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.)
In the idea of negative and positive space, it shows influence on a certain thing. In a play, if the spot light is on a person, then you usually watch that person. It shows importance. When they are in the bedroom before he kills here, you focus just on the shape of the room and the people. It narrows the space. Basically, it shows importance.
ReplyDeleteDaniel B
Period 4
The film makers in this movie and lots of others use the negative and positive space to express that the object or scene is important to the movie. For example when an object is trying to be shown as important they make it dark to show the meaning. The object sticks out at the person who is watching the movie and it makes it easy to notice and its is trying to tell you by the picture. If a picture is also darked out it could mean that the director wants to direct a person into what the director wants and that is to keep you guessing throughout the entire movie.
ReplyDeleteIn the picture when they are in the bedroom and he is looking out the window, it focuses on the main idea of how the room is shaped and where the prople are located. It is kind of funny because the guy was really religious and the room was shaped into a shape of church. So that was important to the scene.
ReplyDeleteBy using positive, negative,balance, and contrast in movies it shows what or whats going to be happen in a movie. By showing shadows in a movie it shows what is going to happen or what might not even happen in a movie. It also shows the emotion of a person or how the scene looks like. For example the second picture all the way on top of the webpage shows a picture of the house. It's showing the house in a creepy and wasted house by using the negative space. These are the ideas created by using negative and positive space.
ReplyDeleteShan K.
Period 4
The film makers used negative and positive space, balance, and contrast to force your eyes onto the most important thing in the scene. For example, in the scene where John is telling his little sister a bed time story, John is lit up and you are focused on John. When John is lit up, he is telling his little sister about the boy who protected the little girl. Because John is lit up, this tells the audience that the boy he is talking about is himself. Later on, John is talking about how an evil man came by and threatened the boy and the girl. In that scene, John is no longer lit up and instead there is a shadow of a man’s head through the window on the wall. Because the shadow is surrounded by white, the audience’s attention is focused on the shadow. Also, because John is talking about the bad man in the story when the shadow appears, the audience gets a hint that the man’s shadow is the bad man John is talking about.
ReplyDeleteBecause the film is black and white, there are no colors to draw attention to certain areas in the film. Instead the director uses different contrast. Different contrasts is put on differnet things to make you notice something you wouldn't have. Also it puts emotion in the scene. For example, when you can see someones shadow, it sets off a creepy feeling.
ReplyDeleteWhat negative and positive balance does is that it shows the idea and sets the tone of what is going to happen next it also shows shadows and usually when you see a shadow of a person you think of them as sort of a dark persona and not only that but it shows like a dark scenario or setting that doesnt appear pleasant. Negative and positive balance also shows which person to be watching at the time, for example if there would be positive balance on a character it is kind of signaling to watch the person that is positive kind of like a spotlight. This is basically the general idea of negative and positive balances/space.
ReplyDeleteIn the scene when John is climbing up the ladder, in the first picture there is nothing but the shadows of the walls, casting over the light coming through the door. In the second picture, John is there climbing up the ladder, but in the background, there is also a man on a horse. I think that the filmmaker wanted us to see that, which is one way that he used contrast, negative, and balance. Also, in the scene when John is telling Pearl a story, his shadow is on the wall, lit up by the streetlamp outside the window. Then when Harry walks in front of the lamp, his shadow is cast over John's. This is when John is telling Pearl about a little girl (Pearl) swearing never to tell anyone where the gold (The Money) is. Then Harry's shadow is cast over John's, which to me is saying, that he will get her to tell him where the money is hidden. That is a good way of using contrast, positive and negative space, and balance to tell you something.
ReplyDeleteJosh Konrad Period 4
The director of this film used examples of postive and negative space, balance and contrast throughout the film. One example of the film makers using contrast was in the picture of the ladder in the barn, and the light was focusing on the ladder. However, in the second picture when John is climbing the laddewr, the light is focused on the man on his horse in the background. This shows that the film makers wanted us to focus on the ladder in the first picture and the man with his horse in the second. This is an example of using contrast in films.
ReplyDeleteThe film maker used negative and positive space to clearly show what "is there" and what "is not there". For example, in the picture with the lamb and the fence, the negative space is the light sky and the positive space is the lamb, fence, hills, dirt, and the tree branch. By also adding in balance, the film maker created the essence of equality between people and objects. And by using contrast, you could clearly see what was happening in the movie with the black and white incorporated. By
ReplyDeletecombing these three things, you could tell what was real and what was not.
