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- point of view and slow motion
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1.POV in films
A) List three things you may have learned in this compilation.
One thing I learned from the compilation was how POV is used to reflect or imply the mental states of characters. We can see this with Vertigo and how the man’s perspective is different when looking down the staircase implying, he has a fear of heights. In The Wanderers, because of the pov, we can assume that the POV is of the teenage male since he is so focused on the women walking by. In Trainspotting, the red carpet is in the shot while the character is high, and the carpet is visible from his POv until the point where he gets treated.Another thing I learned from the compilation is that a POV in a film can be unreliable, like in a novel. In a novel, the narrator will often not be aware of other character’s perspectives, and therefore be unreliable. We can see this with the film Atonement, and how the little girl’s point of view is different from the actual events that took place. A first-person POV can be visually limiting because we can only see through the camera that is mimicking the character’s point of view. This likely more prevalent is a subjective point of view.
The last thing I learned is how POV can often change depending on the type of film. For example, first-person perspectives are common, but in horror movies, the first-person point of view is usually from the monster rather than from the main actor, which is what is more prevalent in other types of films.
Overall, a unique POV can be a way for a film’s shots to feel less monotonous and give the audience some distinct and visually enticing perspectives. They can be an extension of the narrative or just an addition to the film’s overall visual style.
B) List at least one question you now have about POV.
It seems like what has been possible with POV shots has changed over time, and certain POVs have become more adopted over time. I believe the “found footage” POV seems relatively new, with the earliest example I can think of being The Blair Witch Project, which is in the compilation. Was this the earliest example, and if so, what has sparked it to become increasingly popular?C) Mention one thing you like about this presentation.
I liked the inclusion of clips from the thriller and horror genres. I think this genre has a lot of opportunities to show some interesting points of view. As mentioned previously, horror movies often will include the point of view of the monster as they chase the victim. The Silence of the Lambs is an especially great choice since it’s a psychological thriller, and many of its POVs intend to create suspense or uneasiness.2.Slow motion
A) Mention two things you may have learned in this compilation.
I learned about how slow-motion effects can create drama and create anticipation. In the scene from 300, the slow-motion brings attention to the man approaching horseback and allows for the audience to anticipate Astinos’ death and make it more dramatic since, as the audience, all we can do is watch. Overall slow-motion can accentuate the ephemeralness of life. Death can be instant, but in a lot of these scenes, the act of dying is elongated to create a dramatic effect.Another thing I learned was the subtlety of not including dialogue or the inclusion of distorted sound for slow motion. Since this is a bit more subtle, I never paid attention to it, but it makes sense since slow-motion is mimicking how slowing downtime would feel. Slow-motion overall certainly can give an interesting dream-like feeling that could be difficult to do otherwise with other techniques.
B) Think of one question you now have about slow-mo.
Is there commonality with how many frames per second are needed to create a standard slow-motion effect? If the shot contains more frames like in super slow-motion, does it make it more impactful?C) Mention one thing you like about this presentation.
I liked seeing some examples of slow-motion outside of action movies. It seems that the action genre has used this practice the most in recent years. It feels like the technique has been used a lot in these kinds of films to focus on the movement of characters and action sequences, so it was cool to see slow-motion as a way to focus on astounding and beautiful imagery.
D) When you have seen slow-mo Before watching this did you have any reaction: did you enjoy it, feel it is unnecessary, find any slow-mo scenes memorable, or not even noticed it?
As I mentioned previously, my encounters with slow motion in films have mostly been in action films. While these scenes can be visually enticing and exciting at the moment, if I think about it too much, the slow-motion can feel repetitious and dull. I think this is probably more prevalent in superhero movies and series like Fast and Furious, where the trope eventually gets worn out and becomes monotonous because, as the audience, we know what to expect. I think these movies can be fun, but if you think about it too much, it can become tiresome. A great example of slow-motion is a scene from Spiderman: Into the Spider-Verse. In this scene, the hero is leaping off of a building before the climactic fight of the movie. The slow-motion in this scene emphasizes the movement and beauty with the way the glass shards break off the window and reflect the hero’s hands and with the beautiful shot of the hero as he is falling upwards with the city in the background. It is also important to note that the film is animated, so the parts in slow-motion are animated with more frames than other parts of the film, which shows that the choice to include slow-mo is intentional. While in slow-motion, the film has no sound except the film’s soundtrack, and the speed of the scene parallels the pace of the song. The music and imagery, accompanied by the alternating speeds as he is falling, make the scene draw dropping.Zeest,
Thanks for your responses.Writers are more limited, so they rely on words like “I” for first-person (think of Holden Caulfield in The Cather in the Rye) and “you,” stated or implied (reader,” “ladies and gentleman of the jury”) as per Humbert Humbert when he is talking directly to the reader. In The Great Gatsby, since the narrator is another character, Nick Carroway, he will use words like “he” and “she,” similar to the God-like use of pronouns, but Nick is not omniscient.
It seems slow-mo can be used to intensify drama, but it has been used for comedies too, perhaps ironically.
Virginia,
When I was researching slo-mo, I learned that even in silent film shorts (not feature films) when the cameramen had to crank the cameras at a certain rate, they sometimes slowed the speed down to indicate something dreamlike, or sped things up to make them seem funnier.
Slow-mo was liked at the main start in the 1960s and was actually a talking point of film artistry.
As for a favorite slow-mo scene, that is a great question. The one that I enjoyed seeing the most is the one I used from X-Men: Days of Future Past with Quicksilver. It brought a smile to my face.
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