Space in Cinema Part 1: A Window Onto A World

Space in Cinema is defined by the two dimensional frame. What is in the frame, what is outside the frame, and the world these suggest, dictate our attitude toward and understanding of the story, the characters, and the rhetoric of the film.

1. Space in Cinema, Part One A Window Onto A World Edward Bowen MTSU EMC 3000

2. Space Space in Cinema is defined by “the frame.” The frame is a two-dimensional boundary, a rectangle with height and width, a window through which, at any given moment, a part of the film’s world is revealed to us.

3. Space “Cinema is a matter of what's in the frame and what's out .” Martin Scorsese

4. Space In an essay from 1929, “The Filmic Fourth Dimension,” Sergei Eisenstein wrote about the impossibility of “the single- meaningness ” of the film frame, which “can never be an inflexible letter of the alphabet, but must always remain a multiple-meaning ideogram.” And part of the frame’s meaning lies outside of the frame itself, in the implied off-screen space that surrounds it, accumulated in fragments from places the film has already taken us. http:// filmmakermagazine.com /49337-the-blue-velvet-project-143/

5. Space Inside the frame is material, physical, specific. Outside the frame is imagination, suggestion, memory.

6. Space Inside the frame is material, physical, specific. Outside the frame is imagination, suggestion, memory. http:// filmmakermagazine.com /49337-the-blue-velvet-project-143/

7. Space Aside – The “frame” also defines time in cinema, but that’s a different definition of frame. More on that later.

8. Space The frame obviously comes in different sizes, depending on the viewer’s choice of medium.

9. Space An aside from Director David Lynch http://youtu.be/ wKiIroiCvZ0 http://youtu.be/ BcNLEwf2pOw

10. Space Movies are a two dimensional medium . As with the frame, there is width and height, bu t all depth is an illusion.

11. Space The frame also comes in a variety of shapes.

12. Space The frame’s shape is described by a ratio of its width to its height, its aspect ratio .

13. Space Aspect Ratios http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aspect_ratio_(image )

14. Space Standard or Academy ratio (4 X 3 or 1.33:1). In adopting the 35 mm format, early filmmakers established the standard aspect ratio as a classical rectangle with a ratio of four units of width to three units of height. Thus if the projected image is twenty feet wide it will be fifteen feet high . This became the official ratio for American films in 1932.

15. Space Aspect Ratios – 1.33:1 or 4:3 Academy Ratio

16. Space Widescreen . Experiments in wider aspect ratios are almost as old as cinema itself. Early filmmakers often employed mattes to reshape their images WITHIN the 4:3 ratio, straining against the tyranny of the frame.

17. Space Widescreen . Experiments in wider aspect ratios are almost as old as cinema itself. Early filmmakers often employed mattes to reshape their images WITHIN the 4:3 ratio, straining against the tyranny of the frame. “The Wildcat” Ernst Lubitsch (1921) https://youtu.be/ Ix083lwckFs https ://youtu.be/ im_pEraUTUs

18. Space Widescreen . In 1927, director Abel Gance’s combined three side-by-side regular -sized screens, producing an effective aspect ratio of 3.99: 1, for “Napoleon.”

19. “Napoleon”– Abel Gance ( 1927 ) Space http://vimeo.com/ 26322723 http://youtu.be/ cMlnRP3qOYE

20. Space Widescreen : Efforts to introduce widescreen technology were not successful until the 1950s when cinema tried to counter program against television. Some of the 1950s widescreens had a ratio of as much as 2.66:1 ( CinemaScope ).

