SPACE TIME MOVEMENT Luis Efrain Salinas
SPACE TIME MOVEMENT
Film can be broken down into three essential components: Time, Space, and Movement. While shared in architecture and film, these three fundamental components differ in their use in these mediums. While Space is captured through shots that contain a sense of time and movement within them in cinema, architecture has one experience of time and movement while being enveloped in Space. Cinema excels at presenting us with a clear vision of time and movement while providing warped and composed frames of Space. For these reasons, Architecture can learn from the cinematic experience while the creation of cinematic Space can be expanded on through architectural design. Filmic Space is broken down into five subcategories: Lighting, Geometry/Form, Scale/Proportion, Color/ Texture/Material, and Composition. Lighting Lighting is instrumental in the way space is captured and experienced in the cinema. All images require light to have any content. Light in film begins to paint the images that comprise shots. In cinema light is multifaceted; it is not only tied to a practical or visual agenda but also a narrative one. A prime example of lighting as a narrative means are the films Blade Runner 2049 (2017) and Akira (1988). The cinematographer for Blade Runner 2049 (2017) went through a painstaking process to create the mysterious atmosphere of the “Neon Noir” aesthetic. Use of dynamic lights and silhouette add to the sense of the unknown and danger in the futuristic setting. There is an eccentric nature to the lighting in many of the scenes despite their more reserved style. These include caustic reflections from water in Wallace Corporation, moving projections of light, holographic light ads, and neon advertisements. Lighting conditions were created using various methods; one of the most impressive was a gigantic ring light made of 256 suspended ARRI 350W Fresnels. Applied to this ring was a dimmer to control lights coming in and out to create a sense that the light had movement. The movement of light and their colors assist in the composition of the film’s various settings.
Blade Runner 2049 (2017) Set
Many artists and architecture work with lighting as a critical component of their designs. James Turrell and Dan Flavin are well known for providing art composed of light. James Turrell works with site-specific pieces in creating his experiences that deal with daylight and artificial light. The changing dynamic of natural light provides a changing composition in terms of color. “I’m interested that light has a thingness itself, so it’s not something that reveals something about other things you’re looking at, but it becomes a revelation in itself” (James Turrell). He crafts spaces that are meant to provide immersive and contemplative experiences. Dan Flavin’s light sculptures are created to engage the space and viewer. They are composed of minimalist fluorescent light. He uses typical industrial materials to bring focus to the light itself rather than the object emitting it. His work is influenced by Joseph Albers’s Interaction of Colors. In architecture, light is instrumental for the use and experience of a space. One of the key instruments focuses on natural lighting and passive design. An example of the unique use of natural lighting would be Les Bains des Docks by Jean Nouvel, where light seeps in to illuminate the interior pool.
Blade Runner 2049 Akira (1988)
The James Turrell, Tunnel Sculpture Dan Flavin, untitled, 1970
In contrast, the lights of Akira (1988) are abundant and overstimulating. Streaks of neon leave behind the trail of a motorbike, while Neo-Tokyo is covered in colored lights and neon signs. The lighting takes the form of screens, spotlights, neon signs, and lights from sci-fi panels. While light in modern animation can be simulated, this was layered in traditional Cell-Animation, meaning that every interaction of the environment and characters with light is multi-faceted. The lights in the film speak to the consumerism of modern times in a dystopian setting. While both films approach similar lighting and settings, they have a wildly different approaches to their composition, Blade Runner 2049 being more reserved and Akira being over-stimulated and all-encompassing.
