The Measure of a Film, Part One

A New Medium

Film is a medium, a medium within which any number of goals can be achieved. It is not what those goals are that interests us today, but how those goals are achieved. As a medium, film bears a close resemblance to theatre. In fact, there are only two aspects that conclusively separate film from theatre: framing and editing. Framing is the control of what within a scene is shown within a shot. Editing is the placement of shots in sequence with one another. In the use of these two tools, film justifies itself as a medium independent of theatre, and displays its greatest strengths.

There are two aspects that make up film—content and form. Content may be identical to theatre, but form is practically unique to film. Form is the combination of framing and editing. Form may be called the storytelling aspect of film, although this is not completely accurate. Form is the way the audience is manipulated by images. While the music may go a long way towards telling the audience how to feel about the action in the film, this music is still part of the content. Content is what makes up the images and the action of the film. The set design, acting, lighting, costume design, soundtrack—all of these things are part of the content of a film because they constitute the straight action of the piece. Form is the rule of image over action. The placement of images one after the other and the control of the content of the frame both influence what is felt and read into a specific action. This degree of control that editing and framing provide is not possible in theatre and its presence is what separates film from theatre.

Like theatre, a film’s audience is limited in its perspective—the audience experiences what is placed in front of them. In this way, both film and theatre—in this aspect at least—are a passive art. In theatre, the ability to frame is limited by the position of the audience, but film possesses the ability to change this position. A film is able to control the attentions of the audience. While theatre must deal with the roving eye of the audience, film places the point of focus right before the audience. And this point of focus is not the only thing controlled—the point of view is also supplied by the film. The ability to manage exactly what the audience sees and the way it sees it is a huge advantage in manipulating the effect of what is being presented. Different framings can produce different feelings and thoughts in an audience regardless of the actual content of the shot. This power over the content of the film is a huge advantage that film possesses over theatre.

Editing provides another powerful tool, which separates film from theatre. Editing stimulates the audience’s mind in a way that is not possible in the single perspective medium of theatre. The human mind makes stories out of what is placed before it—it sees cause and effect, and connections. Film plays on this ability to engage the audience unconsciously. Images that would have had no special meaning apart may have profound impact together. The movement from one perspective to another can represent a character’s move or a character’s mood. Editing can make movement more dynamic or its absence can let an action speak for itself. Editing gives a filmmaker the power to stimulate where there would previously been no stimulation, or to make meaning where there was none before. Editing makes film more fluid than theatre could hope to be.

Theatre and film are two closely related mediums, but they are two different mediums that can achieve different things. However, this difference is not in the representations that take place on the stage. The content is not what separates film from theatre—a play may be just as realistic as a film. It is in form that film becomes its own creature. Framing and editing combine to alter the content in a way different from any other medium—it is this interplay that is of the most interest to us as reviewers.