Diploma thesis Semiotic analysis of Martin Scorsese's films focusing on Raging bull and The Wolf of Wall Street aims to capture unique and original signs in both films mentioned. Through semiotic analysis it examines key elements of film language - structure, means of expression in film and composition. The thesis also focuses on capturing director's characteristic filmmaking techniques and how these techniques and elements affect the viewer. At the same time it examines in detail various aspects of the director's films and film processing in both of them. It is also focusing on description of unique and specific items of Scorsese's work and analyze them in the context of the two works. The final part explains the cause of the original concept of author's films and his great success and popularity not only among film fans.

The topic of the thesis is work of Karel Zeman - the important Czechoslovakian film director of the second half of 20th century and his media image in the Czech media of that period. Karel Zeman is one of the leading figures of post-war cinematography, especially one of it's branch - animated film. Karel Zeman is famous for his feature films Journey to the Beginning of Time, The Fabulous World of Jules Verne and The Fabulous Baron Munchausen, in which he combined performed and animated parts. His work is so specific and so tied together with the director that after his death nobody was able to continue in it. The thesis describes in chronological way Karel Zeman's work, from the first short animated films over the most famous featured combined films to the featured animated fairy tales for children. For understanding of the whole context the thesis briefly describes beginning of animation in the world and in Czechoslovakia and also continuously touch important changes in Czechoslovakian cinematography, which directly affected Zeman's work (post-war situation, nationalization of cinematography). The thesis also touches Karel Zeman's personal live. The base of the thesis is focused on characterization of the particular films - short description of the plot, art processing (visual conception of the...

In this paper, I will detail the film making techniques that my crew and I employed while making AM800, my thesis film at the University of New Orleans. I will detail the creative and technical steps we took, from the earliest stages of idea conceptualization to the final phases of post-production and screening. During my recounting of this process, I will discuss our creative goals, the challenges that we faced while achieving these goals, and the resulting product's effectiveness as a narrative short film. The quality of the final product will be gauged through the results of test screenings and direct audience feedback.

O cinema e em decorrência disso a direção de fotografia, operam, em síntese, desenvolvendo imagens produzidas e projetadas em sequência, construídas a partir de desenvolvimentos conceituais e técnicos, particulares desse estilo de expressão artística. Essa dissertação se propõe a demonstrar como funcionam esses processos de desenvolvimentos conceituais e técnicos, através da análise de um dos elementos fundamentais na construção de uma imagem, a relação entre os signos gráficos claro e escuro, chiaroscuro. A direção de fotografia, área do cinema responsável pela cinematografia, fundamenta seu desenvolvimento criativo e artístico através da manipulação de todos elementos presentes na imagem. Esses elementos são essenciais para a compreensão e a relação estética do espectador com o filme. A manipulação desses elementos, entretanto, não é um recurso original da realização cinematográfica, é uma interpretação, por parte da cinematografia, de métodos e propostas estéticas que localizam suas gêneses nas artes visuais. Para analisar especificamente o fenômeno estético resultante da manipulação entre claro e escuro, esse estudo se ergue a partir do período do Renascimento e avança até o período Barroco, na Europa. Como objeto específico de estudo cinematográfico, para endossar o desenvolvimento realizado, destaca-se um exemplo de aplicação da cinematografia brasileira. Por meio do exercício de análise fílmica da obra Cabra Marcado Para Morrer, de Eduardo Coutinho, 1984, essa dissertação revelará a importância do elemento chiaroscuro na relação estética decorrente da conexão entre o filme e seus espectadores. / The cinema, and side by side with it, the cinematography, work up, in synthesis, images produced and projected in movement, which are, usually, made from conceptual and technical developments, particular from this type of artistic expression. This dissertation proposes to demonstrate how this process of conceptual and technical developments works, using the analysis of one fundamental element inside the creation of an image, the relation between light and shadow, chiaroscuro. Direction of photography, the area in cinema responsible for the cinematography, builds all the creative and artistic developments using image significations. These image significations, also called visual poetry, are essential to the comprehension and aesthetic relation between the spectator and the film. This work proposes to develop a way to construct this visual poetry, with the support of some of the most important cinema theory. The visual poetry, however, is not a resource originated in cinema. They are interpretations, from the cinematography, of resources and aesthetics propositions that begun mostly in visual arts. To specifically analyze the aesthetic phenomenon of visual poetry, which results from the manipulation of light and shadow, this dissertation uses the renaissance period. Based on important scholars from art history and theory, this work presents a brief study about the development of the manipulation through light and shadow, chiaroscuro, as a possible resource in the creation process of an image. As a study object, a demonstration will be elaborated of the use of this resource in the Brazilian Cinema Novo period, through the exercise of film analysis of the film Twenty Years Later, in order to demonstrate the importance of this element in the aesthetics created from the relation of the film and his spectators.

