Bibliography

Books and articles:

1. Bergan, Ronald. Francis Ford Coppola: Close Up the Making of His Movies. New York: Thunder’s Mouth Press, 1997.

2. The Conversations: Walter Murch and the Art of Editing Film. Ondaatje, (2002, p.152) Knopf.

3. Billboard magazine. May 1, 1999
Vol. 111 (p.42)
Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Accessed: [25/11/10]  URL: http://books.google.com/books?id=bw0EAAAAMBAJ&printsec=frontcover&rview=1&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false

4. John Fawell, Hitchcock’s Rear Window: The Well Made Film. (2001) p.123. USA. url : http://books.google.com/books?id=spGXHQUHmLUC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=fals

5. Tuning in to The Conversation: Twenty-five Years Later, W. Russel Gray (P.125) Article first published online: 5 MAR 2004.     Accessed 27/11/10. URL: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.0022-3840.1999.3302_123.x/abstract

6. Droidmaker George Lucas and The Digital Revolution by Michael Rubin (2006, P. 49)   Triad Publishing Company. Gainesville, Florida  URL:http://www.droidmaker.com/Droidmaker_Act1.pdf

7. Media and Semiotics and Introduction (1997, p.5) John Bignell.                              (second edition) Manchester University Press. Manchester and New York

8. M.Gillespie, J.Toynbee (2006). Analysing Media Texts . Chapter 1 Semiotics: signs, codes and cultures by J. Gripsrud (p.16).

9. Droidmaker George Lucas and The Digital Revolution by Michael Rubin (2006, P. 49)   Triad Publishing Company. Gainesville, Florida.  Date accessed: 28/11/10 URL:http://www.droidmaker.com/Droidmaker_Act1.pdf

Online Resources:

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10. Francis Ford Coppola
A Biography by Jon Matthew. [accessed 23.11.2010] URL: http://www.twyman-whitney.com/film/celluloid_profiles/coppola.html

11.  http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0071360/fullcredits#cast [accessed 23.11.2010]

12. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4AAgYgqBVyI [accessed 23.11.2010]

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15. http://www.filmschoolrejects.com/news/classic-the-conversation.php [accessed 24.11.2010]

16. http://filmsound.org/terminology.htm [accessed 24.11.2010]

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18. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0071360/goofs [accessed 24.11.2010]

19. http://flickeringmyth.blogspot.com/2010/11/man-and-his-dream-francis-ford-coppola_10.html [accessed 24.11.2010]

20. http://flickeringmyth.blogspot.com/2010/11/man-and-his-dream-francis-ford-coppola_10.html [accessed 24.11.2010]

21. http://flickeringmyth.blogspot.com/2010/07/assembly-required-walter-murch-profile.html [accessed 24.11.2010]

22.  http://flickeringmyth.blogspot.com/2010/07/assembly-required-walter-murch-profile.html [accessed 24.11.2010]

23. http://www.filmreference.com/Films-Chr-Czl/The-Conversation.html                     (Cowie, Peter, Coppola , London, 1989.) [accessed 24.11.2010]

24. http://filmsound.org/murch/waltermurch.htm [accessed 24.11.2010]

25. http://filmsound.org/murch/waltermurch.htm [accessed 24.11.2010]

26. http://filmsound.org/murch/waltermurch.htm [accessed 24.11.2010]

27. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_py6jVyOqUY&feature=player [accessed 24.11.2010]

28. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0060176/plotsummary %5Baccessed 24.11.2010]

29. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ullsIj84tvg %5Baccessed 24.11.2010]

30. http://flickeringmyth.blogspot.com/2010/07/assembly-required-walter-murch-profile.html [accessed 25.11.2010]

31. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0047396/plotsummary %5Baccessed 25.11.2010]

32. John Fawell, Hitchcock’s Rear Window: The Well Made Film. (2001) p.123. USA. url : http://books.google.com/books?id=spGXHQUHmLUC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false %5Baccessed 25.11.2010]

