmaximizingidentificationfor

example, Alfred Hitchcock tend to use

frequent direct shots of secondary characters

butto

avoid

direct

views

of

the

protagonist.

And that is the logic thatwe seebeingplayed

out in the Swedish ad,whose impactdepends

on generating a maximum amount of

identificationandsympathyforthe littleboy in

thescaryhospital.

(3) CloseUps, Medium Shots, and

Long Shots

Aside from deciding how directly to aim the

camera,and

whether

to

shoot

high,

low,

or

neither, a film maker must always make one

othercrucialdecisionaboutcameraplacement:

howclosetogotothepersonoractionthat is

beingfilmed.Thechoiceofacloseup,medium

shot, or long shot depends on at least three

majorfactors:(1)theneedtomatchtheshotto

the scale of the information that has to be

conveyed,rangingfrom intimatedetailstovast

panoramas; (2) the shots desired emotional

impact,which

other

things

being

equal

is

generallyintensifiedbymovinginforcloseups;

and (3) the shotspotential effect on viewers

identificationwiththepeopleinthemovie,who

may elicit greater concern when shot more

intimately. The second of these factors is

illustratedsuccinctlyinahumorousBBDOadfor

MountainDew(2008),featuringamanwhohas

traineda rhinoceros to fetchaball.Beforewe

have any clue as to what is supposed to be

goingon

in

the

ad,

we

see

the

rhinoceros

charging at the man as he nonchalantly sips

fromacanofMountainDew.The firstviewof

the charging beast, heading strait into the

camera, is an extreme long shot. In other

words,therhinocerosoccupiesaverysmallpart

ofthe image,andseemsquite faraway.There

isacuttoalongshotoftheman,andthenacut

backtotherhinoceros(withtheMountainDew

can visible in the foreground). This time,

however, the rhinoceros is shown in a much

closer shot that becomes even closer as it

continues its charge.This suddenjuxtaposition

betweena longshotandacloseronegivesthe

unsuspectingvieweramajoremotionaljoltand

ratchets up the suspense that is generatedby

theadssurrealcontent.


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11

A less dramatic, butmore typical, example of

theemotionalimpactofcloseupscanbefound

in a brief snippet from Marry Mazzios

documentaryLemonade

Stories

(2003),

an

intriguing look at the relationship between

seven successful entrepreneurs and their

mothers. This scene also illustrates the third

factor mentioned above, namely, the use of

closer shots to enhance the viewers concern

for the characters in a movie. The opening

sceneof Lemonade Stories tells the storyof

Arthur Blank, cofounder of TheHomeDepot,

and his mother, Molly Blank. Both of them

speak

oncamera,

but,

as

with

many

documentaries, the interview footage is

supplemented by various archival images,

includingmany familyphotographs. The scene

begins with Arthur Blank introducing himself

and saying a few words about his business

accomplishments and his ownership of the

AtlantaFalcons.Thenhe starts to speakabout

his mother, and we get a series of five quick

shots: four photographs of mother and son,

followedby

an

interview

shot

of

Blank

continuing his narration. In all five of these

shots, the camera performs a quick zoomin,

bringingusclosertoBlankandhismother.This

visualstrategygoesbysofastthatmostviewers

probably dont even notice it on a conscious

level.Nonetheless, itseffect isunmistakable. It

cuesusinimmediatelytothefactthatthefocal

pointofthisstoryisgoingtobethemotherson

relationship, rather than the Falcons or The

HomeDepot

per

se.

Camera Distance and Interpersonal Space

Thefactorsmentionedabovegiveusfairlyclear

guidelinesastowhenandwhyweshouldmove

the camera closer, or pull it back. However,

theydont tellus exactlyhowmuch closer,or

furtherback,togo.Whenwewanttomagnifya

scenes emotional impact, is a tight closeup

alwaysbetter thanamedium closeup? Ifnot,

whynot?Whenwewanttodistancetheviewer

fromacertain

character

in

order

to

make

him/her lesssympathetic, isa longshotalways

better than amedium shot? If not,why not?

Thesequestionshaveoccupiedfilmscholarsfor

some time. In recent years, a number of

theorists most prominently, Joshua

Meyrowitz,oftheUniversityofNewHampshire

have come to the conclusion that our

responses to camera distance in movies are

determined by our cultural rules for

interpersonalspace

in

real

life

interactions.

As

anthropologist Edward Hall was the first to

demonstrate, thedistancesbetweenpeople in

variouskindsofsocialsituationsfollowasetof

fairly uniform rules or conventions. As with

many other cultural practices, we conform to

these ruleswithoutmuch conscious reflection,

but we may suddenly become uncomfortably

aware of them when they are violated. If

Meyrowitz and his colleagues are correct, our

reactions to movies are conditioned by these

sameculturalconventions.Inotherwords,from

thefilmmakersperspective,theseconventions

should serve as a guide regarding the

appropriate type of shot to use for various

types of scenes. For example, just there are

times in real lifewhen a certain interpersonal

distancemayoverstep theboundsof intimacy,

so too there are situations in a movie when

going too closemay violate the type ofmood

thatthefilmmakerisaimingfor.

