R O B E R T B E N I G N I ’ S L I F E I S B E A U T I F U L A N D P A S C A L C R O C I ’ S A U S C H W I T Z

DECONSTRUCTING VISUAL TEXT

DECONSTRUCTING VISUAL TEXT

Robert Benigni’s Life is Beautiful

Pascal Croci’s Auschwitz

PU

RPO

SE

ENTERTAIN

• To keep, hold or maintain the attention of the audience, often through the use of humour.

INFORM• To give the audience facts or

information to make them aware of something.

EXPLAIN

• Make (an idea, situation, or problem) clear to your audience by describing it in more detail or revealing relevant facts or ideas

SU

BJE

CT M

ATTER

•Life is Beautiful and Auschwitz portray the horrors of Holocaust. •Both texts display a family’s plight to stay alive and to save their child.

AU

DIE

NC

EAge Gender Race

Background Education Interests

ReligionSocio-

Economic Status

Lifestyle

CO

NTEX

T

•All texts are influenced by context•Texts are influenced by the fact that they are created at a particular time, in a particular place, and by a particular person with particular purposes, ideas, experiences and attitudes.

STRUCTURAL FEATURESROBERT BENIGNI ’S L IFE IS BEAUTIFUL AND

PASCAL CROCI ’S AUSCHWITZ

STRUCTURAL ELEMENTS

• Both texts were recounts divided into clear sections to highlight the horror of the holocaust.• Life is Beautiful had two sections: One showed

the life of whimsy created by Guido and this was signified using bright vibrant colours, the second was in the concentration camp and a monotone colour was utilised by Benigni.• In Auschwitz Kazik and Cessia both gave us there

recollection of the Nazi War Camp and what they had to do to survive.

• How has the story been established?

Orientation

• What is the problems that needs to be resolved?

Problem

• What will happen to prevent the character from solving the problem?

Complication

• What do you think is the climax of the story?

Climax

• How does the story end?

Resolution

CHARACTERISATION

Characterisation is about focusing on the decisions that the director/author has made into character

choice (age, gender, race etc.) and the action that surrounds them as the story line develops.

Life is Beautiful:• Guido Orifice• Dora Orifice• Joshua• Dr Lessing• Nazi Soldiers

Auschwitz:• Kazik• Cessia• Ann• Nazi Soldiers• Kapo

NARRATION

Narration is about how the story is told and from what point of view.

Life is Beautiful:• We don’t learn until

the end of the film the the narrator is in fact Joshua, the child recounting his experiences and telling us what happened to his father.

Auschwitz:• Also a recount, Kazik

and Cessia individually tell the viewer their story about what happened in Auschwitz.

WRITING ACTIVITIES:

1. How does the choice of narrator affect both of these texts? Are they reliable?

2. In what ways do these texts depict the inner journeys of the main characters?

COMPOSITIONAL FEATURESROBERT BENIGNI ’S L IFE IS BEAUTIFUL AND

PASCAL CROCI ’S AUSCHWITZ

R O B E RT O B E N I G N I

LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL

Cin

em

ato

gra

phy

• Special Effects• Sound and Music• Camera Shots• Camera Angles• Framing and

Composition• Lighting and

Colour• Editing and

Juxtaposition

Maki

ng M

eanin

g • The Story on Screen

• Film, Opening Sequence

• Plot: Scenes and Sequences

• Characterisation• Sets, Costumes

and Setting• Mood or

Atmosphere

The A

rt o

f Fi

lm M

aki

ng • Film Creators

• Artistic Vision

What decisions has Begnini made in the creation of his film to convey meaning?

CINEMATOGRAPHYTHE DIRECTOR MANIPULATES HIS AUDIENCE USING SOUND AND

VISUAL EFFECTS.

Special Effects Sound and Music

Camera Shots and Angles

Camera Movement

Framing and Composition

Lighting and Colour

Editing and Juxtaposition

SPECIAL EFFECTS

Directors use special effects to draw the attention of the viewer, in Life is Beautiful Benigni uses very few special effects, relying on realism to get his point across.

When Guido is killed by the Nazi’s, there is little special effect, no fan fare, just a single ‘bang’ that breaks the silence, which is followed by the feeling of the audience’s collective heart sinking with the tragedy that has just taken place.

SOUND AND MUSIC

Films are a visual experience; however, sound and music play a very important part in conveying feeling,

developing atmosphere and capturing the attention of the audience. Sounds Include:

• What the characters says, as well as voice over from a narratorDialogue:

• Synchronous which are those sounds matched to action (a car driving) and Asynchronous sounds which develop tension and atmosphere (a door creaking).

Sound Effects:

• Background music can link themes and can help to convey emotion and feeling of the character and to the audience (developing empathy).

Music

CAMERA SHOTS AND ANGLES

Camera Shots

• A camera shot is the amount of space that is seen in one shot or frame.

• Camera shots are used to demonstrate different aspects of a film's setting, characters and themes.

Camera Angles

• Camera angles are used to position the viewer so that they can understand the relationships between the characters.

CAMERA SHOTS

Point of View:

Framed from a particular character's

point of view. Audience sees what character

see.

Tracking Shot: single

continuous shot made

with a camera moving

along the ground

Long Shot:Often used

as an establishing

shot.

Mid Shot: Can give

background information while still

focusing on subject.

Wide Shot: These show

the characters in full, as well

as other characters in

the foreground

and background.

Close-up: Focuses on

detail / expression / reaction.

