Non-obvious reasons why we love some films and find it difficult to tolerate others

Most often, when discussing cinema, people talk about the plot and the acting. Of course, these are important components of any film. But it so happens that you can't take your eyes off some picture, although the action develops very slowly, and another story quickly gets boring, despite the many events. Some authors manage to make the viewer believe in the most fantastic turns, while others make even real situations like toys. And it's just nice to watch some tapes, while others are difficult.

The thing is that, in addition to the plot and the actors, there are many interesting techniques that directors use to help the viewer feel the action and enjoy what is happening on the screen. These subtleties may not even be noticed, but they still greatly affect the perception of the picture.

Color spectrum

The first thing to notice is that the colors in the movies are often not at all the same as in real life. It may be quite obvious (for example, if the picture is black and white), or you do not realize it right away. But this is no coincidence.

Creating an atmosphere

With the help of colors, you can better convey the atmosphere of what is happening, create a mood for the viewer and even show the feelings of the characters themselves.

Take the popular X-Men franchise as an example. In the main series of films, the bright and rich picture resembles comics. And in contrast to them in noir "Logan", where they talk about the old age and fatigue of the hero, paler tones are chosen.

Shot from the movie "X-Men: Apocalypse"

Shot from the movie "Logan"

In the film "Mad Max: Fury Road" most of the action takes place in a hot desert area. It is logical that the picture was shot in yellow-orange shades, which make you feel the scorching sun and dryness.

For clarity, you can take a frame and change the color scheme. It will immediately seem that it has become colder.

Shot from the movie "Mad Max: Fury Road"

The same frame, but in cold colors

To create a contrasting picture, modern blockbusters and in general mass cinema are made more blue and orange.

But the famous Wes Anderson loves a soft pinkish palette. It gives the viewer the feeling of an old romantic movie. And everything that happens is perceived more calmly and easier.

Still from the film "The Grand Budapest Hotel" by Wes Anderson

When they want to create an atmosphere of the future and fantasy, they also often turn to the blue range. And they especially love neon colors, which are firmly connected in the viewer's head with cyberpunk and technology.

Needless to say, horror filmmakers prefer dark colors. There are several reasons for this. Of course, this is partly a way of pumping the atmosphere. Many people are already afraid of the dark, and in horror movies there are also monsters hiding in it.

In addition, a dark picture allows you to slightly hide the imperfections of graphics or makeup and save on production. True, there is a danger in this: if you darken the frame too much, then the viewer may simply not see what is happening on the screen, especially in a bad movie theater or on an old TV. For example, this was the case in the 2018 film Slenderman.

Although some original directors can play in contrast. For example, Ari Astaire in "Solstice" showed the typical atmosphere of a horror movie: the heroes find themselves in an isolated village where terrible things happen.

But at the same time, the picture is very light, there are almost no dark scenes in it, and the clothes of the heroes are snow-white. And this makes it even more terrible, because there is nowhere to hide from the horror.

Separating Plot Parts

One movie can have several different color filters. They are used to separate storylines more clearly. And with the right talent, this approach helps to brighten the picture.

The Matrix is a great example. The logo of this tape was made with green code symbols, denoting the program in which people live. That is why everything that happens in the virtual world was filmed through a greenish filter. And real events are shown in blue tones.

A scene from the movie "The Matrix", action in the virtual world

A scene from the movie "The Matrix", action in real life

And only at the very end of the third part, when people and machines entered into a peace agreement, do pure blue and green colors appear in the frame at the same time.

In Christopher Nolan's Inception, the characters move from the real world to sleep, then to sleep within sleep, and so on. In order to more clearly separate the "layers", the director chose his own color scheme for each of them.

Shot from the film "Inception", the first dream

Shot from the film "Inception", second dream

Shot from the film "Inception", third dream

At the first level of sleep, everything is filmed in a blue palette, the second is yellow, the third is white. And only in the last dream do all the shades come together again, as in the real world.

In Blade Runner 2049 by Denis Villeneuve, different colors reflected both the location and the inner state of the protagonist.

Shot from the movie "Blade Runner 2049"

It all starts with Ryan Gosling's character wandering in the fog, then he goes through a hot orange desert, neon futurism and a night flood. And the story ends on a snow-white background, reflecting calmness and purification.

Refusal of color

Once upon a time, all films were black and white. Simply because they did not know how to shoot otherwise and it was possible to color the frames only by hand. Then color films came along and cinematography became much more realistic.

But at the same time, black and white photography is not completely a thing of the past. They are still used for artistic purposes. For example, to delineate different worlds or storylines.

So, in "The Wizard of Oz" in 1939, color appears when Dolly enters the fairy world.

Still from the movie "The Wizard of Oz", ordinary world

Still from the movie "The Wizard of Oz", fairy land

In "Stalker" by Andrei Tarkovsky, colors are also absent in the ordinary life of the heroes. And when the characters get into the mystical "Zone", the world becomes bright - it is here that people truly reveal themselves.

