Living in Oblivion, a Sample of Cinematography as a storytelling tool

Cinematography is a pivotal part of any film. The Cinematographer is the chief over the camera and lighting crews working on a film, television production or other live action piece and is responsible for achieving artistic and technical decisions related to the image. The study and practice of this field is referred to as cinematography. The Cinematographer creates this feel and look of a movie by coordinating cameras, lighting, filters, and lenses to reach the vision that was decided by the Cinematographer and Director.

The Cinematographer for Living in Oblivion was Frank Prinzi, He is known for his work on The Night of the Living Dead, Northern Exposure, and the TV Series Law and Order: Criminal Intent. The focus of this entry will be Prinzi’s work on Living in Oblivion. Prinzi focuses on making sure the viewer can follow the story of the Film because it rapidly shifts from shots of the crew making the movie, to actual shots from the movie being made. Prinzi uses shifts from Color to Black and White shots to help the view keep track of weather the shot is of the crew, or of the movie. Prinzi also used the shifts from Color to Black and White to progress the movie through the different dream sequences that happen throughout the film.

Besides his shifts from color to black and white Prinzi also finely used the focus of the camera to dictate the reactions of characters, such as during the bedroom scene between Chad and Nicole where Nicole has become frustrated with the unscripted things that chad is doing Nicole, she starts ranting at him and the camera loses focus on Nicole in the background as we see Chad’s reaction. (Figure 1). Prinzi’s Black and White shots almost take on a Film Noir feel, especially in the first scene of the film where the black and white scenes are very gritty and the color even feels gritty.

Figure 1

Overall, Prinzi’s usage of different techniques not only improve the storytelling of the film by making it easier to follow the progression as well as bringing in a specific aesthetic of almost of modern noir.