Framing Use in the Drug Cinema

    The use of framing is another important aspect of filmmaking and this focus on framing concerns these features: shot composition, use of mobile frame, on screen and off screen space, and the long take. All of these different aspects, which focus on framing really add to the film and change the film in different ways depending up what you as a filmmaker utilize in a particular film. Framing can have a major impact on the image of a particular scene if used correctly by the filmmaker. Filmmakers often times use size and shape of the frame in order to give the viewers a better visualization of what the filmmaker is trying to show in the film. Some examples of using size and shape of the frame is when filmmakers use techniques such as, widescreen and full-frame. Also, filmmakers will utilize framing in order to define on screen and off screen space. This is important to filmmakers because it helps them control what is in the frame and filmmakers must constantly be aware of this because on screen and off screen space mistakes can impact your film and can have an impact on how the your viewers perceive your film.

    Another aspect of framing that filmmakers often time make great use out of is manipulating a frame by changing the positioning of the camera, whether that be with height, distance, angle, or level of the camera. According to yale.edu, “Camera level is used to signify sympathy for characters who occupy particular levels in the image, or just to create pleasurable compositions. Camera level is obviously used to a greater advantage when the difference in height between objects or characters is greater”.  When it comes to the use of distance in films there are many different options that the filmmakers has when choosing the distance of a particular frame such as, the long shot and close-up. These different frame distances are used to convey different meaning such as facial expressions or to make a particular character the main focus in a frame. All of these different positioning and different uses with the camera can change the whole outlay of a scene and can make it go from an ordinary scene to and extraordinary scene just because of the layout and or positioning of the camera.

    Keeping on the subject of framing in film and the use of cameras, there is another element that is popular among filmmakers and that is the use of a mobile frame. There are several different types of mobile frames that filmmakers can utilize, but the type that I will be exploring more in depth is the tracking type of mobile framing. The is when the camera follows the frame from the ground level and can go in all directions depending upon what the filmmaker wants. An example of this that I found in my research in drug films is the scene depicted below, which is a clip from Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998). You will notice in the clip that the camera follows the two characters from ground level as they stumble into a casino in a drunken, drug induced state. I hope you enjoy the clip and get a better understanding of the importance in use of framing in films.

http://classes.yale.edu/film-analysis/htmfiles/cinematography.htm. (2002). Film Studies Program.

Bordwell, D., & Thompson, K. (1997). Film art: an introduction (5th ed.). New York: The McGraw-Hill Companies.