Subjective Camera and Photogenie

Now, I want to point out some important concepts from the readings before you watch Cleo from 5 to 7. Christian Quendler writes that the film camera is placed at the intersection between art and technology. It has the ability to not only be a recording device, but also a means of artistic expression.

 

In the still from Moonlight, the camera bobs in the water as Little learns to swim, which is an example of artistic expression merging with technology through the use of a camera. From Film-Grab Links to an external site..

 

Major conceptions of the Camera

Graph from page 70 of the "Camera" reading

 

This graph from page 70 of our "Camera" reading is a helpful tool for connecting camera technique with specific cinematic expression, as well as connecting some of our concepts from the last few weeks. The graph states major conceptions of the camera on the far left, a favored camera technique in the center and an analogous filmmaker or film movement that resembles the camera technique. 

If you remember from our module on "Ontology of the Photographic Image," Bazinian Theory is linked with the camera as a recorder of the pro-filmic and as an agent for post-filmic viewing situations.

Pro-Filmic features the camera as a recorder of reality, through the narrativity column of the graph. Its use of deep focus closely resembles the Lumiere Brothers' early films. On the other hand, post-filmic viewing situations amplify the illusion of extended off-screen reality through specific camera technique, such as a lateral depth of field.  

For this week's viewing, please focus on the "camera as expressive of bodily and mental states" section of the figure. This conception is linked with subjective camera concepts and features a celebration of the individual through specific camera technique. Consider these theoretical concepts as you view Cleo from 5 to 7.

 

Subjective Camera

Through this conception, the camera can be symbolically linked to the filmmaker to create a subjective camera. This form of expression uses the filmmaker’s perception or authorship to foreground individuality. This allows the camera to not only take on a perceptual frame, but also become a part of the viewer’s mental process. In this sense, the camera takes on authorial forms of address. 

 

Photogenie

Photogenie is the term used to describe the phenomenon of when a film’s subject matter, the use of the camera, and the vision of the author are in balance. It also involves the ability to use film to see ordinary objects or settings in a new way, creating a sublime and uniquely cinematic moment.  It’s achieved when fragments of reality are filtered through the objective mechanics of the camera and the subjective eye of the filmmaker. Bazin viewed this concept as a dialectic between the film medium and human vision. Here's an entertaining article about photogenie Links to an external site. that is very accessible!

 

Consider these concepts from the reading when viewing this week's film. 

On the next page, you'll view Cleo from 5 to 7. 

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