Impressions of Reality

Photographic image; as a mechanic tool for immortality, as a way to freeze and keep the impression of reality, as an art...

Andre Bazin’s ideas of realism in cinema try to place this incredible/magical mechanic agent in the most effective position to serve as a ″reality catcher″. For this reason, he offers some basic applications to realize this aim: deep-focus cinematography which keeps all actions in focus as given equal importance in the same shot and long-take used in parallel. And also offers an analytic editting procedure, unlike montage, just to serve altering emphasis and viewpoint, not for imposing expressionistic meaning or distorting unity of an event. As he offers that it is the most democratic way camera can work, still there is the problem of subjectivity. As one tries to represent the impression of reality, although one tries to abstract his/her self ideally, abstraction of subjectivity and human factor is almost impossible and the result is always –even if not intended- one’s impression of reality.

And the realism aimed by Bazin has 3 facets: ontological, dramatic and psychological. Bazin suggests that ontological status is realized due to the photographic image’s automatic and mechanical recording capacity, ″taking an impression, by the manipulation of light″ and transfering it to the image. However, fulfilled developments changed the recording capacity of the photographic image to a great extent, the procedure do not need only a ″click″ to start the chemical process anymore and digital environment became able to function without reality and also beyond reality. The first example of that beyond reality perception was Muybridge’s, as human eye may not perceive horse’s feet were actually all of the ground, photographic image was able to represent this. Digital capabilities offer people to see much more than they can perceive with their naked eyes. For example, in macro photography one become able to notice the tiny hairs of an insect; although bursting of a balloon full of water was perceived only in few steps burst and splash, high-speed photography represents the impression of reality, the water remaining in air before splashing, which is not possible to be perceived by the naked human eye. As photographic image became capable to represent without and beyond the reality today it is much more complicated to talk about an ontological realism that Bazin defines. On the other hand as Bazin offers, deep-focus and long-take cinematography is the most efficient technique to create dramatic and psychological realism, perception of reality changes in time. One camera movement once perceived unreal, may be perceived part of the impression of reality in time, like shaking the camera etc. and vice versa, one realistic camera movement in an old movie may be perceived unreal today.

As we try to examine the impression of reality in fiction film it is seen that spectator is open to perceive cut scenes as a whole and fill the blanks; for example, in one scene one gets in the train and the next scene one arrives. Getting inside to the train and steping outside creates the impression of reality that one traveled –even if travel process is not shown. Contemporary film theorists such as Heath defines this impression of reality not based on image’s relation to reality but rather, spectator’s positioning and relation with the image as Buckland states: ″According to this theory, realism is nothing more than an effect of the successful positioning of the spectator into an imaginary relation to the image, a position which creates a sense that the film’s space and diegesis is unified and harmonious. (p.202)″

After all, even the most objective object (camera) is not able to limit completely the presence of the subjective subject and although representing strong impressions of reality is possible, absolute reality is hard to catch.

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