Response - Intensified Continuity

David Bordwell is a film philosopher who indulges in his work by comparing today’s filming techniques to those used in the early days of cinematography. One of his famous comparisons resulted in his analysis of the technique known as “intensified continuity.” This term translates to American’s adaptation of how and what most films should inquire through stylistic choices. In fact there are 4 stylistic changes that Bordwell focused on which proved how continuity had intensified Hollywood cinema.

The first example was the changes in editing. Compared to the “post-classical” period of film, Bordwell came to the conclusion that shot duration had been strongly reduced. In the 1930’s the average shot length was anywhere in between 300-700 shots with each shot being 10-11 seconds. Midway the decade, this average had been tested with movies such as Goldfinger (1964) with an ASL of 4 seconds and Preminger’s Fallen Angel (1945) with an ASL of 33 seconds. However what is true in today’s ASL is that films have incorporated 1000+ shots but shot times have decreased due to faster cutting rates. “Today, most films are cut more rapidly than at any other time in U.S Studio filmmaking. Indeed, editing rates may soon hit a wall.” Bordwell feels that although fast cutting is inventive, the continuity of a film can become incomprehensible if there are fast-action clips without any long establishing shots. Techniques such as the 180-degree rule and direction must be maintained so that the audience does not lose focus.

Another exampled is the bipolar extremes of lens lengths, also translated into juxtaposition of two different filming styles. In the early years of filming many directors stuck to one type of lens depending on what they desired to capture. For example expert film makers would use 50 mm lens, while those who wanted to do extreme close ups or wanted to capture long distance action relied on 100 mm-500 mm lens. New filmers also experimented in wide angle lenses to make worth the cramped/small settings. This made way to the dramatic use of foreground and background, and would later be adapted by future cinematographers. However, what truly changed Hollywood cinema were the likes of “Francis Ford Coppola and Steven Spielberg who freely mixed long-focus and wide-angle within a single film.” They pushed the boundaries so that no director would rely on depth shots and not focus on close ups, or vice versa. However what they did not keep in mind, was that the idea of deep focus itself would begin to diminish in the following years.

The third technique was more close framings in dialogue scenes that intensified the art of film. Before when an actor was hired, the director wanted all of their bodies to be displayed on the screen. Having realized that this method of filming was inefficient and did not grab the audience, revolutionary artists introduced the complexing idea of close-ups and medium-shots. “If a scene relies on rapidly cut singles, the filmmaker must find fresh ways to emphasize certain lines or facial reactions.” Bordwell explains the importance of singles in comparison to luster lacking long shots, however many films began to focus on close-ups alone. Deep focus had once again taken a direct hit; critical close ups involving the face, eyebrows, and mouth had shown to bring out more emotion in an actor’s performance. Long shots no longer had such an impact in films, and thus were avoided in most cinematography.

The final technique that changed film was the use of a free ranging camera. In today’s films we have the liberty of seeing chase scenes, characters pursuing others, running down corridors, quick movement due to the a free ranging camera. Instead of being stationary, and simply panning to other individuals. For example, the camera would focus on an irrelevant inanimate object and then transition the following scenes; However, cinematographers now could “track a character as they moved along a lengthy path.” Focus had improved, and was no longer used to express emotionless shots. Instead they could reveal emotion and create suspense for the audience via the use of push-ins. In other words, the off distant non-moving camera (which had been used in the early days of filming) was replaced with a more efficient method.

In conclusion, today’s movies heavily rely on rapid cutting, dialogue that is being played out via close ups/tight singles, and fluid free ranging camera movements. Cinematographers had the liberty to stray away from what was original done and had the opportunity to create method defying films. Take for example Kuleshov and how he did not use establishing shots and relied on extreme close ups, it’s what separated him from other filmers and distinguished as a great artist.