Visual Style
Start date : 14th October
For class this week we were given the reading of Visual Style by Jeremy G. Butler.
In this reading, Butler identifies 8 ‘functions’ of style. Four of these functions were stated previously by Bordwell. ‘Style can be said to: denote, express, symbolize, decorate, persuade, hail or interpret, differentiate, signify liveness and/ or verisimilitude’.
The reading uses the television show Miami Vice as a case study for visual style. Therefore I decided to watch the trailer for the show to see how style had been used. The trailer had a lot of expressive style, with the use of bright colours and upbeat music.
One section of the reading about how style is used to express mentioned the use of different types of camera movements and shots. This reminded me of the 2001 film Requiem For A Dream. This film used a variety of different shots when recording specific scenes including a shaky camera and having the camera show point of view shots. For me, this made the film a lot more realistic and makes the viewer feel more connected to the characters and their emotions.
I feel that these eight functions of style are good to use when analysing visual style because they can be used when analysing a variety of different types of visual sources. For example, persuasion is useful when analysing the effects of advertisements and express is useful when analysing the tones that are created through the use of colour and lighting.
References
Aronosky, D. (2001) Requiem for a Dream. [DVD] United Kingdom: Thousand Words
Butler, J, G. (2018) ‘Visual Style’ in The Craft of Criticism. Ed.by Kackman, M., Celeste Kearney,M. New York: Routledge, 59 – 71.
