Film Making Styles in Bollywood and Hollywood - Research Paper Example

? Film Making Styles in Bollywood and Hollywood Introduction This paper will compare film making styles in Hollywood and Bollywood. It will use two movies from both the industries. These movies are Saving Private Ryan produced in Hollywood and Border produced in Bollywood. The paper will compare the two movies in relation to cinematography, lighting, use of sound and the editing styles respectively used by each movie. This analysis will be done with the overall aim of determining whether either industry is better than the other in terms of the movies produced or whether the differences complement the industry and its techniques. This will be followed by the third part of the research that will focus of the cinematography and film-making techniques on the audience itself. Saving Private Ryan” is a film written by Robert Rodat and directed by Steven Spielberg in 1988. It is set during the Second World War specifically the assault on Normandy. The movie is about rescuing Private First Class Ryan played by Matt Damon, who is missing in action. The United states Department of Defense discovers that three his three brothers had been killed in action and their mother was to receive three telegrams informing her of their death on the same day. General Marshal Orders captain Miller played by Tom Hanks, to assemble a team to find and rescue Private First Class Ryan. Miller and his team immediately move out. In a town called Neuville they meet with soldiers from 101st platoon. On entering Neuville a member of Miller’s team called Caparzo played by Vin Diesel, is shot by a sniper. Jackson, who is played by Barry Pepper is able to shoot and kill the sniper as Caparzo bleeds to death. In the town, they are able to rescue a soldier who they later realize is not Private Ryan. They letter meet a soldier from Charlie Company who informed them that they were dropped at Vieriville, and that Baker company which Private Ryan belonged to had the same dropping zone. Here, they locate Ryan’s colleague who directs them to a bridge over Merderet River in Ramelle town where Private Ryan is defending a strategic post. While going to Remelle, the Captain decides to neutralize a German position close to the radar station. Here, their medic, Wade, played by Giovanni Ribisi, is killed. They capture a German soldier who is later released blind folded by Milner despite protests from his men. This sparks an argument on the leadership of Captain Miller but is quickly settled. Finally, the squad finds three soldiers ambushing a German personnel carrier. Private Ryan is among the paratroopers. Although Ryan is devastated after being told of their mission and the death of his three brothers, he feels that it is unfair for him to be allowed to go home and tells Captain Miller that he does not wish to go home since he had a duty to help his brothers (his fellow soldiers) to defend the bridge and destroy approaching Nazis. Captain Miller decides to take command and defend the bridge. The Nazis arrive with a force of more than fifty men including an armored platoon. They defend their positions managing to destroy two tanks and killing most of the German soldiers. However, they lose many men including Horvath, Melish and Jackson. Miller is shot and mortally injured while trying to blow up the bridge just before American planes destroys the bridge. Miller later dies in Ryan’s arms. Reiben, Upham and Ryan are the only survivors and are rescued by the American infantry. The movie ends in present day where together with his family and an old World War Two veteran, Ryan visits the war cemetery and insist that the sacrifice made by the soldiers was not in vain and finally salutes Millers grave. “Border”, produced and directed by J.P. Dutta is a war epic from Bollywood on the 1971 Indo-Pakistani War. It is specifically set during the Longewalan battle. It stipulates how 120 soldiers of the Indian army defended their position from a whole Pakistani army tank regiment. It commences just after the declaration of the war where Major Chanpuri played by Sunny Deol and air force commander Bajwa played by Jackie Shroff meet about opening a western front in the East. Major Kuldip takes command of the 23rd Punjab regiment expressing his concern about the small force given the task to defend the post. Lieutenant Dharamvir, Major Kuldip and Bhairon encounter insurgents while patrolling at night and kill all except one. Dharamvir is shocked after seeing Kuldip execute the rebel who had survived, since he has never killed before. Singh and Dharamvir talk about their personal lives and Dharamivir explains to Singh how he was deployed on his wedding night. The team is later joined by Ratan who comes with an anti-amour unit. The company discovers a spy transmitting from the area and Dharamivir decides to investigate. He brings back the dead spy’s body to prove he is capable of killing a person. They wait for the approaching enemy forces while listening to the radio where they discover that the Indian army is preparing an attack if the Pakistani tries to attack the western front. Mathura is allowed to attend to his sick wife while the men receive letters praising them for their service to their country. On 3rd December the squad is informed that Indian airbases have been bombed by the Pakistani air force hence a declaration of war by the Indian prime minister. Dharamivir is ordered to take five soldiers and patrol the border. At the same time Sign is ordered to clear villages which are near. As they evacuate the villagers the Pakistani start shelling and Major Kuldip orders immediate evacuation. After reporting to Kuldip on enemy movements, Dharamivir is ordered to follow the tanks while avoiding detection. The Major asks for air support but is denied since Hunter-Fighter airplanes are present and are unable to operate at night. Kuldip and his men are left with two choices and prefer to hold their position rather than retreating. Mathura returns and is assigned to the RCL unit. The soldiers are surrounded by heavy Pakistani infantry and amour while shelling is still being