Hall and other people doing research on

interpersonal space have actually calculated

precise measurements of the appropriate


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12

ranges within which various kinds of social

interactions typically occur. However, for our

purposes, rather than going into furtherdetail

onthisissue,itmaybemoreinstructivetolook

at a scene in which a director deliberately

violatedour

expectations

of

interpersonal

space

inordertomakeapointaboutthescenesmain

character. The director in question is the

legendary Alfred Hitchcock, famous for his

expert deploymentof the visual vocabularyof

motion pictures. The film is Shadow of a

Doubt (1943), a typical Hitchcockian thriller

that the director at one point named as his

personal favorite among his own movies. The

storyline of Shadow of a Doubt centers on

young

woman

(Teresa

Wright)

who

is

dissatisfied with her smalltown, middleclass

existence. She longs for glamour and for

broaderhorizons,andonedayherwishesseem

tobefulfilled,whenUncleCharlie,hermothers

handsome, wealthy, worldtraveling brother

(played by Joseph Cotten), comes to spend

some timewith the family.Of course, anyone

who isfamiliarwiththeformulasofHollywood

cinema will know that a rich, cosmopolitan

characterislikelytobeabadperson,andUncle

Charlieturnsouttobeverybad indeed,having

married and then murdered a number of

wealthywomenfortheirmoney.

But the movies suspense comes from the

gradual way that the niece begins to put

together the clues that finally lead her to a

realizationas

to

her

uncles

true

identity.

One

of

the most unsettling insights into Uncles

Charlies hidden character comes from a

conversation at the family dinner table, in

which he expresses his views about women

who have inherited money from their

husbands.He speaksof them contemptuously,

claiming that all the big cities he has visited

were fullofwealthywidows squandering their

husbands heardearned riches on food, drink,

jewelry,andgambling.HecallsthemHorrible,

faded, fat, greedy women. Theyre human

beings,his

niece

cries

out

in

protest.

He

turns

andfacesher,andsuddenlythecameramoves

inforahugecloseup.Arethey?hesays.That

supersize closeup is not just a means of

emphasis. It is an intrusion into our personal

space,aviolationoftheboundariesofcivilized

behavior. As surely as the words that he has

been uttering, it marks Uncle Charlie as a

defectivehumanbeing.

(4) Lighting and Cinematography

Clearly, camera placement is one of themost

vital ingredients in the art of effective film

making.Withthatpointinmind,itisinteresting

totakealookatacoupleofphotographsoffilm

makers at work, in the actual process of

decidingwheretoputthecamerafortheirnext

shot. These photographs both came from

American Cinematographer, a professional

publicationrepresentingpeoplewhoholdtitles

suchasDirectorofPhotographyorDirectorof

Cinematographyinotherwords,thepeoplein

chargeofthecameraworkinHollywoodmovies.

The first photograph shows Oscarwinning

directorStevenSoderbergh liningupashot for

his1999movieTheLimey.Soderberghstands

behindamanwho ishandholdingthecamera,

andheisaccompaniedbytwoothermen,allof

themabsorbed in the taskathand.Wayoff in

thebackgroundofthephotograph,sittingona

benchandnotseemingall that involved in the

process, is another man. That man is the

movies Director of Cinematography, Ed

Lachman. In the second photograph, another


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13

Oscarwinning director, Martin Scorsese,

composes a shot for Bringing Out the Dead

(1999).Withastandin(actually,amansitting

down) taking the place of the actor who will

appear in the shot, Scorsese himself

manipulatesthe

camera.

Behind

him

are

ranged

awholegroupofpeopleobservinghisactions.

Butnoneof thosepeople is the filmsDirector

ofCinematography,RobertRichardson.Instead,

Richardson isthestandin,patientlysitting in

frontofScorsesescamerawithhisbacktothe

lens. What is going on in these two

photographs? If camera placement is such an

importantpartoffilmmaking,whyisneitherof

these distinguished Directors of

Cinematographyhandling

the

process

himself?

The answer to this question is that

cinematographersonbigbudgetshootsactually

haveawholeotherfunctiontokeepthembusy,

namely, lighting the shot. Because consumer

video cameras now do a fairly good job of

adjusting exposure automatically, it is easy to

underestimate

the

critical

role

that

lighting

playsinobtainingthehighlycontrolledlookofa

Hollywood movie. In fact, as far as technical

expertise is concerned, lighting isprobably the

most complex and demanding component of

studio film making. A detailed analysis of

lighting technique is beyond the scope of this

discussion. However, a pair of contrasting

examples may serve to impart at least some

appreciation of its potential effects. Both

examplescome

from

movies

about

the

automobileindustry.

