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A Filmmaker's Guide: Todd Phillips' 'Joker' (2019)

Patterning Cinematography as Characterisation

By Annie KapurPublished 4 years ago 8 min read
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(Note: this article contains SPOILERS and, in order to get the most out of the article, it is recommended that you watch the film in question at least once all the way through. Notes are not required, but encouraged).

Joker (2019) is probably one of the most anticipated movies of the 21st Century. Personally, I wasn't too fond of it and probably won't watch it again but what I did find interesting was the cinematography. It was both symbol and characterisation in that it had a hand in creating the Joker along with the actor himself. The cinematography was wonderful, the acting was wonderful, the storyline was lacklustre and the music was pretty forgetful. The film was average on the whole, but if it's going to be remembered it will be remembered for its incredible camera work.

In this article we'll look at three different aspects of cinematography as character:

  • Close-Up/Extreme Close-Up as Narcissism/Pride
  • Wide Shot as Existentialism/Mental Illness
  • Full Body Shot as Epiphany/Change
  • This should be able to tell us the way in which the film allowed for the cinematography to help establish character through using patterns, however slight. It is always refreshing to see a film that actually does something remarkable once in a while, though there have been almost none for about five to ten years—Joker (2019) really does reign supreme in the field of originality.

    Section 1: Close-Up/Extreme Close-Up as Narcissism/Pride

    At the time in which we see Joker ready and dressed to go on that TV Show he's been dreaming of going on, we see the close-up and extreme close-up that we're already used to. We have become accustomed to it through the murders on the train that the Joker committed and through the way in which he killed his friend in the apartment room. When we watch for the first time, we don't notice that this is a cinema technique for Joker's climbing sense of false pride or, as we call it today—narcissism. And here's the shot for you:

    Look at the shot and notice the background is slightly blurred and that the main focus of the shot is in the dead centre (as the shot always is). The centre of the shot is not just his face, it's the painted-on smile. We don't notice his actual mouth which seems to be poker-faced, but we notice the paint. It's bright read and in the near centre of the shot. The closer it is to the centre of the close-up, the more your audience will notice what you're trying to achieve.

    The main thing you need to know about a close-up shot is this:

    Centre > Beneath Centre > Above Centre > Whole Shot

    This is the way in which I have noticed people normally watch a close-up shot. Your eyes naturally travel down before they go up. And finally, you take in the entire shot. This may happen in a strict second or so, but it is essential for understanding how things work in the close-up and what they present to the audience. In the close-ups and extreme close-ups, Joker's face is nearly always within this sequence. The mouth is placed slightly beneath the centre of the shot in order to make you notice it, drawn to it almost immediately. Even if the camera is angled upwards.

    Still don't think it's true? Look at this shot from earlier in the film:

    You are directly drawn slightly beneath the centre to notice his smile, painted-on. The expression is pretty irrelevant at this point because, as later on in the film we'll find out that even though he has this painted-on smile (as a symbol of pride), he's not always smiling. Therefore, the fact that you've noticed it becomes part of the movie itself. He wants to be noticed for being "Joker." He is proud to be "Joker."

    In order to use this technique, your character would have to be very well established. Don't concentrate too much on making this a pattern, but if you do, then you can't overdo it. Close-ups become almost boring and meaningless when used too much. If you'd like to look at more films that have close-ups in which meaning is produced then Tom Hooper's Les Miserables and The Danish Girl are pretty good too. It's a different meaning he's creating, but it is still a good study of the cinematography style of a close-up and its overall role in the film.

    Section 2: Wide Shot as Existentialism/Mental Illness

    Wide shots in which Joker is present are always very interesting for me. The pattern seems to be something of an existential crisis regarding what is funny and what is tragic. His mental illness is also present in some form, whatever that may be. Check this out, as an example:

    This medium>wide shot shows Joker forcing himself to smile, possibly as a depiction of depression. The other aspect we have here is that he is clearly at work and in clown make-up. This is not really a job that everyone would like to do, as viewers will learn. (Joker gets beaten badly by thugs). This is a symbol of that lifestyle. Notice as well how he is slightly off-centre, he's not directly to the right of the shot, but he's also not the prime centre of the shot either. He is just a little off. And now you've understood why.

