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A STUDY ON THE USAGE OF CAMERA TECHNIQUES FOR COMMUNICATION IN CINEMA (WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO MRINAL SEN’S BHUVAN SHOME)

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  • Independent Researcher

Abstract and Figures

Communication is one of the most important parts of human life. We cannot live without communicating with each other. There are many forms and mediums of communication among which cinema is considered one of the most important modes of communication. Not only this it also has the power to influence the mass and bring about some changes in the society. It has the power to shape the mind of people and give them a new direction in life. Films are made in many different spoken languages, but cinema has its own visual language as well. Camera techniques are one of them. A lot is conveyed through cameras in movies which at times even dialogues cannot convey. The camera is not just used to record the act done by the actors, but it is the bridge between the audience and the performers which helps to connect them to each other. Using camera techniques in a way which leaves a good and long impact over the mind of the audience is difficult and only good directors gave the capability of doing so. When we watch any movie, we are taken into the journey of characters by the director and camera plays the role of a vehicle which helps us to go on this journey. Thus, camera can be considered not just equipment but a tool for making the story telling process more interesting and the process of communication more impactful.
Original Article
ISSN (Online): 2582-7472
ShodhKosh: Journal of Visual and Performing Arts
July-December 2022 3(2), 423429
How to cite this article (APA): Sarkar, S. D., and Parmar, U. (2022). A Study on the Usage of Camera Techniques for Communication
in Cinema (With Special Reference to Mrinal Sen’s Bhuvan Shome). ShodhKosh: Journal of Visual and Performing Arts, 3(2), 423429.
doi: 10.29121/shodhkosh.v3.i2.2022.217
423
A STUDY ON THE USAGE OF CAMERA TECHNIQUES FOR COMMUNICATION IN
CINEMA (WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO MRINAL SEN’S BHUVAN SHOME)
Sheuli De Sarkar 1, Dr. Urvashi Parmar 2
1 Assistant Professor, Ph.D. Research Scholar, Video Editor, Photographer, Journalism and Mass Communication, India
2 Assistant Professor, Makhanlal Chaturvedi National University of Journalism and Communication, Bhopal, India
ABSTRACT
Communication is one of the most important parts of human life. We cannot live without
communicating with each other. There are many forms and mediums of communication
among which cinema is considered one of the most important modes of communication.
Not only this it also has the power to influence the mass and bring about some changes
in the society. It has the power to shape the mind of people and give them a new direction
in life. Films are made in many different spoken languages, but cinema has its own visual
language as well. Camera techniques are one of them. A lot is conveyed through cameras
in movies which at times even dialogues cannot convey. The camera is not just used to
record the act done by the actors, but it is the bridge between the audience and the
performers which helps to connect them to each other. Using camera techniques in a way
which leaves a good and long impact over the mind of the audience is difficult and only
good directors gave the capability of doing so. When we watch any movie, we are taken
into the journey of characters by the director and camera plays the role of a vehicle which
helps us to go on this journey. Thus, camera can be considered not just equipment but a
tool for making the story telling process more interesting and
the process of
communication more impactful.
Received 23 September 2022
Accepted 29 November 2022
Published 02 December 2022
Corresponding Author
Sheuli De Sarkar,
sheuli.sarkar@gmail.com
DOI
10.29121/shodhkosh.v3.i2.2022.217
Funding: This resea
rch received no
specific grant from any funding agency in
the public, commercial, or not-for-profit
sectors.
Copyright: © 2022 The Author(s).
This work is licensed under a Creative
Commons Attribution 4.0
International License.
With the license CC-BY, authors retain
the copyright, allowing anyone to
download, reuse, re-print, modify,
distribute, and/or copy their
contribution. The work must be
properly attributed to its author.
Keywords: Cinema, Camera Techniques, Communication Process, Mass Media
1. INTRODUCTION
Communication is considered as one of the most important elements for the
survival of human kind. Just like food and air communication is also very important
for humans. Communication is broadly divided into four types intrapersonal
communication, interpersonal communication, group communication and mass
communication. Among which mass communication has the power to influence
audience at a large scale. Communication may be defined as a process of establishing
commonness between entities through transmission of any information in the form
A Study on the Usage of Camera Techniques for Communication in Cinema (With Special Reference to Mrinal Sen’s Bhuvan Shome)
424
of messages through one or more means such of signs, symbols, words, pictures and
so on. Choudhary and Bhattacharyya (2014) There are many medium through
which communication is made possible at a mass level cinema being one of the most
popular one. It is one such medium which is considered as the mirror of the society
and people get to learn many things from it. Cinema has the power to bring about
major changes as it reaches a huge mass and is liked by almost everyone. Cinema is
a huge part of Indian society and plays a crucial role in people's growth in various
ways. Cinema not only entertains us, but it also educates us and opens our minds to
new possibilities. This artistic medium has been around for almost a century and
will continue to influence people's lives for many more years. Because India is a
diverse country with people speaking many different languages, films are produced
in a number of languages. But cinema cannot be said to be confined to a particular
vocal language. Apart from dialogues and actions camera techniques are also used a
lot to communicate many things which even words are unable to convey. Different
angles and movements signify something or the other in the cinema and contribute
to communicating the story and essence of the film. Television and film use
conventions which are referred to as the grammar of the audiovisual medium. These
conventions suggest that editing techniques and camera angles convey meaning and
thus modify the interpretation of a given scene Chandler (2001). Camera angles
communicate about things such as the characterization of the character and
emotions of the scene. They help the audience to feel more connected to the
characters of the movie and play a significant role in carrying the story forward.