Thefirstofthesemovies,Tucker:TheManand

HisDream(1988),wasdirectedbyFrancisFord

Coppola(creatorofTheGodfatherseries,and

nowtheownerofasuccessfulwinery,aswellas

apasta factory).Closelybasedona true story,

Coppolasmovie chronicles a largely forgotten

episode in the history of American car

manufacturing. As the movies title suggests,

PrestonTucker

was

adreamer

who

wanted

to

dobigthings.IntheyearsafterWorldWarII,he

tried to launchanewcarcompany thatwould

produceahighly innovativevehicleofhisown

design. In theendhe failedmiserably,but the

movieconvincinglycelebrateshis ingenuity,his

vision, and his adventurous spirit. The scene

thatconcernsushereistheunveilingofthefirst

car tocomeoutofhis factory.Thisevent took

place on June 19, 1947, in front of a large

audience,and

was

accompanied

by

much

hoopla. Tuckerwas concernedwith aesthetics

as much as with automotive technology, and

thefirstTuckercarwasabeautifulcreation.Itis

instructivetocomparethe imagesofCoppolas

moviewitharchivalpicturesofthecar.Even in

thesomewhatfadedphotographsofmorethan

halfacenturyago, it looks reallyattractive.All

the same, its appearance is taken to awhole

different level inthehandsofCoppolasexpert

cinematographer, Vittorio Storaro. As it

revolvesslowlyonarotatingplatformbeneath

Storaros meticulously placed spotlights, the

cars chrome gleams, its curves glow brightly,

and its surfaces beam out an evenchanging

patternof sparkling reflections. It is adazzling

spectacle,andaperfectexpressionofCoppolas

visionofTuckerasanartistandshowman.

Beforewemoveon toour second,contrasting

caseof theportrayalof cars inmovies, itmay

beinstructivetotakeabrieflookatarecentTV

commercial that is very similar to the scene

fromTuckerwith regard to itsmasterfuluse

of lighting.Createdforthe2008SuperBowlby


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15/24

15

comparisons or contrasts through the

juxtapositionofimages.However,wewillbegin

our examination of editingwith a look at the

effectsofsheereditingspeedinotherwords,

howlongeachshotisheldonthescreenbefore

theeditor

cuts

to

another

shot.

There

are

several systematic studies concerning this

aspectof film language,but,evenwithout the

research, the basic effect of editing speed is

probably intuitively obvious to anyone who

pausestoanalyzeherorhisreactionstovisual

media. Faster editing speeds i.e., shorter

shots tend to make scenes appear more

dynamic and actionpacked, while slower

editingspeedsareassociatedwithcalmer,more

tranquilmoods.

One

research

finding

that

may

not be so selfevident is the fact that editing

speedproduces theseeffects regardlessof the

actual content of the images. In experiments

withvarioustypesofcontent,itwasfoundthat

evenabstractshapescouldbemadetoappear

moreactiveormoretranquilbysimplyvarying

thespeedoftheediting.Anadditionalaspectof

editingthathasalsobeen investigated inthese

studies is thenatureof the transitionbetween

one shot and the next.Direct transitions (i.e.,

cuts, inwhichoneshot immediatelyreplaces

another) tend to be seen as more active or

dynamic than fades or dissolves, inwhich

thetransitionbetweenoneshotandthenextis

moregradual.

The effects of fast editing are illustrated very

impressivelyin

aTV

commercial

for

Pirelli

Tires,

featured the trackandfield champion Carl

Lewis,winnerofninegoldmedals in the1984,

1988,and1992OlympicsGames.Althoughthis

commercialwas created in1995 (and includes

poignant background images of the World

Trade Center), its average shot length is just

underone second a rate considerably faster

than even the most rapid editing in todays

actionmovies.Thecommercialssurrealvisuals

showLewissprintingacross thewatersofNew

York harbor and running up the side of the

Statueof

Liberty.

When

he

gets

to

the

top,

he

takesaflying leapandendsupontheChrysler

Building indowntownManhattan.Perchedon

one of the Chryslers famous eagleshaped

gargoyles,hechecksthesoleofhisfoot,andwe

seethatithasaPirellitreadonit.Thenheflies

off into space again, and the ads onlywords

appear on the screen: Pirelli tires. Power is

nothingwithoutcontrol.Theoveralleffect,as

intended, is one of tremendous speed and

agility.To

someone

who

hasnt

seen

the

ad

yet,

itmay seem that therewas littleneedof fast

editing tocreate suchan impression.Whenan

adcontainstheworldsfastestsprinter,areany

technical effects needed in order to convey a

senseofspeed?Andyet, ifone looksatthead

carefully,onenotices thatediting is indeedan

importantpartof it.The reason for this is that

themajorityoftheshotsofLewisareactuallyin

slow motion. If the music had been less

propulsiveandtheshotshadbeenheldonthe

screen longer,themoodmighthavebeenvery

different: insteadof speed, the admighthave

conveyed a feeling of gliding or floating

smoothlyacrossspace.Itisthebreakneckpace

of theediting thatgives the images theirextra

charge and ensures that speed prevails over

slowmotioninourfinalimpressionsofthead.

Should allads thataim forexcitementemploy

fast editing? The answer to this question will

dependontheamountof informationthatthe

ad intends to convey. As we have seen, the

Pirelliadcontainedonlytwolinesoftext(aside

from the Pirelli logo), and no other verbal


16/24

16

information or technical details about the

product. The ads main goal was to create a

sensationofpowerandtraction.However,one

canreadilyimagineadifferenttypeoftireadin

whichtechnicalspecificationsmightfiguremore

prominently.Similarly,

many

other

kinds

of

advertisements, for products such as medical

treatments, financial services, or information

technology,oftenattempttoconveysubstantial

amounts of factual content, either through

words or through images. In such cases, fast

editing may be counterproductive, because it

may distract the viewer and prevent the ads

information fromcomingacrossadequately. In

advertising experiments in which the same

imageswere

edited

in

two

different

versions,

fastpaced vs. slowpaced, viewers ability to

absorb an ads informational content was

significantlyhigherwhen theywereshown the

slowpacedversionofthead.

