Cinematography
A sensorial fest for a movie from 1910s cinematography by Billy Bitzer and music by Joseph Carl Briel . The mastery of their work has sprung feelings of war , agony of loss , excitement of action and demising the antagonist has made it on to screen even for this time . For a person who has had no education in the history would feel the emotions the protagonist would have felt through the entire story and make themselves believe the events . The colors and tones capture the essence of emotion for the time although at times it was hard to keep the track of the tones and confusing , the tones and colours I found relative were :
- Orange – excitement , building up and escalation
- Green – love , romance and innocence
- Red – danger , distruction and fight
- Blue – agony , grief and sorrow
- Yellow – hope , happiness & celebration
- Purple – divinity & royal
Although with the great and effective use of shadows and highlight . Apart from the times using the vignette hadn’t been mastered at its fullest .
The use of rotoscope and double exposure has also been shown although hadn’t been the most impactful in the presentation . Being said for the time being these skills and techniques have definitely been used to enhance the experience .
The amazing lighting and innovative framing has given a life of its own , the textures created by the light has worked really great with the emotions and story of the story , cinematographers emphasis on effective use of motion and experience of composition has made it an emersion of unspoken feelings of rush as well as peace and strength and power .
Social Impact
A movie that has been created by caucasian man who has seen war and felt , insecure about the growth of a suppressed community of people. That’s what comes to my mind when I started seeing it . Although it might be true for which I need to conduct more research behind the movie .
There is a cry of a artist hidden behind the story , story of being heroic for the best of one’s people but at the time the growth of the storytelling has to fall with pain when it is brought to reality .
The pain of a community of people being antagonised is not a reason to celebrate any form of art at the same time is not to be forgotten.
We as community of creators should respect the art in its truest form of creation and learn from it so that we use our skills in creating and being responsible for the damage it can form in the society . I can only wonder the distruction this can cause although the immence power of the artists that worked on the movie have to be recognised and learnt at its finest quality .
Conclusion
As a film student I would like to embrace the skill and knowledge I could understand from the makers of the movie , but also understand the importance of being a filmmaker and understanding the power and potential posses and to grow more and more to the interest in telling stories that bring us together than divide .
Film Appreciation ( ACT 1 )
Film : the birth of a nation (1915)
Curated by : Dr Janardhanan
Jain University, BSc Filmmaking .
- Jovinjith Kennedy
World of Jo 