The Language of Film

First up, I've been needing to broaden my horizon in regards to what types of narrative styles and genres I can be applying my drawing skills to. So far, I have slugged around the waters of Animation, but to truly understand Storyboarding, I need to understand the Language of Film and the Genres that come with it. So first thing's first, I've nominated several areas of practices and disciplines, and hope to draw out some principles from each.

Cinematography.

Practiotioners: Jack Cardiff, Amelie, Debrunell

A defining discipline that deals with the motion of images within a film, applying many of the principles of photography, whilst conjuring new ones to cater to the added dimension of sequential imagery. Lighting, composition, and framing remain the watchwords of this discipline.

Notable cinematographers are -princess nile- who's use of colour became a hallmark of his work. Modern cinematographers such as Franco Debrunel saturate colours, in place of select hues pulled out as a visual theme throughout. The prime example is the film Amelie.

Other cinematographers have a particular flare for unusual composition, though more often than not many directors themselves can be responsible for much of the staging. Steven Spielberg in particular stages sequences with strong visual cues- I.e the silhuoette of Indiana Jones being exploited repeatedly in composition throughout the Indy trilogy, and even the recent fourth.

Westerns.

Westerns, much akin to Film Noir, can be labelled as both genre and style, with the prominence of certain film makers who have forever stamped their own flair to the formula. This genre of film making is inherently American in its origin, and is one of the most flexible and oldest narrative moulds in cinema. Ironically so, the most famous of installations over the years was by Italian director Sergio Leone who's cinematography and flair, among several other Italian directors who rose through this genre, has lead to the term 'spaghetti western'- now considered a sub-genre in its own right. It is of these films that have a direct influence over my framing style when storyboarding, and of which I will examine further here.

My personal favourites, perhaps unoriginally (so forgive me!), are 'The Man with No Name' trilogy installations; 'A Fist Full of Dollars' (1964), 'For A Few Dollars More' (1965), 'The Good, The Bad And The Ugly' (1966)

Extreme wide angles, extreme close ups, and obscure figure framing during pistol duels are all hallmarks of these films, and offer a rich depth to the visual narration and the language of film, so much so, that nearly all westerns now feature predominantly a tip of the hat to these cinematography elements.

Perfect example: Opening sequence from 'Once Upon a Time in the West'

This is personally one of my favourites, because its usage of specific composition and intimate close-ups just add to the growing tension throughout. Choice shots remain the under-the-train view as it hurtles over the camera aggressively, in marked contrast to the previous silence building up to breaking point. Trade-mark western close-ups of character faces are rife here also (being one of the films that inspired the trend under Leone's direction) and the particular emphasis on environmental sounds actually becoming the soundtrack is especially effective. This is the kind of pacing that would, at the very least today, benefit greatly in its realization from storyboarding. Below are some of my analytical thumbnails describing visually some of my favourite aspects of that sequence.

Film Noir. Now, technically speaking, Film Noir is not defined as a film genre, but rather a style within certain genres. Examples are Noir hybrids with other formulaic films such as Unforgiven, a Noirish Western, Sin City, a dark and gloomy comic book made to silver screen, and

even comedys such as Dead Men Don't Wear Plaids. Officially speaking, however, Film Noir is classed as a specific period in Cinema History, linked specifically with the post-war aura that surrounded the 40's onwards, and then being spurred on by the coming of the Cold War.

There are certain cliques that are synonymous with the Noir style, in terms of narrative. Femme Fatals, Damsels in Distress, and solitary bleak men wrapped up in a conspiracy are rife. My concern, however, is more the cinematography of this 'mood' of filming, and how I can translate that to my drawings.

Noir cinematography has its roots in German expressionism within the arts prior and during the height of the first world war. Examples of their work are:

The Student of Prague (1913)

The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920)

Nosferatu (1922)

A case in point is the critically acclaimed Nosferatu, a dark and brooding tale of the original vampire, Dracula, albeit unauthorized in book rights to be official. Despite this, it is considered a genre defining film, and is often cited in regards to the Film Noir movement.

Silent Films.

Another would be, in my own opinion, a loose Noir-ish style film: Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds. I say Noir-ish more for its thematic elements, and some of its choice shots similar to the genre, as opposed to the obvious; black and white, silhouette aspects that are so synonymous.

Hitchcock was well known for visually planning out his sequences and staging via heavy use of storyboards, as can be seen below during the famous attack scene of the birds.

And here is the final sequence.

It's interesting to see the thought process behind these boards, and how the ultimate vision is pretty much carried over intact. There are a few examples to the contrary, however. Notably an omitted wide shot from above, as seen clearly on the storyboards, showcasing the descent of the birds upon the fleeing children. Why? Perhaps it was filmed, and dropped in the editing, or obtaining that angle in real terms proved too difficult or uneconomical logistically. Furthermore it's interesting to see Hitchcock's use of back drop screens, as an almost crude per-cursor to the 'greens-screen' method so used in many films today. By doing this, he had complete control of the sequence and how it was staged; from the birds, the children's reactions, and even the background rolling by on the screen. It ensured the vision of the storyboard was transplanted crisply and with little compromise.

I personally feel the shift from the low angle, viewing the fleeing children from the school, then to the aerial POV of the Bird's ascent made for better orientation in the scene. My thumbnails explain:

It would've led nicely then to cut to the tracking shot of the children running down the road from the similar angle as the original first shot of the school. As it is, the original sequence cuts from the school view angle, to almost the same one again, this time on the move, framing the expressions on the children's faces. It's a fraction jarring, and the addition of the storyboard's original panel could have avoided that.