(2) Symbolic Connections between

Images

In the long history of the movies, there are

several famous scenes that are considered

primeexamplesof thepowersofediting.One

of the simplest of these editing sequences is

also,arguably,themostfundamental. Itoccurs

in At Land (1944), a short movie by the

experimental filmmakerMayaDeren,whohas

been called themother of the avant garde.

The

sequence

features

Deren

herself,

and

consistsofjusttwoshots. Inshotnumberone,

Deren, a trained dancer, leaps into the air. In

shotnumber two, shecomedownagainbut

ina totallydifferent location.Even though it is

transparently clear that the two shots were

taken in two different places, the viewer sees

the sequence as one continuous action.What

this sequence demonstrates is our minds

strong tendency to impose continuity and

meaningonourvisualexperiences. Inoneway

oranother,mostoftheeditingtechniquesthat

filmmakers

employ

to

sway

their

audiences

beliefs and emotions are based on that

underlyingfactofperceptualpsychology.While

thegoalofDerensmoviewastocreateasense

of physical linkage between the two shots by

blending her two different dance movements

intoasingleaction,theDereneffectisalsoat

workwhenfilmmakersuseeditingforpurposes

ofmakingmoresymbolicconnectionsbetween

images.Anexcellent illustrationofthispoint is

provided

by

the

opening

sequence

of

BarbariansattheGates(1993),amoviebased

on thebestselling businessbookof the same

name.

Visual Analogy

The movie is a dramatization of the 1988

leveraged buyout of RJR Nabisco, an event

that,

until

very

recently,

held

the

record

for

the

most expensive corporate buyout of all time.

The Nabisco LBO had been preceded by an

acrimonious bidding war between financier

Henry Kravis, the eventual winner, and the

companysCEO,F.RossJohnson,whoisactually

both the movies and the books central

character.Inthebook,Johnsonsearlyyearsare

recounted inmore thanadozenpagespacked

densely with information. The movie gives us

Johnsonsback

story

in

three

short

scenes

that

playunder theopening credits. Firstwe get a

snippet of text: IN A FAR AWAY WORLD

BILLIONSANDBILLIONSOFDOLLARSAGOAn

Alarm bells rings, and we see a young boy

gettingoutofbedandwheelinghisbicycleout

forhisnewspaper route.A caption informsus


17/24

17

that this is Winnipeg, Canada, in 1940. On a

suburban streetwherewe seehimmakinghis

deliveries,theboystopstochatwithoneofhis

customers, an avuncular older man. The boy

tries to sell him a magazine subscription, but

theman

isnt

interested.

The

boy

persists.

He

is

willingtogivethemanthefirstmonthfree.The

man hesitates. The boy says he will also give

him a week of free newspapers. With an

admiring chuckle, the man capitulates. Ross

Johnson, he says, you could sell ice to an

Eskimo.

Astheboyridesoff,themoviecutstoaclose

upofabicyclewheel.Foraninstant,weassume

that this is just a continuation of the same

scene.Butthecameratiltsup,andweseethat

therider isnowayoungmanofabouttwenty.

Hepullsupinfrontofanothersuburbanhouse,

and, with an eagerbeaver expression on his

face,he stridesup to the frontdoorand rings

the bell. A woman with a baby in her arm

answers. The young man holds up his card.

Mrs.

Vitaliano

F.

Ross

Johnson,

Peerless

Child Photographers. The woman is not

interested in having her baby photographed.

But the youngman persists.He tells her that,

eventhoughheseesbabiesalldaylong,hersis

anexceptionallybeautiful child. Can Iaskher

name?he says.Marvin, thewoman replies.

The young man is unfazed by his faux pas.

What can I tell you, he says. Hes pretty

enough to be a girl. That being the case, he

adds,he

is

prepared

to

give

the

woman

six

picturesplusafivedollarwalnutframeforonly

2.98. The woman hesitates. The young man

turns to the baby: Tell your mom you want

your picture taken,Marvin. The baby gurgles

withpleasure.Thewomansmilesappreciatively

andgivesintotheyoungmanssalespitch.

Up to this point in the sequence, the crucial

edit, forourpurposes, isthecut to thebicycle

wheel that takesusoutof the first scene into

thesecond.

On

one

level,

this

cut

is

very

similar

toMayaDerens AtLandedit. It ismeant to

createanillusionofphysicalcontinuitybetween

the twoscenes.But,onanother level, theedit

has abroader,moremetaphoricalor symbolic

purpose. It emphasizes the similarity between

the young Ross Johnson and his older self, a

point that is also evident in the very similar

structures of the two scenes: the eager

salesman, the reluctant customer, the

salesmansinsistence,

the

customers

ultimate

capitulation. As a symbolic device, the cut

between these two scenes can be seen as a

visualcomparisonoranalogy.

