Realism and Formalism: The Two Different Film Styles

Ever since film came into being in 1895, there has been a division between two different types of filmmaking. These two types of filmmaking are called Realism and Formalism. First, lets look at the basic concepts behind these two styles of filmmaking and then well talk about Classicism, which is a combination of these two types. Basic Concepts about Realism The root word of Realism is the word real. Have you ever looked at a painting or a drawing and said, That looks so real? What you probably meant was that it was painted with such skill and precision that it almost looked like the painting would come to life at any moment. We use the word real to talk about things that are lifelike, things that happen naturally, and things that actually do exist or can exist in the real world. By that same token, films that are Realist films are attempting to be life-like, natural, and to make it seem like the events and situations that occur in that film could have actually happened (or that they did happen) in real life. Realist films are trying to reproduce reality. Another goal of Realist films is that they try to be audiencecentered. That means that they encourage the audience to come up with their own personal interpretation for what the film means; Realist films are trying to make their audience think about and care about whats happening on-screen for themselves. They are more interested in representing (or re-presenting) reality to you and then letting you decide what it means for yourself. Stylistically, a Realist film will aim to be very simple in nature. Ideally, most of the film would be shot on an actual location instead of a studio set. If a Realist film is shot on a set, it will usually be carefully crafted to look as realistic as possible. The camera shots in these films often appear to be put together somewhat spontaneously, seemingly without much thought or artistryas though the camera just happened to be there to capture the action and the camera operator only had enough time to turn the camera on and start filming. A lot of the shots are shot-in-depth or have a greater depth-of-field. What that means is that the shots often have action occurring on several different planes at the same time: something might be going on in the foreground of the shot, the middle area of the shot, and in the background of the shot all at the same timejust like how reallife would be if you were actually standing there and viewing the action (because if you were there, youd be seeing the whole picture at once, not just little bits and pieces of the action). Sometimes these shots can seem a bit messy or chaotic, but their purpose is to encourage a more active mental participation from the viewer because it allows the viewer to more fully explore the rich complexity, mystery, and ambiguity which can be inherent in the film imagesimply because theres more on the screen to look at and think about all at the same time. The style of the editing in Realist films is also fairly simple in nature. The editing is usually kept to a minimum and doesnt get very fancy (if it can be helped). Their shots tend to last for a longer period of time before cutting to the next one because Realist filmmakers want you to have time to explore the inherent meaning within the shot itself. In theory, rapid editing can sometimes be manipulative or force the audience to interpret the meaning of the shots in only one way, so Realist filmmakers tend to avoid using too many cuts. Their editing is simple and functionalthey

want you to think more about what you are seeing rather than how you are seeing it. Although there are plenty of fiction films which are Realist in style, documentaries are a good example of Realist cinema that you may be familiar with. Documentaries are usually Realist in nature because they document events that actually occurred and they try to portray these events in a fairly straightforward and unassuming manner, which means that they just let the events unfold spontaneously before the camera without trying to manipulate it or make it look particularly artistic in any way. (In fact, there is one type of documentary filmmaking called observational cinema which is very Realist in nature. Observational cinema involves simply taking the camera to an interesting event or place and then just letting it objectively observe the action that takes place like a fly-on-the-wall. It usually only has minimal editing and has little or no commentary from the filmmakers in any way. When you watch it, youre supposed to feel like you are actually there as an observer yourself.) True documentaries are also usually more audience-centered because they are interested in inspiring you to care about and think more deeply about their subject material on your ownwithout necessarily dictating what you should think or how you should feel about that subject matter. You wont typically see a purely Realist filmeven documentaries contain some elements of Formalism here and there. An extreme type of a Realist film would probably just feature a camera filming something for a very long period of time without moving or cutting or anything, just as though you were actually there in real time. Basic Concepts about Formalism Now, what about Formalism? Well, have you ever looked at a painting that did not depict anything that you could immediately recognize? Maybe the artist just painted a bunch of shapes and colors and lines on the canvas. Or maybe the artist just painted an everyday object in a different waystretching, skewing, and distorting it in some way. Whatever it was, when you looked at the painting you probably didnt worry about whether whatever was in the painting actually existed in reality or not. You probably figured that what was in that painting just came out of the artists own imagination, that the artist was painting something that he or she had only seen in his or her minds eye. That painting would have been more of a Formalist painting than a Realist painting because it came from within the artist rather than from the real world (even though it may have been inspired by real things). Thats because a painting like that was more concerned with form than reality. The root word form has many different meanings. When its used as a noun, the word form can refer to the style or design of an artistic work. It can also refer to the shape or contour of somethingas in the cloud took the form of a rabbit. When its used as a verb, it can mean to construct or conceive of something in the mindsuch as to form an idea. It can also mean to create or be a part of somethingsuch as we formed a new committee to deal with the problem of pollution. In that same mannerism, films that are Formalist films are more concerned with their artistic style and design and they often come directly out of the artists imagination. Formalist films are not at all concerned with trying to re-present reality like a Realist film, they are they are trying to present the artists vision of the world, whether that is connected to the real world or not. The people who create purely Formalist films are more concerned with using artistry, stylization and technique to express the artists ideas. For that reason, Formalist films tend to be more artist-centered. These