21. Fred Waller – Inventor; Oversaw the photographic research and special effects department for Paramount Studios in the 1920s and 30s Aside http://www.in70mm.com/news/2002/this_is_cinerama/chapters/ index.htm http://www.ferdyonfilms.com/2008/persons-of-interest-fred-waller/243 /

22. Fred Waller – One of the inventors of the water ski. Waller devised his skis, Akwa Skees , as a camera platform (1925). Aside http://www.cineramaadventure.com/ skees.htm

23. Fred Waller – As a director, championed African-American performers. Aside http://www.cineramaadventure.com/ featurette.htm

24. Fred Waller – Director “Symphony in Black” (1935) Aside Duke-Ellington-and-his-Orchestra-Symphony-in- Black.mov https://youtu.be/ YEA2NpGA8gc

25. Fred Waller – Invented a 360 Degree Still Camera Aside http://www.widescreenmuseum.com/widescreen/wingcr1. htm

26. Fred Waller – Developed Vitarama for the 1939 World’s Fair. The system used eleven synchronized cameras and projectors for a gigantic image. Aside http://jimlanescinedrome.blogspot.com/2012/08/ups-and-downs-of-rollercoaster-part-1. html

27. Fred Waller – The Vitarama was overshadowed by another technology that debuted at the same World’s Fair - Television Aside http://www.earlytelevision.org/ worlds_fair.html

28. Fred Waller – Adapted the Vitarama technology into a “virtual reality” training system for World War II pilots – the Waller Gunnery Trainer (1943) Aside http://www.cineramaadventure.com/ trainer.htm http://in70mm.com/cinerama/archive/gunnery/ index.htm

29. Fred Waller – Waller Gunnery Trainer Aside http://www.widescreenmuseum.com/widescreen/waller01. htm

30. Fred Waller – Waller Gunnery Trainer Aside http://www.in70mm.com/cinerama/archive/war/ index.htm

31. Fred Waller – The Gunnery Trainer evolved into Cinerama (2.60:1 ), a wide screen movie system employing three synchronized cameras and projectors (1952). Aside http://www.in70mm.com/cinerama/archive/story/ index.htm

32. Cinerama (2.60:1) Space

33. Cinerama (2.60:1) Space

34. Cinerama (2.60:1) Space

35. Cinerama (2.60:1) Space http://youtu.be/ lII5rXbxcCs

36. Today’s Cinerama, another technology to distract movie goers from smaller screens, is IMAX (1.36 : 1) The aspect ratio is similar to that standardized in the 1930’s but MUCH BIGGER . Standard IMAX screen is 22 × 16.1 m (72 × 52.8 ft) Space The Dark Knight Rises Premieres in IMAX at Liberty Science Center http ://youtu.be/ Wm2vIaD3GYQ

37. IMAX – 1.36:1 (old shape, new size) Space http://youtu.be/ Ou6_MkIvKOo http://youtu.be/ 2p8OALI74h0

38. Space Common Aspect Ratios – 1.66:1 European and British Standard Widescreen

39. Space Common Aspect Ratios – 1.85:1 Standard Widescreen

40. Space Common Aspect Ratios – 2:35:1 Anamorphic of Super 35mm Widescreen

41. Space The World Seen Through the Frame So, what do we see through this frame ? The Real World?

42. Space The World Seen Through the Frame So, what do we see through this frame ? The Real World, Staged?

43. Space The World Seen Through the Frame So, what do we see through this frame ? The Real World, Dressed?

44. Space The World Seen Through the Frame So, what do we see through this frame ? The Real World, Dressed?

45. Space The World Seen Through the Frame So, what do we see through this frame ? The Real World, Dressed? Behind the Scenes: Filming Marvel's The Avengers in Cleveland, Ohio http://youtu.be/h9eKsv- icXQ

46. Space The World Seen Through the Frame So, what do we see through this frame ? Location - A real place chosen to shoot one or more shots for a film. Jaws filming locations http://youtu.be/ 7cRpoMpUgC0

47. Space The World Seen Through the Frame So, what do we see through this frame ? A Constructed World?

48. Space The World Seen Through the Frame So, what do we see through this frame ? A Constructed World?

49. Space The World Seen Through the Frame So, what do we see through this frame ? A Constructed World? Film psychology THE SHINING spatial awareness and set design 1of2 http://youtu.be/0sUIxXCCFWw

50. Space The World Seen Through the Frame So, what do we see through this frame ? A Constructed World? Film psychology THE SHINING spatial awareness and set design 2of2 http://youtu.be/ IfJ8rK7eJeQ