Visual Contrast

Now letusmoveon to the third scene in the

moviesopeningsequence.AsJohnsonandthe

mother walk into the house to make

arrangementsfor

the

babys

pictures,

the

movie

goes into another major transition. It is now

night,andalimousinewithanescortofseveral

othercarsismakingitswaythroughthestreets

of abig city. Inside the limousine is amiddle

agedman and his glamorous, youngerlooking

wife.Themanisspeakingonthephone,andhe

announcesincasetheviewermightbeinany

doubt thathe is Ross Johnson.He also asks

thepersononthephonetokeeptheSenators

glass full. Johnsonhas clearly comeup in the

world. When the limousine reaches its

destination, at a fancy hotel, Johnson and his

wifearesurroundedbyacrowdofadmirers.As

theyride theelevatorup totheparty theyare

attending, Johnsons wife makes a small

adjustmenttohistie.Notbadforanewspaper


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18

boy from Winnipeg, eh? he says to her.

Simultaneously,acaptioninformsusthatthisis

Atlanta,Georgia,in1988.

AsJohnsonswordssuggest,thepurposeofthis

sceneandofthecutthatledintoitisquite

different from the scene thatpreceded it.Yes,

this isstill thesameRoss Johnsonwho started

out as a newspaper boy in Winnipeg, but

everythingaboutthescenethe limo,thebig

citysurroundings,theglamour,thefactthathe

isonhisway tomeetaSenatorof theUnited

States isdesignedtoemphasizehowdifferent

hislifeisnowfromthewayitwasthen.Andthe

cut from day to night that took us from the

previousscene tothisone isonemoregraphic

illustration of this point. If the previous scene

changewasacaseofavisualanalogy,thisone

isobviously intendedasavisualcontrast.Both

of them, however, are examples of a more

generaleditingstrategy,namely,theuseofshot

changes and scene transitions for thepurpose

ofmakingasymbolicpoint.

Visual Generalization

Asafurtherillustrationofthisuseofediting,let

usnow examine an amusingly inventive scene

from The DevilWears Prada (2006).Movies

aboutwomenareoftenreferredtodismissively

aschick flicks,but, if this isachick flick, it is

stillverydifferentfromalmostallothermovies

of that genre. The typical chick flick has one

overriding

theme,

namely,

the

womans

romantic life. Inthismovie,however,themain

theme istheprotagonistsjob,andthemovies

centralfocusisontherelationshipbetweenthe

protagonist and her boss. Unfortunately, the

boss, Miranda Priestley (played by Meryl

Street), seems to relishmaking lifedifficult for

herunderlings.AsMirandasnewassistant,the

movies protagonist, Andy Sachs (played by

Anne Hathaway), soon finds herself assaulted

by a neverending barrage of commands and

complaints.Asequencethattakesplaceearlyin

themovie

provides

aperfect

encapsulation

of

heremployerspersonality.

It is morning in the offices of the magazine.

Mirandastridesinanddumpshercoatandbag

onAndysdesk.Oh,goodmorning,Miranda,

Andy says. Get me Isaac, Miranda says

abruptly,with no acknowledgement of Andys

greeting. Cut to the next scene. It ismorning

again,Mirandawalks in again, shedumpsher

stuff on Andys desk again, and she issues

another demand: I dont see my breakfast

here.Aremyeggshere?Wherearemyeggs?

Cut to Andy frantically running through the

streets of New York with a takeout order of

eggs.Cut to thenext scene.Morning,Miranda

entering,coatandbag landingonAndysdesk,

andMirandademanding,PickupthePolaroids

from

the

lingerie

shoot.

Cut

to

Andy

desperately looking for the Polaroids. Cut to

another morning, Miranda dumping stuff on

Andysdesk, saying,Have thebrakes checked

onmycar.CuttoAndytryingtonavigateNew

York traffic in a silver convertible. Cut to

another morning, Miranda dumping stuff on

Andys desk, asking, Wheres that piece of

paper I had in my hand yesterday morning?

Cuttoanothermorning,Mirandadumpingstuff

onAndys

desk,

saying,

The

girls

need

new

surf

boards, or boogie boards, or something, for

Spring Break. Cut to Andy in the streetwith

surf boards, as she gets a call fromMirandas

otherassistant:Thetwinsalsoneedflipflops.

Cuttoanothermorning,Mirandadumpingstuff

onAndysdesk,saying,Pickupmyshoesfrom


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19

BlahnikandthengogetPatricia.CuttoAndy

whisperingWhosthat?totheotherassistant.

Cut toAndy straining to keep upwith a huge

dogonaleash.Cuttooneortwomoreimages

ofMiranda and then a flurryof shotsof coats

andbags

landing

on

Andys

desk

as

Mirandas

commands begin to go by in a blur: Getme

that little table that I liked at that store on

Madison Avenue. Get us a reservation for

dinner tonight at that place on. Get me

Isaac. All of this is very reminiscent ofMaya

Derensediting,especiallyduringthosepartsof

the sequence in which the cuts take us

seamlessly from one shot of Miranda to

another, without any intermediate inserts of

Andycarrying

out

her

wishes.

But,

on

a

symbolic level, thepointof thissequencegoes

beyond making a comparison between each

scene and the next. Rather, when we have

multiplesimilarshotsorscenes,aswedohere,

the functionof the editing is tomake a visual

generalization.Therapidsuccessionofscenesis

avividannouncementthatlifeisalwayslikethis

whenoneisworkingforMirandaPriestley.

