Module Learning Objectives

After this module you will be able to:

1. Analyze HOW the visual and audio elements of television create meaning

2. Recognize the different elements of television style and the results of different television production techniques such as single and multi-camera shooting

3. Practice the process of shot analysis - Observe, Consider the Context, Apply Meaning

Model Analysis of Visual Style

Stranger Things is a science fiction/horror hybrid streaming series that is set in the 1980s. This genre of television obviously has a rich set of narrative and visual style conventions that the directors use very effectively. We're going to read a student analysis of Stranger Things' visual style.

As I mentioned last week, we can break down writing about media into three parts. Describing what we see as we watch the text; analyzing the text by breaking it down into smaller parts to understand it better; and evaluating the text as it succeeds or fails in its intended purpose.

I have presented a basic vocabulary for talking about visual style used by industry professionals and critics, and I will provide links to more at the end of this module. Be sure to use these terms in any analysis of visual style that you write. Since you can't hope to describe all the shots in a show, analyze one scene that demonstrates what's going on in the rest of the show. Be very specific about the shots that you are seeing. "There's a lot of hand-held camera work" does not tell us enough about visual style to understand it.

It's not always clear what the intention of the visual style is. Here are a few ideas, but please think carefully about what visual style is doing in the particular episode that you're watching. Often, visual style is used to enhance the emotional quality of the story or to express the characters' emotional state. Visual elements may also be used as symbols to express themes in the show. Small spaces or tight clothes may communicate something about a world that confines its characters. It's important to draw clear connections between the narrative (plot) and the way that it is presented visually. There are many other intentions behind the use of particular visual style, and it is up to you to decide why a technique was used and how effective you think it was.

Stranger Things also contains direct references to Science Fiction, Horror and Action films of the 1980s. Clearly the directors made visual choices that are meant to remind savvy audiences of these earlier classic films. Here are some examples (and there is another great video comparison of the first season of Stranger Things too). This shows us that visual style may be doing several things at once: Telling the story that we are watching at the moment, while also encouraging the audience to make intertextual connections with other stories already seen.

Stranger Things 2 : References to 70-80’s movies from Ulysse Thevenon on Vimeo.

Here is Grant A's analysis:

Visual Style in Stranger Things

by Grant Aikels

Stranger Things is an American science fiction horror TV show that was created in 2016 by the Duffey Brothers. The story is about a group of young friends that live in Hawkins Indiana. One of these friends, Will Myers, is abducted by a creature that comes out of a portal as a result of a failed government experiment. Through trials and tribulations, the friends along with Will’s mother, the Hawkins police department, and “El” are able to get Will back the “Upside Down.” But the true destiny of their fate is not revealed and left as a cliff hanger for season 2. Through visual style filmmakers are able to express their intentions of a shot/shots by allowing a connection from the scene to the viewer; this is done by different shot types and editing such as slow motion, blurs, and camera quality.

The scene I have decided to analyze is the opening scene of episode 2 season 2. The episode is called “Chapter Two: Trick or Treat, Freak”, and begins with “El”, otherwise known as Eleven, waking up in the upside down. At 00:05 the shot is a closeup of El, but upside down. There is a cut before a dolly out and pan showing El waking up. The lighting used in the shot is very dark giving the viewer the feeling of an ominous presence. I think the importance of having the first shot of El in this episode being a close up and upside down shows how she is confused and how the “upside down” is a maze that discombobulates the people and things that enter it. El is literally shown upside down in this dark unforgiving place. The slow dolly out also plays into the idea of El waking up confused and still trying to organize her thoughts on where she is.

From 00:10-01:18 there are numerous close ups and medium shots that continuously cut. There is a close up on her feet before a pan of her walking down the hallway. The angle used gives the feeling of the hallway being smaller than it really is, signifying that the upside down suppresses those who enter it. As El walks down the hallway it is an eye level medium shot of her as she begins screaming “Mike!”. There is then a dolly out as El begins to quickly walk down the hallway. Because the camera is moving away from her as she walks it gives the illusion that she is walking/running faster than she really is. This is important because it plays into the role that El is worried and is franticly looking for her friend Mike. It should also be stated that there are white flakes floating around in the air that are visible during the closeup and medium shots that give perspective to how small the hallways feel and how fast El is walking through the hallways.