Research Report Master of Arts in Digital Animation (Coursework and Research Report) University of the Witwatersrand Faculty of Humanities The Wits School of Arts June 2017 / Even though a significant amount of research has been conducted over the years on film music and animation, these two fields of academic study mostly developed independently from each other. Little attention has been given to these two fields in terms of how they are deployed together, particularly after the ‘Golden Age’ of Hollywood filmmaking. This study, from an animation perspective, contributes to this need for research with an investigation and eventual proposition that will elucidate and advance the integration and contemporary deployment practices and processes of music and character animation. The aim of the study was to identify and suggest the ideal musical competency set a character animator would benefit from and, to propose an approach for notation in which these competencies are used to digitally animate characters moving to the beat of pre-recorded music for a 3D animation feature-length film. A qualitative research approach was followed and the research methodology consisted of a historical analysis, studying current practices and the analysis of a case study. The South African 3D computer-animated feature film, Khumba (2013), produced by Triggerfish Animation Studios, was used as the case study. Reasons for its suitability were twofold: Firstly because the researcher could easily access the animators (which was essential) and secondly, because the film had the musical scenes required to conduct the research. The focus was on the musical scenes in the film. The integration of animation and music in a scene was analysed, allowing the researcher to show how Khumba animators could have benefited from the suggested musical competencies and from using the proposed method when animating musical scenes. A universally agreed approach for notation in animating-to-music doesn’t exist. However, a method known as the bar sheet was used by earlier animators, requiring them to have a basic knowledge and understanding of music. This study proposes the reintroduction of an adapted version of the original bar sheet, digitised for assimilation with contemporary technology. A plug-in for Autodesk Maya was also proposed as an output of the research. Ultimately, this research has the potential to lead to a heightened proficiency of character animators when animating musical scenes in 3D feature-length films. In addition, the research could prompt a universally agreed approach for notation which combines traditional and new methods and techniques. The adoption of this approach could also lead to changes in the working practices of film making teams and the work flow within production pipelines. / MT2018

A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Humanities, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Music Johannesburg 2016 / Recently, scholarly work in the field of film sound design has emphasised the crucial significance of sound in film. Writers such as Mark Underwood (2008), Larry Sider (2003) and Danijela Kulezic-Wilson (2008) have expressed the view that film sound design ought to be approached from a musical perspective substantiating this position through analytical discussions on the relatively musical use of sound design in scenes from films such as Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds (1963) and Darren Aronofsky’s Requiem for a Dream (2000). Building upon the work of these and other scholars, this thesis investigates the varying ways in which music and foley sound design relate and interact within a film seeking to categorise with some specificity the various ways in which foley sound design can ascend beyond its ordinary remit and in so doing function in lieu of film music as well as in cooperation with it. I consider examples from, amongst others, The Godfather, parts one (1972) and two (1974) by Francis Ford Coppola and The Matrix (1999) by Ana and Lana Wachowski. In each chapter of part one of the thesis (which I call Take 1), I explore a particular aspect of the way in which foley makes known its capacity to function quasi-musically. Chapter one looks at Walter Murch’s concept of the metaphoric use of sound and how, through this technique, foley sound can be applied so as to fulfil roles more accustomed to film music in its stead. Chapter two details some of the ways in which film music and foley interact within a film. A crucial element of this discussion is the on going debate between scholars such as Michel Chion who disavow the existence of a soundtrack and others such as Rick Altman who contradict Chion on this matter. Chapter three looks at how otherworldly diegetic contexts help to encourage creativity in designing and applying foley sounds so as to further enhance its pre-discussed ability to act in film music’s stead while chapter four focuses on the voice as the soloist within the melee of sounds that constitute the film soundtrack. Part two (or Take 2) of the thesis consists of compositions written in response to some of the theories and concepts explored in the first part of the thesis including a ‘dramatic string quartet’ in which I attempt to realise in a musical composition some of the ideas discussed in all four of the chapters. I conclude the thesis by reflecting on the main insights uncovered throughout the thesis in addition to reflecting on the process of composing the pieces in relation to the relative success of the performances thereof. / GR2017