(3) Visual Analogies in Persuasive

Contexts

Aswehave seen, then,editing canbeused to

convey visual analogies, visual contrasts, and

visualgeneralizations.Sincethe illustrationswe

havejust looked atweredrawn from fictional

movies,

we

will

discuss

further

example

of

each

of these in order to get a sense of how they

work in more explicitly persuasive contexts,

includingadvertisinganddocumentaryfilm.Our

advertising examples of visual analogy come

fromSaabsBornfromJetscampaign,created

by LoweNew York. This advertising campaign

forSaabcarsisbasedonthefactthatSaabwas

originally a manufacturer of aircraft, before

branchingoutintotheautomotiveindustry.The

most literal visualization of the campaigns

slogan is probably the 2005 TV commercial in

whichaSaab

jet

morphs

into

acar.

However,

as

faraseditingisconcerned,thecampaignsmost

effective use of visual analogy may have

occurredinits2006commercialinwhichaSaab

GripenfighterjetandaSaab95Sedanfaceoff

on an otherwise empty highway.As they race

towards eachother and thedistancebetween

them decreases, rapid crosscutting between

car andjet increases the suspense,but it also

enhances the sense of equal power, equal

speed,and

equal

aerodynamic

efficiency

in

short,thevisualanalogybetweenoneSaaband

the other. At the very lastminute before the

Gripenandthe95meet,thejettakesoff,and

the ads visual analogy is underscored by a

voiceover: The aerodynamic principles that

keep a Saabjet in the air help the Saab 95

remain firmlyontheground. Incidentally, it is

worthnotingthatvisualanalogiesarealsovery

commonfeaturesofprintadvertising,including

several Saab ads in which images of cars are

juxtaposedwithimagesofaircraft.

A very notable example of visual analogy in a

documentary film comes from Enron: The

SmartestGuys intheRoom(2005),writtenby

BethanyMcLean,PeterElkind,andAlexGibney

(whowasalsotheproducer/director),basedon

McLeansand

Elkins

best

selling

book

about

the collapse of the Enron corporation.One of

themoviesmostdramaticsequencesexamines

the behavior of Enrons WestCoast energy

traders as they manipulate prices in the

California market by temporarily moving

electricityoffstateorbycuttingoff thesupply


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from power stations. On the movies sound

track,wehear excerptsof audio recordings in

which Enrons traders discuss these

shenanigans in extremely cynical language.

Thenthemovietriestoexplorethereasonsfor

theirbehavior.

Did

their

huge

bonuses

blind

themtotheethical implicationsoftheirdeeds,

orwereother factors involvedaswell?Oneof

the movies major points is that there was

indeedoneimportantadditionalfactor,namely,

Enrons corporate culture, which encouraged

the traders misbehavior and gave them to

understand that they were not personally

responsible for itsconsequences. Inmaking its

case, the movie tries to draw an analogy

betweenwhat

the

traders

did

and

what

happened in the famous studies of obedience

to authority performed in the 1960s by social

psychologistStanleyMilgram.

The basic question that Milgram had tried to

answerwas,Howfararepeoplewillingtogoif

an authority figure tells them to commit a

harmful

act

that

may

go

against

their

own

conscience? Asmost peoplewho have taken

an introductory psychology course know,

Milgramexplored thisquestionbysettingupa

fakeexperiment,whosesubjectswereaskedto

administer electric shots to an unseen person

for the alleged purpose of investigating the

effects of electrical stimulation on memory.

Despitethefactthattheunseenzappeereacted

with increasingly loud protests and sounds of

distressas

the

voltage

was

increased,

more

thanhalfofMilgramssubjectsobedientlykept

zapping him all the way up to the maximum

voltage requiredof them. In theEnronmovie,

this compliant behavior is compared with the

actions of Enrons traders. Just as Milgrams

subjectswerewilling to zap a screamingman

when told to do so by the researchers

conducting theexperiment, so tooaccording

tothemoviewereEnronsemployeeswilling

toharm thepeopleofCaliforniaat thebehest

of their corporate leaders. Thispoint is stated

explicitlyin

the

movie,

but

it

is

also

presented

graphically in a shocking sequence of images

that cut back and forth between the original

Milgram experiment and Enrons exploits in

California.

This sequences begins with a clip from a

newscast: Californias electric utilities may

havetopulltheplugonmillionsofcustomers.

CuttoanexcerptofadiscussionbetweenEnron

traders. Their words appear onscreen at the

same time that we hear them on the sound

track: Its the f coolest thing Ive done in a

long time. Yeah,holy f, yeah! Youve got

to love the West. Cut to a subject in the

Milgramexperimentannouncingan increase in

voltage: Four hundred and thirtyfive volts.

Then he presses the zapping button. Cut to

California

fire

crews

trying

to

free

people

trapped inanelevatorthathasstalledbecause

of a power outage. Cut to more dialogue by

Enron traders: All thatmoney you guys stole

from those poor grandmothers in California.