The cinematography of Blade Runner 2049 (2017) set out to form a narrative through its geometry. It showcased Brutalist Architecture compared to more chaotic scrap yards and city streets. Inception (2010) played with the distortion of space and geometry through movement and other techniques. The film did this in the scale of a hotel hallway up to the scale of the city. The animated film Puella Magi Madoka Magica Rebellion (2013) draws out multiple representations of space and geometry. The film boasts an experimental combination of stop motion reminiscent of Russian and Czech animation and traditional 2D animation. The overabundance of surreal imagery is courtesy of stop motion animator Gekidan Inu Curry who had free reign for various scenes. Some range from perspectival compositions of alleyways, intersecting perspectives of bridges, machine-like kitbashes of window frames and other items, silhouettes of buildings and machine towers, floating frames that are reminiscent of digital screens and billboards, wireframe lights, collages of patterns and tapestries, and a home reminiscent of De Stijl. This eclectic style lends itself to various means and representations of geometry. While some are locked into a 2D composition between foreground and background, others weave towards the distance using perspective and 3D Architecturalcomposition.
representation works to this same eclectic degree in terms of geometry. Floor Plans, Sections, and Elevations all make the three-dimensional into a two-dimensional representation while renders and perspective drawings begin to develop the experience architecture delivers. While in film, the key aspect of geometry and form is to assist the narrative in architecture visually, it is meant to provide function. In the Soviet Union, there were at a time two main camps in terms of dealing with geometry and form and the process of their design. “Perhaps no other building type has reflected the difference in approaches between two major modernist camps of Soviet Architecture of the 1920’s-Rationalists and Constructivists-better than club buildings. The Rationalists typically treated the club as a composite volume with articulate components, whilst the Constructivists thought of it as an assembly of different functions and their relationships.”(Anna Bokov) This contrasts with designing a structure as a set of modules or as a singular composition. Architecture now provides a great variety of geometry and form.
Puella Magi Madoka Magica: Rebellion (2013)
Geometry/Form Geometry and Form are prevalent tools in cinema. It is one of the key components when creating a composition and space for the movement to occur. It can also provide a narrative meaning to a space informed purely by visuals. Simple use of symmetry or asymmetry can provide symbolic meaning within the framework of a shot. Geometry and Form can be captured in various ways due to the expressiveness of photography. In architecture, Geometry and Form are experienced and utilitarian, while in cinema, it is in scripted frames.
Gordon Matta Clark, Conical Intersect, 1975
Curved architecture such as the TWA Terminal 5 provides a dynamic and seemingly moving space.
The Water Garden by Junya Ishigami blends in with the natural environment. Architecture provides an experiential exploration of geometry. Film can explore geometry, although to a different degree, as it is tied down to being experienced through a single frame being the screen. Nevertheless, within that frame, there is potential to explore geometry in a meaningful way. Film can express the fourth dimension in a geometric capacity. Special effects that inform representation allow filmic space to adhere to different rules that experienced Architecture Space would work hard to recreate. One could cut a building in half to show a section, such as in a Wes Anderson film. Gordon Matta Clark has a similar project where buildings are split and photographed. One could go through a mirror and into the space reflected, such as in the opening sequence of Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022). In a way, a film can transcend the experience of architectural geometry while being limited to a screen.
The Life Aquatic (2004) Set
Scale/Proportion Scale and Proportion in Film both deal with size. Typically we use the proportions of the human body to describe the scale of an object or space. In Film, the relationship of objects and space to the human body is essential when creating visual storytelling. Scale and Proportion are also instrumental when picking the angle for a shot. Shots such as Up Shot or Worm’s Eye View make the subject appear more prominent than reality. Close Up provides a more significant proportion regarding the amount of frame the subject takes up. This contrasts with a long shot or extreme wide one showing the subject enveloped by the environment. A lowangle shot changes the proportions of one subject versus the other. In this way, the space and subject work in proportion to the other in the way they physically are and the way they’re captured. Examples of space itself working with proportion are in sci-fi films such as Blade Runner 2049 (2017), with vast expansive spaces compared to celllike rooms. These kinds of spaces deal with isolation and alienation as their narrative focus. In Parasite (2019), the windows of the two leading families houses in the film are a powerful motif showing the class disparity. In the classic Miyazaki film, the proportion of the environment is exaggerated compared to the main character. This can be seen when Chihiro takes the monumental staircase to the bathhouse. Scale and Proportion are instrumental in creating a language of visual narrative in various ways. They are also achieved using computergenerated images aided by green screens or physical miniatures.
