Overall Look
The several aspects of the cinematography that can be seen throughout the film do help and add up to the overall look of the movie. The film stock was fast in several scenes as I would understand it considering there are quite a few scenes that take place at night and even the scenes filmed during the day were toned down in order to give the movie a gray feeling. Lighting for the night scenes were provided mostly by lantern or candle and were done so strategically so that what the audience needed to see for the scene to be understood was seen. Lighting done during the day looked naturalistic but not too bright as colors in the movie weren't very vibrant.
The lenses gave the film some of it's most unique character. The cinematographer Roger Deakins his own technique involving the lenses that resulted in a wonderful border around certain scenes. The framing was effective and contained the composition to provide an interesting work of art. The angles were consistent for the most part and kept at eye level throughout the movie. To compliment the slow pace of the story the camera movement was kept at a minimum allowing the audience to focus on the characters within a scene. To add to the focus put on characters slow takes were used generously. The overall look of the film was comprised of all of these elements in order to produce a beautiful film.
While I'm sure there are several examples of imagery in the film, the image that stood out the most to me was in the train robbery scene which in my opinion it was executed brilliantly, especially for being shot mostly in the dark. It was noted in the class presentation of the film's cinematographer Roger Deakins that one of his film traits was the use of back-lighting a character or playing with prominent darkness.
This is what I took note of as the train robbery scene.
After watching the film in it's entirety this image becomes all the more powerful. Jesse James emerges from the smoke a dark figure armed in both hands, a menacing figure. The physical representation of Jesse James as a figure of darkness and as a messenger of death throughout the movie becomes solidified in this scene early on in the film and with this image specifically. There are few other images that lead up to this scene that indicate the role Jesse will fill in the film early on.
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Shot Lengths
In general the film has a slow pacing to allow for more insight into the emotions and thoughts of the characters, resulting in several lengthy scenes of characters in thought or scenes of inanimate objects accompanied by narration. These scenes were mostly used to exhibit Jesse James as he became increasingly aggressive, paranoid and depressed.
Shot Types
A majority of the movies shots were medium in my opinion but aside from those I took note of several Medium Close-Ups, Medium Long-Shots, and Extreme Long-Shots.
Camera Angles
Eye-Level shots were used predominantly and I did not take not of any significant or dramatic shift in camera angle. I was only able to locate very few scenes of considerable angle change. In those cases I believe they were used either to exude an artistic feeling or a sense of distortion.
Composition
The cinematographer Roger Deakins planned each scene so that the composition would be apparent and it has even been noted that he took his inspiration in his scene composition from the artist Andrew Wyeth, a realist painter. Using similar color palettes of brown and black he gave the film a bleak but realistic feel. He also balanced his compositions making them similar to Wyeth's paintings conforming t the rule of thirds.
Camera Movement
As stated before, the pacing of the film was slow paced in favor of more in-depth characters and progression of the story. As such the movement was slow or minimized to match the progression of the movie. Even in moments of great excitement the camera was either still or slow moving focusing instead on the feelings the facial expressions of the characters that were being conveyed in moments of distress and excitement.
Cinematography Style
Roger Deakins's cinematographic style involves using specific lenses he developed to fit his vision for the film. He called them "Deakinizers". Essentially these were old wide lenses he placed in front of the cameras to give the film a blurred effect around the edges of a scene. In such scenes it is used to represent the passage of time or a moment in the past that reveals more of the personality of a character. It is done intentionally as it occurs quite often through the film and becomes representation of the concept of time. The cinematography also calls attention to itself in scenes in great darkness, as earlier explained it was a trait of Deakins's to exaggerate such elements. Both of these I believe made the film into a wonderful artistic experience.
In general the film has a slow pacing to allow for more insight into the emotions and thoughts of the characters, resulting in several lengthy scenes of characters in thought or scenes of inanimate objects accompanied by narration. These scenes were mostly used to exhibit Jesse James as he became increasingly aggressive, paranoid and depressed.
Shot Types
A majority of the movies shots were medium in my opinion but aside from those I took note of several Medium Close-Ups, Medium Long-Shots, and Extreme Long-Shots.
Medium Long-Shots were used in scenes were the environment in which a character was placed was used to reflect or compliment the state of being of a character or the composition of the scene. For this film Roger Deakins wanted to create beautiful and artistic compositions, as such scenes like the one above are used multiple times throughout the film.
Medium Close-Ups were used the most aside from Medium Shots and acted in the same roles as Medium Shots showing expression and posture during conversation or interaction between 2 or more of the characters. As character development and insight was a focus of the film it's understandable that these shots were used greatly.
As Jesse James and the members of his gang wandered over the west the setting of the film was constantly changing. The Extreme Long-Shot was used to establish new environments and characters during travel.
Camera Angles
Eye-Level shots were used predominantly and I did not take not of any significant or dramatic shift in camera angle. I was only able to locate very few scenes of considerable angle change. In those cases I believe they were used either to exude an artistic feeling or a sense of distortion.
A somber scene i believe to exemplify the artistic vision of Roger Deakins.
A scene I interpreted as distorted, representing Jesse's state of mind.
Composition
The cinematographer Roger Deakins planned each scene so that the composition would be apparent and it has even been noted that he took his inspiration in his scene composition from the artist Andrew Wyeth, a realist painter. Using similar color palettes of brown and black he gave the film a bleak but realistic feel. He also balanced his compositions making them similar to Wyeth's paintings conforming t the rule of thirds.
Similar to a painting
The Rule of Thirds
Camera Movement
As stated before, the pacing of the film was slow paced in favor of more in-depth characters and progression of the story. As such the movement was slow or minimized to match the progression of the movie. Even in moments of great excitement the camera was either still or slow moving focusing instead on the feelings the facial expressions of the characters that were being conveyed in moments of distress and excitement.
Cinematography Style
Roger Deakins's cinematographic style involves using specific lenses he developed to fit his vision for the film. He called them "Deakinizers". Essentially these were old wide lenses he placed in front of the cameras to give the film a blurred effect around the edges of a scene. In such scenes it is used to represent the passage of time or a moment in the past that reveals more of the personality of a character. It is done intentionally as it occurs quite often through the film and becomes representation of the concept of time. The cinematography also calls attention to itself in scenes in great darkness, as earlier explained it was a trait of Deakins's to exaggerate such elements. Both of these I believe made the film into a wonderful artistic experience.
2 examples of "Deakinized" scenes showing the passing of time
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