This medium two-shot photo is typical in style, in that the two characters are sharing intimate space while both are in focus, which greatly helps the story line as they had just had a romantic day in the city. It is also a high angle shot which allows for the background to play more of a prominent role in the scene (with the fire possibility being symbolic for much of the turmoil which had taken place at the beginning of the movie), while foreshadowing the downward spiral that the plot line is about to take, which is typical of a high angle shot, which usually implies a feeling of despair of helplessness (even if very slightly in this picture).
Also, the lighting of this picture is very high in contrast, even if it is a black and white film. The illusions of this high contrast shine light on the main character’s wife and a sense of purity which seems to follow her throughout the movie. You may notice throughout much of this movie she is very well lit, unlike many of the other characters. Also there is a great chance that this shot was not taken at night, however by overexposing the picture is gives it high contrast and illusions to it being night time.

Jessica Nguyen - Sunrise

This ending shot of the entire family is seen from the normal eye-level shot used by realists. At first, I would say it is a full-shot, but since it is just the three family members, I would call it a three-shot, possibly bordering on full-shot. The angle allows the audience to see the wife and child sleeping peacefully away, while the husband watches over them. Having everyone in the shot, and shooting it at an angle, brings the audience’s eye to the wife, who has been through the most turmoil throughout the movie, and now has this source of light hanging over her as she rests, letting the audience know that she is going to be alright and happy. The shot shows the entire family at rest, giving the audience a sense of peace that has come over them; all of the bad times are over and they are once again a close, happy family.
The lighting helps in depicting this sense of peace as it lights up the wife, giving her an angelic appearance, while casting a slight shadow over the man’s face as he looks longingly at his loved ones. The lighting seems to come naturally through the window in the room, casting a shadow across the bed and on the wall behind it. This is a happy ending scene after all that the family has been through, and from the expression on the man’s face, the audience knows that he is completely in love with his wife still, and knows the mistake he made and is sorry for it. It has that sense of happily ever after, without actually saying it.

Sunrise- Jess S.

I think that the story behind this one shot from the film focuses on one main issue, and that is that here we can fully experience the rush of emotions brought on to The Man by The Woman from the City; not only because it is at this point that he believes his wife to be dead, but also for the trouble she has caused him with his wife and his own psychological well-being. In the beginning of the film when we see him sitting rather despondently at the kitchen table, he is already visibly disturbed in some sense, even though we may perceive it as a feeling of agitation and annoyance. We watch throughout the shots with the Woman in the beginning that he is rendered totally submissive to her will, and thus allows her to manipulate and persuade him into murdering his wife and saving himself solely for her. When he returns to his wife after being with the Woman, he seems like he is left in a daze to where he doesn’t remember what exactly happened with her; only that he must remember how to rid himself of his wife.

However, this shot shows us that the man-possibly because of his depressed, grieving state- is in a sort of trance and thusly is able to overcome the Woman’s power over him, giving him the strength to unleash all of those built up feelings she imposed on him through her convincing and conniving, and he is conveying those suppressed emotions through physical anger in this shot. He is essentially ‘cutting his ties’ with her and those feelings of madness she brought to him.

It’s important to notice the lighting of this scene, because it looks as though he is half-shrouded in shadow and darkness while the other half is forced into the light from the corner of the shot, and it’s as though while choking her he is also pushing her into the light, (going along with the good/evil, light/dark assumption) forcing himself to leave behind the darkness she carries around and stay in the good light. The low-key/high contrast type of lighting for this scene really emphasizes the ‘light is good, shadows are evil’ concept for the story of The Man’s psychological deterioration brought about by The Woman, and I think it applies to the film’s themes because it imposes The Man’s mental state throughout the film as he goes from an agitated, stressed, and worried individual back to the carefree, stress-free, and less-distant man he was before The Woman from the City, where he is not only less distant from his wife and child, but also from the world itself in which he is now (by the end of the film) able to move in freely and act according to his own will.

Sunrise - J. Miley

This particularly screenshot is, obviously, extremely dark. The brightest parts of the image are the moon, the reeds, and the Woman form the City’s face. But in contrast, the Woman’s face is far darker than the moon. I think this is significant. The moon is not a great source of light (things are often distorted in its light) but despite the fact that the Woman is much closer than the moon, it far outshines her, showing how dark (i.e. evil) she is.