Or all the same Christopher Nolan in the tape "Remember" showed one part of the action in the direct order, and the second - in the opposite. Therefore, half of the film is shot in color and the other is in black and white.

Still from the movie "Remember", direct order

Still from the movie "Remember", reverse order

In addition, a black and white picture allows you to highlight certain details more vividly by simply adding color to them. For the first time, Sergei Eisenstein did this when he manually painted the flag in the 1925 Battleship Potemkin.

Subsequently, this technique was used in completely different genres. In Steven Spielberg's Schindler's List, the appearance of a girl in a red coat becomes one of the most emotional moments.

And even in the comic book film Sin City, this approach is used repeatedly, with an emphasis on red lipstick, bright eyes or blood.

Frame construction

Rule of thirds

One of the fundamental principles of both film and photography. This is something like a simplified rule of the "golden ratio".

It's simple: when shooting, the screen is divided into three parts vertically and horizontally. The most important elements for the plot should be located on these lines, as well as at their intersection. This will make it easier for the viewer to focus on the desired points.

Place in a square

If you conditionally divide the frame in half or into four equal parts, then you can make the viewer understand without words what place the character occupies in the story.

This technique is most vividly seen in the film "Drive" by Nicholas Winding Refn. For example, if the face of the main character is shown in the upper left corner, and in the next frame another character appears in the same place, then this is a hint that the characters will turn out to be rivals.

In addition, the same Refn can tell two stories in parallel: in the upper and lower parts of the screen or in the left and right halves. The viewer may not notice this move, but still the perception of the characters will be more complete. Plus, it's just beautiful.

Symmetry

Another psychological and aesthetic technique at the same time. Often, shots where the left half reflects the right half is done just for beauty.

But sometimes they convey the opposition of the characters. And if the hero looks in the mirror, it will show his dark side or the difference between dreams and reality. In short, any allegory that can be thought of for reflections.

A scene from the film "2001: A Space Odyssey"

Shot from the film "The Shining"

A still from the movie "Joker".

Dutch corner

To show the instability of the protagonist, his doubts about something or memory problems, a very visual technique is used. "Dutch angle" means that the camera is not shooting straight, but tilted. Many examples of this approach can be found in the films of Danny Boyle.

It is unusual for the viewer to look at the picture from an angle, so he better perceives the uncomfortable state of the character.

However, it is important to observe the measure here. For example, the disastrous film "Battlefield: Earth" was filmed entirely at an angle. But in an hour and a half, the viewer will most likely just have a sore neck.

Shooting from below and from above

Another of the simple but effective techniques that allows you to convey the self-feeling of the heroes. So you can show, for example, who is the master of the situation. And then I immediately remember the tapes of Quentin Tarantino, where the characters look down into the trunk.

Shot from the film "From Dusk Till Dawn"

Shot from the movie "Reservoir Dogs"

And shooting from above makes you feel that the hero feels insecure. Here's how funny they played it in the famous scene from the movie "What Men Talk About", where the character of Kamil Larin, like a child, makes excuses to the doorman in an expensive restaurant:

Dialogue and movement

Background action

A technique that is most often used in comedy or horror. In the foreground, nothing interesting happens. And all the most important unfolds against the background, which can be darkened or blurred.

For example, the protagonist of the movie "Zombie Called Sean" goes to the store. Everything is very mundane for him. And in the background there is a real apocalypse:

Depending on the genre and presentation, this can create either a very funny effect or tension - so often the main screamers are hidden in horror movies.

Conversations in motion

The most common type of dialogue in movies is that characters sit and chat. In this case, the camera traditionally switches between faces.

But if the scene takes too long, then the viewer will get tired of the constant repetition of the same angles. Therefore, good directors either supplement or change the setting of such scenes.

So, in Quentin Tarantino's films, the characters speak almost constantly. But the master does not let you get bored, because dialogues can take place while driving. Due to the constant changing of the background, the action does not seem to be monotonous.

And even if the characters are in the same room, the camera does not switch just like that. She can move around them, creating the effect of presence and even participation in the conversation. Almost all the characters can be seen without unnecessary editing.

Nicholas Winding Refn manages to use the already mentioned game with color and reflection in simple conversation. In Drive, the first dialogue of the protagonists seems to look very simple.

But at the same time, Ryan Gosling's character is always on a blue background (this color scheme accompanies him throughout the film). And the heroine Carey Mulligan stands at the orange walls. And this shows that something separates them, even though they are close.

The 180 degree rule

There is one more important point during filming. If you move the camera more than 180 degrees when changing angles, the viewer will become confused. For example, when the hero is running, it will appear that he has turned around and is moving in the opposite direction.

And this is equally important even during dialogues. In order not to create the impression that everyone in the frame has moved abruptly, the operator and director choose a certain line beyond which the camera should not go.