33. The Conversation DVD – “Close-up on the Conversation” featurette. Also found on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9iDHOcYT2M %5Baccessed 25.11.2010]

34. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9iDHOcYT2M %5Baccessed 25.11.2010]

35. http://flickeringmyth.blogspot.com/2010/07/assembly-required-walter-murch-profile.html %5Baccessed 25.11.2010]

36. http://www.bfi.org.uk/sightandsound/filmmusic/detail.php?t=d&q=42 %5Baccessed 25.11.2010]

37. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0052357/plotsummary %5Baccessed 25.11.2010]

38. http://www.soundtrack.net/albums/database/?id=2814 %5Baccessed 25.11.2010]

39. http://www.filmtracks.com/titles/conversation.html %5Baccessed 25.11.2010]

40.http://www.celtoslavica.de/chiaroscuro/films/conversation/conversation.html%5Baccessed 25.11.2010]

41. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Union_Square,_San_Francisco %5Baccessed 25.11.2010]

42. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0054215/plotsummary [accessed 26.11.2010]

43. http://cinephilefix.wordpress.com/2009/11/17/the-power-of-sound-and-editing-the-conversation-and-psycho/ %5Baccessed 26.11.2010]

44. http://flickeringmyth.blogspot.com/2010/11/man-and-his-dream-francis-ford-coppola_10.html %5Baccessed 26.11.2010]

45. http://www.freemoviesaddict.com/movies/watch/118 %5Baccessed 26.11.2010]

46. http://flickeringmyth.blogspot.com/2010/07/assembly-required-walter-murch-profile.html %5Baccessed 26.11.2010]

47. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steppenwolf_(novel) %5Baccessed 26.11.2010]

48. http://flickeringmyth.blogspot.com/2010/07/assembly-required-walter-murch-profile.html %5Baccessed 26.11.2010]

49. Tuning in to The Conversation: Twenty-five Years Later, W. Russel Gray (P.125) Article first published online: 5 MAR 2004.     Url for access: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.0022-3840.1999.3302_123.x/abstract %5Baccessed 26.11.2010]

50. http://www.thefreedictionary.com/Kafkaesque [accessed 27.11.2010]

51. http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2002/mar/01/culture.peterbradshaw1 %5Baccessed 27.11.2010]

52. http://www.altfg.com/blog/film-reviews/the-conversation-1974-dvd-review/ %5Baccessed 27.11.2010]

53. http://www.dvdjournal.com/reviews/c/conversation.shtml %5Baccessed 27.11.2010]

54. Droidmaker George Lucas and The Digital Revolution by Michael Rubin (2006, P. 49)   Triad Publishing Company. Gainesville, Florida  URL:http://www.droidmaker.com/Droidmaker_Act1.pdf [accessed 27.11.2010]

55. http://www.altfg.com/blog/film-reviews/the-conversation-1974-dvd-review/ [accessed 27.11.2010]

56. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Watergate_scandal [accessed 27.11.2010]

57. http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2002/mar/01/culture.peterbradshaw1 %5Baccessed 27.11.2010]

58. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2002/05/31/AR2005111001227.html %5Baccessed 27.11.2010]

59. Gerald Peary (From American Movie Classics Magazine, Fall 2000) URL: http://geraldpeary.com/essays/the/the_conversation.html %5Baccessed 27.11.2010]

60. http://www.recording-history.org/HTML/watergate.php %5Baccessed 27.11.2010]

61. http://www.altfg.com/blog/film-reviews/the-conversation-1974-dvd-review/ [accessed 28.11.2010]

62. http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005549/bio#trivia %5Baccessed 28.11.2010]

63. http://www.tcm.com/thismonth/article.jsp?cid=115814&mainArticleId=218300 %5Baccessed 28.11.2010]

64. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semiotics [accessed 28.11.2010]

65. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intertextuality [accessed 28.11.2010]

66. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paratext %5Baccessed 28.11.2010]

