Visual Review 8: "Dollhouse" Title Sequence

"A futuristic laboratory assigns different tasks to its various residents, who then have their memories erased upon the completion of their assignments." (IMDb) This short-lived TV show aired on FOX in 2009 and was created by Joss Whedon.

In the beginning of the title sequence, we are shown a wide shot of a cityscape. Which plays with shadows showing nighttime, and the only source of light coming from windows of the buildings. There is motion blur here with the cars and the lights. Probably a post-shooting effect was added to speed up time.
     Lines are made by the city which shows us linear perspective. The composition of the city doesn't end in this frame, the city goes on as we see the sped up cars going further into or away from the city. The different shots fade out to white and have this flash like effect that brings in the next shot. For the entire sequence, there is this dream-like glow.

     The sequence to this show follows the main character, Eliza Dushku (Echo). We are shown low angles. There are post-shooting editing effects of costume changes within one frame. This symbolizes Echo's (Eliza Dushku's) transformations of different characters and personalities.

The text of the actor's and production team's name are in this small white font that also has a glow/tint to it. I think it fits into the theme of the sequence. The text is also small to make the viewer pay attention to what's happening on screen, that's why the font is also very plain, yet it in all caps. It's very simple.
     There are continuous lines created by the city. Many objects and people are falling through the shots as they go about their lives. The camera lens used for the daytime city shot (Tilt shift) gives us the impression that we are world full of dolls. This wide shot really brings in the color scheme. It blends the colors to this grey/green tone. The colors are soft making it look like everyone is the same, wearing the same thing, but they're not.
     Text not related to production is bracketed as we get a close up of Echo (Dushku). Again, the colors have this grey/green tone and effects were added (after shooting) to make the close up look like a security camera. The red bracketed text ([Active Located], [Active Engaged]--the active being Echo) is the put the viewers into the scenario that these "dolls" can always be found. The red text contrasts against the soft, blended colors to make you notice what it is and to try and dissect what it means.

High angles are also used with this repetitious glow and soft blended touch on normal colors and textures like wood to take us away from reality. Scale appears to also be a repeating element in everything shown. Our eyes are drawn to the center of the frame in most of the shots. The center is also always in focus, where as the edges may have this soft glow that's not as in focus.
     We are taken away from the blended greens for one shot to vibrant greens shown through the trees (still staying with the color scheme). The shadows and light frames, giving the sequence an ethereal quality. The music used throughout the intro also fits in perfectly with what we're seeing and with the dream-like theme. Contrast is given through the color tones and with the red text tracking Echo.

The layout of the ending frame was a deliberate design choice, I think. The circle with 5 points can look like an eye to some viewers, or like a star. It's not quite symmetric but the point at which the objects (eerie beds for the "dolls") are placed is even. Especially the text of the creator's (Joss Whedon) name. The text falls directly in the middle thirds of the screen. Joss Whedon's name is in bold, yet still small. The "Created By" text is even smaller, drawing the eye to the most important text--his name. Again, I think with fans there is recognition that "Oh! We know who Joss Whedon is", so that's all we should focus on. If it were a show by a creator that people have never heard of then I'm sure that the "Created By" text would be larger. Joss Whedon has already established himself as a writer/creator/producer/director so, I don't think it was as necessary to place emphasis on that part.

I thought Dollhouse was a great show. Unfortunately, it got cut before it could really begin.


Sources: Video via Viddler, Images via Pinterest

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Visual Review 4: "Moonstruck"

Via Pinterest

“Loretta Castorini, a book keeper from Brooklyn, New York, finds herself in a difficult situation when she falls for the brother of the man she agreed to marry (who is the best friend of her late husband who died seven years previously) (IMDb).

      The film was released December 18, 1987 by MGM. Moonstruck starred Cher, Nicolas Cage, Olympia Dukakis, Danny Aiello and Vincent Gardenia. Directed by Norman Jewison, this love story shows that anything can happen under “La Bella Luna”—a full moon.