conducted. They put in place anti tank mines which blow up one of the Pakistani tanks. One seeing this, the Pakistani commander asks the Major to surrender or face death. The major insults him in return swearing not to surrender. The tanks open fire at the Indian soldiers and in the process, Mathura is killed by a tank shell. They capture a Pakistani soldier who tells them of the Pakistani army plans. In the morning, the Indians, led by Major Kuldip, engage in hand to hand combat with the Pakistani. Here the major throws grenades inside the Pakistani tanks hence destroying them. The Indian Air Force comes to the rescue by destroying the Pakistani tanks until they retreat back. The film ends when Dharamvir dies just as they are reinforced by Indian artillery units and tanks. Film Making Techniques in Hollywood From studying the movie “Finding Private Ryan”, one can come up with techniques and methods of shooting used by producers and directors in Hollywood. As seen in the film “Finding private Ryan” very good backlighting is used in Hollywood. We are able to see what is happening during scenes that are shot at night. Although it is dark we are able to see everything clearly without noticing the lighting in set. Shooting techniques such as Medium long shot are used. This is where characters whole body is viewed. This is where more surroundings are shown in relation to the subjects. There is also use of long shots in Hollywood. This is where characters are seen fully in relation to the environment. There is use of reverse angle while making films in Hollywood. This is where a shot is taken from the reverse side of the character. For example in the film “Finding Private Ryan”, the technique is used in the scene where Jackson is trying to shoot the sniper. In this scene Rack focusing technique is also used. This is where the viewer is forced to focus from on subject to another. Lighting Effect in “Saving Private Ryan” The fade in technique is used in this film. This is where the image gradually appears from a black screen. This is usually used as a punctuation mechanism to signify the beginning of a new scene. The use of flash backs in Hollywood is depicted in the film as the movie begins where we are shown the bodies of the four brothers who had died in different parts of the war. Zooming technique is also used in Hollywood. This is where focal length is changed during the shot. Film Making Techniques in Bollywood As seen in the film “Border” Bollywood uses very poor film making techniques. The lighting system in the film is very poor. This is seen in scenes shot during the night. Lighting systems used are easily seen as they are exaggerated. We are unable to see both the Pakistani and Indian soldiers, since lighting is only focused on the two commanders. The industry uses simple shooting methods. In the whole movie complex shooting styles such as close up/extreme close up are not used. During the scene where Mathura goes home to see his sick wife who is suffering from cancer, there is poor transition of the scene. Editing techniques such as Iris in/out are not used to link the scene from the desert to the scene where Mathura goes home. The transition is quick and poorly executed hence confusing the viewer on what is going on. Demonstration of Lighting Effects in “Border” The use of extreme long shot is not utilized in Bollywood as seen in the film “Border”. In the scene where the Pakistani army is shelling the Indian army distance between the two is poorly illustrated compared to real war. The camera angles used result in the two armies being too close to each other. Video lighting should impact the final film by controlling the mood of the film, adding color and texture to the film, directing the viewer on the subject and improving the appearance of subjects in the film. Unfortunately in Bollywood, lighting is poorly done hence the movie is of law quality. Effects of Film Making Techniques in Bollywood and Hollywood The cinematic techniques used in a movie usually influence the final product and the perceptions of the end-viewer of the movie as to the theme and aesthetic value. In the analysis above, the cinematic techniques of the two movies being analyzed have been summarized, and this section of the paper will discuss the effects of the cinematic techniques on the final product. The first cinematic technique that will be analyzed in detail is the effect of shooting styles on the final product of the movie. As indicated, Saving Private Ryan high quality shots that reflect the camera distance. The producers blend a combination of different types of close-ups that enhance the effects, for example, the use of a mixture of extreme close-ups and medium close-ups in different scenes. These techniques, combined with the use of aerial views and perfect transitions between scenes give the movie a perfect cinematographic technique. In contrast, Border, the Bollywood film uses a different quality of shooting techniques. In an analysis of the shots taken, it is evident that the producer lacks any semblance of aerial shooting, and the transition between the scenes show poor quality. This means that the shots used in the movie constantly overlap, with different close-ups being used interchangeably for the same scenes. This has the overall shot of reducing the quality of the film in comparison to the Hollywood movie. The second cinematographic technique that should be discussed is the camera movement during the film-making process. From the final product, a viewer can deduce the movement of the cameras in making the scenes that comprise the final movie. As already mentioned, the close-ups used in the shots of the movie determine the quality of the movie. More specifically, the combination of the shots and camera movement give the movie an aesthetic value. An analysis of the Hollywood film indicates that the camera movements make scene transitions blend into each other and give natural effects. This means that the cameras are synchronized with the scenes, eliminating the feeling that a viewer gets of the non-originality of the movie. With perfectly blended camera movements, the movie gets an