67. http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-225786292.html %5Baccessed 28.11.2010]

68. Droidmaker George Lucas and The Digital Revolution by Michael Rubin (2006, P. 49)   Triad Publishing Company. Gainesville, Florida  URL:http://www.droidmaker.com/Droidmaker_Act1.pdf [accessed 28.11.2010]

Online Images :

1. http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3240/2741128953_23e7398ebc.jpg [accessed 15.10.2010]

2. http://www.recording-history.org/HTML/watergate.php [accessed 25.11.2010]

Critical review

Critical review: How original was The Conversation taking into account its historical and social context and how much was Coppola really inspired by other texts?

In this essay I will be exploring the concept of inspiration and originality in relation to Francis Ford Coppola’s The Conversation.

The Conversation was released in 1974, it is a psychological thriller written and directed by Francis Ford Coppola, starring Gene Hackman. The concept behind the film was to create a “horror film about how this mans work affects his life, his personality”. Although it did not follow the normal conventions of a horror film it was clear that the intention was for it to be unconventional, original and thrilling. The film was not a huge box office hit, however it was very critically acclaimed and won 11 awards and 11 nominations including 3 Oscar nominations and the Palme d’Or at the 1974 Cannes Film Festival. Francis Ford Coppola was reaching the pinnacle of his film making career in the 1970’s when this was released in between the two Godfather films, for which Coppola is most recognised for. The Conversation is often slated as the film he actually wanted to make, while The Godfather he directed because he needed the money. The executives at Warner Bros had actually denounced many projects which they had in a development deal with Zoetrope (Coppola’s film studio). So various films projects, Apocalypse Now [1979], American Graffiti [1973], The Black Stallion [1979] and even The Conversation were abandoned. “It was out of this crisis that Francis considered directing The Godfather [1972], as a way of making ends meet.” says Walter Murch (the films editor). This shows us how important The Conversation was to Coppola personally that he even took on a project which he initially was not interested in, to be able to fund his own personal interest film.

Upon careful analysis of The Conversation there are many elements which indicate that Coppola was inspired by a few other texts. Coppola himself states in an interview that “I think it is fine for young people to out and out, just rip-off the people who come before them because, you do that, but you always make it your own.” According to Murch, the film Blowup (1966) by Michelangelo Antonioni, was quite a clear influence on Coppola, especially thematically; “Francis had seen it a year or two before, and had the idea to fuse the concept of Blowup with the world of audio surveillance.”(Ondaatje, 2002, p. 152) Coppola however was not content on copying, although the film is certainly reminiscent of Blowup and the character exploration; it remains distinctly in it’s own league. Coppola even acknowledges this influence with his intertextuality of the opening scene of The Conversation featuring Mime art, which also happens in the opening of Blowup. Even Coppola’s protagonist of the film is based on a character from a book he was reading at the time called Steppenwolf. Henry Haller is the name of the main character in that book and Murch says that in The Conversation Gene Hackman’s character was originally called Harry Caller but then had it shortened to Harry Call (which was then misspelt to Caul). Aside from just the name, they share similar attributes as characters, both are quiet, lonely men feeling disjointed in their lives. Another concept which originated from that book is the idea that the audience only ever experience things through Harry Caul as he is featured in every scene and there are no asides. This happens in Steppenwolf also, as the book is presented as a manuscript written by the protagonist. In both texts you never have the advantage over the character of oversight, you constantly experience things as they do and in essence it becomes a character study.