Extreme Close-up: Focuses on detail such as the eyes. These shots

show emotion, convey

empathy, feeling.

CAMERA ANGLES

Bird’s Eye View:

Dramatic

High Angle: Draws

importance to the setting or

for a character can

symbolise being

powerless

Eye Level: Explain story development

Low Angle:Show power

and authority, the person

that is higher asserts power

of the character that

is lower.

FRAMING AND COMPOSITION

Background

Middleground

Foreground

• Composition is about the arrangement of everything in a frame.

• Placing items/people in the frame in different positions has different effects.

• The director can place items/people in a frame to show relationships, to convey feelings and emotions and to draw attention to setting.

LIGHTING AND COLOUR

Benigni’s use of colour, or lack of colour, highlights the main action and the thoughts and feelings of the main characters. The first half of the film is in full colour it is peace-time between the wars and a testimony to Guido’s sense of fun and fantasy (he has fought and won the love of his ‘princess’). The second half of the film is dark and in monotones highlighting the horror of the Holocaust and the sense of despair and desperation felt by Guido.

EDITING AND JUXTAPOSITION

• The ending of a shot. If the cut seems inconsistent with the next shot, it is called a jump cut

Cut

• The image appears or disappears gradually. Often used as a division between scenes.

Fade in Fade out

• One image fades in while another fades out so that for a few seconds, the two are superimposed.

Dissolve

PA S C A L C R O C I

AUSCHWITZ

Vis

ual Fe

atu

res

• Action• Visual Symbols• Angles• Framing• Composition• Use of Space• Light and Shade• Juxtaposition

Maki

ng

Mean

ing • Theme (s)

• Characterisation

• Setting• Mood or

Atmosphere

Th

e A

rt o

f th

e G

rap

hic

N

ovel• Author

• Artistic Vision

What decisions has Croci made in the creation of his graphic novel to convey meaning?

ANGLES

Angles are an important technique for creating a relationship between the audience and the subject of the Frames

Extreme Long Shot:

These shots are used to

introduce the setting and atmosphere

Long Shot:These are used

to give an overall picture,

placing the characters in there setting.

Mid Shot: Can give

background information while still

focusing on subject.

Wide Shot: These show

the characters in full, as well

as other characters in

the foreground and

background.

Close-up: Focuses on

detail / expression / reaction.

Extreme Close-up:

Focuses on detail such as

the eyes. These shots

show emotion, convey

empathy, feeling.

VISUAL SYMBOLS

Are there any visual symbols? What do they represent?

• Feet• Smoking• Doll• Crows• Rats• Vampire• Shadows

USE OF SPACE

How is the space in each frame used? What is the effect of this?

LIGHT AND SHADE

How do light and shade affect your interpretation of the frames?

COMPOSITION

• Composition refers to the way that the various elements within an image/frame are structured and placed in relationship to each other and to the viewer.

JUXTAPOSITION

Juxtaposition refers to how things are put together. Croci has made choices about the different frames/panels he has put together.

Juxtaposition can be used to convey feelings, develop suspense and create atmosphere.

ENGAGEMENT WITH THE VIEWER/RESPONDER

ROBERT BENIGNI ’S L IFE IS BEAUTIFUL AND PASCAL CROCI ’S AUSCHWITZ

THEMES - LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL

• Silence marks both bravery and cowardice in the film. Uncle Eliseo illustrates the concept of silence as bravery. Silence is also what keeps Joshua alive. Silence is also cowardice as witnessed through Dr Lessing who was quiet through the horrific treatment of the Jews.

Silence

• The Holocaust is a major part of this film as the hostility of the time is depicted throughout the film and in the second half, Guido is forced to help his son survive in a Nazi Death Camp or Concentration Camp.

Holocaust

• In the beginning, Guido is seems naïve; however, as he is forced to come to terms with the reality of the time the viewer sees some changes to his character. Joshua’s innocence is intact until we hear his voice as narrator at the end.

Innocence

THEMES: AUSCHWITZ

• Silence also features in Auschwitz. The story begins with Kazik and Cessia saying that they need to break their silence and telling each other their accounts of Auschwitz all of those years ago.

Silence

• The text depicts life during The Holocaust in the Auschwitz Concentration Camp. Vividly depicting the choices people had to make to survive. Holocaust

• The loss of innocence is a feature of this book. We see the Jewish people, the Czech’s, Ann and even a baby are no match for the cruelty of the Nazi soldiers.

Innocence

EXTENDED METAPHOR: LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL

•Guido turns the arrest of himself and Joshua into a game. He tells Joshua that they are on a family holiday and then convinces him that they are part of a game where they need to achieve 1000 points to win a tank.The Game

•Guido likes to tell stories and it is through these stories that he can escape the horrible reality of the War. In these ‘fairytales’ Dora is his “princess”. He rescues her on horse back and they begin a beautiful life together; however, they do not live ‘happily ever after’.

Fairytale

•Guido attempts to give the audience the impression that he can alter the course of fate. This can be seen through his courting of Dora and also the action of the ‘game’ itself. We realise however; that Guido is a smart man and is manipulating events can creating these so=called coincidences.

Coincidence

MAKING MEANING

1. What event/situation is being referred to in both of these texts?

2. How do both authors portray the different groups of people in their texts?

3. How do both authors use visual techniques to contribute to the viewers understanding of the main ideas/themes of the texts?

4. What message(s) are Benigni and Croci trying to get across to their audiences?