(laughter) Yeah, Grandma Millie, man. Shes

theonewhocouldntfigureouthowtof vote

onthebutterflyballot.Nowshewantsherf

money back for all the power youve charged

rightupherass.(laughter)Cuttothesubjectin

theMilgram

experiment:

Four

hundred

and

fifty volts. He presses the zapper. Cut to a

traffic light that has stopped functioning

because of a power outage. Cut to a traffic

accident. Cut to theMilgram experiment. The

experimenter urges the reluctant subject to

keep zapping. He complies. Cut to the Enron


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traders:Itskindahardtosayweshouldntdo

this even though its allowed, cause you

know,Imean,thatswhatwedo.Eventhough

themoviesargumenthasalreadybeenspelled

outveryclearlybyajournalistwho speakson

camerabefore

this

whole

sequence

begins,

the

impact of the visual sequence itself is

devastating.Asademonstrationofthepowers

of visual analogy, it is unquestionably highly

compelling. All the same time, it would be

irresponsible not to add a word of caution

about sequences such as this. Note that,

despite theemotional impactofwhat appears

onscreen,technicallyspeakingthesequence is

notactuallyproofoftheconnection it istrying

tomake.

Top

level

Enron

executives

may

well

have given directives that were analogous to

theinstructionsintheMilgramexperiment.But

wedontseethatonscreen.

(4) Visual Contrast in Persuasive

Contexts

The second item on our list of symbolic

connectionsbetween images isvisualcontrast.

Foranonfictionexampleofthistypeofediting

wewilllookatanexcerptfromoneofthemost

successful documentaries of recent years, Al

Gores An Inconvenient Truth (directed by

DavisGuggenheimandreleasedin2006).Based

on Mr. Gores illustrated lectures, this Oscar

winning movie is an exploration of the

relationship

between

human

activity,

climate

change, and the state of the global

environment. Gore marshals a wide array of

evidence in support of the argument that

humanshavebeen causing theplanet toheat

up,withpotentiallydevastating consequences.

Much of this evidence consists of numbers,

graphs,andexpertopinion.However,themost

impressive single piece of evidence may be a

short visual sequence about the changes that

have been taking place in various glaciers

around the world. The sequence is extremely

simple.Gore

just

puts

up

pairs

of

images:

the

glacieras itwas in thepast; theglacieras it is

now. Thisjuxtaposition allows us to see with

ourowneyeswhathasbeenhappening.Theice

is melting, and the glaciers are shrinking.

Mountainsides that at one timewere covered

with riversof icearenow turning into scarred

earth and rubble. For any viewer who may

entertaindoubtsabout theexistenceorextent

ofglobalwarming,thissequence is likelytobe

particularlypersuasive.

Visual contrasts are also very common in

advertising, both print and video. An

outstandingapplicationofthisvisualtechnique

can be found in Side by Side Corporation

(2008),acommercialforOptimumLightpath (a

networking system), created for Cablevision

Systems

Corporation

by

Gardner

Nelson

&

Partners.AsinAlGoreslectureonglaciers,this

commercialmakesextensiveuseofsplitscreen

comparisons between two different images.

However,whereasGoressplitscreensinvolved

pairs of still photographs, the Optimum

Lightpath ad is much more complicated. This

adsbasicconceptisacomparisonbetweentwo

companies, one of which uses Optimum

Lightpath technologywhiletheotherdoesnot.

Inaside

by

side

split

screen

display,

we

witness

a number of parallel incidents from the daily

activities of each companys employees. Each

pair of incidents begins with a close match

between the contents displayed on the two

sides of the screen, implying that both

companies face similar goals and challenges.


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However, in each case, the outcomes of the

incidents diverge sharply. At the Optimum

Lightpath client, everything appears to be

runningsmoothly.Attheothercompany,every

singleincidentendsinsomekindofmishap.

Thisvisualstrategyisillustratedveryeffectively

in the Optimum Lightpath commercials

opening sequence. At the outset, we see a

closeup of hands typing on a keyboard. Then

we hear the sound of a phone call, and the

screen splits in half. On both sides, we see

company representativesanswering thephone

inacallcenter.Theirdialogue is identical,and

their words overlap: Customer service. Yes,

maam.Letmecallupyouraccount.Butthen

thingsgobadlyforthecompanyononesideof

the screen. Whereas the Optimum Lightpath

clienthasevidentlygainedimmediateaccessto

the callers data (OK, it says here youve

recently moved), the other company is

clearly having problems. Networks slow

today. I apologize, the company

representative

says,

with

an

exasperated

look

onhisface.Thiscontrastisimmediatelyspelled

outbyavoiceoverstatementaccompaniedby

texton the screen: Whatyou seehere is the

difference your network makes. The

commercial then continues with a number of

similarjuxtapositions. But the point has been

made quite convincingly from the very

beginning, as soon as we see the different

outcomes of the customer calls. What makes

thisads

use

of

visual

contrast

especially

effective is the careful synchronization of the

first few images and words in each of the

juxtaposed incidents.Eachtime,webeginwith

similarity and end with sharp difference, and

thisstrategymakestheoverallsenseofcontrast

thatmuchmorevivid.

