Learning Object: Deconstructing Visual Text, Life is Beautiful and Auschwitz
Download as PPTX, PDF2 likes11,057 views
Both Robert Benigni's film Life is Beautiful and Pascal Croci's graphic novel Auschwitz depict the horrors of the Holocaust and portray a family's struggle to survive and protect their child in the Nazi concentration camps. Both texts use visual techniques like camera shots, lighting, framing and panel composition to convey the themes of silence, innocence and the Holocaust. The directors aim to educate audiences about the events and spread messages of bravery, humanity and the importance of breaking silence about the past.
Learning Object: Deconstructing Visual Text, Life is Beautiful and Auschwitz
- 1. R O B E R T B E N I G N I ‟ S L I F E I S B E A U T I F U L A N D P A S C A L C R O C I ‟ S A U S C H W I T Z DECONSTRUCTING VISUAL TEXT
- 2. DECONSTRUCTING VISUAL TEXT Robert Benigni’s Life is Beautiful Pascal Croci’s Auschwitz
- 3. PURPOSE ENTERTAIN • To keep, hold or maintain the attention of the audience, often through the use of humour. INFORM • To give the audience facts or information to make them aware of something. EXPLAIN • Make (an idea, situation, or problem) clear to your audience by describing it in more detail or revealing relevant facts or ideas
- 4. SUBJECTMATTER •Life is Beautiful and Auschwitz portray the horrors of Holocaust. •Both texts display a family‟s plight to stay alive and to save their child.
- 5. AUDIENCE Age Gender Race Background Education Interests Religion Socio- Economic Status Lifestyle
- 6. CONTEXT • All texts are influenced by context • Texts are influenced by the fact that they are created at a particular time, in a particular place, and by a particular person with particular purposes, ideas, experiences and attitudes.
- 7. STRUCTURAL FEATURES ROBERT BENIGNI‟S LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL AND PASCAL CROCI‟S AUSCHWITZ
- 8. STRUCTURAL ELEMENTS • Both texts were recounts divided into clear sections to highlight the horror of the holocaust. • Life is Beautiful had two sections: One showed the life of whimsy created by Guido and this was signified using bright vibrant colours, the second was in the concentration camp and a monotone colour was utilised by Benigni. • In Auschwitz Kazik and Cessia both gave us there recollection of the Nazi War Camp and what they had to do to survive.
- 9. •How has the story been established? Orientation •What is the problems that needs to be resolved? Problem •What will happen to prevent the character from solving the problem? Complication •What do you think is the climax of the story? Climax •How does the story end? Resolution
- 10. CHARACTERISATION Characterisation is about focusing on the decisions that the director/author has made into character choice (age, gender, race etc.) and the action that surrounds them as the story line develops. Life is Beautiful: • Guido Orifice • Dora Orifice • Joshua • Dr Lessing • Nazi Soldiers Auschwitz: • Kazik • Cessia • Ann • Nazi Soldiers • Kapo
- 11. NARRATION Narration is about how the story is told and from what point of view. Life is Beautiful: • We don‟t learn until the end of the film the the narrator is in fact Joshua, the child recounting his experiences and telling us what happened to his father. Auschwitz: • Also a recount, Kazik and Cessia individually tell the viewer their story about what happened in Auschwitz.
- 12. WRITING ACTIVITIES: 1. How does the choice of narrator affect both of these texts? Are they reliable? 2. In what ways do these texts depict the inner journeys of the main characters?
- 13. COMPOSITIONAL FEATURES ROBERT BENIGNI‟S LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL AND PASCAL CROCI‟S AUSCHWITZ
- 14. R O B E R T O B E N I G N I LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL
- 15. Cinematography •Special Effects •Sound and Music •Camera Shots •Camera Angles •Framing and Composition •Lighting and Colour •Editing and Juxtaposition MakingMeaning •The Story on Screen •Film, Opening Sequence •Plot: Scenes and Sequences •Characterisation •Sets, Costumes and Setting •Mood or Atmosphere TheArtofFilmMaking •Film Creators •Artistic Vision What decisions has Begnini made in the creation of his film to convey meaning?
- 16. CINEMATOGRAPHY THE DIRECTOR MANIPULATES HIS AUDIENCE USING SOUND AND VISUAL EFFECTS. Special Effects Sound and Music Camera Shots and Angles Camera Movement Framing and Composition Lighting and Colour Editing and Juxtaposition
- 17. SPECIAL EFFECTS Directors use special effects to draw the attention of the viewer, in Life is Beautiful Benigni uses very few special effects, relying on realism to get his point across. When Guido is killed by the Nazi‟s, there is little special effect, no fan fare, just a single „bang‟ that breaks the silence, which is followed by the feeling of the audience‟s collective heart sinking with the tragedy that has just taken place.
- 18. SOUND AND MUSIC Films are a visual experience; however, sound and music play a very important part in conveying feeling, developing atmosphere and capturing the attention of the audience. Sounds Include: •What the characters says, as well as voice over from a narratorDialogue: •Synchronous which are those sounds matched to action (a car driving) and Asynchronous sounds which develop tension and atmosphere (a door creaking). Sound Effects: •Background music can link themes and can help to convey emotion and feeling of the character and to the audience (developing empathy). Music
- 19. CAMERA SHOTS AND ANGLES Camera Shots • A camera shot is the amount of space that is seen in one shot or frame. • Camera shots are used to demonstrate different aspects of a film's setting, characters and themes. Camera Angles • Camera angles are used to position the viewer so that they can understand the relationships between the characters.