Blade Runner 2049 (2017) Parasite (2019)
Kengo Kuma, Rooftop Tea House
In architectural design, scale and proportion always come into play when designing a space to fit specific programs. The Vietnam Memorial by Maya Lin uses scale to emphasize the totality of the war. The open ramp of the Guggenheim showcases the building’s scale as visitors circumambulate viewing the artwork. The open space is an entirely different experience from more intimate and isolated spaces such as the Rooftop Tea House by Kengo Kuma.
Spirited Away (2001)
Frank Lloyd Wright, Guggenheim
Perfect Blue (1997) Bernard Tschumi, Parc de la Villette
Color/Texture/Material Color in film can be one of the most expressive methods for creating mood, tone, and narrative associations. Color may be used as a symbolic motif that highlights a space or character. It can represent a central theme in the plot. Three qualities of color, being Hue, Saturation, and Brightness, are manipulated to craft a form of pure visual storytelling. Bright saturated colors are regularly used for more fantastic stories, while desaturated darker palettes are used for darker subject matter. Probably the most famous director when it comes to the use of color in a film is Wes Anderson. Wes Anderson uses specific colors and ties them to a character and their history. Red is recurring when it comes to characters. In the Royal Tenenbaums (2001), Ben Stiller’s character and his sons all wear vibrant red tracksuits to symbolize his past trauma. In the Grand Budapest Hotel (2014), two primary timelines occur. The first was the heyday of the hotel in 1932. This is shot in a 4:3 aspect ratio, while the later years of the hotel in 1968 are shot in a 2.35:1 aspect ratio. The hotel’s successful years are filled with pastel pink, reds, purple, and yellow. “We started with all this pink, and I think this would be true of any color, if you use too much of it, you stop seeing it because it’s everywhere, and you start taking it for granted. So, we found we had to add in yellows and different colors to kind of cut it back so you could see it more.” (Adam Stockhausen). This is true of his color palettes throughout the film, where there is usually a color outside of the dominant hue that makes both hues pop out even more despite the usual high saturation. Josef Alber’s Interaction of Colors highlights the relationship between colors and perception. The same color amidst different colored backgrounds will not appear the same to our eyes. The interaction of colors is essential to note when crafting a palette. The later years of the hotel are marked with more desaturated oranges and drab greens. These two color palettes provide a visual metaphor for the high and low points of the hotel. Other films use a single recurring color as a visual motif. An example of this would be Perfect Blue (1997), where red tells the audience that something is not correct. At certain critical moments in the film, red intensifies, engulfing the main character as they enter a stage of hysteria. Red provides foreshadowing for scenes to come and a way to build up tension. Architecture can use color in a similar capacity highlighting the program or use of space with a particular color, material, or texture. In architecture, there are recurring materials for specific programs. Architects use color to craft a unique visual for their designs. Two examples of these are the works of Ricardo Leggoretta and La Villete’s Follies by Bernard Tschumi, which use a distinct red color.
The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014)
Texture and material are instrumental in an architect’s style. Kengo Kuma uses wood to provide a warm feeling to his unique structures. Paul Rudolph uses a variety of textures using concrete, as can be seen in the Yale Library. The Museum of Moving Image provides a seamless and smooth texture paired with a unique artificial lighting scheme. These materials and textures provide a carefully crafted look and feel to a space. In film, texture, and material are also used to give narrative information. Compared to a grimier, more lived space, a place with clean and reflective surfaces will give us some visual knowledge. In Blade Runner 2049 (2017), there is a monochromatic color scheme to the various locations and distinct materiality and texture. It ranges from the clean concrete of Wallace Corporation to the rougher texture of the protagonist’s apartment and workspace. However, texture in film transcends the physical. When shooting, the use of film versus digital provides two unique textures to the shots. Film provides an organic, warm, grainy visual while digital provides a clean, sleek look. Other unique techniques provide a distinct look, such as placing net-like fabric in front of the lens to give a romantic atmosphere to a shot. This method causes the light to create flares and diffuse. These techniques can now be created digitally through filters and digital photo manipulation.