Camera angles and movements are a major part of the cinematic language and help
the director to communicate many between the line messages. Proper use of shots
and angles helps in emphasizing the correct thing without using any dialogues. Thus,
it won’t be wrong to say that camera is a language which is used by the director to
communicate with the audience irrespective of the verbal language that they speak
or understand.
In this paper the researchers have tried to analyse the use of camera techniques
for the purpose of communication in Mrinal Sen’s movie, Bhuvan Shome. This movie
is considered a master piece and its camera work is unique and creative. The movie
does not contain many dialogues and most of the communication has been done by
the expressions of the actors and the camera movements, shots, and angles. This
movie is about a journey both physical and metaphorical and these two journeys
have been very well communicated with the help of camera techniques.
2. REVIEW OF LITERATURE
Anketa Kumar in his paper, “Bhuvan Shome An analysis with reference to
5 codes of Roland Barthers”, studied the hidden meanings in the movie Bhuvan
shome based on Roland Barthers codes. Barthers has given five codes for the
analysis of text or content to dig out the deeper meaning. These codes are, -
Proairetic code which includes any element of action that indicates further actions
and create a sense of suspense. The second code is Hermeneutic code which is about
any element which is left unexplained in the beginning so that the audience does not
looses interest in order to find the explanation to that element. The third one is the
semantic code which is the element which suggests any connotative meaning. The
fourth one is a symbolic code which is similar to semantic code but has some deeper
meaning to the element. The last one is the cultural code which is any element which
is of common knowledge of the audience, and they understand it easily. Together
these codes functions like a weaving of voices. The researcher picked up few scenes
from the movie and disentangled the hidden meanings of those scenes based on
Sheuli De Sarkar, and Dr. Urvashi Parmar
ShodhKosh: Journal of Visual and Performing Arts
425
these codes. It was observed that the movie contains many hidden meanings which
the audience may or may not have been able to decode. The movie is about the
journey of self-realizations and exploring new things getting out of one’s comfort
zone. It is also about the rural urban divide and how the behaviour of a person does
not depend on his education level or how much he earns, but it depends on the
ground values that one has. The movie uses fixed frames at many places to give the
notion of the negative aspects of the character of Bhuvan shome. Semantic and
symbolic representations have been used throughout the movie. It won’t be wrong
to say that this movie has communicated lot non-verbally through the connotations
and has given a strong message about human relationships and trust. We can see
Bhuvan’s transformation not just in his behaviour but in this clothing also. In the last
scene of the movie Bhuvan is seen to throw away the bureaucratic clothing and
adapt to basic village clothes, this scene has a very deep meaning indicating that a
man who used to live in his cocoon is now ready to blossom out as a butterfly and
explore different things in the world which are completely out of his comfort zone,
and he is actually enjoying this phase of his life. The codes used in the movie help
the audience to understand the psyche of the character and how cultures represent
the identity of a person. Kumar (2019)
Andreas Michael Baranowski and Heiko Hecht in their paper, “Effects of
Camera Angles on Perception of Trust and Attractiveness”, talked about the
influence of camera angle on the scene and characters and its interpretation by the
audience. The researchers said that television and films use convention known as
the visual grammar in the form of editing of camera techniques and these
conventions contribute towards the interpretation done by the audience while
watching the film or television program. Various camera angles have various
meanings and when these angles are use in the film, they automatically
communicate a lot about the scene or the character creating a perception in the
mind of the audience. There are many types of camera elevations, and they
communicate different things. The main focus of the researchers through this paper
was to study the effect of camera elevation on trustworthiness and attractiveness. A
lot of research has been done in the past which focus on the source credibility of the
television program, but in this research the researchers have put more focus on the
person in front of the camera and how the camera elevation affects their credibility.
Camera angles and movements communicate a lot non-verbally and knowingly or
unknowingly create a perception about the actors in the mind of the audience.