Filmmakers use negative and positive space, balance, and contrast to create meaning by showing emphasis on things they want you to be looking at, or to make something scarier. One example is the last two pictures, in the first one the light is shining in barn. It’s lighter to show that there is nothing there and to make you look at the barn. In the second one they use contrast to make the sky look lighter where the man on the horse is but they keep it dark where John is climbing up the ladder to make it not as noticeable and creepy. That is why in black and white movies especially the use of contrast and negative and positive space is important.
ReplyDeleteThe people that made the film wanted to be original by having the you watch the negative and positive space instead of watching the characters. Like in the picture of the little boy the light is on him, but then the next picture has a mans head in the light where the negative space just was. It balanced out the picture and your eyes turn toward the change of positive and negative space and not at the actual people in the film. The change shows where the important part of the picture is, and it creates meaning to the people watching the film.
ReplyDeleteThe director uses negative and positive space, balance and contrast to show what the picture truly means. The director is trying to show what the hidden picture is. In the picture when the mom is lying down and the preacher is standing up, the light area is to show that the room turns into a church. The hidden picture is a church because everyone thinks the man is a preacher even though he is not and the mom is praying. Also, the picture is balanced out because there is light in the middle and it is surrounded by the dark.
ReplyDeleteThe filmmakers use negative and positive space, balance, and contrast to create meaning in the movie by show emphasis on something important. Using all of these draws your eyes to one important thing in the picture. It also shows hidden meaning that the director wants you to see. He wants to catch your eye. For example, during the scene where the Mom and the preacher are in the bedroom together, the director almost makes the room look like a church by using contrast on the walls of the room. With all of these art elements, the director can create something meaningful or the idea he wants to get across to his audience.
ReplyDeleteThe filmmakers used negative and positive space, balance, and contrast to create meaning in the movie. The use of positive and negative space creates a feeling of depth in the pictures. The contrast of the black and white color creates a sense of mystery in the pictures with shadows. The use of contrast and positive and negative space highlights what the director thinks is important. It puts emphasis on the little things that seem unimportant and would otherwise be unseen. Using different styles of art allow attention to be drawn to the little details.
ReplyDeleteThe director of this film used examples of postive and negative space to show what he wants you to really focus on and to show whats more important.
ReplyDeleteThe directer had a scene where the woman was laying on the bed and the man was standing by the window. That seen pin pointed the middle area to be lighter and the outside part of the scene darker and it narrows it to look like it is a church almost. With these elements, the directer shows ideas and creative ways to tell us something without actually telling us.
Nadia Choi
The director of this film showed positive and negative space, balance, and contrast in this film because he tried to emphasize the important parts as well as create a dramatic effect every time something happens where there is suspense. For example, when John and Pearl were running and trying to get into the boat, there was positive and negative space because the director wanted you to focus on that part. It is almost like the director wants to show you and put in their shoes without really telling you the story.
ReplyDeleteThe directors of this film show these characteristics to make it more appealing, and in some it makes it look surreal, almost like a dream. For example, when John is standing, there is a shadow behind him of him. Then, in the next scene, his shadow is next to the mans shadow. This really gets your attention and looks really good and interesting while watching. That is the main point of the directors doing this, and they do not do it on accident, it is meant to be like that for the viewers to see.
ReplyDeleteWhen there is a positive space in a movie, it usually directs the audience who is watching the movie to the person or people the light is shown upon. When there is a negative space in the movie, it brings up the tension and makes the audience wonder who the person in the shadow is. In the scene where the priest kills the wife, the background is shaped up exactly as a church. With the background of this scene shaped as a church makes audiences wonder how a priest would be able to kill a women (this makes the movie feel like a dream and surreal; it is also southern gothic).
ReplyDeleteSammy K
Period 8
These different contrasts of light and dark in different areas at different times depending on the mood of the scene. For example in the photo when the preacher is standing at the top of the stairs about to go looking for the children in the basement, there is more dark areas than light. Normally it wouldn't be so dark even if the film is still black and white. The darkness makes with the only small amount of light gives the illusion that there's no way out accept for that small little piece of light that the preacher is standing in who happens to be contrasting against the light. The darkness in the basement makes it seem like it extends so far making the basement seem a very big black whole and that's what makes it seem almost scary in a way.
ReplyDeleteIn this movie negitive and positive space are used to make the story creepy. It does this by putting a spotlight on the person who you should be focasing on and then all around them is darker.A part of the movie that shows this is when John was telling Pural a story and when he mentioned the bad guy the prists shadow was on the wall. negitive and positive space also show what or who you should be paying attention too like the person who is talking. So the way that positive and negitive space was used is to create efect and to show importance.