These films and text which were confirmed as directly influential to Coppola have arguably a profound effect on the film itself. The Conversation was based as a personal remake of Blowup; when Coppola saw it he exclaimed “ah I want to make films like that!” and throughout the film we can see many similar qualities. In this aspect there was a lot of impact from the texts which inspired him. While most film critics recognised the similarities between Blowup and The Conversation, there are other more subtle influences which Coppola hinted at. Take for instance the fact that Walter Murch considered The Conversation’s blend of dramatic mystery of corporate takeover and murder “an [Alfred] Hitchcock kind of idea,”. He also said “the tale harkens back to Rear Window [1954] and Vertigo [1958] where the obsessions of the central figure are as important as the unfolding criminal investigation”. Coppola suggested these things were true and also alluded to other more subtle things like using Union Square as the location for his opening scene, which Hitchcock has already done for his film Birds (1963) and had also featured it in several shots of Vertigo (1958). Union Square was a landmark however and the connection to Hitchcock’s film would not have been a connection of intertextuality that the audience would have made. These were Coppola’s own personal devices.

Despite these arguments that The Conversation was very influenced and copied there are a lot of original concepts which Coppola came up with.  He put in quite a few elements of his own life into the film. Harry Caul was not just based on a Steppenwolf character, growing up Coppola was a very interested in technology as Murch says; “I think it was easy for Francis to understand Harry Caul and his craft, out of his own experience.” And that Coppola also used stories from his childhood in the script; “Harry bugged the neighbours’ phones when he was twelve, that’s actually a story about Francis when he was twelve.”  Another factor is the way in which the film was perceived by the audience and critics. The political upheaval at the time was due to the Watergate scandal with the first president in history resigning from his administration. In weighed heavily in the public conscious and obviously when The Conversation came out, it intrinsically linked to the scandal through its technology and themes of government/corporate corruption and espionage. People assumed it was Coppola’s inspiration for the film and his reaction towards the scandal. However the script had been completed in the mid 1960’s and Coppola had said “I never meant it to be so relevant,” he said. “I almost think the picture would have been better received if Watergate had not happened.”

Ultimately I think The Conversation is unashamedly influenced and even defined in some sense by the films that came before it. This is not an opinion that it contrary to Coppola’s own thought about it. He himself said it is flattering that people copy his ideas into their own films. If you analyse The Conversation carefully you notice that while it dealt with certain themes and concepts originally it was largely inspired by other great directors and films.

Droidmaker George Lucas and The Digital Revolution by Michael Rubin (2006, P. 49)   Triad Publishing Company. Gainesville, Florida  URL: http://www.droidmaker.com/Droidmaker_Act1.pdf

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0071360/

Trever Hogg. Assembly Required: A Walter Murch Profile (Part 1). Date accessed: 27/11/10. URL: http://flickeringmyth.blogspot.com/2010/07/assembly-required-walter-murch-profile.html

Youtube video of an interview from a DVD (not sure of title). Coppola on influences. Date accessed: 27/11/10.

URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7X7cLCjxogM

Michael Ondaatje, The Conversations: Walter Murch and the Art of Editing Film (2002, P.152), London: Bloomsbury Publishing.

Trevor Hogg. Assembly Required: A Walter Murch Profile (Part 2). Date accessed: 27/11/10. URL: http://flickeringmyth.blogspot.com/2010/07/assembly-required-walter-murch-profile.html

Youtube video, dvd rip. Francis Ford Coppola talks about stealing art. Date accessed: 27/11/10.

URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ggkfd7AqXIg

Trevor Hogg. Assembly Required: A Walter Murch Profile (Part 1). Date accessed: 27/11/10. URL: http://flickeringmyth.blogspot.com/2010/07/assembly-required-walter-murch-profile.html

Trevor Hogg. The Man and His Dream: A Francis Ford Coppola Profile (Part 2). Date accessed: 27/11/10. URL:

http://flickeringmyth.blogspot.com/2010/11/man-and-his-dream-francis-ford-coppola_10.html

Gerald Peary

(From American Movie Classics Magazine, Fall 2000)

Date accessed: 27/11/10. URL:

http://geraldpeary.com/essays/the/the_conversation.html

Youtube video of an interview from a DVD (not sure of title). Coppola on influences. Date accessed: 27/11/10.

URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7X7cLCjxogM

Writing plan for the critical review

My main question will be; how original was The Conversation taking into account its historical and social context and how much was Coppola really inspired by other texts?