    This seems to be a pattern throughout the film:

    Off-centre, medium>wide shot, ever so slight upward arc. It is definitely a pattern in which we get this place of existentialism. Joker reflects on life in some way, shape or form. He reflects on depression in some way, shape or form and we get meaning for him 'being a little off' in some way, shape or form.

    The way in which you'll notice the shot slow down slightly, or come to some sort of stop for a split second is also part and parcel of this atmosphere. It has the very same meaning to it as the other aspects, it is drowning out everything else, the focus is Joker and Joker only.

    If you're going to use this technique then I suggest that again, you don't overuse it. When watching Joker, try to count the amount of times it is used in the film because I believe that Joker did it very well without overusing one type of cinematography. You need to use it enough to become a pattern but not so much that it becomes annoying to watch. Other films that use this style, surprisingly, include: The Dark Knight (2008) and Batman (1989). Now you can see very clearly why Joker (2019) wanted to do the same. The most successful Batman/Joker films also use this in some way, however different the meaning is— the cinematography is still the same.

    Section 3: Full Body Shot as Epiphany/Change

    A full body shot is somewhat uncommon now. It is less common than it was in the 1950s and 60s movies that seemed to include many people in one scene (see: All About Eve and Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, the full body shots are pretty awesomely done in those films). But, in Joker they are brought back however briefly to create this pattern of epiphany and change. Something changes in Joker, some epiphany or realisation happens and we get a full/almost full view of him. Check it out:

    A sudden burst of confidence comes about when Joker gets to go on the TV Show and we see that through this very exciting full body shot. It's an extreme act of defiance against the norm in superhero/villain movies, but Joker carries it by this time, being dead centre of the shot. His confidence movies him from 'a little off' to 'dead centre', he knows exactly what he's doing. He is defiant and even though it is only a small shift, it changes the entire meaning of the scene.

    Notice this as a pattern in the film, the change doesn't always mean confidence. The full body shot isn't always a good change or a good realisation, but it's a realisation all the same. Check this one out:

    An absolute iconic way of presenting confidence, change and resolution. The full body shot at an upward crane that focuses on Joker's descent (literally and metaphorically) into owning up as a criminal, he remains dead centre of the shot even though, in terms of the stairs, he actually dances slightly to the left of the centre. Putting him in the centre of the shot is so incredibly exciting I think I clapped when this scene came on. It is so incredibly clever in terms of cinematography and gives us so much meaning. Even though he's not in the dead centre of the society around him, he remains in the dead centre of his own head. He is proud of what he's done. This is quite possibly one of the greatest filmed scenes in the 21st Century. It is iconic.

    If you want to imitate this in your own work then the one thing you're going to have to remember is that you need that slight shift in atmosphere before you use the shot. If you don't do this, the shot won't be associated with change. It can't be too far before as well, the previous scene should be the one the shift is applied to and the representation of that in cinematography should be in the next scene, or better yet, the next cut. This allows the audience to create the meaning and pattern without you telling them. Other movies which do this really well are: Batman (1989), The Dark Knight (2008) and Batman Begins (2005). Again, there seems to be a pattern of film as well. Todd Phillips has really thought about this.

    Section 4: Conclusion

    Thanks for reading along with this article and I hope that I've taught you a thing or two about film without using too much overly technical language! Also, if you want to watch the film again, trying counting how many times these patterns are used individually and notice what they mean for the scene they're in each time they are used. It's a brilliant practice to do for your own film.

    Good luck on your next project!

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    About the Creator

    Annie Kapur

    190K+ Reads on Vocal.

    English Lecturer

    🎓Literature & Writing (B.A)

    🎓Film & Writing (M.A)

    🎓Secondary English Education (PgDipEd)

    📍Birmingham, UK

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