研究生专业英语-1第一讲-Photography课件.ppt

第一讲第一讲 PhotographyRealism and FormalismRealism and FormalismnEven before 1900,movies began to develop in two major directions:the realistic and the formalistic.nIn the mid-1890s in France,the Lumiere brothers delighted audiences with their short movies dealing with everyday occurrences.Realism and FormalismnSuch films as The Arrival of a train fascinated viewers precisely because they seemed to capture the flux and spontaneity of events as they were viewed in real life.nAt about the same time,Georges Melies was creating a number of fantasy films that emphasized purely imagined events.Realism and FormalismnSuch movies as A Trip to the Moon were typical mixtures of whimsical narrative and trick photography.nIn many respects,the Lumieres can be regarded as the founders of the realist tradition of cinema,and Melies of the formalist tradition.Realism and FormalismnFew films are exclusively formalist in style,and fewer yet are completely realist.n There is also an important difference between realism and reality,although this distinction is often forgotten.Realism and FormalismnRealism is a particular style,whereas physical reality is the source of all the raw materials of film,both realistic and formalistic.nVirtually all movie directors go to the photographable world for their subject matter,but what they do with this material how they shape and manipulate it is what determines their stylistic emphasis.Realism and FormalismnGenerally speaking,realistic films attempt to reproduce the surface of reality with a minimum of distortion.nIn photographing objects and events,the filmmaker tries to suggest the richness of life itself.Realism and FormalismnRealists,in short,try to preserve the illusion that their film world is unmanipulated,an objective mirror of the actual world.nFormalists,on the other hand,make no such pretense.Realism and FormalismnThey deliberately stylize and distort their raw materials so that no one would mistake a manipulated image of an object or event for the real thing.nThe stylization calls attention to itself:Its part of the show.Realism and FormalismnThe camera is used conservatively.nIts essentially a recording mechanism that reproduces the surface of tangible objects with as little commentary as possible.nSome realists aim for a rough look in their images,one that doesnt prettify the materials with a self-conscious beauty of form.Realism and FormalismnFormalist movies are stylistically flamboyant.nTheir directors are concerned with expressing their subjective experience of reality,not how other people might see it.Realism and FormalismnFormalists are often referred to as expressionists,because their self-expression is at least as important as the subject matter itself.n Expressionists are often concerned with spiritual and psychological truths,which they feel can be conveyed best by distorting the surface of the material world.Realism and FormalismnMost realists would claim their major concern is with content rather than form or technique.nThe subject matter is always supreme,and anything that distracts from the content is viewed with suspicion.Realism and FormalismnIn its most extreme form,the realistic cinema tends toward documentary,with it emphasis on photographing actual events and people.nThe formalist cinema,on the other hand,tends to emphasize technique and expressiveness.Realism and FormalismnThe most extreme example of this style of filmmaking is found in the avant-garde cinema.n Some of these movies are totally abstract;pure forms(that is nonrepresentational colors,lines,and shapes)constitute the only content.nMost fiction films fall somewhere between these two extremes,in a mode critics refer to as classical cinema.Realism and FormalismnEven the terms form and content arent as clear-cut as they may sometimes seem.nAs the filmmaker and author Vladimir Nilsen pointed out:“a photograph is by no means a complete and whole reflection of reality:the photographic picture represents only one or another selection from the sum of physical attributes of the object photographed.”Realism and FormalismnThe form of a shot the way in which a subject is photographed is its true content,not necessarily what the subject is perceived to be in reality.n The communications theorists Marshall McLuhan pointed out that the content of one medium is actually another medium.Realism and FormalismnIn each case,the precise information is determined by the medium,although superficially all three have the same content.nThe great French critic Andre Bazin noted,“One way of understanding better what a film is trying to say is to know how it is saying it.”Realism and Formalismn The American critic Herman G.Weinberg expressed the matter succinctly:n“The way a story is told is part of that story.You can tell the same story badly or well;you can also tell it well enough or magnificently.It depends on who is telling the story.”Realism and FormalismnRealism and realistic are much overtaxed terms,both in life and in movies.n We use these terms to express so many different ideas.n For example,people often praise the“realism”of the boxing matches in Raging Bull.Realism and FormalismnThe images are often photographed in dreamy slow motion,with lyrical crane shots（crane shot:升降镜头）,weird accompanying sound effects(like hissing sounds and jungle screams),staccato editing（staccato editing:不连贯的剪辑）in both the images and the sound.Realism and FormalismnTrue,the subject matter is based on actual life the brief boxing career of the American middleweight champion of the 1940s,Jack La Motta.n But the stylistic treatment of these biographical materials is extravagantly subjective.Realism and FormalismnThey are useful concepts for temporarily isolating specific aspects of a movie for the purpose of closer examination.nSuch a separation is artificial,of course,yet this technique can yield more detailed insights into the work of art as a whole.Master and Commander:The Far Side of the World(U.S.A.,2003)Dames(U.S.A.,1934)Master and Commander:The Far Side of the World(U.S.A.,2003)Dames(U.S.A.,1934)Master and Commander:The Far Side of the World(U.S.A.,2003)Dames(U.S.A.,1934)nRealism and Formalism:ncritics and theorists have championed film as the most realistic of all the arts in capturing how an experience actually looks and sounds,like this thrilling recreation of a ferocious battle at sea during the Napoleonic Wars.Master and Commander:The Far Side of the World(U.S.A.,2003)Dames(U.S.A.,1934)nA stage director would have to suggest the battle symbolically,with stylized lighting and off-stage sound effects.nA novelist would have to recreate the event with words,a painter with pigments（色素、颜料）brushstroked（一笔、笔的一划、绘画技巧）onto a flat canvas（帆布、画布）.Master and Commander:The Far Side of the World(U.S.A.,2003)Dames(U.S.A.,1934)n But a film director can create the event with much greater credibility by plunging the camera(a proxy for us)in the middle of the most terrifying ordeals with actually putting us in harms way.Master and Commander:The Far Side of the World(U.S.A.,2003)Dames(U.S.A.,1934)nIn short,film realism is more like“being there”than any other artistic medium or any other style of presentation.nAudiences can experience the thrills without facing any of the dangers.Master and Commander:The Far Side of the World(U.S.A.,2003)Dames(U.S.A.,1934)nAs early as 1910,the great Russian novelist Leo Tolstoy realized that this fledgling（无经验的人、刚会飞的幼鸟）new art form would surpass the magnificent achievements of 19th-century literary realism:Master and Commander:The Far Side of the World(U.S.A.,2003)Dames(U.S.A.,1934)n“This little clinking（无上的、无比的）contraption（奇妙的装置、精巧的设计）with the revolving handle will make a revolution in our life in the life of writers.It is a direct attack on the old methods of literary arts.This swift change of scene,this blending of emotion and experience it is much better than the heavy,long-drawn-out（冗长的、持续很久的）kind of writing to which we are accustomed.It is closer to life.”Master and Commander:The Far Side of the World(U.S.A.,2003)Dames(U.S.A.,1934)nDames presents us with another type of experience entirely.nThe choreographies of Busby Berkeley are triumphs of artifice,far removed from the real world.nDepression-weary audiences flocked to movies like this precisely to get away from everyday reality.Master and Commander:The Far Side of the World(U.S.A.,2003)Dames(U.S.A.,1934)nThey wanted magic and enchantment,not reminders of their real-life problems.nBerkeleys style was the most formalized of all choreographers.Master and Commander:The Far Side of the World(U.S.A.,2003)Dames(U.S.A.,1934)nHe liberated the camera from the narrow confines of the proscenium arch（proscenium：舞台；arch：拱门；proscenium arch：舞台口、镜框式舞台）,soaring overhead,even swirling amongst the dancers,and juxtaposing shots from a variety of vantage points（vantage point：有利位置）throughout the musical numbers.Master and Commander:The Far Side of the World(U.S.A.,2003)Dames(U.S.A.,1934)nHe often photographed his dancers from unusual angles,like this birds-eye shot.nSometimes he didnt even bother using dancers at all,preferring a uniform contingent of good-looking young women who are used primarily as semi-abstract visual units,like bits of glass in shifting kaleidoscope of formal patterns.nAudiences were enchanted.Classification chart of styles and types of filmClassification chart of styles and types of filmnCritics and scholars categorize movies according to a variety of criteria.nTwo of the most common methods of classification are by style and by type.nThe three principal styles realism,classicism,and formalism might be regarded as a continuous spectrum of possibilities,rather than airtight（密封的、无懈可击的）categories.Classification chart of styles and types of filmnSimilarly,the three types of movies documentaries,fiction,and avant-garde films are also terms of convenience,for they often overlap.nRealistic films like Paradise Now can shade into（逐渐变为）the documentary.Classification chart of styles and types of filmnFormalist movies like The Seventh Seal have a personal quality suggesting the traditional domain of the avant-garde.nMost fiction films,especially those produced in America,tend to conform to the classical paradigm.Classification chart of styles and types of filmnClassical cinema can be viewed as an intermediate（中间的、中介起媒介作用的）style that avoids the extremes of realism and formalism though most movies in the classical form lean toward one or the other style.Hearts and Minds(U.S.A.,1975)Hearts and Minds(U.S.A.,1975)nThe emotional impact of documentary image usually derives from its truth rather than its beauty.nDaviss indictment of Americas devastation of Vietnam consists primarily of TV newsreel footage.Hearts and Minds(U.S.A.,1975)nThis photo shows some Vietnamese children running from an accidental bombing raid on their community,their clothes literally burned off their bodies by napalm（凝固汽油弹）.n“First they bomb as much as they please,”a Vietnamese observes,“then they film it.”Hearts and Minds(U.S.A.,1975)nIt was images such as these that eventually turned the majority of Americans against the war.n Fernando Solanas and Octavio Gettino,Third World filmmakers,have pointed out,“Every image that documents,bears witness to（bear witness to：证明）,refutes（反驳、驳斥）,or deepens the truth of a situation is something more than a film image or purely artistic fact;it becomes something that the System finds indigestible.”Hearts and Minds(U.S.A.,1975)nParadoxically,in one country except the United States would such self-damning footage be allowed on the public airwaves（电视、广播的频道、电波）which are controlled,or at least regulated,by governments.nNo other country has a First Amendment,guaranteeing freedom of expression.Paradise Now(Palestinian Territories,2005)Paradise Now(Palestinian Territories,2005)nLike realistic movies,the motto of this film might well be:“This is the way things really are.”nThere is a close correspondence of the images to everyday reality.nThis trait necessarily involves a comparison between the internal world of the movie with the external milieu that the filmmaker has chosen to explore.Paradise Now(Palestinian Territories,2005)nThe realistic cinema tends to deal with people from the lower social echelons（梯队、阶层）and often explores moral issues.nThe artist rarely intrudes on the materials,however,preferring to let them speak for themselves.nRealism tends to emphasize the basic experiences of life.Paradise Now(Palestinian Territories,2005)nIt is a style that excels in（excel in：擅长）making us feel the humanity of others.n Beauty of form is often sacrificed to capture the texture of reality as its ordinarily perceived.nRealistic images often seem unmanipulated,haphazard in their design.Paradise Now(Palestinian Territories,2005)nThey frequently convey an intimate snapshot（快照、简单印象）quality people caught unawares.n Generally,the story materials are loosely organized and include many details that dont necessarily forward（促进、转寄、运送）the plot but are offered for their own sake,to heighten the sense of authenticity.Paradise Now(Palestinian Territories,2005)nParadise Now is about the final hours of two Palestinian auto mechanics,friends since childhood,who have volunteered to be suicide bombers,commonly referred to as“martyrs”（martyr：殉道者、烈士）in the Islamic world.Paradise Now(Palestinian Territories,2005)nHere they are being wired up（wire up：接通电源）with explosives before crossing over to their target in Israel.nThey have their doubts about their mission,though for the sake of solidarity,they keep their worries mostly to themselves.Paradise Now(Palestinian Territories,2005)nWhen they ask what happens after the explosions,their guide says,“You will be met by two angels.”n“Are you sure?”asks the anxious bomber.n“Absolutely,”the guide replies.Mr.Deeds Goes to Town(U.S.A.,1936)Mr.Deeds Goes to Town(U.S.A.,1936)nClassical cinema avoids the extremes of realism and formalism in favor of a slightly stylized presentation that has at least a surface plausibility.nMovies in this form are often handsomely mounted,but the style rarely calls attention to itself.Mr.Deeds Goes to Town(U.S.A.,1936)nThe images are determined by their relevance to the story and characters,rather than a desire for authenticity or formal beauty alone.nThe implicit ideal is a functional,invisible style:The pictorial elements are subordinated to the presentation of characters in action.Mr.Deeds Goes to Town(U.S.A.,1936)nClassical cinema is story oriented.nThe narrative line is seldom allowed to wander,nor is it broken up by authorial intrusions.n A high premium is placed on the entertainment value of the story,which is often shaped to conform to the conventions of a popular genre.Mr.Deeds Goes to Town(U.S.A.,1936)nOften the characters are played by stars rather than unknown players,and their roles are sometimes tailored to（tailor to：根据）showcase their personal charms.nThe human materials are paramount in the classical cinema.nThe characters are gen