– introduction to The Conversation, basic information about the film, its release, the director etc,

– show and explore the many similarities and inspirations Coppola says he had from other films.

– explore how much impact they had on the film alone

– decipher whether this is something that was immediately recognised by the audience or things that were put in for Coppola’s pleasure only. What his motivation was behind certain things he did.

– counter argument. Show that a lot of Coppola’s ideas were original and the movie itself was seen as very unique. Talk about watergate and the impact it had on the film and how it was viewed.

– talk about the things in the film which were inspired my Coppola’s own life

-Conclude by stating my own opinion and summarise how much of The Conversation do I think is original

Reflective Study diary

‘Main achievements’

I think some of my main achievements in the research process was picking up on research which was generally hard to find and using a wide variety of sources. In my eagerness to find relevant information I would even download sample PDF files of books and on a few occasions find answers to things I had been looking for.

‘Main setbacks’

One of my main setbacks was buying the DVD for The Conversation and finding it was faulty. This meant I couldn’t watch the audio commentaries of the director and editor which would have given me a lot more primary research. I overcame this however when I began looking on DVD review websites and even found a review discussing and quoting what the audio commentaries said. This proved to me that the research would have been extremely useful for me however I still got some information out of it.

‘Feelings about study’

I am not a student who is outstanding at long coursework projects, I am excellent when it comes to exams and I excel in a high pressure environment. This is why I found it hard to do this project and keep posting regularly it was not what I was accustomed to. During the last few weeks however my work started really developing and I developed a more time conscious attitude. The research became more structured and I found myself working without getting too distracted.

‘Lessons learned’

I have definitely learned that I must read the course manual from the start thoroughly and possible annotate it and re-write it in my own words. This way I learn it better and don’t have to keep checking back on it. I should also be more careful with my referencing and more diligent when it comes to keeping notes and storing information.

Research findings/I-Map

Study Diary

After writing two blog abouts semiotics and intertextuality I have come to a conclusion that my research is slowing down and I already have a substancial amout of information. I need to begin thinking about the i-map and the results of my research and the essay. If along the way I do find any more appropriate findings, (I will be double checking my sources and I could find some additional things along the way) I will post them at a later date.

I have found the books I have taken out of the library to be extremely useful and it was also good that I have now referenced sources that are not soley web based. Not all of my references were online articles, some where online e-books or Pdf’s however, and I thought it was important to use all of my available resources to pool together a wider range of knowledge.

Intertextuality

I have already covered a fair amount of intertextuality in my blogs on the similarities and influences of other texts and films. I hope to cover the concept of intertextuality in relation to Francis Ford Coppola’s The Conversation in more depth.

Intertextuality is noted as the shaping of a text through the meaning of other texts. “It can refer to an author’s borrowing and transformation of a prior text or to a reader’s referencing of one text in reading another.”[1] In the case of The Conversation this can be related in many different forms and types of intertextuality; of which I will try to indicate examples of wherever possible. Intertextuality is the more obvious and direct “quotation” from one text to another, referencing it to the reader of the text.

Paratextuality is a concept related within literary texts “Gérard Genette defines Paratext as those things in a published work that accompany the text, things such as the author’s name, the title, preface or introduction, or illustrations.”[2]

Architextuality is genre identification. Gerard Genette defines architextuality as “the entire set of general or transcendent categories–types of discourse, modes of enunciation, literary genres–from which emerges each singular text”[3] Espionage, surveillance, voyeurism and pyschological terror are genres and themes which are prevailent in Coppola’s work.

Metatextuality is the critical commentary on another text. Coppola did this in the way in which he remade Blowup using his own set of ideals and his own character development and even differing the modes of technology (Blowup with its photography and The Conversation with its eavesdropping equipment). You could also note that it is critical of establishments, the church which fails to provide Harry with any solace, and his employers (or the government) who fail protect and trust him and end up spying on him themselves.