- 20. CAMERA SHOTS Point of View: Framed from a particular character's point of view. Audience sees what character see. Tracking Shot: single continuous shot made with a camera moving along the ground Long Shot: Often used as an establishing shot. Mid Shot: Can give background information while still focusing on subject. Wide Shot: These show the characters in full, as well as other characters in the foreground and background. Close-up: Focuses on detail / expression / reaction. Extreme Close-up: Focuses on detail such as the eyes. These shots show emotion, con vey empathy, fee ling.
- 21. CAMERA ANGLES Bird‟s Eye View: Dramatic High Angle: Draws importance to the setting or for a character can symbolise being powerless Eye Level: Explain story development Low Angle: Show power and authority, the person that is higher asserts power of the character that is lower.
- 22. FRAMING AND COMPOSITION Background Middleground Foreground • Composition is about the arrangement of everything in a frame. • Placing items/people in the frame in different positions has different effects. • The director can place items/people in a frame to show relationships, to convey feelings and emotions and to draw attention to setting.
- 23. LIGHTING AND COLOUR Benigni‟s use of colour, or lack of colour, highlights the main action and the thoughts and feelings of the main characters. The first half of the film is in full colour it is peace-time between the wars and a testimony to Guido‟s sense of fun and fantasy (he has fought and won the love of his „princess‟). The second half of the film is dark and in monotones highlighting the horror of the Holocaust and the sense of despair and desperation felt by Guido.
- 24. EDITING AND JUXTAPOSITION • The ending of a shot. If the cut seems inconsistent with the next shot, it is called a jump cut Cut • The image appears or disappears gradually. Often used as a division between scenes. Fade in Fade out • One image fades in while another fades out so that for a few seconds, the two are superimposed. Dissolve
- 25. P A S C A L C R O C I AUSCHWITZ
- 26. VisualFeatures •Action •Visual Symbols •Angles •Framing •Composition •Use of Space •Light and Shade •Juxtaposition MakingMeaning •Theme (s) •Characterisation •Setting •Mood or Atmosphere TheArtoftheGraphicNovel •Author •Artistic Vision What decisions has Croci made in the creation of his graphic novel to convey meaning?
- 27. ANGLES Angles are an important technique for creating a relationship between the audience and the subject of the Frames Extreme Long Shot: These shots are used to introduce the setting and atmosphere Long Shot: These are used to give an overall picture, placing the characters in there setting. Mid Shot: Can give background information while still focusing on subject. Wide Shot: These show the characters in full, as well as other characters in the foreground and background. Close-up: Focuses on detail / expression / reaction. Extreme Close- up: Focuses on detail such as the eyes. These shots show emotion, convey empathy, feeling.
- 28. VISUAL SYMBOLS Are there any visual symbols? What do they represent? • Feet • Smoking • Doll • Crows • Rats • Vampire • Shadows
- 29. USE OF SPACE How is the space in each frame used? What is the effect of this?
- 30. LIGHT AND SHADE How do light and shade affect your interpretation of the frames?
- 31. COMPOSITION • Composition refers to the way that the various elements within an image/frame are structured and placed in relationship to each other and to the viewer.
- 32. JUXTAPOSITION Juxtaposition refers to how things are put together. Croci has made choices about the different frames/panels he has put together. Juxtaposition can be used to convey feelings, develop suspense and create atmosphere.
- 33. ENGAGEMENT WITH THE VIEWER/RESPONDER ROBERT BENIGNI‟S LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL AND PASCAL CROCI‟S AUSCHWITZ
- 34. THEMES - LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL •Silence marks both bravery and cowardice in the film. Uncle Eliseo illustrates the concept of silence as bravery. Silence is also what keeps Joshua alive. Silence is also cowardice as witnessed through Dr Lessing who was quiet through the horrific treatment of the Jews. Silence •The Holocaust is a major part of this film as the hostility of the time is depicted throughout the film and in the second half, Guido is forced to help his son survive in a Nazi Death Camp or Concentration Camp. Holocaust •In the beginning, Guido is seems naïve; however, as he is forced to come to terms with the reality of the time the viewer sees some changes to his character. Joshua‟s innocence is intact until we hear his voice as narrator at the end. Innocence
- 35. THEMES: AUSCHWITZ • Silence also features in Auschwitz. The story begins with Kazik and Cessia saying that they need to break their silence and telling each other their accounts of Auschwitz all of those years ago. Silence • The text depicts life during The Holocaust in the Auschwitz Concentration Camp. Vividly depicting the choices people had to make to survive. Holocaust • The loss of innocence is a feature of this book. We see the Jewish people, the Czech‟s, Ann and even a baby are no match for the cruelty of the Nazi soldiers. Innocence
- 36. EXTENDED METAPHOR: LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL •Guido turns the arrest of himself and Joshua into a game. He tells Joshua that they are on a family holiday and then convinces him that they are part of a game where they need to achieve 1000 points to win a tank. The Game •Guido likes to tell stories and it is through these stories that he can escape the horrible reality of the War. In these „fairytales‟ Dora is his “princess”. He rescues her on horse back and they begin a beautiful life together; however, they do not live „happily ever after‟. Fairytale •Guido attempts to give the audience the impression that he can alter the course of fate. This can be seen through his courting of Dora and also the action of the „game‟ itself. We realise however; that Guido is a smart man and is manipulating events can creating these so=called coincidences. Coincidence
- 37. MAKING MEANING 1. What event/situation is being referred to in both of these texts? 2. How do both authors portray the different groups of people in their texts? 3. How do both authors use visual techniques to contribute to the viewers understanding of the main ideas/themes of the texts? 4. What message(s) are Benigni and Croci trying to get across to their audiences?