      The movie open with wide shots of New York City, there are extreme wide shots of the cityscape. These shots show places that are later revised in the story (i.e. The Met—which is a key moment later in film). We are introduced to the main character Loretta, an Italian middle aged widow who is book keeper for the local shops in Brooklyn Heights.

      Throughout the film, not only through the camera moves but also through the dialogue there are instances of repetition (i.e., shots of the moon; and scenes with the professor arguing with this dates; accusations of being a wolf). There are also several references of the moon made by characters: Pop’s comment every time he walks the dogs “la Bella Luna” or “Did you see the Bella moon out tonight?” We are also given a reference outside of the dialogue: The Luna Restaurant shown during a street scene.

      In the beginning of the movie, Loretta’s boyfriend, Johnny Cammareri (Danny Aiello), proposes to her over dinner at The Grand Ticino, which is the neighborhood restaurant. They agree to start their wedding plans as soon as he returns from Sicily to tend to his dying mother. Johnny asks Loretta to invite his brother Ronny to the wedding—the two have bad blood and he wants a clean slate. During this dinner scene and in the others through the film, there are many two shots. There is a perfect moment of that when Loretta goes to Cammareri’s Bakery to talk to Ronny (Cage) and the camera cuts to the two women standing next one another as they watch Ronny and Loretta argue. The two go to Ronny’s apartment to talk—after Ronny reveals he was engaged lost his hand during an argument with his brother while slicing bread. His fiancé left him because of the incident and that’s why the two aren’t on speaking terms--Loretta tells Ronny that he is a "wolf" (there’s another reference here; repetition) for allowing himself to cut off his hand instead of be entrapped by marriage. That instance sets Ronny off and he grabs Loretta and kisses her. “Wait a minute! Wait a minute!” she yells then the two make love. There are dolly-ins and truck-ins as we move through Ronnie’s apartment. During their dialogue cut-ins are used to show them pouring and drinking whiskey. After Cage and Cher’s’ love scene--as well as other scenes in the film-- we are show again shots of the moon.

      There is effective use of light and shadow to showcase location and time of day. Dolly-ins take us into the setting so they audience gets a feel of where the characters are (i.e., showing us rendezvous shot of the father with mistress—here we see like father, like daughter).

Source: google.com via Liz on Pinterest

      This film has a lot of camera movements and shots and alternates between them throughout. I feel as if that is a common formula in romantic comedies because of the content and emotion they want to convey through the characters. Any extreme shots would take away from the story and here we have close-ups, two-shots, and mid-shots to show us intimate moments which are necessary for the film. Shots of the moon are done from low angles and shown with a cast of fog surrounding it, and symbolize passages of time. At night—after Loretta and Ronny’s love scene--the characters gaze at the moon which creates streams of light over their faces and shadows to enhance the characters moods. During this same night scene, textures are shown from the lace curtains onto faces and blinds onto skins so that moon reflects patterns. We are shown scale through a low angle, and a view of the Brooklyn Bridge, as we transition from night to day.

     The next day, Ronny confesses his love to Loretta who is disheveled and knows what she did was wrong. Ronny agrees to leave her alone if he can have the two things he loves for one night: The Opera and Loretta. She agrees to see La Boheme with him at The Met later that night.

