Livingston’s discussion on advertising ploys helped me to understand the function of the Where and What system in terms of motion and how consumers can be more attracted to certain types of color schemes and fonts when they are looking to purchase something. The film Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas jumped out at me as I was reading this chapter because it exhibited both Livingston’s point on advertising as well as Arnheim’s point about film editing and how we see motion in general. The jittery and agitated way in which the film is shot parallels its story-line about excessive drug use on the Vegas strip. The Vegas strip alone is notorious for its plethora of neon signs and flashing billboards. Marketers do this intentionally to grab attention and force the viewer to slow down. When letters of one color are placed against an equiluminant background, the words become difficult to read and therefore, one must slow down. Another technique is to create a noticeable contrast between letters and background because the Where system is very responsive to this.
In terms of the film editing that Arnheim writes about, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas switches from one scene to another using stroboscopic movement as well as choppy transitions. In doing so, the viewer is able to get inside of the minds of these drug addicts and feel like they experiencing the horrible “trip” as well. Finally, Arnheim discusses the three ways in which we perceive motion including—physical movement, optical movement and perceptual movement. He gives the example of a passenger on an airplane and how the cabin seems to be in complete stillness even though there is movement all around. This is how a human normally responds to their surroundings yet this film disrupts this natural tendency of ours to see motion as it exists in the real world.
Another aspect of the reading that interested me was about Shakespeare’s play Hamlet. It does not follow the standard sequence of a story, but instead begins with the most exciting part of the plot (the apex) that would typically be found at the middle or end, and uses that as a starting point for the rest of the play. It opens with the murder of the king, followed by Hamlet’s discovery of the crime and then other events that bring us to the end. Sometimes, challenging the status quo of movement in literature makes for a more thought-provoking story.
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The idea of film definitely has a lot to do with the reading on movement. It seems that this "4th Dimension" (movement) that we are talking about is portrayed very well in film. In the end, film is another 2-D media, but it can show 3-D and 4-D very well. It does this not only by being able to record movement that occurs in front of the screen, but by being able to move the screen itself. This creates another level of movement; the world is not only moving in front of us, but the actual world is moving.
While I have not seen Fear and Loathing in Los Vegas, I did get an idea of what Jessica meant when she talked about the jittery and agitated way in which it was shot. It reminded me a little bit of the movie Traffic, which was also about drugs. That movie was about many different kinds of worlds and how they were all affected by drugs. Yet the movement of the camera in each of these different worlds defined that world. It gave us a sense of stability or chaos.
Livingstone's discussion of how movement is used in advertisement made me think of commercial films like the teen movies we used to watch in high school. Those movies, like MTV, were filled with quick shots and were fast-paced. Here the filmmakers were using the same tools as advertisers to attract teens' attentions. Arnheim says, "Motion is the strongest visual appeal to attention" (372), and it is amazing how filmmakers and advertisers are able to use that to their advantage.
Editing is something that too many people take for granted. As most film fans know, good editing can make or break a film (American Beauty, Godfather). Sadly there aren't enough places around today where someone can learn the latest editing techniques. I found a program on the web called Film Connection, http://www.film-connection.com/editing_sub.html. They offer one on one mentoring and you can study from anywhere in America.
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