Hypotextuality is the transformation or extension of a genre within a text. Coppola certainly took this on as he once described the film as “horror film about how this mans work affects his life, his personality”[4] The film follows no typical conventions of a horror film, as the horror is directed most of all through the protagonists suffering but it still deals with a case of murder. Rather than focus on the story of the crime it follows the development of its main character, and so in this manner it refines or extends the genre of the typical pyschological horror.

Hypertextuality is the direct connections to other texts through hyperlinks and also the inter-connectedness of all literary works. One example of hypertextuality in Coppola’s work is the referencing to Harry Haller from the book Steppenwolf which inspired his character Harry Caul. The name is the hyperlink between the two texts and it is a confirmed reference to the character on which he based his protagonist.

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intertextuality

[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paratext

[3] http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-225786292.html

[4] Droidmaker George Lucas and The Digital Revolution by Michael Rubin (2006, P. 49)   Triad Publishing Company. Gainesville, Florida  URL: http://www.droidmaker.com/Droidmaker_Act1.pdf

Semiotics: connotation and denotation

Semiotics is otherwise known as the study of symbols, signs and cultural sign processes (semiosis).[1] It is closely linked with the field of linguistics, however in the book Course in General Linguistics (1915) Swiss linguist Ferdinand de Saussure, argued that lingustics was only one part “of a much broader science which he predicted would one day exist, a science called semiology.”[2] This science exists today and it is very much used in the area of media texts. It was cultural critic Roland Barthes (1915-1980) who first began to “apply the semiological approach to the analysis of images” He was also important in differences between denotation and connotation in all kinds of texts.[3] This theory of denotation and conotation is a practical form of analysis which I can apply to the opening scene of The Conversation. Looking at it from a semiotical stance will help me deconstruct it more thoroughly, I believe this will give me greater insight into what Coppola and Wexler intended for this shot.

The denotation: A extreme long shot giving us a large view of Union Square.                  The connotation: Due to the conventions of film of which the audience are generally accustomed to, an opening shot of a particular place, in this case a famous landmark; usually connotes that the film will take place in this setting.

The denotation: The shot gets closer and slowly we get a better view of the scene down below. This show us the director (we assume) is going to focus on something particular.                                                                                                                                            The connotation: The slowly moving zoom can associate with idea of a spy looking in on the scene and slowly zooming in with his equipment. It can also connote the idea of surveillance.

The denotation: The shot is filmed from an extremely high angle looking at the scene below.                                                                                                                                                      The connotation: The extremely high angle connotatively suggest a position of power and the idea that this person or thing (the voyeur) has a higher status and is looking down upon the inferior people below. The camera sees them but they can not see it.       (MYTHICAL IDEA) – This idea comes from Roland Barthes a literary theorist who was influential in the field of semiotics. It can be said that it is a bourgeois cultural myth to immediately associate this high angled shot with power and superior status, however it is prevalent in our cinematic conventions and this is what it generally connotates. This idea of course could be completely negated by a (hypothetical) next shot which would establish a person looking down at the streets below terrified and looking for some one who is chasing him, this person hiding would be the one with inferior status. This is why this association with power and control “seeing the world below” is considered a myth in the conventions of film. While it is generally correct; it is not always strictly true.

The denotation: The Mime artist clowns around and plays with the public showing his talent and engaging skills. He begins to seem like the focus of the shot as the camera zooms in.                                                                                                                                             The connotation: The Mime artists connotations are open to interpretation but when he begins to mimic Harry Caul we draw upon the idea that he is antagonising Harry. The Mime represents happiness, playfulness while our impression of Harry is the opposite.

The denotation: Harry Caul appears in the scene and his grey coat and stiff demeanour denotes that he could be a serious businessman. He is agitated by the Mime following him. The connotation: Harry Caul’s serious demeanour and his manner of walking away could suggest or help us associate with the idea of paranoia because he hates being followed. This also links in with the way in which he is being watched himself through the camera which slowly zooms in till he is the only focal point. The viewers might identify themselves as the voyeurs.