types of films care more about what the artist has to express about the world rather than exploring what the audience really thinks about the world. Formalist films are trying to persuade the audience members to see things the way the artist sees them. These filmmakers are more interested in telling the audience what to think whereas Realist filmmakers are more interested in showing or revealing the world and then asking audience members to engage with others in a dialogue about what they think about that world. Stylistically, Formalist films pay much more attention to the design and formulation of the shot composition. Most of the time, these shots will be filmed on elaborate studio sets that are constructed specifically for the film. Studio sets are perfect for Formalist films because it is very easy to control the lighting elements and camera equipment in order to get the exact shot that the filmmakers want. The types of shots that Formalists create are very controlled and deliberate; the camera angles, camera movements, arrangement of objects and people within the shots are often designed to convey a very specific meaning. (Well be learning more about the specific interpretations for different types of Formalist shot compositions in class over the next couple of weeks.) Like Realist films, these shot compositions are meant to encourage a more active mental participation from the viewerbut instead of encouraging you to come up with your own interpretations, these films intend for you to come away with a very specific idea that the artist intended to express. Often, the average viewer wont always get the full significance of what a Formalist filmmaker is trying to say (or they may only understand it subconsciously). Formalist films often require that the viewer be a little more educated or film-savvy in order to understand all the deep symbolism inherent in a Formalist shot composition. Or, if it is truly avant-garde and Formalist, it may be so inaccessible that you wouldnt be able to understand the film unless the filmmaker were to explain the significance to you directly. The editing in Formalist films is also often highly stylized as well. Critics of Formalism often describe these types of films as being chopped into pieces because they tend to be cut together much more rapidly. Part of the purpose behind this type of editing is to draw attention to the process of editing itself. Whenever you see such deliberately sharp editing, it has the tendency to draw attention to itself, to constantly remind the audience of the fact that they are watching a film and to never forget that this is a work of art deliberately created by an artist. Like the shot composition, the way some shots are edited together in Formalist films often has a deeper, symbolic meaning that can usually only be understood by the film elite. (Well be discussing the meaning of editing choices in more detail later so that you can eventually be numbered among the film elite yourselfarent you excited!?) Most music videos (but not all) are Formalist in nature (a Realist music video would just feature the band performing live in front of an audiencewithout very many special effects, editing tricks or cool camera angles). Have you ever noticed that we talk about our favorite or the best music videos as being memorable because they have a cool concept? Thats because music videos are much less concerned with being realistic (usually they arent even trying to be realistic at all) and are much more interested in exploring a cool concept and with being experimental or artistic. Music videos often show the band performing in abstract, dream-like, or out-of-the-ordinary, largerthan-life settings. They often feature carefully-composed, beautiful, bizarre or innovative camera shots that make the band members look cool, funny, or glamorous as they are performing. The motto of these types of music videos is: the more creative and experimental it is, the better it usually is. It isnt very often that you see a purely Formalist film. An extreme example of these types of films might be found in the avant-garde cinema. Some of these movies are completely abstract.

They often just feature pure forms (shapes, lines, colors, unrecognizable objects) and are frequently very difficult to understand without outside help of some sort. Classicism: The Two Styles Combined Now, you should be cautious about using the terms Realism and Formalism. Labels like these can be helpful for understanding general concepts, but they are not absolutes. Almost no film is a purely Realist or a purely Formalist film. Although several films will lean more towards one or the other, there are also many films that use a combination of both these styles. Many of the films that come out of Hollywood avoid using either the extremes of Realism and Formalism and try to find a more middle groundsuch films can be classified as Classical. Classical cinema is, above all, story-oriented. Classical Cinema uses elements of Realism in order to maintain the effect that the story could plausibly happen in real-life. However, it also has the same care for detail and composition that Formalism aspires tothe difference is that it attempts to be invisible, it usually doesnt draw attention towards itself and away from the story. The images are chosen by their relevance to the story and the charactersstyle and form are always servants to the content of the story. When a more educated viewer notices the form or composition of a Classical film, its more like an added bonus or a special in-joke between you and the filmmaker. You dont need to be formally trained in film in order to appreciate or enjoy a Classical film, but it can help you to appreciate the film on a deeper level or just give you a warm, fuzzy feeling because you were one of the elite, educated few who can appreciate the film on a deeper level.