symbolism – SKR Web

September 20, 2021October 2, 2021
by Sameera Khan Rehmani

“Signs and symbols rule the world, not words nor laws.” These words of Confucius resonates well with films. Cinema holds on to aspects of signs and symbols very religiously. When Ferdinand de Saussure spread the study of signs, he assured that the future generation is not left bereft of the principles of sign and its presence. Films are communicating complexity of human emotion and existence, in order to do so effectively, they must keep in mind, how the receiver will accept it. In order to have desired impact on the audience, the makers of cinema should have clear vision of how the films communicate. They should be very open to understand how a shot, a picture or an action on screen will be accepted by the variety of audience. This is where the imagined ideas work in consensus with the semiotics and its signs. The signs are one of the most integral part of movie making. They are the core that can further bifurcate into various unimaginable meanings for different type of recipients. A sign can be any visual prop or unclear point of focus that is visible but explains and idea that can be very abstract and cannot be seen. A sign can be minute or very visible, but its crux is to establish a thought or idea that identifies certain concept and ideologies. A film however is a pot-pourie of signs that are co-related to help audience travel through a movie maze. These signs can be scene-specific or they can travel throughout the film to bring about a connection of the whole concept. The signs can be in cluster to give a specific thought or they can slide throughout to engage the whole film in one bond.

The two parts of signs are based on their physicality and having psychological hold. Physical part is which we can see with our eyes, like our eyes moving towards rock lying on the ground. It stimulates the external reaction thus is called as ‘signifier’ The integral stimulation is by ‘signified’, which implies the real meaning of sign, for instance frown on forehead implies disapproval or discontentment. However, the crucial thought is that there is one signifier of a sign but there are multiple signifieds with many potential meanings. These altogether creates attachment of audience towards a scene. Similarly, there is ‘synecdoche’ that tells that there is a small thing which symbolised a whole. For eg, flag is a synecdoche that identifies whole nation thus, becoming part of the whole.

Then there is ‘metaphor’ which explains when one thing identifies with the other eg. a lion in a battle. While ‘metonymy’ is establishing relation on the basis of associations like, pair of hand associated with labourers, crown for monarchy. Similarly the connoted meaning and denotation has their own relevance as well. Eg. White coat with doctors and in connotation white coat is related to kindness, empathy, selflessness.

Then there are codes in cinema that helps to communicate the concept. These codes were developed by French Semiotician Roland Barthes who put them into five sections.

Enigma Code – These evokes interest in the audience and help the film to push forward. For eg. The suspense, reason, problems, etc.

Connotative Code – the physical aspect that unfolds the character. For eg costume, look, dialogues, dialect etc.

Action Code – when the action speaks louder than the words. For eg kissing scene when film ends implies more than just a kiss, switching of light on the wedding night implies a more intimate encounter.

Symbolic Code – the pattern that defines the idea for eg. Truth-lie, hero-villain, good-bad.

Culture code – the idea already known but is coded in a cultural way. For eg. Politics, ideologies, society, morality etc.

Just like hands have number of fingers, similarly the sighns and symbols have a number of divisions that combine torm a whole idea that once applied creatively has the capacity to churn out a very emotive piece of art in bracket of cinema.

Films

A Conversation with Cinema

December 2, 2020February 15, 2022
by Sameera Khan Rehmani

We tell the idea through images that move and bracket it under the heading of Cinema. Lights, Cameras, and action! When you manage to grasp the thread of your concepts and combine them with the vision of how to interpret, joining the dots to create the desired image that has life to it, the step to film-making is taken. A process of capturing the moving images that have the power to bring about restlessness in the whole society is the crux of this cinema. A genre that is an amalgamation of thought, creativity, vision, practicality, and desired skill-set is what we called as cinema. Along with the camera, what is needed to make an effective piece of cinema is the makers and the audience. The connoisseur of concept that not only entertains but is also able to inform, expand, enhance, and can reform the views that are floating around. We absorb and then synthesize the whole process of conceptualizing, and carving the thoughts that we inhale from our surroundings and experiences. Actual films are made when we consciously select the thoughts and convert them into related images. A strong medium that is not a mere literary expression; an area that focuses on structures, themes, characters, plots, text as-well-as desired narrative. Along with this paraphernalia, there is the strength of sound and desired effects that add color and depth to everything, behind the camera. The desk has gradually gained its due importance, however, there is still a long way to go – the editing desk with its thought process that justifies the imaginative flight of the filmmaker. They hold a great power behind the actual projection of the thought of the filmmaker. The silent torch-bearers are the backbone of this industry for they are the ones who give real shape to the writer’s imagination. An editing desk is a place where dreams are recreated into reality. They put in the chain of practicality to wild horses of imagination of filmmaker, bringing it closer to the ground reality. They are the actual mouthpiece of a film writer and director.

This makes us go deeper into the study of symbols and signs used consciously, subconsciously, or unconsciously. They are a very integral part of visual storytelling. They assist the audience to understand those concepts that may look abstract but have a greater meaning attached to them. In cinema, most of the tools can be referred to as having a connection with symbolism. The concept, the plot, the projection of characters, the movement of sound throughout, usage of color balance, camera angle involved, scene transitions, and many more aspects can be converted into symbolic notions in cinema. This is where Semiotics and the study of the inside with the outside world come in. It is what we call the language of cinema and here is where we try to understand what and how the films speak. Even the general audience can have their identifications because of the use of various signs and symbols. They are not only making sense of what is happening around them they become stronger judges of what occurs and what is their contribution to their existence in the world. Every concept that the director puts in front of the audience has a specific thought or even multiple ideas and opinions. What is needed, is to put a little time and effort and an unbiased view behind identifying it.

The maker of the film has a vast space with a panoramic vision to capture anything and everything under the sky that has the potential to go way beyond. The broader perspective of a writer’s concept must be transcended to the filmmaker and further on the editing desk. Then only a wholistic piece of visual art can be created that becomes powerful enough to have an independent voice of reason. A panorama of emotions and visualization of thoughts is a weapon with which they can communicate to an individual audience. A vision that has the power to choose what to show and how to communicate a thought. A strong yet extremely addictive capacity to be able to change the views of people at large. It is a big responsibility to be able to create a visual masterpiece in such capacity, that thoughts of the creator can flow smoothly to the receiver who perhaps has zero conscious ideas about its impact on society. An editor is a voice of reason that enters at this point and brings everything that a filmmaker has captured, into a coherence. It is at the editing console that things start falling in line. The thoughts become streamlined, real and the film is fine-tuned to be presented for the audience so that it can be absorbed. The voice of cinema may look feeble and frivolous to many even today, but its strength has a wide reach and great insight into the human psyche of emotions and aspirations. The language of cinema is a fabric that is vast and varied in its texture and has innumerable flavors ready to be radiated for the recipients to taste and value to its maximum.

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The Science of Signs

A Conversation with Cinema