Here's an idea I'd like you to play with. It has to do with the balance of light and dark - about the balance of positive and negative shapes (positive being the dark spaces, the spaces where somethig IS; negative being the light spaces, the spaces where something ISN'T). There's something about them in this movie.
In this shot, the dark is the positive space - a bird, a cage, a window pane. The light is the negative space - nothing. Okay. Negative and positive space. That's idea number one.
Idea number two: balance. Balance is when the right side is given roughly the same 'wieght' as the left side, or the top and bottom. There are two kinds of aesthetic balance. First, there's symmetrical. That's when one side looks like the other - they are, to a large degree - mirror images of one another. Like this...
Then there's asymmetrical balance. This is when two sides are balanced, but by different sized shapes. Like this...
Idea three: contrast - the difference between the dark and the light. The lower the contrast, the more shades of gray there is. Like this shot from The Abominable Snowman...
The higher the contrast, the fewer shades of gray there are, and the more of sharp diference there is between the light and the dark. Like this shot from Bride of Frankenstein...
So there you have it. Three ideas:
- negative and positive space
- balance
- contrast
So here's what I would like you to do. Just look at the following images. Take your time.
Now look at the following pairs of images. Most come one right after the other in the film. Again, take your time.
Finally, here's the question you need to answer. How do the filmmakers use negative and positive space, balance, and contrast to create meaning? In other words, what ideas are communicated in these frames using negative and positive space, balance, and contrast? Pick one example and explain. Post your response in the comments secion below. The rules of grammar, mechanics, and spelling apply. Be thoughtful and thorough in your response.
And good luck.
As always, feel free to go above and beyond by responding to your peers' comments. (Extra credit is available for thoughtful and insightful extra comments in which you discuss your peers' comments. Please post all of your additional comments under separate posts.)
The set of pictures with John and then Henry's shadow, creates a lot of meaning. In the first picture, one is able to notice John standing up tall looking confident. He is also blasted with light and one can see his shadow clearly against the wall. Then when Henry's shadow enters the room, John is shrouded in darkness and his shadow disappears. This shot shows how confident, and strong John is without Henry. But when Henry arrives, he becomes weak and almost non-existent in this particular shot. Throughout the movie John is often overpowered by Henry, and this shot excellently shows that.
ReplyDeleteThe picture where Powell is staring up in the bedroom while Willa is laying in bed at night is one of the most meaningful pictures posted. The way that the ceiling is angled draws your attention up in the direction that Powell is staring so it makes you look at his powerful, yet creepy, facial expression and less at the relaxed Willa in the background. Also, the amount of light used is also meaningful. Around the angled ceiling it is completely black, drawing your attention inward to the characters. The bright light around Powell makes you focus on him, the man in control, rather than the darker Willa making you compare or contrast the characters. There also is not much furniture or anything else in the room so it makes you focus more on the characters in the scene and lets you pick out more details. This shot from The Night of The Hunted perfectly shows how Powell is in control of Willa; like he is throughout the entire movie.
ReplyDeleteThe pair of pictures where John and Pearl are in the barn and soon see Henry creates a lot of meaning. The distinct contrast between Henry and the daytime light show that he is the main focus in the shot. In addition to the contrasting of light, Henry is in the very center of the open window where all the attention is drawn to. The last thing that places a lot of attention on Henry is the environment. He is riding his horse on a plain where hardly any trees are found. By doing this, the director makes Henry the tallest thing in the shot.
ReplyDeleteThe picture of when Willa is standing in the dark while Powell is getting into bed has a lot of meaning in it. The frame makes it so that Willa is completely in the shadows making her face almost not visible.Most of the light is around Powell even though he is the one nearest to the main source of light which he turned off making the frame as such. This contrast of light and dark gives you the thought that Willa doesn't have any power in this marriage and Powell holds all of it. The picture can also make you think that that what she thinks doesn't matter because a light-bulb usually means ideas, and Willa had this idea that she would have some adult time with Powell since they just married, but Powell, being in control, turned off this light physically and mentally by telling Willa a very preacher-like speech about a woman's body and lust. This picture depicts much of what will happen in the future for Willa in the movie, being controlled to death by Powell. Yes, this scene from Night Of the Hunter depicts a lot of who has power and who does not.