(5) Visual Generalization in Persuasive

Contexts

The Optimum Lightpath ad and the glacier

sequence fromAlGoresmovie are also good

example of visual generalizations, since they

consistofwholeseriesofpairedscenes,rather

than just a single contrasting pair. As a

persuasive technique, visualgeneralization can

beoneofthemosteffectiveapplicationsofthe

visualresourcesofthecinema,becauseitbrings

togethertwodifferentingredientsofpersuasive

communication.On

the

one

hand,

there

is

good

evidence that people tend to find vivid

examples more persuasive than abstract

arguments or verbal generalizations. On the

other hand, however,when amovie presents

only a single visual example in support of the

pointitistryingtomake,skepticalviewersmay

welldismissthatexampleasanexception. It is

notsoeasytodismissawholeseriesofsimilar

images,and,inthatsense,visualgeneralization

canbe

said

to

offer

the

best

of

both

worlds

to

filmmakersinsearchoftoolsforpersuasion.

Thepersuasivepowersof visual generalization

aredisplayedsomewhathumorously inascene

from Warren Buffet: Woodstock for

Capitalists (2003), an entertaining look at the

annual stockholders meeting of Berkshire

Hathaway,theOmahacompanyrunby famous

investorWarrenBuffet.MadebyIanDarling,an

Australian investment manager, the movie is

warmly admiring in its presentation of Buffet

andhisphilosophy.Themoviesmanyimagesof

Berkshire Hathaway shareholders give the

strong impressionthatthey,too,feelthesame

way. One evening the film maker brings us


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alongashehasdinneratGorets,whichweare

toldisBuffetsfavoriterestaurant.Sureenough,

the menu choices include an item labeled

WarrensBuffets Favorite, consistingof aT

bone steak and hashbrown potatoes. Our

narratorand

his

companion

decide

that

that

is

what theywillhave. Then the camera takes a

brief tour of the other tables, occupied by

people in town for the stockholdersmeeting,

andweeavesdropastheyplacetheirorders.At

onetableafteranother,peopleaskforWarren

Buffetsfavorite.

A finalexampleofvisualgeneralization inaTV

commercialwillservetobringthisdiscussionof

editingtechniquestoaclose.Firstshownduring

the 2002 Super Bowl broadcast, this Pepsi

commercialfeaturesBritneySpearsanda large

groupofbackupartists,singinganddancing in

frontofaneonlitentrancetoadrivein.Drive

inmovietheatersareassociatedprimarilywith

an earlier time in American life, and the

commercials images have a somewhat retro

look

from

the

very

beginning.

However,

about

half way through Britney Spearss song, the

lyrics make an explicit reference to the past:

Come feel thejoyallaround,Eachgeneration

has found, theyve got their own kind of

sound. At the same time, the images on the

screen are transformed into a series of

vignettes from the past. The characters

clothing and hairstyles, as well as the scenes

setting, takeusbackand forth toanumberof

earlierdecades,

from

the

1940s

to

the

1980s.

Taken together, these images add up to a

graphic visual generalization: Every generation

isaPepsigeneration.

Final Word

We have examined a variety of cinematic

devices,includingcameratechniquesaswellas

editingstrategies.

But,

in

conclusion,

it

may

be

instructive to end with a brief scene that

doesnt really involveanyparticularly inventive

technical strategies. This scene comes from a

NOVA documentary called Battle of the X

Planes (2003), an illuminating look at the

workingsoftheUSdefenseindustry.Themovie

chronicles thecompetitionbetween twomajor

defense contractors, Boeing and Lockheed

Martin, to develop the Joint Strike Fighter, a

combatplane

that

would

simultaneously

meet

the needs of the US Air Force, Navy, and

Marines.Thestakeswerehigh: thecontractto

buildthefighterwasexpectedtobethelargest

ever in military history, and the contest was

winnertakeall. Through extensive footage of

the two development teams at work, NOVAs

documentary crewpaints adetailedpictureof

the projects daunting technical demands and

staggering complexity. As the fiveyear

developmentprocess

reaches

its

culmination

and the Department of Defense prepares to

deliveritsverdict,theviewergetsagoodsense

ofthetensionsfeltbytheteam leaders,whose

reputations are on the line. Finally the day of

the decision arrives, andmembers of the two

teams assemble in their respective

headquarterstowitnesstheannouncementon

television.

LockheedMartinwins,andjubilationeruptsat

theirend.ThenwecuttotheleaderofBoeings

effort, Program Manager Frank Statkus. It is

clear that he has been dealt a stunning blow.

For a second or two, there is silence in the


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room, but it is broken by a phone call from

BoeingsCEO:Frank,tellyourteamtheydidan

unbelievably goodjob. I couldnot have asked

for more. A moment later, another Boeing

executive, ViceChairman Harry Stonecipher,

offersStatkus

his

hand:

You

did

agreat

job.

Imsorry,Statkusreplies.No,youdidagreat

job.Thereisnofancycameraworkinthisbrief

exchange, and, apart from the visual contrast

between the Boeing and Lockheed Martin

teams, the scene does not contain any

noteworthy editing devices. All the same, this

little episode is a significant demonstration of

thepotentialvalueofvisualimagesasmeansof

information and sources of inspiration. In

contrastto

some

of

the

negative

portrayals

of

the businessworld thatwe have encountered

elsewhere, this little scene shows us people

treating each other with dignity, respect, and

compassion,even inthefaceofdefeat. It isan

imagewecanallaspireto.

The Language of Movies

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