Dans cette thèse, nous nous proposons d’analyser les composants apolliniens et dionysiaques qui dialoguent, s’affrontent ou complotent mutuellement dans la conception des techniques audiovisuelles. Pour ce faire nous suivons un parcours qui va du mythe de Narcisse jusqu’au cinématographe, en passant par la fixation de l’image issue de la chambre noire et la mise en mouvement des images avec le chronophotographe.Nous nous appuyons sur le distinguo de Friedrich Nietzsche développé dans La naissance de la tragédie entre ces deux impulsions (l'apollinien et le dionysiaque) dans la mesure où celles-ci ordonnent toute construction culturelle. Nous identifions ainsi dans l’archéologie des médias le combat entre les belles formes qui veulent être fixes, et le chaos ivre qui se perd dans le devenir actif.Dans ce contexte, nous aurons recours à des couples fondateurs indispensables pour aborder les techniques audiovisuelles depuis cet angle d’analyse : lumière/ombre, réalité/imagination, culture/nature, raison/corps et, bien entendu, art/technique.Bien que le combat entre l'apollinien et le dionysiaque donne lieu, selon Nietzsche, à un accouplement dans la tragédie grecque, nous verrons que tout au long de ce que nous appelons le « trajet de l’outil » – qui va du miroir au cinématographe –, les deux impulsions se rapprochent ou s’éloignent par intermittences.C’est à partir de cela que nous formulons l’hypothèse selon laquelle avec la naissance du cinématographe (en tant que technique) et du cinéma (en tant qu’art), Apollon et Dionysos vont à nouveau s’unir dans un accouplement qui engendre l’art et la technique de la civilisation des médias audiovisuels. / This dissertation aims to analyse the Apollonian and the Dionysian components that interact, compete or plot mutually in the design of audio-visual techniques. To achieve this, we follow a path from the myth of Narcissus to the cinematograph, to the process of fixing the image in the dark room such as the moving images of the chronophotograph.We rely on the distinction of Friedrich Nietzsche developed in The Birth of Tragedy between these two pulses (the Apollonian and the Dionysian) to the extent that they enjoin any cultural construction. We identify in the archeology of the media the battle between the beautiful forms that want to be fixed, and the drunken chaos that is lost in becoming active.In this context, we will use the essential founding couples to study audiovisual techniques from this angle of analysis: light / shadow, reality / fantasy, Culture / nature, reason / body and, of course, art / technique.Although the struggle between the Apollonian and the Dionysian elements results, according to Nietzsche, in a coupling in Greek tragedy, we see that throughout what we call the "Tool path" - which embraces all the instruments form the mirror to the cinematography - the two pulses towards or away intermittently.From this analysis, we assume that with the birth of cinema (as a technique) and film (as art), Apollo and Dionysus will unite again in a coupling that begets the art and technique of the audiovisual media civilization.

A partir da análise do conceito de \'montagem\' cinematográfica na obra de Jean-Luc Godard e sua identificação com as noções de \'história\' e \'arquivo\', propõem-se \'exercícios\' que procuram explicar, de modo teórico-prático, a hipótese fundamental do projeto: a \'montagem\' é uma ferramenta que, apropriada pelas artes visuais, gera conhecimento e permite reordenar a história. A indagação teórica pensa a \'montagem\' como elemento que desliza do campo audiovisual. O conceito desloca-se no desenvolvimento de um trabalho que gera conexões com a produção artística, tanto quanto com a escrita da história por meio da arte. A primeira parte apresenta um processo de criação em artes visuais onde se desenvolvem \'exercícios de montagem\'. Como artista, coloco-me numa situação de deslocamento, vivendo como estrangeiro na cidade de São Paulo. A série de trabalhos é feita por meio da identificação da história econômica do café, como peça fundamental na construção do estado moderno brasileiro e colombiano. Os trabalhos buscam a emergência de narrações, novos olhares que podem aparecer no choque de imagens, na \'montagem\' como ferramenta para recontar uma história. A segunda parte apresenta um ensaio, que em sua estrutura, é proposto como um \'filme\'. Este exercício literário tem foco na história da arte colombiana e procura ser um contraponto teórico ao processo de criação em artes visuais. / The analysis of the cinematographic notion of \'montage\' in the work of Jean-Luc Godard, as well as its relation with \'history\' and \'archive\', are the points of departure to explain the main concept of this project: \'Montage\' is a tool which, when appropriated by the Visual Arts, produces knowledge and enables the rearrangement of history. The theoretical framework places \'montage\' as an element that escapes the audiovisual field. Here, the concept is widened to enable connections with artistic production, as well as with the writing of history through art. The first part deals with a creation process, where \'montage exercises\' took place. As an artist, I find myself in a situation of displacement, by living as a foreigner in the city of Sao Paulo; works were thereby created by identifying the economic history of coffee as a fundamental element of the formation of the modern states of Brazil and Colombia. The work inquires about narrations and produces a new gaze in the clash of images, and work as a tool in the \'montage\' to retell a history. The second part is an essay, a literary exercise that in its structure is proposed as a \'film\'. It focuses on the history of Colombian Art, and looks for a theoretical counterpoint to the creative process of visual arts.