ReplyDeleteThe set of pictures with John Powell with his face in the dark and with his face in the light has a lot of meaning. In the first picture you see John with no light on his facing showing how he is a very cruel man and that he wants to take the money from the kids. The light turns on and John is finally revealed in the light. Then John's face comes into full view showing that he really wants to get that money that the kids have hidden from him and also showing that he wants to seem like a nice guy. These two pictures show that John has to try really hard to get that money. In the end, he does not get the money allowing Henry and Pearl to emerge victorious.
ReplyDeleteFor the set of pictures from the top of the barn, it shows a lot of meaning with the contrast, balance and space. The light of the sky in the first picture against the darkness of the barn and rest of the scene, shows that they sky is the main focus of that frame. In the second one, the almost white sky against Cowell on the horse, really focuses the watcher's eyes on Cowell because he is in the center of the sky. He is the only thing on the horizon so you are forced to look there. It sets up the scene almost like it is a nightmare and forces you to not look away. It gives the scene a really eery feeling and gives you the feeling that you are holding your breath until Cowell passes. Without the contrast of light and dark, the scene would not have as many meaningful aspects. You wouldn't be as focused on Cowell and he wouldn't have as strong of an impact on the viewer. Also, the director makes Cowell the tallest thing on the horizon so it gives you the feel that he has the power in this particular scene. I never realized how much of an impact that contrast, balance and space has on scenes of a movie.
ReplyDeleteThe picture of when John and Pearl where in the barn it shows the importance of the black and white. In the picture you can tell something is about to happen because of the light color looking out of the barn. It is also easier to see Henrey because Henrey is so dark compared to the light. It has contrast because the ladder is dark and outside is light, there is also not much gray, it is either black or white. Also the two sides are very balanced.
ReplyDeleteThe picture of John and Pearl in the barn shows the importance of color. This is accomplished by the color of the horizon, which is a starch white, and the shadows casted. For example, the ladder is almost lit up, almost foreshadowing that John and Pearl will need it to escape. When a black figure on a horse appears in the background, the audience knows that it is Powell. They know this because of the colors used. A black figure on a white horizon almost screams "danger".
ReplyDeleteThe first picture with Henry's fist uses a lot of contrast to foreshadow something about the story. There is not much grey if any in this picture, it is more of a sharp contrast between black and white. Most of the background is black with Henry's suit. His fist automatically sticks out due to it being a bright white. Then the letters of hate are spelled out clearly in black against the fist. If the shot directly focused on this then it is clear that this shot was made intentionally to give the viewer a glimpse of what is going to happen. This made it a lot more subtle than it could have been with contrast. Instead of having to change up the story by putting something in the creator used simple lighting.
ReplyDeleteThe picture of john standing with his shadow behind him an importance of dark and light. It gives full concentration on john giving him all the power in the scene. In the next picture showing Powell's shadow cast across john and the wall turns all the power towards Powell. This is contrast of light and dark shows who has the power. This gives him a more sinister look and gives him control of the audience's full attention
ReplyDeleteThe picture of Henry's shadow towering over John's shadow shows good negative and positive space. The positive space are the shadows of Henry and John. The negative is the wall where the light is shining. This picture shows by shadows who is in control. For most of the movie the shots are of John and his shadow being bigger than Henry because he is in control because he knows where the money is hidden and Henry does not. Though in this picture Henry's shadow is alot bigger than John's shadow. This is showing that in this scene Henry has alot more power than John.
