Blow Up - Sound, The presence and Lack of

The use of Sound in a Film is key in determining the feel of a film. The presence or absence of sound can make the viewer feel emotions or tie them to the movie. Blow Up's use of sound is a prime example of this. The movie takes on a very natural feel because Herbie Hancock, who scored the film is quoted as saying "It's (the sound) only there when someone turns on the radio or puts on a record." This leads to a film that feels like almost real life. Because there isn't any unnecessary noise to distract the viewer, only the naturally occurring sounds. This immerses the viewer into the film.

The Sound design used in Blow Up also conveys feelings onto the audience. The sense of peacefulness inside the park when Thomas is photographing the lovers. The absence of sound beyond ambient is very important as well. Blow Up is known for its use of silence as an element, similar to Stanley Kubrick's 2001: a Space Odyssey.  The sense of mystery and almost dread that comes from the lack of sound during the scene where Thomas is investigating the figures in the photographs (figure 1). Another key example is during the scene where Thomas has discovered the body in the park and the scene is drawn out and suspenseful by the lack of sound the snap of a twig makes Thomas run as well as the audience almost jump at something so trivial.

Figure 1

Another Key use of sound is in the conclusion of the movie, The Mimes playing tennis with what is supposed to be an invisible ball slowly becomes more real to Thomas(Figure 2). The key use of sound to make the audience almost think it is real is enough to further blur the lines of what is perceived as reality and what is Thomas’ imagination. Is the ball real? was the body real, or a trick of the mind from searching too hard for something that doesn't exists. these are all questions sparked by just the sound in the

Figure 2

Overall, although Blow Up is surrounded by controversy due to its graphic content, the real shining star is the sound design that envelops and captivates the audience and has them asking key questions about the film

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.