This is how I would complete the assignment for this week, in which I must compare the effective use a three cinematic techniques by two different directors. I'll start with a step by step, then expand upon what I would do in each step.
- Identify a bunch of cinematic techniques in Big Fish that I though conveyed important information to the audience beyond just what was on screen.
- Watch TV, movies, and / or YouTube for a film text by a director using the same techniques.
- Identify three of the Big Fish techniques that are effectively used in the text I've chosen, and consider their effect.
- Write a draft.
STEP ONE
Before I do anything else, I'm going to review all of the cinematic techniques that I thought were well used in Big Fish. I want this list to have many more than three techniques because I will use the comparison text to choose the three that will make for the best comparison. To make this initial list, I find clips online, review my notes, and / or pick out moments I liked from my initial viewing:
- Boom shot - used when showing Bloom and his landscaping company
- Non-diegetic sound - used often, but especially when viewing the silhouette of the giant in the barn
- Dolly shot - used when showing the people sitting in the church pews
- Close up - used when showing Edward and Carl shake hands
- Two shot - used often, but especially when showing Edward and Carl talking together
- Shot-reverse-shot - used when showing Edward's view of the vultures near the cave.
- Eye level angle - used often, but especially during the dolly shot mentioned above.
STEP TWO
Before I actually start watching clips, tv shows, or films, I try to think if there are any scenes in other filmed media that have examples of these techniques that stand out in my memory. If I was able to think of an example of any of them off the top of my head, I could start there and watch the same scene for two more cinematic techniques. Unfortunately, nothing comes to mind.
Instead of watching something because I know an example is there, I instead think of movies that I've enjoyed and may have a mood or topic similar to Big Fish. I choose The Sandlot, a film with a focus on growing up and playing sports, which are both featured in our Tim Burton film. After spending some time on YouTube, I find a clip from the movie that I enjoy and uses a variety of film techniques effectively.
STEP THREE
Now that I have a clip, I want to look carefully for the cinematic techniques that I identified earlier. In particular, I want to choose three that are used well so that I can compare how they are used in Big Fish.
Watching this clip, I see examples of boom shot, non-diegetic sound, eye level angle, shot-reverse-shot, and dolly shot that I think are particularly effective. After considering each carefully, I decide that boom shot, dolly shot, and eye level are my favorite. I actually choose the last two because they are related. I will focus on these.
STEP FOUR
Step four is actually writing a draft, so that is just what I'm going to do. I will provide commentary on this draft on the side that explain how I am arranging my ideas, developing my sentences, and supporting my thesis to respond to the prompt. It should be noted that I do not expect your response to be as long or as detailed as mine; writing is something I've developed a comfort in over decades, so do not think that I expect a lengthy essay. I do, however, expect you to attempt to answer the prompt fully. My draft follows:
Wes Lydon
Mr. Lydon
English 6
February 8th, 2016
I used a proper MLA formatted heading here, which includes (on the left) my name, the teacher's name, the class, the date, and (centered) a title, followed by the essay itself. Notice there are no changes in font, and there are no lines being skipped.
What Big Fish and The Sandlot Say in Their Shots
I include an introduction that makes it clear I am talking about cinematic techniques, and I end the paragraph with a statement that identifies (1) which techniques and (2) which films I'll be talking about, with a statement about how they are used.
If a film were laid out like a quilt, each squared patch of fabric would be a shot. Shots are the basic building blocks of a film, and it is only together they can tell the full arc of a narrative. But each shot has more to say than just what is on screen. Just as each patch of a quilt may be tied to a particular memory or person and all of those associated feelings, the way a director presents a shot tells the audience something that is subtle, but important. There are a variety of shot types, but in the films Big Fish and The Sandlot, the boom shot and dolly shot stand out, complimented by the use of eye level angles. These three techniques, considered together, are carefully used by the directors of both films to develop compelling characters.
I chose to structure my essay so that I would talk first of Big Fish and then of The Sandlot in a following paragraph, so this paragraph is about how Burton uses the three techniques I previously mentioned in his film. I try to include examples of each technique, discuss the effect of each, and try to make clear how the example demonstrates the effect. Notice that I try to describe enough of these scenes so that someone who has not seen the movie should be able to understand what I am talking about.
In Big Fish, director Tim Burton includes a series of scenes that show protagonist Edward Bloom developing from an average child to an extraordinary adult, and he carefully shoots these scenes to indirectly emphasize this information to the viewer. Before we first see Edward's sudden growth, Burton shows a series of pews in a church filled with people staring up to and singing with the pastor. In this shot, the camera slowly moves horizontally down the center aisle of the church, matching the eye level of the church-goers, passing the pews, until finally settling on Edward. By dollying slowly across each row with each attendant's eyes and head in the same position, everyone, including Edward, look similar and ordinary. When later we see an adult Edward standing in the middle of a suburban street as the camera moves from an overhead position to one solidly behind his back, it appears that Edward is surveying a land that he has a degree of ownership or power over. The boom shot creates the image of Edward as separate and greater than this neighborhood, clearly demonstrating how much he has developed as a character.
Because I focused on Big Fish in the previous paragraph, I focus primarily on The Sandlot here. As I introduce the use of these techniques I also take the opportunity to provide comparison to their use in Big Fish.
Director David B. Evans' use of these techniques in The Sandlot is similar, and yet he manages to demonstrate not how much his protagonists are changing, but instead how well they encapsulate what it means to be a kid. During a sequence in which the neighborhood children run into and through a busy July 4th block party to mix with the other partiers, the camera moves from eye level to an overhead boom shot that fully shows the cul de sac. As the kids run further into the ongoing block party, they begin to disappear into the crowd of neighbors. Rather than showing the individual significance of these characters compared with the rest of the neighborhood (as we saw in Big Fish), Evans demonstrates how these kids are an ordinary part of any neighborhood, making them relatable. When one of the kids - "Ham" Porter - runs into the block party, the camera actually cuts to a dolly shot, tracking Ham as he moves down the street grabbing handfuls of food, stuffing them into his mouth (while putting some back) and dodging adults like obstacles. This behavior is both reckless and inconsiderate and creates in Ham a relatable childhood character. By also matching his eye level, the audience relates with the child while distancing themselves from the adults that surround him, as the adults are only seen from the neck down, in clear contrast to the Big Fish usage.
Now that I have discussed and compared my three techniques in both films, it is time for me to conclude. I need to be sure that I am referring to the techniques, films, and directors discussed and offer some conclusions that build on what I've already said about how they compare. I also try to end with a statement that connects with film in general.
In both films, dolly and boom shots are used in conjunction with eye-line angles to indirectly develop complex characters. Burton and Evans use these techniques to create characters that are at one moment ordinary and connected with the people around them and then separate and distinct in the next. It is somewhat surprising that these directors are capable of accomplishing similar overall effects while using these techniques in opposite ways; the boom shot can be used to separate or bring together, and the dolly can be used to bring together or separate. These are techniques that can be effective tools for conveying information to the audience, and in Big Fish and The Sandlot, Tim Burton and David B. Evans demonstrate just how much control the director has in effectively communicating that information.
So that is how I would do it. If you have questions about choices I made, would like additional answers regarding the assignment itself, or would just like to help me make these posts more useful to you, please leave me some feedback!