ReplyDeleteFilmmakers use positive space, balance, and contrast to create meaning. If people were to carefully observe all the picures above, they would recognized that they see what the makers wants them to see. In another words, they are naturally focus on the part of the scene that is emphasized by the makers using either black on white or white on black. The filmmakers uses contrast of black and white for foreshadowing. For example, in the picture where Willa and Mr.Powell are talking, there is a picture of a man on a horse behind them. In the next picture Mr. Powell turns off the light but the picture stays lighted and everything else is darkened. Almost as if it is telling us to pay attention to it. Sure enough, couple scenes later, Mr. Powell is chasing the kids on a horse.
ReplyDeleteComparing the first set of pictures portrays much meaning. In the first picture, John is in power. His power is portrayed through the sharp shadow behind him and his face pointing downwards (this act of looking down displays superiority, and superiority is power). In the next picture, however, the shadow of Powell covers John's, displaying a shift in possessions of power. John body becomes a silhouette, almost exactly resembling his shadow in the first picture. Therefore, it seems as if the shadow has moved over to the left and is looking up at Powell (the act of looking up displays, along with Powell's overshadowing of Peter, superiority and power).
ReplyDeleteIn the last picture of Mr. Powell riding his horse the incredible contrast of light and dark shows really helps show the distance in which he is from the barn. It also shows the perfect profile of his figure. You can clearly see there is a man on a horse in the distance. In real life there is now way you would ever be able to see anything in the distance, let alone something that clear. Overall the large contrast just helps to allow the viewer a better understanding of what is happening.
ReplyDeleteThe first picture of Henry's fist shows a stark contrast of color. Everything in the picture is portrayed as dark, except for the fist. The fist is the only thing or object that stands out. The word "hate" is written on Henry's knuckles. Notice how the word is even written in black which shows anger and fear. It is almost predictable of what is going to happen next.
ReplyDeleteMost of the pictures from the film were at night or at a darker time of the day. They use this glow for the negative space. In the picture of John with Mr. Powell's shadow has little negative space. Even though that part of the movie was in the middle of the night, there is a glow coming from the window that shows Mr. Powell's shadow. The negative part of the picture is the shadow and that is the most important part because he is looking for the children. It adds a sense of thrill or horror that puts you on the edge of your seat wanting to see what happens next. There is a lot of contrast in this photo. There is little grey outlining Mr. Powell and John. It shows John looking at the shadow. When John sees the shadow he is scared. Mr. Powell pops up on the wall looking for his fathers money. It is exciting and thrilling.
ReplyDeleteThe two pictures where you see John with lots of contrast and in the next there is not as much. This tells people how you see his shadow on the wall and then in the next there is Mr.powell where his reflection was before and makes some people wonder who really is there.
ReplyDeleteThe pictures of the shadows of both John and Powell show who has the control between the two. In the first image, John is the center of attention; after all he is the object in the scene. John is standing tall and prominently as if nothing can bring him down. Suddenly, a much larger shadow, Powell, completely over throws the shadow casted by John. These two shadows help foreshadow what will eventually happen in the storyline. This would not have been possible if the movie was in color. That is why putting the film in black and white helps to create meaning using negative and positive space, balance, and contrast.
ReplyDeleteThe picture when Henry is in the room with his new wife creates a sense of confusion. The chapel like room makes one think that he would be guided in finding the money and killing the children. It almost makes the viewers think that people would be trying to help him get the money, and get rid of anyone who gets in his way. In this picture everything is pointing up: the bed post, the door, the window, the shadows, the ceiling, and even Henry himself; the way that he is leaning up points to the same point in the ceiling that the other lines point to. This creates an eerie feeling as if Henry is in control of the wife, but who is in control of Henry? Nothing? God? The point of the picture is to make Henry seem as if he has control of only himself and what he does, but he has no control of how others will react
ReplyDeleteFilmmakers use negative and positive space, balance, and contrast to create meaning. By using these three things, the film makers make the movie seem surreal. The last picture is a good example of this. It is symmetrical which makes it balanced. They appear to be reflected and have the same "weight". The idea of negative and positive space is also used in this picture. Most of this picture uses negative space because it is mostly dark and black. Although, the area that is light is made that way for a reason. The film maker made the top of the horizon light so the silhouette would stand out. This image is surreal because this would never happen in real life. Lastly, the idea of contrast is used. There is a lot of contrast in the last image as well. There is a huge difference between the top and bottom of the horizon. The high contrast causes there to be almost no grey, and mostly black and white. This makes it stand out.
