Film Theory

Bela Balasz mentioned that the close ups reveals the most hidden parts in our life, also, it does not only widen out vision of life, but also deepen it. Indeed, in real life, as well as in films, we usually are not able to notice some detail things that might be very important, but a close up on these things can bring our attention to them. Therefore, according to Balasz, we can see the hidden parts, wider and deeper. As we see in films, a close up on something that seems irrelevant might always happen to be a very important clue to lead us to a later plot.

As Balasz mentioned in the reading, close ups is a very important tool to reveal the facial expression of the characters, which is, according to him, an expression that words can never exceed. However, in my opinion, even though facial expression is very important, it may not exceed the expression with words. Since film is a visual presentation, we will be focusing on the facial expression no matter what, and with the assistant of words, we could get a more clear sense of the expression.

Benjamin presents the concept of “aura” in his writing, and he claims that the aura will be disrupted due to the mechanical reproductions, but he also claims that it is not a bad thing since the art work will be more accessible to people. It might not be true to some traditional arts such as theater and painting, because I think such art works which there are originals do have the issue of aura and of course the originals are the best. However, film as an art that does not have original might not have the issue of aura, and in this case, Benjamin’s concept seems accurate. Therefore, as for mechanical reproduction, it should not be a bad thing in the case of film, in fact, like Benjamin said, it can be more accessible to the audience.

Bazin claims that the introduction of sound did not destroy films as an art form, but enhanced it as an essential element of reality. I found this statement very true, not saying that silent films can not express things clearly, but in my opinion, sound is a very important element to explain things better in films. As I mentioned above, sounds can assist the visual presentation in a positive way.  As one of the five senses of human, sound is irremovable. Therefore, since film is the art form which most likely to be the true reflection of reality, sound is an essential thing. Not only the dialogues, the soundtracks, music and scores could also be very important, a nice score can give the film good atmosphere, which will be more easily to get audience involved. For example, in 28 weeks later, the music itself gives the audience the sense of horror and tension, so while we are watching, we can actually feel the thrill.

Theme song for 28 weeks later, i loved it, very impressive, enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dMyIG2EKPoE