Despite how dark the shot is, I would not say that it is high contrast. It differently does not have the extreme contrast of the following image. The swamp scene has much lower key lighting.

I like how the Woman from the City almost blends into the background. It further lends to that vampiric quality that she has (this is in addition to that fact that she only meets with the Man at night and even the position in which they kiss is not to far removed from the way a vampire drinks blood).

The shot is a medium-shot with an obvious void to the left of the Woman, this emphasizes the fact that she is waiting. You do not have to see her face or body language to understand that she is waiting to the meet with the Man as the specific shot is even waiting for the man to fill the empty space.

I think these three elements (how dark the scene is set, how the Woman blends with the background, and the empty space) are the most important elements of this shot because even still, they help tell the story. They not only give you insight into the Woman’s character, it shows you the darkness that is predominant in the first act and gets you ready for the Man’s entrance.

Sunrise- Jeremy Brinson

The techniques used in Sunrise were innovative and risky. For example, the merging of different actions into one simultaneous scene was a special effect that was far from the norm. This technique was perfect for representing the meshing of ideas in one’s mind. Also, the early use of a green screen provided a rush to the movie. these new techniques, combined with the different shots, lenses, and lighting used, all combined to make one cornerstone movie.

A good example of this advanced cinematography would be the scene in Sunrise where the husband is strangling the city woman. The different components it took to create this scene were all perfect choices. First would be the shot. A close up of the couple, framing them at an angle instead of a full side shot, helped to create a dynamic setup that really complemented the momentum of the action in the shot. Something to also be noted is how the two were captured as blurred. The blurriness of the two help to reflect the senses of both the husband and the city woman. His mind is clouded with the conflicting emotions roiling around in his head, while the woman is lightheaded from the lack of oxygen to her brain and lungs. The setup was also well arranged. With the two to the left of the screen and the path leading back to the house in the background, there is a sense of anxiety that is coupled with the violence of the scene. With the path still in the shot, the audience is reminded that the two are not that far from the villagers and that they can be spotted at any moment. Lastly, the choice of lighting also added to the already dynamic shot. The use of an intense spotlight that is tilted upon the couple so that its edges of light reach for the house helps to complete the intensity of the scene. Also, with the light tilted instead of beaming directly upon the two actors, it makes it look like moonlight, giving it a more realistic and believable setting.

Sunrise - Atlee Watson

The lighting in Sunrise was, I think the most important component of the entire film. Throughout the film it seemed that the lighting itself was enhancing the story of the film. Looking at the first 3 images you can see that the woman from the city is always shrouded in darkness. She never appears in light and seems to hide in the shadows. As the film opens, you can see the woman from the city strolling through the town in darkness while the homes she is passing are filled with light.

And when it comes to the man, he is inside the light and warmth of his home, but the "darkness" is calling to him, which I believe the 2nd photo shows. The man seems torn throughout the film between the light and dark. He also seems to be shot from behind or out of view from his face while he is carrying out the bidding of the woman from the city, but once he goes from his "igor" to moving husband and father transformation, his face is constantly in the shot. Even in the fifth photo, you can see that the light is again fleeing the man and he is becoming much darker again.

The wife however is always shot in the light. She is always the light showing him the way to who he used to be and eventually brings him back from the darkness/woman who has consumed him. Even after his attempted murder of the wife, (which she forgave him for really quickly), in the photo she seems so small. It seems that if she represents the light of the man that has almost been lost. And just after the photo, the man comes back to the boat and he is just a large dark mass that is setting out on this dark mission.

The lighting was so important to this film and I felt that to a degree it made up for the music of the film which did not seem to fit the film in some cases. The lighting was able to tell you things about the characters so that they did not have to be explained through additional shots.

Sunrise (F.W. Murnau, U.S.A., 1927, 94 minutes)

 As  you'll know from Chapter 1 in Understanding Movies, the technical elements of cinematography include choices of shot, angle, and lens, as well as the effects created by light, shadow, color, and film stock. For this week, I'd like you to choose one of the images from Sunrise below and write your post about the photographic elements that help to produce its specific effects. You might think particularly about the use of light, shot, and angle. What is the content of the image? What story does it tell, and how do Rosher and Struss's choices shape or enhance this story? Briefly describe the significant qualities of these choices. Why are the choices appropriate or effective given the shot's narrative context (i.e., its position in the film and/or its relationship to the film's themes)? The images are arranged in the order they appear in the film. Looking forward to your comments!