Afin d’appréhender la construction diachronique de l’image des Indiens dans la cinématographique brésilienne, au fil des années et des courants, il est nécessaire dans un premier temps de revenir à la période des conquêtes, dans le but de sonder les premiers fondements de l’idéologie nationale. Les premières images construisent un amalgame historico-mythique du « bon sauvage » et provoquent peur et fascination face à des pratiques célébrées – tel l’homme en harmonie avec la nature – ou au contraire méconnues et à l’opposé de nos mœurs – tels l’anthropophagie rituelle et le cannibalisme. Ces premières images fondées par le Vieux Continent vont figer les imaginaires et générer les bases d’une image exotique dont il va être difficile de se détacher. Au fil des siècles, le Brésil, pays métissé où subsistent les traditions des européens, auxquelles viennent se greffer les pratiques indigènes et les mœurs africaines, va être en proie à de fortes dissensions entre régionalisme et nationalisme. Cette recherche va tenter de reconstruire le regard porté sur cette communauté et d’en comprendre les mécanismes de rejet et d’identification encore très actuels, à partir des images produites au cours du XVIe siècle et dans les siècles subséquents, avec l’avènement de la photographie, puis de la production cinématographique et audiovisuelle qui relancèrent un soudain et vif intérêt pour (et par) les communautés indigènes. Afin d’aller plus loin dans l’entendement de la métaphysique amérindienne, Eduardo Viveiros de Castro préconise une transposition conceptuelle où la pensée amérindienne se substitue à la pensée dominante. Ce décentrement anthropologique met sur le même pied d’égalité les deux paradigmes, et permet de porter un autre regard sur cette construction historique. A partir de ce nouveau corollaire, nous allons tenter de rétablir l’équilibre entre les différents points de vue et de soulever les avancées ou défaillances de la représentation de l’image des Indiens de nos jours. / In order to comprehend the diachronic construction of the image of Indians in Brazilian cinematography throughout the years and trends, it is necessary, firstly, to return to the period of conquests, in order to survey the early foundations of national ideology. The first images construct a historical-mythical amalgam of the “noble savage” and provoke fear and fascination before celebrated practices – such as man’s harmony with nature – or, to the contrary, obscure pratices as well as those opposed to our customs – such as ritual anthropophagy and cannibalism. These first images founded by the Old Continent fix imaginaries and generate the bases of an exotic image that will become difficult to resist. Over the centuries, Brazil, a mixed country where European traditions subsist on and are grafted by indigenous practices and African customs, has been beset by strong disagreements between regionalism and nationalism. This research attempts to reconstruct the gaze cast upon this community and to understand the mechanisms of rejection and identification that still exist today using images produced during the sixteenth century and subsequent centuries with the advent of photography, and then of cinematographic and audiovisual production, which revived a sudden and keen interest for (and of) indigenous communities. To go further in the comprehension of Amerindian metaphysics, Eduardo Viveiros de Castro advocates a conceptual transposition where Amerindian thought replaces dominant thought. This anthropological off-centering places both paradigms on an equal footing and permits another view of this historical construction. Taking this new corollary as a point of departure, we attempt to restore a balance between the different points of view and to point out the progresses or failures of the representation of the image of Indians today.

A presente pesquisa investiga como os elementos visuais ao dispor dos cineastas podem contribuir para a representação de estados alterados de percepção no cinema, de modo a ampliar a discussão sobre a expressividade do trabalho de direção de fotografia. Por meio da análise e interpretação de três filmes brasileiros que apresentam personagens fora de si e construções visuais contundentes - Estorvo (2000), de Ruy Guerra, Filme de Amor (2003), de Júlio Bressane e A Concepção (2005), de José Eduardo Belmonte -, a pesquisa discute de que maneira as características da imagem podem contribuir para a criação de pontos de vista, atmosferas e sentidos, que permitem a apreensão do filme para além de sua compreensão intelectual. Partindo do reconhecimento da ligação entre narrador e personagens, a análise se volta à força expressiva das imagens usadas ao longo dos filmes, tomando como referência reflexões sobre o expressionismo na pintura e no cinema. Essa discussão serve de base para a identificação de um imaginário sobre os estados alterados de percepção e suas relações com a sociedade presente na cinematografia brasileira dos anos 2000. / The present research investigates how the visual elements available to the filmmakers can contribute to the representation of altered states of perception in the cinema, in order to broaden the discussion about the expressiveness of the cinematography work. Through the analysis and interpretation of three Brazilian films that present characters out of their minds and rich visual constructions - Estorvo (2000), by Ruy Guerra, Filme de Amor (2003), by Júlio Bressane and A Concepção (2005), by José Eduardo Belmonte -, the research discusses how the characteristics of image can contribute to the creation of points of view, moods and senses, which in turn make possible the apprehension of the film beyond its intellectual understanding. Acknowledging the connection between narrator and characters, the analysis focus on the expressive force of the images used throughout the films, taking as reference reflections on Expressionism in painting and in cinema. This discussion serves as basis for the identification of a position regarding altered states of perception and their relations with society in Brazilian cinematography of the 2000s.