It is curious that a deliberate violation of this rule can be used just to confuse the viewer, to show the hero's confusion. And with due imagination, the authors create more unusual scenes. For example, Gollum's conversation with himself. The character is simply shown from different sides, but this creates the effect that there are two speakers and they are in dialogue.

Installation features

Editing allows you to make the action of the film more dynamic, "skipping" the boring moments of life and allowing you to look at what is happening from different points of view. Its simplest form is narrative. That is, the events in the frame take place one after another. This was most clearly explained in The Man from Boulevard des Capucines.

But you can show the events of the film in a different way, and for this they use different techniques.

Parallel installation

As opposed to sequential storytelling, sometimes authors want the audience to see what is happening at the same time in different places. And then directors turn to parallel editing.

This makes the plot more eventful. But you need to be careful. After all, if you show in turn the scenes that occur at the same time, you may get the impression that each of them lasts longer.

A striking example of unsuccessful parallel editing is "Furious-6". The heroes are trying to escape on an airplane that is driving along the runway, cars are chasing them, and a fight takes place inside the liner.

The authors demonstrate so many events at once that on the screen the plane seems to accelerate for at least 15 minutes. Needless to say, this kills all the realism of the situation?

Christopher Nolan, on the other hand, is widely regarded as a master of parallel editing. The director uses it in many of his works, but The Beginning is the best example. Events at different levels of sleep occur simultaneously, and at different rates (in deeper sleep, time moves more slowly).

Here, the already mentioned separation of colors is added to the action and the viewer does not get confused in what is happening, but realizes the whole globality of events.

By the way, it is interesting that in the film "Dunkirk" Nolan is even more witty with this technique. It shows in parallel the events taking place on the ground, in the water and in the air. In fact, the chronology is completely different, and everything converges only in the finale.

Flashbacks and Flash Forwards

Sometimes the authors embed their memories from the past - flashbacks - into the linear story of the characters. These can be very short flashes of a few seconds or whole storylines.

A big fan of such moments is Jean-Marc Vallee. Thus, he adds tension to the seemingly calm scenes. Or he makes it clear that the character is deceiving someone: he says one thing, but something completely different appears in his memories.

It's not hard to guess that flashforwards are the same stories, but from the future. They are used less often, usually in science fiction or mystical stories. On such a technique even a whole series was built, where, during a certain eclipse, each person saw some moment from his future.

And further along the plot, everyone is trying to find out the reasons for what happened and understand the meaning of their visions. The series was named so: Flashforward (in Russian translation - "Remember what will happen"). True, he lasted only one season.

Jump-cut

This technique already applies to linear editing. It means a sharp transition between frames. They use it for completely different purposes.

In Frank Oz's Little Shop of Horrors, such montage helps to show the long and boring passage of time.

But Lars von Trier, who also often uses the jump-cut in his works, conveys the emotional stress and psychological instability of the characters in this way. Shooting like this makes the picture more "nervous". In the "Idiots" tape, this is very appropriate:

Editing in shape and sound

In order for the different events shown in the film to be perceived as continuation of each other, the authors often use visual coincidences. That is, the outlines of some object in one frame are repeated in the next. And sometimes it can look very witty.

Likewise, you can "hook" the viewer with sound. The scream continues with the whistle of the steamer, and the industrial rumble is replaced by music of the same tempo. Or the hiss of a damaged pipe turns into a crackle of roasting meat.

In addition, the sound may be slightly ahead of or lagging behind what is shown on the screen. This is done to make the scenes more connected. That is, the viewer still hears speech and rustles from the previous frame, but the action has already changed. Or vice versa.

Lack of installation

This is a bold move: directors shoot long scenes without editing at all, or they hide it in various ways.

This makes what is happening on the screen more realistic, gives the viewer a sense of the pace of the story itself. But, of course, this approach requires much more rehearsal and investment. After all, during processing, you can cut out unsuccessful little things.

So, Joe Wright in the film "Atonement" showed a five-minute scene with the evacuation of troops from Dunkirk during the Second World War. 1,300 people were involved in the crowd scene, with equipment moving in the frame and explosions occurring in the background. It is this approach that conveys all the gloom and chaos of what is happening.

Modern technologies make it possible to handle the installation more accurately. And it helped Alejandro Gonzalez Iñárrit to shoot Birdman. In it, you don't even immediately notice that the whole action is shown in one continuous frame.

In fact, the montage is there, but hidden. Splices are made when the camera passes through some dark element.

And the "Russian Ark" by Alexander Sokurov looks even stronger. The action takes place in the Hermitage, and the director was given one day for filming. Therefore, he decided to shoot the picture without gluing.

It took seven months of rehearsals with 800 extras. As a result, from the third take, they shot a whole film with a duration of 1 hour and 27 minutes.

In fact, there are much more such subtleties. But many of them already require deep knowledge of directing and cinematography. These are just simple examples that can be seen in many films. And when you look at the next picture, you will surely be struck by the "Dutch corner" or a long frame without editing. But this will not destroy the magic of cinema, but, on the contrary, will make the viewing even more interesting.