Cinematic Techniques in the Theme Establishment - Essay Example

Cinematic Techniques and Design Elements and their Influence on the Theme Establishment in “Star Wars: A New Hope” Abstract Works of visual art, movies, use different techniques and design elements to maintain their themes. These techniques and elements contribute to the complete and precise conveying of the original idea and establishing the major theme or themes in the video film. This paper will investigate how the technique of lighting and such design elements as costuming and set design help to reach the mentioned goal. Cinematic Techniques and Design Elements and their Influence on the Theme Establishment in “Star Wars: A New Hope” Introduction Star Wars is one of the world’s most popular, recognizable and profitable trademarks – after release of the two cinema trilogies based on George Lucas’ literary works, many things with the reference to the Star Wars universe (toys, clothes and other items of everyday use) have been produced and successfully marketed. The films themselves deserve particular interest because of the strength and actuality of the themes they cover, and the movie of the present paper – the fourth episode, “Star Wars: A New Hope” – deal with the one of the most often discussed topic – the destiny of an individual. The film uses techniques (lighting) and design elements (costuming, set design) which contribute to this topic establishment, which will be explained below. Lighting. The use of lighting technique is a strong point of the film, especially in regards to the theme of the destiny of a human being. The scenes of the film which involve the film protagonist – Luke Skywalker (for example, a scene when he buys droids for his caregivers’ farm in a desert: the sun is shining bright, and the sky is cloudless – no obstacles for the light) – employ a sufficient amount of the light of both natural and artificial origin, which determines his destiny as positive and, what is important, realized by himself as such. The best example of the lighting employment is the light sabers of the Jedi – in the trilogies, blue saber is a feature of a positive character (Jedi knight), whereas the negative ones, the Siths, operate red power beams. The light of a light saber is an indicator of a character and a reflection of his fate – the Jedi fulfill the mission of the good and complete it, even if they are killed in a combat, they are present with their close persons and guide them in a correct direction, whereas the Siths strive only for their own satisfaction and want absolute power which, in the end, leads them to failure. (Lucas, 1977). It is also necessary to mention that the visualization of the lighting effects were on a relatively high level for the times of the film, and “…brought audiences into more immediate contact with photographically captured illusions.” (Michelitch, 2013). Costuming. The entire saga, all the six films under the sub-title “Star Wars”, is often positively regarded in terms of the use of appropriate costuming of its characters. The costumes the characters wear may tell many about their fates and life experience. The above mentioned protagonist of the saga has worn different costumes, from a simple farmer assistant’s to the storm trooper’s and the Jedi master ones, which evidences about the need to fit the life realities (in the film, Luke changes his dress for the purpose of the enemies deception – dressed as a storm trooper, he reaches the Death Star, for example). The other characters use their usual dress – Ben Kenobi wears his Jedi robe which reveals his past and the path he has followed, the path of self-sacrificing, order maintenance and defending the others. The same can be stated about the costumes of such characters as Han Solo and Leia – their dress demonstrates their belonging to a certain social class and, therefore, their various destinies – a princess’ outfit speaks for itself, the same way as the suit of a smuggler. (Lucas, 1977). Set Design. The plot of the work of art on which the mentioned film is based requires significant efforts in creating of an appropriate set design: various planets with totally different environments and inhabitants, numerous artificial constructions and buildings of big volume and significance. The film was created with involvement of renowned specialists in set design, and the process was held in the world’s best studios. (American Association of Cinematographers, 2014, 1-2). The set design which employs Luke Skywalker and Obi Van Kenobi is often desert which evidences of their being ascetics concentrated on their own self-development and concentration. The premises, such as the Death Star, are deprived of humanity – there is strict military order for its inhabitants, the same as for all the mechanisms and machines, and this is the symbol of imposing of one’s will over the others and their being depressed, a destiny which is not desirable for a human being but still very widely spread. (Lucas, 1977). It is necessary to mention that the three above mentioned techniques and elements perfectly work together – the lighting of the negative characters is primarily shadowed and uses dark colors, whereas the state of affairs is different with the positive ones; the costumes worn by the opposite characters also have their own color gamma – the dark use black (Darth Vader and the Emperor), the light use lighter colors (Skywalker wears white); the set design contrasts the characters – the light and the costumes of the opposite characters looks different in the premises which are not designed for one particular side (the clothes and the lighting of Kenobi in the Death Star during his battle with Vader emphasize his light power). (Lucas, 1977). The mentioned techniques and design elements are congruent with the topic of the film – the individual’s destiny. The light gamma defines the belonging to the good or the bad set of characters, the costume also tells about individual’s occupation and lifetime experience, and the set design shows which locations are typical of a character and, consequently, what his destiny is on the basis of these three aspects. Other techniques would be also effective for the purpose of the destiny revealing: for example, it would be beneficial to flashback the memories of the participants of the Clonic Wars, master Joda and Obi Van Kenobi, to emphasize on their role in maintaining order and peace in the Republic and their resistance to evil, but this, obviously, was not sued due to the different time periods of the films about the Clonic Wars release. Conclusion The film “Star Wars: A New Hope” deals with a very important and one of the most discussed topic – the problem of destiny. Such technique as lighting and design elements as costuming and set design contribute to the revealing of this theme: the different color gammas for the good and evil characters define their belonging to the particular category, the costumes also serve as the means of the characters’ fates distinguishing, and the set design stresses individual qualities of the character and connection oh his or her destiny with a certain location. References American Society of Cinematographers. (2014). “A Young, Enthusiastic Crew Employs Far-out Technology to Put a Rollicking Intergalactic Fantasy onto the Screen”. http://www.theasc.com/magazine/starwars/articles/starwars/behind/pg1.htm Lucas, J. (1977). Star Wars. Episode IV: A New Hope. Video film. Michelitch, J. (2013). Star Wars Revolutionized Special Effects Twice; Can It Do It Again? http://www.wired.com/2013/02/star-wars-fx/ Read More