Rolf Kloepfer (Mannheim)

How to describe systems of filmic effects

In many fields film science has to deal with the same problems as literary science or other sciences of art: how can the particular effect on the spectator, who perceives a work of art under more or less individual conditions be “intersubjectively” communicated to others? All forms of art especially make use of human imagination but while the reader of the book can make notes ob his observations directly in the book, this possibility doesn’t exist for film, although its handling has become much easier. The ideal of every film scholar – the film editing tool – can already be realized. But does this provide us an appropriate possibility to raise the effects offered by films in order to make them communicable for analysis, interpretation or other forms of teaching?

The digital tool AKIRA has been elaborated at the beginning of the 90s based on Eisenstein’s central concept that film has to be represented as a multiple medium, which we perceive to more than 90% unconsciously. If we want to comprehend the successivity and simultaneity of the visual and acoustic offers of a film, which in the spectator’s imagination are united in a “symphony” of possible effects, this is only realizable in form of a partition in analogy to the tradition of classical music, which is able the same time to represent the course melody an the simultaneity of the different voices (vocal and instrumental).

This is exactly the point, where the functionality of AKIRA III begins, which combines extensive functions of a presentation tools (different screens like full screen, window and presentation mode) with those of a tool for analysis (individually adjustable partition window). The partition window offers the possibility to write down first impressions unstructuredly in form of marks an snapshots (key images) an to comment them in additional text windows. Furthermore, for systematic analysis tracks of notes referring to selected criteria as for example camera effects, music and sound, particularities of the staging or the appearance of the different characters can be created. On this tracks parts (pieces of time on the track) may be fixed and coloured. Thus, parts in which a particular person appears may be attributed the same colour. Parts can also be commented by means of a text window.

Thee tracks corresponding to the dominant effects offered by the film as well as the parts, marks an snapshots constitute the individually or according to film genres creatable partition which allows an approach towards a model of film’s composition. The criteria for analysis can be adjusted to the changing requirements of the particular film, the genre, a tradition etc. respectively the aims of the spectator. The representation of a film in form of a partition possibly leads to an enlargement of competences for synthesis because – like this is the case with classical works of film literature and music – every renewed perception of a work of art reveals another part of its richness.

It has to be asked what is the relation between this tool base upon “subjective” input and the forms of automated notation of criteria.