ReplyDeleteThe differences in light and dark reflect on the ideals of good and evil. For example it shows a lightly contrasted scene with just John but then in the next scene it with John and the preacher the colors are darker. It puts a scary edge to the movie and whenever something bad is about to happen the colors become darker. It plays a big part in the foreshadowing of the movie.
ReplyDeleteI very good example of negative and positive space, balance, and contrast is the very last picture when John is climbing up the ladder. In the picture John is climbing up the ladder while a dark figure on a horse is in the background, their is a lots of light shown in the background but the figure on the horse that is in the background is not illuminated at all, he remains a black figure. This causes the audience to first look at the man riding on the horse because of all the light around him. But eventually the human eye moves toward John who is only slightly illuminatd showing that John is looking into the background watching the man riding on a horse. This makes the man on the horse seem scary because we cannot see who he is causing a feer of the unknown.
ReplyDeleteBecause the film is black and white, it is harder to see the most important subjects in the pictures, so in order to find these subjects the film makers use positive and negative space, balance, and contrast. The contrast helps the most in trying to see the difference in colors while the positive and negative space helps put a spotlight on the main subject of a picture, and the balance helps to keep the focus on the whole picture if needed. In the picture of Pearl getting ready to sleep, the film makers put contrast on Pearl and the bed, and this helps the different shades of black blend in more and make the white pop out, so you see Pearl as the main subject in the picture. In another picture, as John climbs down the ladder, the spotlight moves to Harry on his horse in the background because you see that Harry is surrounded by negative light while being the positive light, and this helps show Harry as the main subject in the picture. Many other pictures use positive and negative space, balance, and contrast in similar ways.
ReplyDeleteDanny Fookson
ReplyDeleteThe filmmakers of The Night of The Hunter concentrated highly on picture contrast. It was translated very well on the big screen by giving meaning and direction to the movie. Many parts of the film showed contrast to show who has power or who to direct attention to. In one scene, John Harper is hiding in his foster mother's house. First, The light is on john hiding, but then, Harry Powell shows up. The light is directed off of John and immediately to Powell's shadow. The contrast shows who is at power and to whom attention should be payed to. A a substitute for always turning the camera towards the speaker, the filmmakers interestingly chose to use lighting and to show contrast. Most of this movie shows high contrast, so there are many scenes in the film that can be examples for this.
-Danny Fookson (Period 8)
Filmmakers use the elements of positive and negative spaces, balance, and contrast, to convey meaning to scenes different scenes of a movie. In Night of the Hunter, the scene of John descending the ladder is a perfect example of each of the three elements. The positive space created by the horseman draws the attention of the viewer. In addition, the balance of light and dark near the ladder offers the viewer a sort of curious and mysterious feeling to what could be beyond the ladder. Finally, the contrast between the dark inside of the barn and the open emptiness behind the horseman further outlines the part of the screen the filmmakers want you to see.
ReplyDeleteVan Hershey
ReplyDeleteFilmmakers use different forms of elements including positive spaces, balance and contrast. This can be used to create a focus on an object. The movie Night of the Hunter uses many of these elements. Such as the picture with the mother and preacher talking in the bedroom. This is an example of negative and positive space. The area of focus is the preacher and wife, which is the negative space. The positive space is the darkness around it. The shot is supposed to show focus on the two people. So, the element of positive and negative are used in the film Night of the Hunter.
Filmmakers use negative and positive space, balance, and contrast to create meaning in movies. They use this effect to draw attention to a certain place or object. When John is telling Pearl a bedtime story and the light is on Johns body. Then as he starts telling Pearl the part about the bad guy, you see a scary shadow of a man in a hat behind him and the focus isn't on John anymore, its on the man in the hat. When films are in black and white the directors mainly use the use of negative and postive spaces to show the mood of the story. That is what they did in the Night of the Hunter.
ReplyDeleteThe filmmakers use different ways of showing positive and negative aspects throughout the movie. The use of balance and contrast creates a certain feeling in the movie that changes the way it is looked at by the viewer. For example, when a character has a shadow on him or if they are wearing dark clothes it shows that they are a bad character, or there is a not a good vibe in that time of the movie. When there is a large amount of light in a scene of the movie it creates a happy moment in the movie. The movie does a great job with this because the movie would be very different without the elements the filmmakers use.
ReplyDeleteDavis Hianik
Period 8