Cinematography: The Diving Bell and The Butterfly

OVERALL LOOK- The Diving Bell and The Butterfly Defiantly has a unique look that is its own. To the director and cameramen this opportunity was a blank canvas where their imagination was put to the test. Due to the main character being immobilized many camera techniques had to be used.  Many of the angles used in this film were low angle shots because Jean was usually in a bed or chair. Along with the angles, camera movement and framing worked hand in. These three components helped the viewer feel as they were watching the film through Jeans eyes or first person view. The lighting and lenses in this film also helped the overall look and vibe for the better. Bright lighting and depth and fill from the lenses were used in order to give a dreamy like feel and look. This fit perfect for this film because of all the dreaming and inner thought that Jean had.

IMAGES- The images in this film that convey information that is not reflected in the Jeans action are in the start of the film. For example when the doctor reveals to Jean that he has a disease called locked in syndrome. During this scene Jean has no dialogue or movement so it sets out the theme style and narrative. At this point the viewer gets an idea of how the film is going to work. From here on the viewer gets in the seat of Jean mind and body. When the doctor explains the disease it’s like he is explaining to you. The narrative kicks in here when the viewer hears Jean speaking in his head.

SHOT LENGTHS: The length of the shots in the film is relatively long because of locked in syndrome. I feel that the shots are long for the purpose of feeling. To Jean every second, minute and moment must have been an eternity being in a bed all day long must have made time stretch out for Jean. So that’s why the shots are long so that the viewer can get the feeling that Jean had of “forever”.

SHOT TYPES: Extreme close up shots and extreme long shots are used through the film to divide reality and thoughts. That is one of the reasons for those shots in order to separate Jeans real life moments from his inner thought fantasies. They also work to portray a big dramatic scene for example extreme close up shots. They are in your face and help the viewer connect and embrace the feeling of the scene on a deeper level.

CAMERA ANGLES: This film has a lot of low angle shots to show the point of view of Jean. Jean is always seated or in a bed so naturally it fits right that low angle shots were used.  These shots convey that the character feels low or sad due to the circumstances he is facing. One thing that I notice was the way the angle would shift from eye point view to low angle shot. It seems like they did this in order to remind the viewer of Jean and how they were memories in his head.

COMPOSITION: The rule of thirds is not really used in this film. An example of a time they use thirds is when Jean is talking on the phone with his father. On the left side is Jean in the middle the phone and on the right Claude. All the other shots are in different styles where the main character on the right and emptiness and the other side. I feel that reason for these style shots is to show the openness or world outside Jean body.

CAMERA MOVEMENT: The movement of the camera in this film is highly important. Many times the camera movement is slow and panning as if to emulate the movement of the eyes without the ability to move your head. Other times the movement is fast and unpredictable because of the scene. For example when Jean is in the pool while being held by another person. The camera moves quick and to many sides kind of like when a person lays belly up in water. The floating causes you to see things unstable just like the shots while Jean swims.

CINEMATOGRAPHY STYLE:  The cinematographic style is without doubt intentional especially in a film like this one. It is necessary to make the style so noticeable in order to get the full affect of Jean. If the Diving Bell and The butterfly were shot in standard or regular angles the films would lose its touch. The viewer would not be able to connect to the fullest is it were not for the low angle shots. It would also be a little less exciting to just see angles of Jean sitting and not from his eyes.