originality that is borne of the scene. The Bollywood movement, however, has completely camera movements. From the zooming of the lenses and the movement of the cameras, the viewer is left to decide the effects that the scenes portray. For example, sudden zooming in on objects usually elicits surprised reactions or scenes of sudden events. The function of sound in the movies should also be greatly appreciated since it affects the final decision of the viewer as to the authenticity of the film effects. In the Hollywood movie, sounds are blended into the scenes and surroundings, with a lot of use of diegetic sound. From definition, diegetic sound is sound that the viewers hear and assume that the characters in the movie can also hear. Both movies being analyzed perfectly utilize diegetic sound to portray their final product, but the use of non-diegetic sound makes all the difference in the final product. Non-diegetic sound refers to sounds in a movie that are represented as coming from sources other than the story space. This sound can also be referred to as commentary sound, and is used in a movie to set the mood or for dramatic effect. Non-diegetic sound is used in both movies to increase the effect of the movie, but in the Hollywood movie, the use of dramatic sound is minimized. The main drawback in the use of non-diegetic sound in the Bollywood setting is the overuse of sound for dramatic effect. Border uses too much dramatic effects in the scenes and the overall effect is one of non-authenticity. The use of lighting also influences the final production of a movie since it can determine the perception of the viewer. Mainly, lighting is divided into several parts in scenes, examples including the use of heavy shadows to depict villains. Some of the main techniques involved in lighting a movie scene include the use of silhouettes and under-lighting characters in a movie. An analysis of the lighting techniques used in both movies indicates a perfect synchronization of light in the Hollywood movie with the apparent scenes. As mentioned, villains are sometimes shadowed or veiled to indicate intent, a technique that is perfected in Border. The editing styles used in a movie refer to the way the shots in the movie are put together to create the overall film. The editing style used in a movie ultimately affects how the movie appears, with a mistake in editing giving the movie a surreal appearance. From both of the movies, the main similarity is the use of successive shots that are combined to give the final effect. The two movies blend their scenes using different transient transitions to create an overall effect. The main difference in the editing effects is the different ellipses or transitions that are used, with “Saving Private Ryan” making perfect use of transitions, while Border uses incomplete transitions between scenes. From an analysis of the cinematography and film making techniques of the two movies mentioned above, it is evident that Saving Private Ryan provides a better influence than the Bollywood movie, Border. Saving Private Ryan has been depicted to use a better lighting style than Border, and combined with the editing style and other cinematography techniques, is indicated to give a better effect. The main drawback in Border is the overuse of non-diegetic techniques like dramatic effect and mood music, which ultimately give the viewer a sense of lack of originality. The scenes should be left to explain themselves, since overacting them confuses the viewer. This means that the viewer should be given the chance to figure out the drama from the blending of the shots and scenes in the movie. In conclusion, the Hollywood movie, Saving Private Ryan, is a better movie that Border in terms of cinematography and film making techniques. The analysis of these two movies indicates the deep-seated difference in the film-making techniques of the two major film producing centers. Summary As discussed in this chapter, the cinematography techniques used in a movie influence the final reaction of viewers of the movie. This quantitative part of the research process has analyzed the film making and cinematograph techniques that are common to the Hollywood and Bollywood movie making theatres. From the two movies chosen, it is hoped that a cross-section of all the two movies from the industries were chosen, though it is highly unlikely that the cross-section will represent the actual entirety of movies. This is because there are different genres of motion pictures in the two industries, genres that cannot be covered by a selection of movies from a particular genre. From the above analysis, it is evident that the cinematography and film-making techniques in the two industries are vastly different. The two movies show the completely unrelated styles used by the directors and producers in the two industries and the overall effect on the final product. Even though some individuals will naturally have some preference of one of the industries over the other, it is evident that a great deal of professionalism went into production of the two movies. The next part of the research will determine the exact extent of the influence of the cinematography techniques and film-making procedures on the movie. The next part of this research will be done from an external perspective from the researcher. Since this chapter has explained the techniques used in the creation of these two movies, the next part will focus on the exact effect that the technique has on its audiences. This will help the researcher completely understand the differences between the two industries and whether one industry is different from the other. This will be done by having other viewers who are not the researcher view both movies and their reactions analyzed. As stated, the cinematography effects used in the movie affect the way the audience views the movies, and this reaction will be analyzed when the audience views the movie. Works Cited Border, 1997, Motion Picture, Ishwar R. Bidri, distributed by J.P. Films, India. Saving Private Ryan, 1998, Motion Picture, Mark Gordon Productions, distributed by Dreamworks, United States. Read More