Composition Composition is a more elusive term when compared to the others. It employs the use of all the other subcategories of film. Composition refers to how actors, space, and props appear within the frame. It refers to shot angles and types of shots. The distance of the camera plays a vital part in the composition. A wide shot gives wildly different information than an extreme closeup. The angle provides a unique perspective that often assists the narrative. An example would be an upshot of the villain to make them appear more threatening, while a down shot will make someone look meek. Yet composition is more than just about how the camera is positioned it also deals with how the subject matter is positioned within the space. Often the space is used as a framing device within the shot frame. Even the size of the frame comes into play. Traditional 4:3 aspect ratio gives higher vertical space while wider formats give more horizontal space. Aspect Ratios often change in a film to provide a sense of time or place. There are more unique instances of the use of aspect ratio. An example of this would be in House (1977), where there is a frame within a frame in the opening. Often composition is used to create a visual message for the audience. In Parasite (2019), there are many examples of the composition being used to express the film’s themes. We view two characters through a window with the sill dividing them in one scene. This is to emphasize the class division between them further. There are numerous shots where the actor’s reaction is the focus, so the background is minimal. These shots are usually close-up shots and are meant to look into how a character feels. In comparison, medium close-up shots provide some background that would provide information about the subject. Framing is used for a variety of reasons. Some examples would be to focus on a person, have a symbolic meaning such as being trapped within the frame, or clue us in that someone may be watching from afar. Leading lines are similar as they provide a focus for a portion of the screen. Leading lines also emphasize the movement of characters on screen as they follow the perspective. Other tools such as symmetry, asymmetry, and the rule of thirds help provide visually pleasing frames. The composition in the shots of Parasite is meant to provide us with visual cues that tie into its themes. Parasite (2019)
Dune (2021)
Composition in architecture is different as it does not always deal just with what is visible within one frame. Although framing views through openings such as windows is the primary method when crafting compositions for a building. There is care in the experience and particular critical views throughout space in architecture. The use of symmetry and asymmetry is essential when crafting these views. Architecture can create a more dynamic and experiential composition. The Bauhaus building in Dessau has no central view but can only be fully seen by orbiting the building. This contrasts with buildings with a particular front facade. In this way, Architecture can create almost infinite compositions from a singular structure.
Other films, such as Dune (2021) are very carefully crafted to provide a unique look into a world. The cinematography of Dune is careful not to produce shots that would be impossible to have on a traditional digital camera. This is an order to keep the action and sci-fi world grounded.
