The Space Can Talk

From the class, we learn the concept and use of the space. As is known
to all, space is a complex visual component. After the class, I explore an idea
which is the title of my essay--The space can talk. We all know that a director
film a movie with his own purpose. Sometimes the application of space itself
can express the intention of the director. I want to explore the concrete
methods.
Lets review what weve learned in class: in the beginning, we were
taught that perspective and composition can create stories. Also, the camera
can transform the world. Whats more, techniques are tools to give messages
in image. Later, we talked about deep, foreground, mid-ground, background;
Space, movement, size, perspective. At the end, we discussed a little about
flat space.
I raise one example from a movie to elaborate my idea, but it isnt my
analyze of the sequence I choose. Just to show the methods applied in
concept of space.
It is chosen from a movie called Three Colors Red (1994), directed by
Krzysztof Kieslowski. It is the beginning of the film, which is consisted of three
long takes.
1) The first long take
The scene started with Auguste, one of the main character. He finishes
the call and comes out of the door. He goes into the shot from the left side,
and location of the camera is established in the other side of the road. The
shooting angle is a level angle. We can see that a red car stops at the front of
the door, and Auguste walks to the right with the dog. A red car enter the
scene from the bottom left, and leaves at the middle left. Meanwhile, August
walks towards the right. The space explains a general idea of the relation
between the character and the environment. As is shown:

We can see that it is a two-Point perspective. Commonly, this occurs at

the corners of buildings. The top and bottom lines of each longitudinal plane
converge to separate vanishing points.
Then the camera moves along with Auguste towards the right, it can be
seen that Auguste crosses a road which is very pivotal here because it is very
important to construct the relation between the two main characters. Then
the camera continues to move and the red coffee shop enters from the right
side of the frame, meanwhile August leaves the frame very naturally. Then the
camera translates to Valentine. As is shown:

We can see a vanishing point here, and the lines are very clear--they
are vertical.
Then the camera pans to the right and the direction of the camera
translates from the level angle to the vertical angle. Appears the title of the
coffee shop. Then the house of Valentine. Here is the flat space, which
emphasizes the two-dimensional quality of the screen surface. More detailed,
its a frontal plan, the purpose is to emphasize the house of the female
character and introduce her. As is shown:

Along with the ring of the telephone, the camera continues to go

forward. A voice comes out of the phone saying Valentine, so we know the
name of the female lead. The shot stops on the telephone to emphasize,
meanwhile Valentine comes out of the back room and picks up it happily. From
the mentioned pictures we know that Auguste is also making phone call, but
not to Valentine. It seems that there is some kinds of implication that there
exits a relationship between the two people. Therefore the films suspense is
built up here. As is shown:

Then the camera continues with Valentine who gets up to the depth
direction inside the house, probably a kitchen, the camera shoots from a lower
angle. It is a limited space to show the inside of the room. Then she comes
out, moves to the left, sits down at the side of the bed, picks up her

boyfriend's red jacket while answering the phone. Then shot ends. As is
shown:

Through the above-mentioned analysis we can know that the director

designs these scenes very carefully: The appearance and disappearance are

very natural and just right. The picture starts with Auguste and ends with
Valentine, and the relationship between the two is set up by the details over
the phone. From this long take, it is well constructed the relationship between
the characters and the one between the characters and the environment. By
the long shot across a road, we can see that the two are living in the same
street but in different buildings, just across the road from each other. And the
space also suggests a question for the spectators: what on earth is the
relationship between the two characters?
2) The second long take
Then there goes the second long take. The starting point actually is
from the view of Valentine, she is talking to her boyfriend about the weather,
and then looks out of the window very naturally. Here the face of Valentine is
located on the right side of the shot, but it is a big close up to emphasize on
the woman. Then her vision goes to the left side to introduce the window.
Then the shot begins, from the high angle of the actress, then track left and
right, gradually over the wall of the building, then appears the other wall of
the building of another side, which is just the building where lives Auguste. As
is shown:

The camera continues to move from the very beginning of high angle
to low angle, Auguste comes into the frame from the lower left corner, then
walks from the door. Here the process of the picture and sound is very
interesting. The sound is Valentine on the phone with her boyfriend, and the
picture is the scene of Auguste walking downstairs, which is also the directors
ingenious arrangements. The spectators now know very clearly, this phone is
definitely not called by Valentine, but the appearance of Auguste undoubtedly
deepens the relationship between the characters, which strengthens the
audience's expectations of these two characters. After Auguste goes into the
door from the left side, Valentine comes to the window, talking on the phone
while closing the window. The act of shutting the window seems to aim to tell
the audience that Valentine and Auguste dont have relationship. They are
separated by the window. Here the act of closing the window is a
metaphorical symbolism, and then ends the scene. As is shown:

Although compared to the first one, this long take is not that long, it
also plays a part in this movie, as is to show the deeper relationship between
the two main characters. The camera enters the apartment along with
Valentine, and starts to observe the environment and characters from the

inside view. The space is more limited and flat, but it has it own meaning. As a
result, further deepens the relationship between characters, which is more
complicated and confusing, also the suspense of the film can be further
strengthened.
3) The third long take
The shot begins with that Auguste finishes making phone call and
walks out of home. We see that he entered in the red car which has appeared
one time before, and then drives towards the right road, across the street.
Meanwhile the camera moves towards the right side along with his car until
the car disappears from the left side. As is shown:

Very subtly, it is the moment when August drives out of the right of the
picture we see that Valentine comes out from the apartment door, then goes
to the left. The process of camera here is very interesting. Compared to the
previous two long takes, this shot is the first meet between the two
characters, but unfortunately they pass in such a hurry. The camera changes

its direction from the right following Auguste to the left following Valentine.
She hurries in going to the door of coffee shop, inputs coins, push the door,
then the shot ends. As is shown:

This is the third long take after the beginning of the film, the time is not
long, but it completed the key point of the narrative by letting the two people

meet, which deepens the relationship between the characters. They meet in
a hurry but not really meet each other, therefore the audience will constantly
guess what on earth is the relationship between the two men, why in the
opening five minutes, the two people continue to occur frequently but always
unable to meet? Finally "meet", and yet pass. The director strengthens more
the audience's attention on the relationship between these two individuals by
applying space in the film.
From what we have talked about, the director has the following
methods to apply the skill of space:
1) Change the space from the outside to the inside or inside to outside.
2) Focus on the main character to show the importance.
3) Link up naturally the appearance and disappearance of objects. So
that the attention of the spectators can be attracted.
4) Use the vanishing point to show the environment and the
importance.
5) The movement of camera, including dollying in and out, tracking left
and right, and craning up and down create relative movement. It can also
change the perspective and the attention of spectators.