Use of White Space: Macbeth
Jistin Kurzel's Macbeth has some of the most stunning, visually complex cinematography I have seen recently and in this specific scene Lady Macbeth walks around in a ad haze, made prevalent through the use of white space as she is surrounded by fog to emphasise how she has lost her way and her mind has deteriorated to a hazy, isolated creation.
Lars Von Trier: Dogma 95 Manifesto
The Rules as Explained in the VIdeo
- Shooting must be done on location. Props and sets must not be brought in (if a particular prop is necessary for the story, a location must be chosen where this prop is to be found).
- The sound must never be produced apart from the images or vice versa. (Music must not be used unless it occurs where the scene is being shot.)
- The camera must be hand-held. Any movement or immobility attainable in the hand is permitted.
- The film must be in colour. Special lighting is not acceptable. (If there is too little light for exposure the scene must be cut or a single lamp be attached to the camera).
- Optical work and filters are forbidden.
- Temporal and geographical alienation are forbidden. (That is to say that the film takes place here and now).
- Genre movies are not acceptable.
- The film format must be Academy 35 mm.
- The director must not be credited.
Why the Manifesto was Created
The aim was to purify filmmaking, only focusing on what they believed where the sole purposes of film, story, acting and theme. There could be no gimmicks or special effects which they believed had saturated filmmaking and as Lars Von Trier explains by creating a obstacle it forces a artist to become more creative, to think outside a box and create new, imaginative, material which they believed the industry was sorely lacking.
Why the Manifesto was Created
Grayson Perry put a comical twist on the classic manifesto which is so often steeped in seriousness and constricted rules. He somewhat jabs and the ridiculousness of having set rules with art by putting statements which including always having comfy seating when watching films and for all bad paintings to be sent to war zones to be made into tents. However there is also great sincerity in it as well as he gives out useful advice to future artist about their next work always being their greatest and to always dare to create on that ominous blank canvas.
Jacob Sutton encapsulates everything that I find fascinating in the water based photography I've researched that explores white space. It's the eeriness of the unknown as only certain body parts appear from the empty whiteness, leaving the viewer to only imagine what is left in the water.
Sean Mundy is astounding in his use of white space as he used polar opposite colours to emphasise the isolation or emptiness in the surroundings, I also find his use of surrealism very interesting as he uses a mixture of Photoshop ad models to create this strange unknown world encapsulated in the somewhat terrifying whiteness.
'White in Eastern Culture
is the colour of death.'-
Guillermo Del Toro.
Use of White Space: Crimson Peak
The final scene of Del Toro's Crimson Peak completely contrasts the rest of the cinematography throughout the film, which is shrouded in darkness, whereas this scene is full of white space. Del Toro did this not only as he believes the colour white symbolises death, which is near by for one of the characters, but also to emphasise themes coming to light as the protagonist has finally learnt the truth behind the house of Crimson Peak.
There is a vast amount of white space used in the film Testament of Youth, primarily to emphasise the lost youth of that generation, which they still long for and reminisce about to this day. At the beginning of the film there are recurring shots of characters surrounded by white bed sheets of clear white walls to show their nativity and youth and to juxtapose the end of the film which is shrouded in darkness to emphasis how their youth is now forever lost through the war.
Use of White Space: The Others
This scene within The Others emphasises not only the protagonists lost nature as she stumbles around in the fog but also her naivety as she is as clueless as she walks through the fog as she is throughout the rest of the film as she fails to realise that she is in fact dead.
Guerrilla Girls
Guerrilla Girls Manifesto
'The Guerrilla Girls are feminist activist artists. Over 55 people have been members over the years, some for weeks, some for decades. Our anonymity keeps the focus on the issues, and away from who we might be. We wear gorilla masks in public and use facts, humor and outrageous visuals to expose gender and ethnic bias as well as corruption in politics, art, film, and pop culture. We undermine the idea of a mainstream narrative by revealing the understory, the subtext, the overlooked, and the downright unfair. We believe in an intersectional feminism that fights discrimination and supports human rights for all people and all genders.'
Why the Manifesto was Created
A collection of female artist began to notice the inequality of the art world and how 'art history' only encapsulates a small minority, primarily white males. So they created their manifesto which stands for equality in art and they convey this through their artwork which mainly consists of poster which demonstrates the inequality with cold hard facts and eye popping colours to inform the public.