Walter Gropius, Bauhaus Dessau
Not only are time and movement created by the frames and shots themselves, but it is also intertwined into the story often. Christopher Nolan’s films often deal with non-linear structures, which have become more prominent. His debut film Following (1998) cuts back and forth between three tracks of time to deny specific knowledge to the viewer. In Memento (2000), there are two narratives. One is shot in color, while the other is black and white. The climax of the film is in the middle chronologically. Parts of the film are in reverse order until they both meet in the middle. Inception’s (2010) narrative has seven layers of time that interact with each other in the dream space. Time moves differently in these layers. One example of this is the truck falling in slow motion impacting the physics of the hallway fight scene. Dunkirk (2017) is told in three narratives that collide at different points. Although they collide, the narratives differ in the amount of time they span. The first lasts one week, the second one day, and the last one our. These three narratives are intercut in order to show their relationship. The latest film by Christopher Nolan Tenet (2020) features characters that reside in a state of time going backward. Christopher Nolan explaining Memento
Time “One cannot perceive a cinematic work with no sense of time passing through the shot” (Andrei Tarkovsky). Shots consist of a series of frames. When stitched together, these frames are still images that create the illusion of motion. When these frames are together fast, we no longer perceive them as different frames but as one moving image. There is a wide degree of frame rates or how many frames we are shown per second. Traditional cinema used 24 frames. The frame rate can be manipulated to create a certain sense of motion. A low frame rate will make the action appear choppy and frantic. Step printing is a technique that gives a blurring and choppy effect. Step printing is done by repeating frames. To create a slow-motion effect, shoot at a higher frame rate than the video is played. For example, shoot at 60 fps but then play at 24 fps. This is done in films such as Matrix (1999) to show explicit action and motion. Tarkovsky used this kind of manipulation more subtly to give the feeling that something was wrong. It is not entirely noticeable as the problem, but the frame rate manipulation gives an eerie feeling. Animation works directly with frames as each still image is drawn. In traditional celluloid animation, the background and foreground are on transparent sheets, which are photographed to create the frame. The foreground is usually alternated on top of the background to create the shot. In stop motion, an object is photographed, moved slightly, and photographed again. Stop motion is not only used in animated films but is frequently mixed in with live-action, such as in the Czech film Alice (1988).
Moholy Nagy, Light Prop for an Electric Stage Jean Tinguely, Homage to New York
Nam June Paik, Electronic Superhighway: Continental U.S., Alaska, Hawaii Nicholas Schoffer, Cybernetic Art
Nam June Paik was one of the first artists to use tv and video in his artwork. He uses sculptures created by televisions and projected images. In Electronic Superhighway, a wall of televisions is placed behind a fluorescent map of the United States. This ties the visuals of the television screens to the borders of specific states and the artist’s associations with them. It includes 336 television sets. Nicholas Schoffer is one of the first cybernetic artists. He believed that sculpture and architecture should be learned together. He thought that the interior was the domain of architecture while the exterior was the work of sculptor. Schoffer would say that painting was obsolete and dated as it attempts to present the 3D as 2D. Schoffer’s art used a loop system where there were reactors and effectors. The effectors would project their effect as light or movement after receiving information from the reactor or sensor. He was not satisfied with creating a cyclical event but one that was an ever-changing and unique sequence.
Various works deal with space and express time through movement. Four artists that do this in their work are Moholy Nagy, James Tinguely, Nam June Paik, and Nicolas Schoffer. The Light-Space Modulator is perhaps one of the first forms of kinetic art. Moholy Nagy was once a director of the Bauhaus and was interested in creating a Theater of Totality. The Light-Space Modulator brings motion, light, technology, and material into one piece. It rotates and moves around, creating different conditions through its light and reflective materials. James Tinguely is a kinetic artist who creates moving sculptures. He created the Homage to New York, a self-destructing sculpture that burns itself at the end of its movement.The sculpture represented a new form of performance art as there was a clear beginning and end to the piece. Industrialization was a theme for this piece, primarily machine-like pieces such as bicycle wheels, motors, steel drums, etc.
Movement Movement in film consists of two primary aspects: the movement of the camera and the movement of the actors. Camera movement is essential in capturing the drama of the narrative in film. Some versatile tools and techniques have been created to enhance the film’s narrative. Having the camera’s view angle change to either left or right creates a pan which allows filmmakers to give us further information outside of the initial frame. This is not to be confused with trucking when the camera itself moves left or right. Having the camera move closer to a subject or away would be a tracking shot. When the camera begins to look up or down, this is created by a tilt. When the camera moves towards or away from a subject, it’s pulling in or out. This is different from zooming in where the camera is stationary, but the frame’s view begins to get smaller. You get the vertigo effect when you combine the camera moving towards or away from the subject and zoom in the opposite direction. There are less controlled camera movements, such as shaking or random zoom-ins. These give more of a documentary feeling to the shot as it appears things are happening in real-time or spontaneously. These camera movements are paired with the actors to create compelling narratives or thematic meaning. An example would be juxtaposing a static shot with a shaky handheld shot. Through this technique, Seven (1995) shows the two opposing characters’ states of Choreographymind.
