Part one: Visual Culture
Visual culture officially opened a new era of research in the 1980s. With the deconstruction of postmodernism. Visual culture has also greatly influenced the way people observe the world. Before Michael Baxendale put forward the concept of visual culture, human culture was still in the stage of “reading and writing culture”, that is, the main way of communication was the transmission of text and language information.
Visual culture is defined as an individual’s behavior of observing things under the influence of a specific visual text. Visual culture includes the ability of visual design and visual decoding. The visual text includes painting, picture, movie, fashion, and decoration. The characteristic of visual culture is that visualizing itself is not visual.
Part two: mise en science
“Mise en science” comes from French and means “put in place” or “put in the scene”. The definition of mix en science includes not only the internal elements of the picture such as light and shadow, space, setting, and clothing, but also the two elements of actor scheduling and shot scheduling.
Actor scheduling: through the movement of actors in the camera screen and the dynamic changes caused by the interaction between actors, the different shapes and scenes of the screen are formed, and the changes of the relationship between the characters and their emotions are revealed.
Shot scheduling: the design of the camera’s action route and camera perspective, it shows the changes in the relationship between the characters and the environment.
The main elements of mix en science are as follows
Set Design
In the style orientation of narrative type, realistic or stylized scene design is carried out.
Costume
Clothing can describe the narrative background or times, and attract the audience’s attention to specific roles with visual effects. Clothing is also mainly used to express the character’s state and personality.
Props
The prop is short for the property. If a prop is narrated repeatedly in the plot, it is likely to become the key clue of the plot and guide the development of the plot. Alfred Hitchcock coined the term Macguffin to describe the props that drive the plot.
Staging and Composition
Staging and composition mainly refer to the layout of characters and props in the lens picture and the specific visual effects produced by them.
The third part: visual metaphor
give an example:
Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (2001)
In the plot, the main meaning of wand is to use magic as a tool, but in fact, wand is also a reflection of the comprehensive strength of individual power, status, personality and other characters. For the protagonist Harry, the process of getting his wand not only opens up his connection with the magic world but also means that his personality is no longer constrained by the original host family.
Harry’s scar also has a double meaning of danger and love. The scar not only represents the anti-party’s hurt and danger throughout the plot, but also his parents’ protection and love for him. The parents’ love for him also helped the protagonist overcome the villain in danger.
Part four: aesthetics
Aesthetics covers both natural and artificial aesthetic experience and judgment. It also explores the art form of interaction or information transmission between individuals and things. This art form includes and is not limited to music, poetry, drama, nature, and so on. In the philosophy of art, it also analyzes the artist’s design thinking, the composition of creative elements, form of performance, and behavior mode of appreciation and criticism. Scholars define aesthetics as critical reflection on art, culture, and nature. At the same time, aesthetics can also be used to refer to specific art forms or theories.
The fifth part: color composition
Monochromatic Color
Monochrome represents a color that contains the brightness of that color. The meaning of using monochrome patterns to express design is usually simple and direct, and its specific meaning depends on the choice of monochrome.
Complementary Color
The opposite colors on the color wheel are called complementary colors. There will be strong drama and impact between the two complementary colors. Complementary color schemes can also evolve into separate complementary schemes. For example, red and green are complementary colors, with green as the base color evolving into yellow green or blue-green.
Analogous Color
Similar colors on the color wheel are called similar colors. The use of analog color is mainly to use three to five adjacent colors on the color wheel. Compared with the visual effect of monochromatic color, the analog color will also produce a simple and stable atmosphere in the composition. However, the design of analog color will increase the details of the screen, resulting in a subtle plot and emotional expression.
Triadic Color
Any three colors that form an equilateral triangle on the color wheel can be called triadic color. The triadic color will create a pleasant and relaxed picture effect in the picture.
Part six: rhythms
In the film, the editing rhythm is a key influence on the logical establishment of the story and the storytelling. The rhythm of editing is usually composed of a series of beats, and its working principle is very similar to music editing. Different rhythm clips can appear in the whole movie, but they should be in line with the trend of the plot. Correct editing can help build a bridge and interaction between the film and the audience, and help the audience understand and master the plot structure of the film. Build and guide the audience to watch the interactive emotions and thinking mode.