Still Image Analysis: "Io Non ho Paura" (2003)

1. Still ImageAnalysis 15 E s s e n t i a l P o i n t s

2. Io Non ho Paura (I’, Not Scared) directed by Gabriele Salvatores(2003)

3. The Dominant Where is our eye attracted first? Why? The dominant contrast can be created by any number of techniques. The size of an object may draw our attention to it. In black and white movies, the dominant contrast is generally achieved through a juxtaposition of lights and darks. In color films, the dominant is often achieved by having one color stand out from the others. Placing one object in sharper focus than the rest of the shot can also create a dominant.

4. The dominant in this shot is the Michele. (Giuseppe Cristiano) The dominant is created by: • Focus – Michele is in focus while the barbed wire fence which occupies the foreground is out of focus • Character placement – Michele is placed near the centre of the screen, drawing the viewer’s attention to him • Color – Michele’s bright red shirt stands in contrast against the brown path, weeds, and the barbed wire fence

5. Negative Space What empty spaces draw our eyes or throw the dominant out of balance? The technical way to refer to those blank areas is negative space. Negative space could create a feeling of emptiness, isolation, and loneliness in its own right, but it could also help to bring out the contrast of the dominant. It can guide the viewer's eye and define spatial relationships between other elements in the image

6. The majority of the screen is taken up with negative space. Michele seems small and powerless as he approaches the house where mysterious terror awaits him.

7. Subsidiary Contrasts What are the main areas of the image the eye rests on after examining the dominant? These are referred to as the subsidiary contrast. If visual information is important in a shot, it needs to be highlighted in some significant way—through color, light, shadow, size, position, or proximity—so the viewer's eyes will linger there and not just pass over en route to some more appealing element in the image.

8. Michele’s red shirt makes him stand out. Our eye is next drawn to the old house, a very important location in this film. Finally we notice the barbed wire fence that encloses (or traps) Michele

9. Framing Is the framing tight or loose? Do the character have no room to move around, or can they move freely without impediments? • Shots where the characters are placed at the edges of the frame and have little room to move around within the frame are considered tight. • Longer shots, in which characters have room to move around within the frame, are considered loose and tend to suggest freedom.

10. The framing in this shot is loose. Michele has a lot of lead room to the right and space above his head. However there is a deliberate frame created by the barbed wire fence. The fence frames the top and bottom of the screen adding to the horizontal composition. This framing device gives the impression that the viewer is looking through the fence at Michele; that the viewer is actually there in the field instead of watching a film.

11. Camera Angles • What is the angle at which the camera has shot the subject? • Is the camera looking down on the action, or up at it? • Is the camera neutral, at eye level and horizontal? • Or has the camera been tilted off the horizontal axis? • What are the effects of these choices? There are five basic angles in film. • Bird's-eye view--the shot is photographed directly from above. This type of shot can be disorienting, and the people photographed seem insignificant. • High angle--this angle reduces the size of the objects photographed. A person photographed from this angle seems harmless and insignificant, but to a lesser extent than with the bird's-eye view. • Eye-level shot--the clearest view of an object, but seldom intrinsically dramatic, because it tends to be the norm. • Low angle--this angle increases high and a sense of verticality, heightening the importance of the object photographed. A person shot from this angle is given a sense of power and respect. • Oblique angle--for this angle, the camera is tilted laterally, giving the image a slanted appearance. Oblique angles suggest tension, transition, a impending movement. They are also called canted angles or Dutch angles.

12. The camera angle is neutral. A high angle could signify that Michele is insignificant or powerless; this is not true at this point in the plot. This shot is eye level. However it is at the Michele’s eye level. This is done to show the world of the film through his eyes rather than that of a much taller adult

13. Colour Values What do you notice about the use of color in the image? Is there a primary or dominant color? Are there contrasting colors in other parts of the image? Do colors exist harmoniously together, or do they clash with each other? What is the overall tone of the image? Is there color symbolism present in the image?

14. Michele’s shirt is bright red, which separates him from the rest of the background. Michele is also the only one of his friends who wears bright colors, thus symbolically separating him from his friends. The background is a muted gold/dusty yellow color. Michele’s red shirt sets him apart from the muted natural colours that dominate this shot. This might suggest that he is out of place in the location; on the other hand, it could suggest that he can the power to dominate. It this point in the film, the audience is unsure how to interpret this use of colour.

15. Density How much visual information is packed into the image? Is the texture stark, moderate, or highly detailed?

16. This frame is not dense. There are really only three objects that attract our eye: Michele, the building and the fence. Our focus in on Michele and the big house.

17. Composition How is the two-dimensional space segmented and organized? What is the underlying design? The objects in the frame can be placed to suggest underlying designs or shapes. • Horizontal--compositions based on horizontal lines seem visually at rest and suggest placidity or peacefulness. • Vertical--compositions based on vertical lines seem visually at rest and suggest strength. • Diagonal--compositions based on diagonal, or oblique, lines seem dynamic and suggest tension or anxiety. • Binary--binary structures emphasize parallelism. • Triangle--triadic compositions stress the dynamic interplay among three main elements. • Circle--circular compositions suggest security and enclosure.

18. This shot has horizontal composition. Multiple layers of horizontal lines are suggested; the barbed wire and fence, the end of the path, and the roof of the house and the horizon where sky and landscape meet..

