Vertigo Effect/Dolly Zoom

I have decided to commit this blog to the vertigo effect. I looked up more on it since we learned about it briefly on Tuesday and it’s an effect that I believe is very creative, but this is an effect that really depicts someone’s point of view. It can also be known as the Dolly Zoom, the effect that appears to undermine visual perception. This effect is made when the zooming of a zoom lens is used to adjust the field of view while the camera moves towards or away from the subject. This is done in such a way as to keep the subject/object the same size in the frame throughout the duration of the effect. Usually it is used to exaggerate someone’s fear of heights, show distance, or to just focus on one item/subject. It’s really an interesting concept, because I consider it a brain trick. The objects in the foreground seem to be the same size throughout the shot, but the objects in the background appear to morph in size even though nothing is manipulating them. I also found the Goodfellas diner scene with the tracking shot. Outside the window, the objects and environment visually seem to be moving closer, but they’re obviously not. Like I said, this is just an effect I find really interesting because of how original and creative Hitchcock was when he invented it.

Goodfellas

Cross-Cutting Blog

Cross-Cutting is a technique used in editing to establish that inaction is taking place in two different locations. The camera will cut from one action to another and it seems that the actions are taking place at the same time. Cross-Cutting can be used to add suspense to the film and bring excitement otherwise the scene is plain and boring to watch. The technique can be used to build up the tension and the suspense. It mainly is used to show the audience that two or more events are going on at the same time to add suspense and excitement to a scene and to get the viewers attention. An editor would use this technique to move a scene back and forth from one event to another and it continues to storyline of the film. Sometimes it is used to show between the primary or the main focus of the main storyline to the second storyline of a film. One of the uses of this technique is to keep the audience watching and by building up suspense to the film for the audience.

Analysis of Citizen Kane from a Non-Linear Perspective

The story line was very interesting and realistic, telling the story of a man who was born to a poor family but raised by a wealthy businessman.  The story was told in a non-linear fashion as the scenes jumped between the present, which was after Kane had passed away, and the memory that was being retold by the interviewed people. Up until this point, the majority of films were just of one point in time. 

Despite the fantastic new approach that was taken with the film, the cuts of the scenes themselves were slow which made the actual film boring. The film utilized fades to show the passage of time between scenes. At this early stage, filmmakers were still experimenting of what they could do with this kind of storytelling. As film making progressed, editors realized that the need for such transitions were unnecessary. 

Ultimately, as much as Citizen Kane was an uninteresting film by today's standards of cinema, it was pivotal for making the film industry what it is today.

Citizen Kane

Ariana Montagnino

Non-Linear Editing

Alex Bordino

1 March 2015

Orson Welles’ Citizen Kane begins at the end. The narrative starts at the deathbed of Charles Kane, giving you little insight on his life. The rest of the story of Charles Kane was told through flashbacks, or scenes from the past, to give you a closer look on the kind of person Kane was before his death. Another technique we learned in class that was applied to Citizen Kane was eye line matching, or shorts from behind a characters shoulder showing another character engaging with them in conversation, reminding the viewer that the two characters are in the same place talking to each other. This was applied during the interview scenes, where the interviewer was asking Kane’s family and friends questions so you could both see what his life was like, as well as join the interviewer on his quest to figure out why Kane's last word was "rosebud". I thought the movie was interesting, and I enjoyed the camera flash transitions that smoothly served as a segue between scenes.