Cinematography - Isolation

Isolation

The initial idea for my cinematography project was to focus on the themes of isolation within cinematography, looking into the use of lights, composition and different camera techniques used to get across the feeling of loneliness and isolation to an audience.  This is a topic that interests me within film as I think it is a narrative throughout a lot of films that have been made whether it be a key narrative, a story arc or suttle tones within a film.

Key films that have influenced me that use the themes of isolation are ‘Into the Wild’(2007) by Sean Penn, ‘Moon’(2009) by Duncan Jones and ‘28 Days Later’(2002) by Danny Boyle.  These films will be key in my research for the project.

Eric Gautier

The first cinematographer I decided to look at was Eric Gautier, who is mostly known for his work on ‘Into the Wild’ and his collaboration with Walter Salles on ‘The Motorcycle Diaries’.  Eric Gautier is a French cinematographer and started his career in the late 1980’s on short films before slowly making his way into features, perhaps his biggest film to date is due out next year, which is another Walter Salles film ‘On the Road’ an adaptation from Jack Kerouac’s famous novel, this is another film which explores isolation as you follow an author hitchhiking around the USA and Mexico, writing about his exploits and the people he meets.

Having watched both ‘Into the Wild’ and ‘The Motorcycle Diaries’, it is clear that Eric Gautier has a very distinctive style, although both films are very different in the way they approach the subject of isolation.  ‘The Motorcycle Diaries is set against the harsh heat of South America following two medical students (one Che Guevara) travel from Argentina to Venezuela following their moneyless exploits, exploring their isolation within different cultures throughout the continent.  ‘Into The Wild’ on the other hand follows a young graduated student, disillusioned with the commercial values of the world who decides to give all his money to charity and embark on a journey through America to bitterly cold Alaska where he lives in the wilderness on his own surrounded by nature and nothing else.

Although both films are different in terms of setting and narrative, the use of shots to depicts the character isolation is very similar throughout both films, Gautier uses lots of wide shots, with vast horizons depicting the characters as very small within a huge world.  Another thing I noticed throughout both films is that the character is placed on one side of the shot rather than in the middle depicting, perhaps showing the setting as a key part of the story as well as making the character seem insignificant to the location in which they are placed, further highlighting their isolation to the audience.  Another key tool Gautier uses is nature, seen sporadically through both films used to show the characters are in desolate areas surround by nature rather than other people.

The lighting Eric Gautier uses seems to be mostly practical as the films that I’m studying are mostly outside, however the use of three point lighting is evident in the shots that are on the characters faces, giving their faces definition and contrast.

Here are some examples from both films: