Film Art: An Introduction and Paul Wells Understanding Animation reading week 3

Narrative Strategies

"Animation is especially suited to the process of association linking, both as a methodology by which to create image systems, and as a mechanism by which to understand them. Understanding these images only comes from an active participation in the images as the repository of meaning in their own right and not necessarily, in direct connection to other image."

This quote states how animation work in the way of image linking with association, like montages. The connection may not be direct as well, in terms of repeating the same pattern of association. This means animation does not have to work in terms of live action films, as animation can be more abstract in terms of how frames link. This again focus on the linking of frames and how it ties a narrative together.

Film Art : Introduction
Chapter 4 Mise En Scene 

Mise En Scene involves all that is in the frame, setting, lighting, props, costume, and the behaviour of the figures. Realism is a standard of value, however realism vary across culture and different  era has different perception on how do people act and the properties that involves in realism. Mise en scene actually has more power in manipulating the setting of the film by using different props, costume, and special effects. Like Melies The Mermaid his use of the backdrop and post production with detailed planning on the angels of the camera makes it realism in that era of film. Although most of his film were fantasy genre. Film focuses on the setting more than other mediums like the theatre, as the screen can exist with out actors. a cut away of a leaf in the wind, or waves beating on the shore can heighten the dramatic effect of a certain scene. Some films even uses actors as an ascessory only to counterpoint the nature as the leading character.