Perception - Weeks 1 & 2

In our first week we talked about how different languages will inform how you perceive things e.g this painting by René Magritte says "This is not a pipe".

Also looking back through my lecture notes I saw "history always forms our perception" which made me think about all the old paintings I have seen about heaven and hell that have formed our perception to this very day on what the afterlife is like. This could form the basis for my final essay so I want to look into this more.

Week 2 

This week we looked at how our ranges influence our perception e.g we can't hear past a certain frequency etc. Our range governs our perception. 

We also looked at how only a few lines of a drawing can convey a lot of information. In theatre and film the scenic artists in particular are responsible for conveying a lot of information and only a small amount could be painted to let the audience know where a scene is set. 

Seminar 

We watched 2 films that we compared and contrasted. 

Film 1- A Touch Of Evil (1958) 

Is in black and white. We watched the opening scene where a bomb is put into a car and you see it driving through streets of America until it is blown up.

Film 2- Memories Of Matsuko (2006)

Is a Japanese film. We watched the opening scene of a young man narrating his life so far. He tells how his band and girlfriend left him and as a result he turns to drink and drugs. 

We found:

• A touch of evil was very idealised as where Memories of Matsuko was more down to earth and true to life. 
• Males were more dominant in the 1st film, but females were in the 2nd. 
• The use of colour- the 1st film was in black and white but the 2nd was in bright vivid colours.
• The 1st film took itself quite seriously, whilst both portraying dark subjects the 2nd film was more comedic.
• The 1st film's opening scene was 1 continuous shot, but the 2nd was very fragmented. 
• The 1st film had lots of activity in the background to give the impression of a real city. The frames in this film were quite crowded, compared to the 2nd film where the scenes in his room were crowded with objects and images, but he is quite alone within himself. 
• A touch of evil left a symbol in the very opening scene; the audience sees a crowd of people having to move out of the way of goats. This is unusual to have in a city centre, symbolising that the characters in this film are like lambs to the slaughter, setting the audience up for what is to come.