The Angle of Approach

The Angle of Approach

            A good deal of what we experience during a movie is expressed through its visual nature and in the way in which various scenes are introduced.  When we enter into a scene, we start from a particular point with the camera settling into a position to set up the scene that we are supposed to take in.  So much of what we feel is controlled by the set up and the subsequent framing of the shot.  It is from these opening moments that we get our sense of place and a proper framing for the characters and their positioning.

            Late Spring is a particularly image-centered film, with many of the moods and ideas being shown through the individual shots rather than an overuse of dialogue.  The tale itself is simple, so the overarching tale is not the goal of the film but rather the journey.  This can best be shown by how we are introduced to the new sets.  There is a kind of formula that Ozu follows when it comes to his setups, though it is not religiously followed by any means.  He generally starts off with an image that provides a scenic look at the local setting but is generally not focused on by the rest of the filming.  

 Taking these two shots he goes for an introduction at a longer angle than we generally get within the actual story. It is then followed up by the framing of the scene where he goes and chooses a specific point, from which it views the characters from a point where we can see them framed by the local scenery.  

 We are then finally brought to the mid-ranged shot keeping the camera within range of the characters where we generally get the most of the conversations.

 

            It generally makes for a good set up into the scene and draws the eye away from the surroundings and more onto the characters.  The focus is drawn to the people in the scene rather than the actual locale, while still allowing for the background to set the tone.  During these scene changes, we also get a shift in musical score with the music starting up or slowing down and stopping for the eventual entrance by the characters.  The central focus on the movement of the actors as they move into position draws the attention to the location which they now occupy.  From here, there is generally very little movement and the focus is held at its location.  It generally seems to me that Ozu wanted to draw our gaze to these characters who, for the most part, are unremarkable in their story but are visually being put in the center of our focus.  He slowly draws the attention of the audience towards the target characters and makes them into the central facet instead of characters populating a scene. 

The drawing of the gaze is central not even just in terms of characters but also in the way the film is shot overall, such as with innocuous moments in the movie, like with the train.  He still wants to give the audience direction and to keep an active appearance during the film so that we can draw more pleasure from the intermittent times, such as with the train. 

Here, it is as simple as having a converging view drawing the audience towards the train’s destination and giving a point of focus that would cause us to draw our eyes along the length of these shots to better absorb the visuals.  At times it is possible for the gaze to become to centrally fixated, especially in slower moving films, but the angle of approach changes from scene to scene and deliberately keeps the eyes engaged on an otherwise slower-paced film.

          In Kurosawa's film, Ikiru, he uses more deliberate film techniques to confer the sense of tempo to the scenes he shows.  He makes greater use of classic transitions, such as the fading in and out of scenes as well as wiping the scenes when transitioning.  The use of these may be liberal and seem at first to be relatively normal but in fact they are set to match with the specific characters which we are following.   First off, the protagonist of the story, Watanabe, is introduced using this fade in and fade out where we first see an image of his stomach to view his cancer and then fades into him at his desk.

It is generally the case that when we view Watanabe alone or as the central focus, without the supporting cast, he comes into focus in this manner.  It follows with a general portrayal we can see in the normal course of the film where Watanabe will be cast in shadow or light and then be shown in the opposing lighting.

The usage of the lighting within the movie is fairly overt with many cases of this lighting transition populating the movie, but it is in the transitions that we are given a mood continued in the editing and not just in the filming. 

            It contrasts quite a bit when we are shown other characters in the film or when Watanabe himself is accompanied by others such as the author or his co-worker.  

In these cases we generally are given wipes across the screen instead of cuts or the fade outs.  These provide a different energy and tone to what the audience watches, and instead of a somber and slow pace, things take on a much more frantic tone.  It matches with the overall narrative of how Watanabe is clinging to particular characters in a frantic attempt to feel alive.  The duality of these scene introductions is what allows us to feel motion even when the characters are not moving particularly fast, and increases the tempo in everyday situations.  Just as the slow opening with the fade in on Watanabe gives the audience a sedate opening to a bureaucratic office, we are also treated then to the scene were we follow the mothers on their quest to fix their neighborhood.  Just as with the author where they move at a steady pace and yet feel frantic and fast, it is because of the way that the scene transition makes it seem as though they are running pell-mell through the night when they are moving at a reasonable pace.  The focus on Watanabe is centered on his realization of how his life is fading away, yet coming into focus. This is fairly well expressed by the transitions and as an overall motif of the film expressed in multiple layers of the direction.  

            Good directors do not waste the opportunity to use scene changes as a greater part of film narrative by incorporating them into the larger picture.  The reasons and usage differ between these two yet they do not waste the opportunity using their changes in location as a means of telling the story.  In the case of Ozu, he definitely favors the artistic approach to scene changes, as he mainly uses cuts to change cameras, yet he does a lot with the focus change and directing it using the new scenery.  Kurosawa is much more focused on using the scene changes as a pace setter and to further the artistic themes that he has already set up, so that it furthers the film’s tale.  He uses scene changes as more than just a transition between one scene and the next. He will use cuts where he needs to change focus, but when we follow specific characters he uses the transitions as a part of their story.  Within and without the actual filming, they both use these transitions not as wasted time, but as a central part of the story which is being woven, and to better give audiences a feel for the direction in which they are having their gaze drawn.