51. Space The World Seen Through the Frame So, what do we see through this frame ? Stage Set - A place built to specifications as an environment for one of more shots in a film. New SKYFALL Production Videoblog http ://youtu.be/ GK5ws85Rxd8

52. Space The World Seen Through the Frame Set Extension - Extending or replacing various elements within a scene through various special effects. Glass Shots and Hanging Miniatures. http ://mtmedia.mtsu.edu:8888/ebowen / Hollywood Glass Shots Miniatures.mov

53. Space The World Seen Through the Frame Set Extension - Extending or replacing various elements within through various special effects. Foreground (hanging) miniatures. “ Ben- Hur ” (1925)

54. Space The World Seen Through the Frame Set Extension - Extending or replacing various elements within through various special effects. Foreground (hanging) miniatures. “ Ben- Hur ” (1925) http://mtmedia.mtsu.edu:8888/ebowen /Ben Hur.mov

55. Space The World Seen Through the Frame Set Extension - Extending or replacing various elements within through various special effects. Mattes. “ Ben- Hur ” (1959)

56. Space The World Seen Through the Frame Set Extension - Extending or replacing various elements within through various special effects. Mattes. “ Ben- Hur ” (1959)

57. Space The World Seen Through the Frame Set Extension - Extending or replacing various elements within through various special effects. Mattes. “ Ben- Hur ” (1959)

58. Space The World Seen Through the Frame Set Extension - Extending or replacing various elements within through various special effects. Mattes. “ Ben- Hur ” (1959)

59. Space The World Seen Through the Frame Set Extension - Extending or replacing various elements within through various special effects. Mattes. “ Ben- Hur ” (1959)

60. Space The World Seen Through the Frame Set Extension - Extending or replacing various elements within through various special effects. Virtual extension. Stargate Studios Virtual Backlot Reel 2012 -Demo https ://vimeo.com/ 35769675

61. Space The World Seen Through the Frame So, what do we see through this frame ? A Generated World?

62. Space The World Seen Through the Frame Virtual Set - An environment created through digital effects. “ Tron : Legacy ” (2010) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhyScbAZrFs

63. Space The World Seen Through the Frame Virtual Actors – “ Tron : Legacy ” (2010) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhyScbAZrFs

64. Space The World Seen Through the Frame Virtual Actors - “ Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow ” (2004 ) Laurence Olivier (1907-1989) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AqGBt0124bY

65. Space The World Seen Through the Frame Virtual Actors - “ Terminator Salvation ” (2009) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L7YYfgx_cHo

66. Space The World Seen Through the Frame Virtual Actors - “ The Avengers ” ( 2012)

67. Space The World Seen Through the Frame Virtual Actors

68. Space The World Seen Through the Frame Virtual Actors - The Uncanny Valley

69. Space The World Seen Through the Frame Virtual Actors - The Uncanny Valley

70. Space The World Seen Through the Frame Virtual Actors - The Uncanny Valley Dirtgirlworld - Get Grubby http://youtu.be/ rR2Ac3ZvidU

71. Space The World Seen Through the Frame Virtual Actors - The Uncanny Valley http://research.universityofcalifornia.edu/stories/2012/02/ uncanny.html

72. Space The World Seen Through the Frame Virtual Actors - The Uncanny Valley

73. Space The World Seen Through the Frame Virtual Actors - The Uncanny Valley Extra Credits: The Uncanny Valley http ://youtu.be/ 9K1Kd9mZL8g

74. Space The World Seen Through the Frame Virtual Actors - The Uncanny Valley http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CNdAIPoh8a4

75. Space The World Seen Through the Frame Virtual Actors – “ Sim0ne ” (2002) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=salcZxwspxg

76. Space The World Seen Through the Frame So, what do we see through this frame ? An Animated World?

77. Space The World Seen Through the Frame And how are we meant to perceive this reality. As Reality ? As Idealized Reality? As Stylized Reality ? As Fantasy?

78. Gotham City (1989)

79. Gotham City (1989)

80. Gotham City (1992)

81. Gotham City (1992)

82. Gotham City (1995)

83. Gotham City (1997)

84. Gotham City (2005)

85. Gotham City (2008)

86. Gotham City (2012)