The next portion of the scene takes place from 01:19-3:11. Right after El is screaming looking for Mike she turns a corner and pauses before there is an eye level far shot showing a red illuminating portal at the end of the hallway. There is then a closeup on El’s face allowing the viewer to see the confusion and interest in her eyes before a cut is made back on the red light. As El approaches the light the red illuminates on her face while the background is still very gray and dark. I think the illumination of the light on her face symbolizes her importance to the children in the show and that she has just found her way out of the upside down. The shot reminds me of when someone is in a cave and finds the exit; the light illuminates their face and this indicates that they have found their way out, much like El has found her way out of the upside down.

From 03:11-03:52 there are a few different medium and close up shots that show how El will figure out how to escape the upside down. As she squeezes her way out of the portal and back into the real world you can see more colors appear. This signifies that she has escaped the upside down. The scene ends with a long shot of El walking down the hallway. This shot gives the feel of slow motion and that El is in no rush to depart the area that is still near the upside down. That may show her comfort in entering the upside down, which plays a key role in rescuing others later in the season.

The colors used in this scene are very dull creating a dark atmosphere that is visible without the need for monotone or dark music. While El is in the upside down there are no colors seen other than gray, black, and the red from the portal. I think red is used as the color for the portal because it creates such a distinct contrast from the upside down and the real world while also symbolizing the blood, sweat, and tears that have been lost because of it. Another aspect of visual style to create a more 80s feel to the narrative was a film grain was edited in to all the scenes to create an older feel.

This scene is an important turning point for Stranger Things because it shows that El can navigate the upside down and still make it back to the real world without any problems or help. The mise en scene of the upside down is very bland with not many colors or props used, but the visual style helps aid this scene by giving off the aura of the upside down as a dark, mysterious, disorienting place that can literally turn someone’s life upside down. (this is in reference to Will’s mom who spent most of season 1 trying to save her son from the upside down) As El walks down the hallways it is clear to see that the green screen effects are not the best and are clearly not real, but this also causes the viewer to be more focused on El because she is the center of attention for this scene. The monotone colors give the feel that the upside down is an empty cold place that has been abandoned and does not support life. In the opening minutes there are no bright colors shown at all until the red light from the portal illuminates on El’s face symbolizing that she has found her way out. The combination of close up, medium, and pan shots allows for different feelings to be shown through El’s facial expressions and body movements; all while she does not have to say a word. The visual style used in Stranger Things, more specifically this scene, allows for more intricacies to complement the closeups, medium, and long shots used to have deeper hidden meanings that are only revealed later in the series.

References:

Dixon K., Stein M., Duffy Brothers (Writers), Duffer M., Duffer R. (Directors). July 15, 2016.

Gajdusek K., Levy S. (Producers). Stranger Things. Jackson, Georgia, USA: 21 Laps Entertainment.

Key Concepts

Cinematography: All elements of visual style that are achieved with the camera - including shot size, movement, image quality. etc/

Mise en Scene: French for ‘placed on stage.’ All elements of visual style related to staging, including sets and costumes, lighting, blocking, etc.

Multi-camera production: Several cameras are used simultaneously. Offers more efficiency but less precision than ‘single camera production’ which is a process historically used in cinema production.

Close-up shot: A camera shot that shows only a human head.

Fourth wall: The fourth wall of a set that is left open for camera equipment, lights, microphones, and sometimes a live audience.

“Elbows” shot or elbows: A tight medium camera shot that frames a figure so that the lower edge of the screen is roughly the middle point of the person’s arms.

Long shot: A camera shot that includes a human figure from the bottom of the feet to the top of the head, creating a full picture.

Medium shot: A camera shot that is framed on a human figure at or near the waist, so that the torso and head fill the picture while the legs and feet are below the frame line and out of the picture.

Reaction shot: A facial expression or gesture of a person who is not talking in a scene is revealed in reaction to somebody or something.

Steadicam: A television camera strapped to the camera operator’s body for movement shots.

Swish pan: When a television camera lurches in one direction or another, usually left to right, to create a transition within a sequence.

Table reading: Writers, actors, and producers (perhaps some television executives) sit around a table to determine what in the script works for the characters in a television show and what does not work.

How to analyze visual style (how to read cinematography)

Additional Reading

Academic TV critic Jason Mittel discusses evaluation on his blog Just TV

https://justtv.wordpress.com/2011/12/15/the-qualities-of-complexity-aesthetic-evaluation-in-contemporary-television/

Jeremy Butler's chapter on the interpretation of Visual Style, includes an analysis of Miami Vice