in film is created in unison with the camera’s movement to best capture the action of a scene. At times the actors are still while the camera moves for dramatic effect. In the film La La Land (2016), there is the use of crash zooms to tie the actions of two characters in a more kinetic fashion. In Stanley Kubrick’s films, there is an excellent use of zoom-ins to highlight the character’s emotional state. George Lucas employs several movements that closely mimic his time’s documentary filmmaking style. These include tracking shots and having the camera appear to follow the characters. This makes his films seem more grounded in reality despite their fantastical setting. A technique that provides further immersion is the continuous shot. This kind of shot provides a seamless movement with no cuts. Continous shots bring us closer to the drama and experience of the characters. It also creates a dreamlike effect. Overall the movement of the camera has a tremendous amount of sway in the feeling of a scene.
Movement is intertwined into the architectural experience. How we get from program to program is carefully crafted and constructed to give a specific experience or ease of circulation. Moving through a larger continuous space will give a vastly different experience than moving through a series of rooms or intercut spaces. Architecture is focused on how we move around in space on an intimate level. Several key figures in the Bauhaus were interested in movement, especially in performance and dance. “In the dance, the whole body—and in the new dance, every finger—draws lines with very clear expression. The “modern” dancer moves about the stage on exact lines, which he introduces in the composition of his dance as a significant element (Sacharoff). The entire body of the dancer, right down to his fingertips, is at every moment an uninterrupted composition of lines (Palucca).” (Wassily Kandinsky). Here Kandinsky breaks down the dance movement into lines transcribing the motion into a two-dimensional representation.
Wasilly Kandinsky, Dance Curves: On the Dances of Palucca Oskar Schlemmer, the invisible linear network of planimetric and stereometric relationships
Sequence and Editing Narrative and Sequence in film work with both time and movement. The sequence of events shown can provide different results. One sequence may provide dread by giving knowledge to the audience but not the characters, while withholding information from both can provide a surprise. The order the audience receives information is instrumental to the desired response. Sequential Relationships describe what brings two shots together. Sequential relationships consist of graphic, rhythmic, spatial, and temporal relations. Graphic relations match two shots’ color, lighting, movement, or composition. A Rhythmic Relation has to do with shot duration. The duration of a shot affects the feeling it gives off. A sequence with quick hard cuts gives a sense of speed and action, while a long shot gives us a perception that the action is slow. Shot duration is essential for what movement or sense of time a director wants to convey to the audience. Spatial Relations are sequences that present the space the characters are in. A simple example of this would be an establishing shot of the exterior building that is followed by the characters in the interior. A Temporal Relationship deals with the passage or omission of time between two shots. A famous example of this would be the match cut from the opening of 2001 A Space Odyssey (1968), where a bone in the air cuts to thousands of years later to a spaceship of a similar shape. This relationship is an example of a montage where a film can present us with two shots that would be separated by space and time otherwise. This was very important in silent films when sound was not a tool that could provide information. A popular motif still prevalent today is a shot of a gun going off, cutting to birds flying away. This lets the audience know that the gun did shoot and created the sound even though the audience can not hear it themselves. The juxtaposing of the two shots creates a new meaning. “A view that forms the collision of two given factors arises a (third) concept” (Sergei Eisenstein). This can be seen by the Kuleshov Effect, where the same reaction shot of a man is used against different shots. One of a woman, one of a bowl of soup, and another of a dead child. When tested to an audience, they said that the man had feelings tied to the shot they were shown despite it being the same stock reaction shot. Montage can provide a metaphorical meaning or a literal one. Montage can be seen in Eisenstein films, an example being October: Ten Days That Shook the World (1927), where a bourgeois woman attacks a Bolshevik man in contrast with a group of protesters being shot. Editing is used to tie shots and sequences together into a cohesive vision. A specific tool for editing would be the use of transitions. There are various transitions, including fade-in, fade-out, jump cut, match cut, swipe vertical, swipe horizontal, graphic match, action wipe, transformations, and split-screen. These transitions guide us from one shot to the other. They either help provide a seamless transition between two shots and sequences or rough transitions. An example of a highly rough transition is the use of jump cuts. A jump cut occurs when two very similar cuts follow each other. This gives a jerking or jumping motion between them.
