"The Man With a Movie Camera" VS "Bicycle Thief"

"The Man With a Movie Camera" VS "Bicycle Thief"

Comparing and Contrasting the elements of Realism VS Formalism

Compare

Realism and Formalism were both revolutionary film editing styles in their time. However being both revolutionary, there is little to compare between the two. Bazin states that film should encompass a wide variety of perspectives and forms of story telling. These two films were criticized for using such strange concepts of editing. They both utilized more of an open ended method to convey story. Most of it was based on the audience's perception of the film and how they saw the story being portrayed.

Contrasting
The Man With a Movie Camera
This formalist film is definitely on the other side of the spectrum from Bicycle Thief. The Man With a Movie Camera had quick cuts, no more than 1-2 seconds, and used a lot of juxtaposition of shots for the audience to formulate their own meaning behind the film. At first we'd see the life of rich aristocrats, then the following shot would be of a man stuck in poverty and starvation. This deep purpose behind this form of editing is that each shot would convey a different point on its own, and would compile to a deeper, more common meaning in the film as a whole. This compilation of contrasting ideas to formulate a common theme is what portrays Formalism as a crazy and chaotic form of editing.

Bicycle Thief
This film was evidently leaning toward the side of Realism, for it had long-lasting shots that had very emotional impacts on the viewer. We see long shots of this man, and then of a boy on a curb. The audience can infer that the boy is his son, through the parental feeling or vibe that the man gives off. We see very effective use of the Kuleshov effect. We see the man's face, a large collection of bikes, his son, bikers, and through this the audience can deduct that he's uncomfortable and torn between setting a good example for his son and his intense urge of stealing a bicycle. This film could be classified as realism in the sense that it is filmed and edited in a vary realistic and natural sense. The cuts are used to show a change in action or emotion and it flows so well with the film that the audience accepts it as normal. There were no surprises in the cuts, unlike in The Man With a Movie Camera.

Realism, Classicism, and Formalism in "Destiny"

Destiny

(click the picture!)

Realism
I found the beginning incorporated some aspects of realism. The film opens with a man's daily morning routine, and it seems awfully bland. We see much of this scene being bland and a bit uncomfortable. With these long, realist shots, the audience develops a weird unattractive feeling towards the man's collection of clocks. The beginning stair scene could potentially disturb a person. We could also see how passionate and precise this man is towards his clocks as we take a good several seconds to observe him synchronizing
the clock that is swinging on the wrong side.

Classicism

What stood out to me in this film was that the different editing styles almost progressed in an order, which I will point out soon. Classicism is evident when the plot is thrown into disequilibrium with the man noticing his mourning routing being replayed in front of him. Rather than an awkward series of long cut shots, the shot duration is cut by a few seconds. Evidently there are also more close-ups and angle usage compared to the man's first "life".  

Formalism

By the third life, the man realizes that his time is getting shorter and shorter and needs to act fast. This cause for action evokes more association cuts and abstract shot selections. For example, when he wakes up for the first time, the shots are really quick, and are comprised of mainly reaction shots between the man and his clock. Another instance of formalism is when the alarm clock hits the wall clock, the swinging clock hand comes to a halt in a large close up. 

Step Outline for ________

Insert Title Here:

ACT ONE Boy is seen in the middle of a girl’s room with a letter in his hand, beginning to worry. Doorknob begins to turn and boy frantically looks around the room.	Establishes our main character. Conflict is currently unknown. Current goal is that he needs to hide. Fast.
A girl enters the room and the boy is nowhere to be seen. A shift in angle reveals that he is hiding under the bed.	Boy is in quite a pickle. The obstacle is that he must escape the girl’s room, yet right now it seems impossible.
He holds the letter in his hand and flashes back to when he wrote the letter in his room.	Time is manipulated through flashback Begins to reveal backstory behind the character’s current situation
Letter turns out to be a love letter meant for a girl. Boy shoves letter in folder, tossing it away saying “Ugh, it’s hopeless.”	Backstory is further established, revealing he’s in the room because of the love letter. Also characterizes the boy as unconfident and possibly shy.
Flash forward into the middle of history class. Boy glances at the girl a couple rows away, but gets scared as she hair-flips, thinking she might see him watching her. He awkwardly continues scribbling in his notes	More characterization on the boy. It has become clear that this girl is the love-interest. Character is definitely shy, as he quickly looks away as she flips her hair. Also shows that he is awkward.
After class she asks the boy for his notes, for she was absent last week. Boy is shocked that she spoke to him. He stutters a response and clumsily reaches into his bag, grabbing the letter on accident as well. Girl laughs and thanks him.	Highlights the boy’s “love from afar” relationship with this girl. Further characterization on the boy’s awkward and shy nature. The girl’s laugh suggests they’re not distant strangers, but more so distant friends.
The boy is back home, and his room is a mess. He can’t find the letter, and is caught thinking hard until he realizes he accidentally handed it to the girl. Boy falls on his bed. “I’m so screwed.”	Shows how afraid and nervous the boy is about the letter he wrote. Doesn’t want the girl to read it, but also wants to let her know how she feels. Boy is too embarrassed to let her read it.
ACT TWO Boy asks her if she looked at his notes, and the girl replies that she hasn’t looked at them yet and she left them at home. The boy is relieved. When asked “why?” the boy denies everything.	Boy is temporarily relieved, but knows that he must think of something to stop her from reading it.
The boy is approaching a house with no cars parked in front (which we assume to be the girl’s house) and hops the fence to get in through the window.	Amusing that the boy goes to extremes (which is not like his character) to retrieve this letter. The lack of vehicles propose that nobody’s home.
The boy ends up in the girl’s room, and the same beginning sequence is repeated.	The manipulation of time finally answers the questions that the audience had from the beginning of the film. The audience discovers that the beginning of the film is this current scene, but with more backstory, the scene is clear. The boy’s goal is to retrieve the letter, and the current setting is the girl’s home.
The boy is hiding under the bed and we see a t-shirt/bra drop to the floor. Boy has a shocked, widened expression.	Boy is put in a situation where he doesn’t know what to do. He’s pushed near his limits of nervousness and an uncomfortable mood is established.
It turns out that the girl is just surfing through her drawers to find the notes that the boy had took. She then leaves the room to keep searching.	This scene consists of dramatic irony that it’s almost amusing to the audience. The boy believes that the girl’s changing, yet the audience knows it’s not that serious. The girl leaving provides a chance for the boy to escape.
The girl continues looking in the kitchen/living-room for the notes. The boy is seen sneaking around corners, trying to escape	Yet another obstacle in the boy’s path. His current and final goal is to get out safely and unnoticed.
The boy turns a corner and she is blocking the door. He notices she’s looking for the notes, and as a last-resort, he crumples up the history notes and tosses them across the room, hoping she would notice.	Establishes the boy’s one shot at success. If he can pull this off and leave, then he is home free.
ACT THREE She walks over to pick it up. The girl is definitely confused and turns around to survey the surroundings. The boy isn’t seen, and we see him running down the street.	The boy has escaped safely and his goal was achieved.
The next day, the girl returns the notes, apologizing for the crumpled mess. The boy accepts it awkwardly, like always. The two then part ways as school ends.	The boy knows he’s safe and she didn’t see the letter. However, the boy is a bit discontent that he’ll never get to show her his feelings. The audience feels sympathy for the boy.