Assignment:
Overview:
High Noon is a 1952 film that takes place in close to real time, in a single place, on a single day. IMDb's logline (n.d.) says: "
In the chapter reading, Director Fred Zinneman talks about his wanting High Noon to have a newsreel/documentary look. To do this they chose to use the elements of flat lighting (sometimes referred to as "general illumination"), a higher-grain film stock, and to not filter the sky; although they kept the camera work unchanged.
A town marshal, despite the disagreements of his newlywed bride and the townspeople around him, must face a gang of deadly killers alone at high noon when the gang leader, an outlaw he sent up years ago, arrives on the noon train." Basically, one man standing up, alone, for what he believes in.
Instructions:
Watch the film High Noon, and examine the American Newsreel on Australia 1950 and The Flying Padre documentaries in the Readings and Resources. Then answer the following:
1. If you were directing, and still had the visual goal Zinneman did, how could you employ shot choices, lenses, camera angles, and camera movement/stillness to achieve it?
2. Other than the light, what elements of the cinematography of American Newsreel on Australia 1950 and The Flying Padre could you employ to give even more Documentary look?
3. What did Zinneman do/use in his film that you would not? Explain.
4. What are your thoughts on thematic connection between the film and world in which it was made? How would your choice of "look" feed into that?
Requirements:
High Noon an
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