Scott Pilgrim vs The World (2010)
The camera moves continuously through the space to capture the different dances the leads partake in. The final climactic sequence in the film goes through a variety of dreamlike environments using softer transitions such as fading in and out.
Perfect Blue (1997) Kuleshov Effect
Edgar Wright is known for transitions, including experimental movements and the use of split screens, match cuts, and dolly wipes. There is also heavy use of diegetic scene wipes accompanied by sound effects. These diegetic wipes are usually people or other objects moving in front of the frame accompanied by a sound that brings us into a new shot. There is also a clever breakaway from traditional reverse shots where the film has one person talking followed by the reaction shot of the other. Instead of both shots being in the same location, the following reaction shot is in a new location, allowing a seamless transition into a new space and subverting the rules of cinema. The connection between shots is taken as much if not more care than the shots themselves.
Sequence in Perfect Blue is used to a disorienting degree. The 180 rule where subjects are always shot from one side is broken, giving the audience a sense that the character is losing their minds. This reinforces the film’s surrealism as the line between televised drama, reality, and hallucinations are blurred. Shots blend from the protagonist in their apartment to acting onstage in a seamless and disorienting manner. The typical sequences of establishing are absent to break away from the conventional. The use of unique transitions also carries the film’s tone. Satoshi Kon employs a variety of match cuts, exact graphic match, and intercutting scenes. There are more niche transitions such as rewinding film, a shot that zooms out of a TV, jump cuts, and using objects to wipe across the frame. The two transitions zoom out of the TV help illustrate the blurred line between fantasy and reality. Shot entirely on film, LaLaLand is a callback to classic Hollywood films. It uses various transitions and lacks cuts for its dreamlike cinematography. It features the use of dolly wipes, match cuts, and fade-outs.
Bernard Tschumi, Manhattan Transcriipts
Sergei Eisenstein, sequences diagrams for Alexander Nevsky and Battleship Potëmkin.
“We need sequences of space which arouse one’s curiosity, give a sense of anticipation, which beckon and impel us to rush forward and find that releasing space which dominates, which climaxes and acts as a magnet and gives direction” (Paul Rudolph). This quote describes the importance of sequence in architectural space design and spaces of transition. The order or lack of order one is meant to traverse space is essential in the experience. Architecture can guide the visitor through space through its layout, and the way views are framed. In this way, architecture interacts with movement and time. There have been various projects that deal with the concept of time and movement. One of them is the Monument to the Third International by Vladimir Tatlin, which proposed a moving structure. Another is the situationist Derive which describes a series of rules for exploring and inhabiting the city. Perhaps the closest example that bridges Film and Architecture are the Manhattan Transcripts by Bernard Tschumi.
“Movement and action, both the action of the buildings, what they do, and also what happens in them- in other words the performance of the, let’s say actors, you as the visitor, you as the protagonist of quite a large set of circumstances: architecture is a part of all those circumstances- part of the plot”. (Bernard Tschumi). For Tschumi, Architecture was not only the physical building but the actions and events within them. Events, movements, and space are all connected in the experience of architecture. The Manhattan Transcripts invites us to view space as a sequential narrative, as activities that are then triggered by other activities. The transcripts have perspective diagrams of architecture within frames that mimic a physical film reel’s celluloid pin hole frames. Tschumi adapted notation for performance, choreography, and music around the buildings. The Follies at Parc de Villette are designed with these sequential notions. They provide various sets or frames to give visitors a chance to create their sequences, movement, and actions.