      As a catholic woman, Loretta feels the right thing to do is to go to confession. Again there are cut-ins which focus on the priests’ hands during confession, which is enhances the moment of privacy. We are shown high angle shots of stairwell at the home and when we revisit The Met we are shown extreme wide shots so that one gets a sense of the vastness of the theater. During the dinner scenes (Rose and the professor) the restaurant provide a lot of distractions, and to keep the audience focused on the characters, the camera zooms in so that the background is out of focus and your full attention is on the dialogue. There are warm colors shown in the scenes indoors – these color choices of the clothing of the women in the kitchen and the color on the walls create a feeling of warmth from the household. Darker colors and shades are associated with night. After the opera we see the two characters in the bar and we are shown a deep depth of field shot so the two characters in background are in focus even though the condiments are closest to the screen. After the Opera, Loretta finds out about her father’s affair and comes to realize that she’s in love with Ronny after all—she may not say it until the end but you can see a change that begins when she and Ronny start to hold hands during the show.
     The ending brings together the typical structure of a romantic comedy. It turns out to be just Loretta’s luck that Johnny has to call off the engagement because his sick mother was cured and if he marries her, his mother will die (What?!). This gives Ronny the perfect opportunity to propose to Loretta. “Where’s the ring?”, and after Ronny borrows Johnny’s pinky ring, Loretta accepts and confesses “I love him awful”. The camera dolly outs and trucks left and right as we leave the house as a form of closure. The story has been told and we end with panned left and right shots of family portraits, which symbolized one of the themes for the film which is family. The final shot is a mid-shot of the updated family portrait with the newest addition—Ronny—to the picture.

      I thought this was a great movie, I especially loved the dialogue. It’s very smart and witty. The two actresses awarded with Oscars for Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress were well deserved. Cher and Olympia Dukakis delivered wonderful performances. I’m proud to own this film listed on AFI’s top 10 romantic comedies.


Sources: IMDb, AFI, Wikipedia

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Visual Review 2: Bruce Davidson

To view the full series from Subway, visit Magnum Photo Gallery

Subway

Bruce Davidson, 1980

Bruce Davidson, 1980

Bruce Davidson, 1980

Bruce Davidson + Guardian Angels, 1980

Bruce Davidson, 1980

Bruce Davidson, 1980

Bruce Davidson, 1980

Bruce Davidson, 1980

Bruce Davidson, 1980

Bruce Davidson is considered one of America’s most influential documentary photographers. His career began at the age of 10, when his mother built him a dark room. He studied at the Rochester Institute of Technology and the Yale University School of Design. After living in New York for twenty-three years, Davidson began his startling color essay of suburban life in Subway which was shot in 1980.

Bruce Davidson’s Subway chronicles inhabitants of the New York City subway system. According to Davidson, this series examines “the people in the subway, their flesh juxtaposed against the graffiti, the penetrating effect of the strobe light itself, and even the hollow darkness of the tunnels.” The work “inspired an aesthetic that goes unnoticed by passengers who are trapped underground, hiding behind masks, and closed off from each other” (Via Aperture)


This entire series is just fantastic to me. There are a lot of extreme colors captured through the clothes that the passengers are wearing and from the graffiti sprayed everywhere. Davidson’s use of shadows help to focus on the subjects in each shot. There are only a few shots that aren’t shown underground. These show people on the train platforms and are skylines of the city with the train tracks in view--they are still both in the dark, with looming shadows, but you catch glimpses of the sunlight in the photos reflecting onto the subjects and scenes which combine to make beautiful shots, like the photo of the woman wearing sunglasses.

There are several close-ups of hands holding onto the railing and passengers pressed very close on one another, so as a viewer you get the feeling of cramped spacing during a commute. He managed to capture a culture and a whole new dangerous world that many were unaware of. He showed various viewpoints and focal lengths with every photo capturing stillness while also capturing wide-shots of subjects and motion-blur with the train movement.

There were a few high and low angles but I feel as if to really get into the hustle and bustle public transit, it worked better to just stay in level with everything else that was going on. You can see he experimented with different ways to capture people and used the sunlight (which appears to be the only light in some shots) to cast shadows onto his subjects to keep the underground/tunnel effect. The graffitti provides the perfect backdrop for some of the subjects, creating nice juxtaposition. What I also noticed that while the photos were dark and left a lot in the shadows, that didn’t change the mood of the pictures and I think that’s because of the bright colors stood out.

I think this series of photos was more importantly to make light of the dangers of the NYC subway and Davidson's reason of casting shadows and letting the darkness consume these photos were to establish the reality of the city and to showcase what these people living in the city actually see on a daily basis. I thought these pictures were phenomenal and were a great series.

Sources: TIME, Magnum Photos, Aperture

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