Media Grammar in Iconic Films
Media Grammar can be used in various different types of media because of its different visual principles. Depending on what type of medium is being used that I show the viewer will react or respond to the media that they are viewing. According to “Multiple Media Literacies”, by Meyrowitz, the production variables can be changed within every medium to adjust the perception of the messages’ content. Examples of the different types of media grammar variables that are used today are Print Media, Still Photography, Radio/Audio, and TV/Film and they each have different elements that separate themselves.
In my opinion TV/Film media grammar is the most interesting because it incorporates most of the variables that are used in photography and audio. Various techniques are used to show different camera angles and to fade out and focus on different elements of the shot. According to Meyrowitz in TV/Film the director often uses media grammar in a movies camera angles to show the emotion of a particular scene. Low-angle shots (camera below subject) show the characters power or authority. High-angle shots (camera above subject) are used to portray the character as weak or small. Finally level shots are used suggest that the character us a “peer” or on a normal level.
Low-angle shots are often used in dramas. This technique causes the audience to view the characters as if they were looking up at them to show that that particular character is strong and influential in the film. For example Martin Scorsese does this in most of this movies involving Leonardo DiCaprio’s. Specifically he has used this style of media grammar in Titanic because DiCaprio’s character, Jack Dawson, is often seen looking down to the camera and his love interest, Rose, to show that he is a leader and a protector in the film. In the picture below Jack is shot from below reaching for Rose’s hand and the way this was shot represents that he is in command and will protect her, demonstrating the best qualities of a leading male in a film.
High-angle shots are used to show that the character is weak and has just come to some sort of terrible realization. Someone who used high-angle shots extremely well was the director Alfred Hitchcock. He used these angles to show or enforce the emotions that the characters were feeling through the angles. For example in the movie Shadow of a Doubt he uses the high-angle shots to the mood of the scene when little Charlie realized that her uncle Charlie was the serial killer the whole time. Shots like this really draw the viewer in and make them invested in the film right after the first high-angle shot. The ingenious high-angle shot is used as the camera moves away from little Charlie enforcing seriousness of what had just happened in the scene. Below there is a picture of this particular scene and you can definitely feel the emotions that little Charlie was having after this intense revelation.
I had never realized the importance of camera angles in film and how it can change a person thoughts or emotions towards a character. The way something is shot evokes certain feelings from the viewers, which can make or break a film. When a director knows how to properly implicate the use of media grammar in his or her films it brings new life to the film and a more realistic and dramatic look. A good director who is a aware of the impact of media grammar can make the viewers love or hate a certain character just by the angles in which he films that character. Even film experts sometimes come victim to this.
Work Cited
Meyorwtiz, Joshua. Multiple Media Literacies
nwd5081 says
I have taken a film studies class in high school and was taught the importance of camera angles. I also studied the differences amongst directors and their styles of filming. Since I had some prior knowledge on this topic I found it even more interesting to read further into it. While reading, ‘media grammar’ was a new term for me. I agree that a good director knows how to utilize his expertise of media grammar. A good director knows the psychological aspects of his audience and how to manipulate them. One of the first films I ever studied, Citizen Kane, is a very well known film for its use of camera angles. I also agree with your opinion on TV/Film media grammar being the most interesting. It’s about as close to real life as it can get, therefore making it the most enjoyable, in my opinion.