On the other hand, architecture is free spatially but can not close this distance outside of itself. For this reason, although Cinema and Architecture share many of the same qualities, the way the audience and visitors experience them differs significantly. The project seeks to break down the components of Film that begin to create visual, experiential, and spatial narratives.
Film and Architecture: Creating Narrative Time, Space, and Movement are essential factors in architecture and Film. While Film has limitless freedom to connect these factors using montage no matter their distance, Architecture must bridge these together into a singular vision. The experiential quality of Architecture lends itself to similar concepts, such as the sequence in which action, movement, and event are practiced. Although Film can close the distance between Space and Time, it is still tied down to being experienced in a flat plane.
Bernard Tschumi, Manhattan Transcriipts
CAMERACOMPOSITIONDISTANCEAND ANGLE Parasite (2019) Parasite (2019)
COLOR PALETTE COLOR AND LIGHT The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014) The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014) Blade Runner 2049 (2017)
GEOMETRY AND LIGHT
Blade Runner 2049 (2017)
3- Full
4- Long Far
CAMERA DISTANCE AND ANGLE Parasite (2019) A B CA B C 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 Departure Scene Arrival Scene
B- Straight On C- Up Shot Column (Distance) 1- Close Up 2- Medium
The arrival and departure scenes go through many of the exact locations but at vastly different points in the plot. In the arrival scene, Ki Woo constantly moves up elevation toward the house. The angle comes into play in the initial shots of the wealthy family’s house. The house is shot with an upshot making the building seem immense. In contrast, the departure scene uses a lot more down shots to highlight the scale of the environment in comparison to the family. In this way, angle and distance play a vital role in framing a scene. (Tilt) Down Shot Shot Body Shot
A-
Row
SEQUENCE AND EDITING
The Sequence shows hard versus soft cuts such as diegetic wipes. Hard cuts between shots are shown as a thick vertical line between them. Softer cuts have no dividing line as they flow seamlessly into each other. These transitions and the character’s movement create a disorienting sequence. One example would be the break of the 180 rule (third and fourth shot in the second row) where Mima runs in one direction, but the follow-up shot has her facing the other direction.
A-DistanceClose Up B- Medium Shot C- Full Body D- Long Far Movement and Transition Vertical Blue Line- Hard Cut Red Arrow- Mima’s Movement Pink Arrow- Idol Mima’s Movement Blue- Parked Purple- Speed Limit RedVerticalPursuedLine-Cut 0:09:18 0:13:20
SHOT LENGTH AND PACING
The opening car chase from Drive provides a view into time distortion through the shot duration. The colors in the background of the diagram depict different states of movement. The light blue color depicts moments when the car is parked. The darker purple depicts moments where the driver is going at the speed limit. The red signifies when he is being pursued. The three colors are overlaid with lines showing the moments there is a cut in the sequence. The moments with the quickest cuts are those with the driver being chased. Longer shots seem drawn out, while quick cuts make the action faster. Drive (2011) Perfect Blue (1997) A B DC
CAMERA MOVEMENT, CAMERA PLACEMENT, AND ACTOR MOVEMENT
A B DC E 1 2 3 4 5 I II III IV V X Axis (Pan) I- 180 Degree (Left) II- 135 Degree III- 90 Degree (Straight On) IV- 45 Degree V- 0 Degree (Right) Y Axis (Tilt) A- Bird’s Eye View B- Down Shot C- Straight On D- Up Shot E- Worm’s Eye View Z Axis (Distance) 1- Long Far 2- Full Body 3- Medium Shot 4- Close Up 5- Extreme Close Up Movement Red- Composition Change Pink- Camera Movement Dark Blue- Ryan Gosling Light Blue- Emma StoneLa La Land (2016)
ANALYSIS DRAWINGS ON FILM Pin Up 5/13/2022 Sketch Model for Boards
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