The denotation: There is some happy, upbeat Jazz music being played in the scene. The Mime seems to be performing to it. The connotation: The Jazz is representative of the few real joys in Harry’s sad life, it is his only solice. The first time viewer won’t recognise this. The Jazz music features a man and a woman singing with gusto replying to one another in a duet. It contrasts the manner in which Harry wants nothing to do with the Mime who approaches him trying to engage and it opposes our immediate impression of Harry who seems like a lonely person.

The denotation: An electronic frequency sound plays throughout the process of the zoom. It is unrhythmic and doesn’t follow patterns.                                                                        The connotation: The sound is unsual and gives us a sense of mystery and intruige because we can neither identify the source or the location of the sound. The style of the shot (the voyeuristic feel and the zoom) with the addition of the electronic frequency sound builds up an association to the audience of high-tec equipment being used.

The denotation: The shots shows long shadows and generally quite a dark scene.           The connotation: The shot seems to have been taken early morning or late afternoon because of the length of the shadows. The shadows are long and elongated and can give us the association of creepiness or the sense of being followed. This idea fits in with the connotations that Harry is paranoid of  being followed and the Mime tracking and copying everything he does. It is the same way in which shadows copy every move we make the association can certainly be made, yet it is subtle.

The denotation: Harry keeps looking over his shoulder to make sure the Mime isn’t following him.                                                                                                                                    The connotation: Harry seems to us like a paranoid man. A worried individual, the shot follows him and we understand that he was intended to be the focal of the shot all along.

The denotation: The one opening shot is 3 mintues long. The connotation: The connotation of this when we input it with all the other factors and associations the director has given us is that it was a realistic voyeurism shot and the camera was in fact ‘looking’ for Harry and eventually found him as he find him walking off and the shot follow.

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semiotics

[2] Media and Semiotics and Introduction (1997, p.5) John Bignell.                            (second edition) Manchester University Press. Manchester and New York

[3] M.Gillespie, J.Toynbee (2006). Analysing Media Texts . Chapter 1 Semiotics: signs, codes and cultures by J. Gripsrud (p.16).

Some more information about the opening scene

Through my research I have come across this mentioned several times and I think it is quite significant yet I have comepletely forgotten to post it. According to altfg.com “The opening scene was filmed by Haskell Wexler, and the rest of the film by Bill Butler, who took over after Wexler and Coppola had a falling out.”[1]

This information is something I have not touched upon before, because as far as my research had indicated Coppola had absolute creative control over the film. But I will elaborate on my research some more.

Haskell Wexler is an award winning cinematographer and is one one of the ten most influential cinematographers in movie history.[2] Apparently Wexler was hard to work with; afterwards he was also fired on the set of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. In this article by Jeff Stafford he suggests Wexler was incredibly “combatant and opinionated over how the film should be shot”[3]. Coppola of course was going in his own direction with this film, it wasn’t meant to be shot in the style of other films, that is perhaps why he preffered a passive cinematographer and not one who would argue his own opinion. It still interests me however how much creative input he had on the opening scene and as of yet I haven’t found any information on this, but I will keep looking.

[1] http://www.altfg.com/blog/film-reviews/the-conversation-1974-dvd-review/

[2] http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005549/bio#trivia

[3] http://www.tcm.com/thismonth/article.jsp?cid=115814&mainArticleId=218300

Study Diary Group work

Here are some pictures I took of some group work I was involved in during our lectures.

The group work was admittedly quite useful as it gave me ideas on how to begin developing my research. There were several reliable links which we gathered which helped as starting places to begin finding out more about Coppola and his film. In one area where this worked helped me is that as a group we discovered the link to the watergate scandal, something we previously had not known. Although as you can see, we didn’t find any links,  we went our seperate ways to eleborate on it and it turned out to be a successful bit of research.