The first week we also focused on one keyword which was “close-up”. Personally, I think close-up is a very attractive way of framing.Audiences can jump out of the whole plot to just understand a frame alone, or they can realize the development of a storyline through a close-up shot. There is one sentence in our setting reading: The close-up, more than other types of shots, demonstrates the deictic nature of the cinematic image, its inevitable indexicality (Doane, 2003). The word indexicality is used very well. Compared with other shooting methods, close-ups will bring very detailed information, which can be called the finishing touch of a story, thereby guiding the audience to understand the mood or turning point of the film.

On the other hand, the close-up of the characters will also bring emotional stimulation, which helps the audience to experience the mood of the characters in the story. Epstein discusses the relationship of photogénie to the close-up and movement: both play an important part in the creation of a moment of photogénie. The close-up intensifies and magnifies feelings and emotions, it limits and directs our attention. One of Epstein’s most vivid accounts of the power of the close-up concerns the way in which subtle movements of the face are revealed（Farmer, 2010). 

Finally, in this week’s activity video, I also tried to use the close-up shots to tell the audience about the changes in the storyline. I used a close-up of a bush to reflect that the wind is getting bigger. The bushes filled the whole frame, and blown by the wind seemed very abstract in the close-up shot. It was this abstract effect that made me like this picture very much.

Reference:

Farmer, R 2010, Epstein, Jean, Sense of Cinema, viewed 27 July 2021, <https://www.sensesofcinema.com/2010/great-directors/jean-epstein/>. 

Doane, M. A. 2003, ‘The Close-Up: Scale and Detail in the Cinema’, Differences (Bloomington, Ind.), vol.14 (3), pp.89-111