ReplyDeleteI think there are very important images that are shown above. Each of the pictures use negative and positive spaces. The amount of light in, let's say, the picture where John and Pearl climbing up into the barn, shows the time of day and where the key places in the images are. In the barn images the light starts out on the ladder leading into the barn and where the kids will be coming. In the second barn image the light goes from the kids, who were the most important part of the image, to the light coming from Mr. Powell to where the kids were just sleeping. This striking difference gives suspense of what is coming and a foreshadowing of what will happen which is Mr. Powell continuing his pursuit of the children and the money. If you look at the picture of Willa and Mr. Powell on their honeymoon the light goes from the person who thinks they are in control or who is most important in the image, to the person who ends up truly controlling each situation and who is in control. In this example, Willa is the focal point and she is the lightest thing in the image. In the next image, she is extremely dark in comparison to Mr. Powell who is the new focal point and the true controller in the images. So the negative and positive spaces are guiding the audience through the storyline.
ReplyDeleteFor the set of pictures where John is standing alone he looks very strong and in control but then once Mr Powell comes he looks as if he over powers John and it seems as if Johns facial expression changes a bit from confident and in control to nervous and scared. In the picture of the barn with John and Mr Powell, the first picture almost the whole sky just looks like negative space. But then in the second picture once Mr Powell comes he right in the center of the negative space and the contrast between him and his horse and the light behind them is very sharp. This makes it look as if he is the center of the scene, and has the most power.
ReplyDeleteIn the photo where John sees Mr. Powell off in the distance is a good example of the director using the light and darkness for meaning. The part in the picture of Mr. Powell riding the horse in the distance is dark. It is dark because Mr. Powell is the negative energy in that part. He is the negative energy because he wants to kill and steal from John and Pearl. He is trying to take the money from them. The other picture of John standing near the wall and Mr. Powell's shadow of his head is another good example of the using light and darkness for meaning. John is standing there brave and confident and Mr. Powell is looking for him and Pearl. Mr. Powell's shadow is again the negative energy. The light on John is the positive energy.
ReplyDeleteI would like to make a comment about Josh Just's paragraph. I agree with everything he said but he mixed up John's and Mr. Powell's names.
ReplyDeleteThe picture of John with his shadow, and the shadow of Powell shows the contrast of darkness used in this movie. The shadows are so well seen that it is a key part in watching the movie. In colored movies their are rarely shadows of things or people because so much is focused on the colors around them. The black and white movies show the positive and negative space by adding the shadows of the characters. The positive and negative space show the shadows as part of the movie and seen as if they are in the minds of John and Powell. Black and white movies help show the positive and negative balance contrast.
ReplyDeleteThis refers to Cole Hamiltons post. I disagree with the fact that Henry has more control throughout the movie over John because it is seen in many scenes that John is standing over Henry while Henry is standing over Pearl. It might be in the picture that Henrys picture towers over John but that is because they had not met yet so the control has not been taken into account.
ReplyDeleteThe scence is John standing by the window in the middle of the night talking to Pearl, the balance, contrast, and light make things feel as if he was a good guy or a hero. But a moment later, his shadow is gone and he is submerged into darkness. Behind John were his shadow used to be is the figure of an eerie looking man. The darkness makes him appear as evil and sinister. They use negative and positive spaces to differentiate between good and evil. In this case, John as being good and Henry, the eerie man's shadow, as being evil. That is how they use negative and positive space to make the view understand, and differentiate between good and evil.