19. Form • Does the image suggest that the elements in it have been deliberately arranged, like a still life, or randomly captured, like a child's messy bedroom? • Does the viewer have a sense of looking through a window that simply isolates a portion of the larger image? • Or does the image rather lend the impression of looking at a play where the proscenium arch of the stage creates a definite border, beyond which there is nothing else? • These questions call upon a reference to form, usually in light of whether the form is open or closed. A randomly isolated image, or window, has an open form. A tightly controlled and meticulously arranged image, or proscenium arch, has a closed form.

20. The form is fairly open. This is because of the natural location which does appear to have been manipulated. The camera is placed so that the fence frames Michele and the house.

21. Depth of Field On how many planes is the image composed (how many are in focus)? Does the background or foreground comment in any way on the mid-ground? Deep-focus allow all planes to be in focus at the same time. More commonly, only one or two frames are in focus.

22. There are three planes in focus: the wire fence,Michele and the house. Michele is the main character and the house is his destination.

23. Lighting Key High key? Low key? High contrast? Some combination of these? • High key lighting--features bright, even illumination and few conspicuous shadows. This lighting key is often used in musicals and comedies. • Low key lighting--features diffused shadows and atmospheric pools of light. This lighting key is often used in mysteries and thrillers. • High contrast lighting--features harsh shafts of lights and dramatic streaks of blackness. This type of lighting is often used in tragedies and melodramas.

24. The lighting seems to be natural here he. The key effect ensures that there are almost no visible shadows in the scene. This gives the scene a very idyllic and almost surreal feel. A theme of the film is innocence, and the high key lighting creates a bright and warm feeling world in which Michele lives.

25. Shot and Camera Proxemics What type of shot? How far away is the camera from the action? Shots are defined by the amount of subject matter that's included within the frame. They can be divided into six basic categories: • Extreme long shot--taken from a great distance, showing much of the locale. If people are included in these shots, they usually appear as mere specks. • Long shot--corresponds to the space between the audience and the stage in a live theater. The long shots show the characters and some of the locale. • Full shot--range with just enough space to contain the human body in full. The full shot shows the character and a minimal amount of the locale. • Medium shot--shows the human figure from the knees or waist up. • Close-up--concentrates on a relatively small object and show very little if any locale. • Extreme close-up--focuses on an unnaturally small portion of an object, giving that part great detail and symbolic significance.

26. This is a long shot. This show allows the viewer to see the house that Michele is going to and some locale.

27. Lens & Filters How do these distort or comment on the photographed materials? Common lenses : - Telephoto lens--A lens that draws objects closer but also diminishes the illusion of depth. • Wide-angle lens--A lens that takes in a broad area and increases the illusion of depth but sometimes distorts the edges of the image.

28. This shot does not use a telephoto or wide angle lens. Both Michele and the house are in focus; they are both important.

29. Character Placement What part of the framed space do the characters occupy? Center? Top? Bottom? Edges? Why? • The area near the top of the frame can suggest ideas dealing with power, authority, and aspiration. • The areas near the bottom of the frame tend to suggest meanings opposite from the top: subservience, vulnerability, and powerlessness. • The left and right edges of the frame tend to suggest insignificance because these are the areas farthest removed from the center of the screen.

30. The character is at the bottom of the frame. This however does not signify subservience since Michele is walking up the hill towards the house. However Michele appears very small which signifies his innocence and naivety towards the adult world

31. Staging Positions Which way do the characters look vis-a-vis the camera? An actor can be photographed in any of five basic positions, each conveying different psychological overtones. • Full-front (facing the camera): the position with the most intimacy. The character is looking in our direction, inviting our complicity. • Quarter Turn: the favored position of most filmmakers. This position offers a high degree of intimacy but with less emotional involvement than the full-front position. • Profile (looking of the frame left or right): More remote than the quarter turn, the character in profile seems unaware of being observed, lost in his or her own thoughts. • Three-quarter Turn: More anonymous than the profile, this position is useful for conveying a character's unfriendly or antisocial feelings, for in effect, the character is partially turning his or her back on us, rejecting our interest. • Back to Camera: The most anonymous of all positions, this position is often used to suggest a character's alienation from the world. When a character has his or her back to the camera, we can only guess what's taking place internally, conveying a sense of concealment, or mystery.

32. Michele is shown with his back to the camera. With this staging position Michele is able to walk away from the viewer, giving the impression of his determination in walking into a terrifying situation.

33. Character Proxemics How much space is there between the characters? The way people use space can be divided into four proxemic patterns. • Intimate distances: the intimate distance ranges from skin contact to about eighteen inches away. This is the distance of physical involvement--of love, comfort, and tenderness between individuals. • Personal distances: the personal distance ranges roughly from eighteen inches away to about four feet away. These distances tend to be reserved for friends and acquaintances. Personal distances preserve the privacy between individuals, yet these rages don't necessarily suggest exclusion, as intimate distances often do. • Social distances: the social distance rages from four feet to about twelve feet. These distances are usually reserved for impersonal business and casual social gatherings. It's a friendly range in most cases, yet somewhat more formal than the personal distance. • Public distances: The public distance extends from twelve feet to twenty-five feet or more. This range tends to be formal and rather detached

34. Not relevant here since Michele is the only character in the frame.

35. What is the dominant image? • What is the negative space? • What are the contrasts? • What is the staging position?

36. 5. What are the camera angles?6. What are the color values7.What is the density of the shot?

37. 8. What is the composition?9. What are the character proxemics?10. What is the filters?