ReplyDeleteIn the first picture, the one of Henry’s fist shows a lot of negative and positive space. In the picture there is a lot of positive space, the majority of the picture is pure black and there are not any shades of gray. All though the majority shown is black, because of the contrast, the first thing you notice is his hand because the white of his hand sticks out from the black surrounding it. Sense the hand is the first thing you see, you also notice the word “HATE” written on his hand very quickly. You also notice the word “HATE” because the hand it self is not centered in the picture but the actual word is. This is a sigh of what his true personality is like and it’s foreshadowing of what is going to happen to the kids.
ReplyDeleteIn the picture where the mom and the preacher are talking in the bedroom, the lighting suggests conflict. The negative space between them gives a feeling of distance. The balance shows that they have equal power and is symmetrical. There is a low contrast which gives more focus on the negative and positive space.
ReplyDeleteEven though the picture of when the kids are in the barn waking up the next morning i supposed to be in a small scene of a barn it has so much going on in the background. the focus on the first image is the open window with the perfect scenery of the sun gazing down on the land and nature with all the negative space surrounding in the barn. The sun is coming into the window creating lines and angles facing the left, shining light on the ladder and hay stack. its a calming picture but at the same time so much in purposely going on. the second image has the sun gazing down still but with the black figure of Mr Powell. the light in gleaming in on the right this time so its hard to see john climbing down the ladder. comparing the picture is almost like a nightmare. With one the kids are sleeping in peace and the other picture they are escaping from Mr powell who is in sight.
ReplyDeleteThe filmmaker used lots of examples of contrast, balance, and positive/negative space. The final picture is a great example on how the filmmaker used contrast, and positive space. It shows John climbing up the barn ladder. Through the barn opening you can see Mr. Powell on his horse. The background of the sky, even though it is night, is very bright. Mr. Powell on the other hand is completely black. This portrays that he is a dark person. Also it shows lots of positive space, and showing Mr. Powell. This is showing that he is out in the distance, but he is getting closer. The filmmaker uses this to contrast, and positive space to show that Mr. Powell is a dark person who is getting closer to finding the kids.
ReplyDeleteIn almost all of the pictures, they use balance and contrast to set a sort of mood/tone. It can give it anywhere from a haunting, scary mood, to a blessed, holy mood. This cannot be easily achieved in color movies, but with the ability to "highlight" the important details, it makes the movie easier to follow or to understand.
ReplyDeleteIn this movie the director used contrast, negative and positive space, and balance in a very interesting way. Whenever there was a large contrast in light and dark, and shadows began to appear, this usually meant there was a 'hidden' message in the scene. In the photo above when the preacher is standing facing a window, and his wife is laying in bed shows an example putting a hidden meaning or message into the shot. The man was a preacher, and in this photo everything seems to point upward, almost as if it were a church. This is also ironic because right after this is when he kills his wife, which is going against all of his religious rules even though in the picture it almost looks like he is in a church. This is only one of the many examples of how this movie demonstrated contrast, balance, and use of positive and negative space.
ReplyDeleteThe following pairs of pictures are definitely showing contrasts, negative/positive balance, etc. If you look at the pictures (any pair) you see that they are in similar scenes as well as the setting is the same. The main idea that is different is that the shading of the shadow is off. In one scene the shadow is emphasized to the right when the next scene, it is shown in the left. The movie director most likely did this to show the change in mood and balance throughout the entire movie. In the picture with John, there is Mr. Powell's shadow casted upon him because it is a foresight of danger. The people watching the movie are suppose to receive a bad premonition by observing how the lining of the shadows are incorporated to the cast members
ReplyDeleteIn the picture where it shows John climbing up the ladder and shows the silhouette of The Preacher in the background, it really makes you focuse on Preacher. The light behind him makes his figure really stand out. Meanwhile John is more in the darkness so he is not as noticeable.
ReplyDeleteIn the picture where the barns are aligned one next to another have contrast and balance where it gives the photograph meaning. The way that the contrast gives the photo meaning is because in the movie this scene takes place at night and in the photograph one will notice that the background is extremely light and the houses are almost, completely black. The meaning behind that is the filmmaker trying to show it to make the audience feel more scared and notice the barns rather than what is behind everything. This photo also has balance; the balance is that the barn is completely aligned with its reflection. If one was to take this photograph and bend it horizontally the reflection with the barn would match up completely. This photograph is not an example of what happens in real life therefore the filmmaker is trying to create a figure that is distorted in a scary manner because it would not happen in real life. This balance is symmetrical. This photo has negative space because the light in the background is very light, and it has positive space because the barns are really dark and the so are the reflections of the barns in the lake. The filmmaker purposely did this because in the movie it would add more of an emphasis to the scene that’s taking place.
ReplyDeletesorry, im anonymous
ReplyDeleteDelia C -p6 it posted that way on accident
The picture where is shows the preachers hand that says "H-A-T-E" is what i thinkis the most meaningfull one. its shows alot about the man, and almost forshadows the rest of the movie. in the picture, every thing atound the hand is dark which makes the hand pop out at you and want to look at it. while making us look at it we can see the word "HATE" very clear. the preacher seems to have a clenched fist with "HATE" on it. it seems to show alot about the preacherthrough this picture.
ReplyDeleteThere is a picture of John climbing down a ladder and in the far distance is the preacher. It realy shows alot of contrast between the two people. Also there is alot of positive and negitive space. The contrast really makes you focus on the preacher in the distant while John notso much. The space of light around the dark preacher shows the importance of him.
ReplyDeleteThere are a lot of examples of contrast, balance, and positive/negative space. The last picture is a good example on how the filmmaker used contrast, and positive space.in the picture we see John climbing up the barn ladder.in the background you can see Mr. Powell on his horse. it is very brights outside but Mr. Powell is completely black. This shows that he in not a good person. it shows that he is a dark person. Mr. Powell is far away from the barn. this shows that he is getting closer to finding the children.
ReplyDeletePositive and Negative space create the whole movie. The use of positive and Negative space is to get your attention towards what the film makers want people to see. The negative space is normally around the sides of the film while the positive is in the center. No movie is gonna be off center and have everything happen on the edge of the screen so it is all in the middle. This is what we are supposed to see so it is brought out in a completely different shade then what is just the back ground. The main point is so that the we end up looking at what is important in the movie. In the film the positive space was black when it was a shadow that came out of no where when Powell was going after the kids. It played as the positive space for the bad things.
ReplyDeleteThe second picture is a good example of contrast. Even though the top part is almost completely black there is not much contrast in the middle of the shot. There are amny shades of gray. In this movie contraste is used to communicate. For example Jonh's mom stands out in the bed because she is lighter but Mr.Powell is much ligher than Jonh's mom. Here Mr.Powell is ligher and is at a higher level than John's mom and that shows that he has control of what's going on.
ReplyDeleteI think that Night of the Hunter was really interesting because of all the shadows and contrasts plus the storyline was pretty good too. Filmmakers use all these shadows and contrasts to present meaning for the watchers who pay close attention. They also use it to make their movie get more attention because will want to keep re watching it to get all the symbolism. One of the most prominent scenes was when John's mother was standing by the camera and Harry was yelling at her from the bed. He is under a bright light to show that John's mother thinks him to be a very holy man. but John's mother is in the shadows because she fears she is not holy enough and that Harry will lead her to salvation. And when he turns off the light, she is completely in the dark and there is a small light coming from where Harry is "sleeping". This one really stood out to me as an interesting character development scene.
ReplyDeleteThe horse he rides may be a pony, in the last scene , in order to make Mr Powell look larger.
ReplyDelete