Through the research it was concluded that, actors were rated the most trustworthy
when filmed from eye level and less when camera was lowered or raised. It was also
found that camera elevation has no effect on attractiveness. The researchers also
found that context plays an important role in how camera angles interact with
actor’s perception. Thus, it was observed that camera angle affects the
trustworthiness and therefore it has the power to create an impression of the actors
on the minds of the audience and hence camera angles should be used properly and
in sync with the context of the content. Baranowski (2017)
Garth Jowett and James M. Linton, in their research paper, “Movies as Mass
Communication, said that the introduction of cinema study at university level was
initially considered not very important. The study of motion picture has never been
very seriously. But with the change in the education system, art and aesthetics have
gained a lot of importance in the academic circle. Study of film can be said as the
study of image as a text with the structure and form of an art. Movies today are a big
part of our society and play an important role in shaping the society it is who we are
and how we grow. Mass media helps a lot in developing the mind of the people by
helping them learn new things and get a wide range of exposure. Movies are not only
A Study on the Usage of Camera Techniques for Communication in Cinema (With Special Reference to Mrinal Sen’s Bhuvan Shome)
426
a part of entertainment but are also huge source of information. They help us to
learn new things, get knowledge about other cultures and also keep us updated with
the latest trends. Since movies have such huge reach, it is important that the film
makers are aware enough about what they are making and use this medium to shape
the mind of people in a good way. The medium should be used for positive effects,
and this depends on the way the director opts to tell the story. Thus, movie as a mass
communicator has huge responsibility on it and should be made consciously. Jowett
(1991), Kumar (2013)
3. OBJECTIVES
1) To analyse the communication done with the help of camera angles and
shots in cinema.
2) To analyse the communication done with the help of camera movements
in cinema.
4. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
The researcher has done a qualitative research using the method of semiotic
analysis on the selected movie. Semiotic analysis is method of research in which the
research studies the verbal signs as well as the visual signs. This study helps in
understanding the meanings of the visual and verbal signs and symbols and their
effects.
5. DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION
Movie Bhuvam Shome
DirectorMrinal Sen
Year 1969
LanguageHindi
GenreComedy Drama
6. ABOUT THE MOVIE
The movie Bhuvan Shome is based on the novel written by, Balai Chand
Mukhopodhyay. The main character of the movie Bhuvan Shome is a lonely, uptight
bureaucrat who works at a high post in railway and is very particular about rules
and regulation and is very strict about following them, so strict that he even
terminates his own son from job on not abiding by the rules. Bhuvan, bored of his
routine life, starts a new hobby of bird hunting. The story of the movie is about his
bird hunting trip to a far-off village where he meets a local village girl who teaches
bhuvan to love others and live a free and happy life, this girl forces bhuvan to rethink
about him his way of living life. Being with this young girl, bhuvan learns to laugh
and relax and be comfortable in his surroundings. The story as it proceeds unfolds
bhuvan’s journey of self-exploration and realization. Mrinal sen the director of the
movie has made this movie in a documentary style. The movie has it all, satire,
comedy, emotions, realization; it is about living life and enjoying it. The film was
funded by Film Finance Corporation, the predecessor to the National Film Division
Corporation. Satyajit Ray said that this movie is a “Big Bad Bureaucrat Reformed by
Rustic Belle”. Non-verbal form of communication has been used a lot in the movie to
indicate a lot of things.
Sheuli De Sarkar, and Dr. Urvashi Parmar
ShodhKosh: Journal of Visual and Performing Arts
427
7. MESSAGE GIVEN BY THE MOVIE
The movie communicates the importance of relationship of human beings and
how the absence of it can create a void in your life. Bhuvan was always lonely and
irritated but when he meets gauri and observer her perception of life he experiences
some major change in his own behaviour. These changes make him happier, and he
realizes the importance of a friend in life. He also realizes that life cannot be lead by
only following rules you have to flexible only you will be able to accept yourself and
others. Thus, the main message of the movie is that we should know how to maintain
relationship and how important they are in life.
8. CONTENT ANALYSIS
Table 1
Table 1 Camera Angles and Movements
Time of
Scene
High
Angle
Low
Angle
Dutch
Angle
Pan Tilt Track
In/ Out
Combination
04:34 Camera tracks inn towards the cop
focusing on his embarrassment
8:49 Shaky shot to show
disturbance / discomfort Riot
26:40 Both the bull & cart owner are shown from low angle indicating that both
are powerful & ready to fight
45:40 Pan shot to show the entire location and where they
have to go
49:44 Stop motion has been used to
show eating of food eating a
lot
54:04 Zoom in out continues on
photo of boy with harsh train
sound with bhuvam’s face at
times shocked / bad/ wrong
1:05:56 Zoom in and out is used to indicate gauri is
swinging in a swing
1:22:97 Shaky camera disturbed state of mind
Table 2
Table 2 Camera Shots
Time of
Scene
Extreme
Long Shot
Long
Shot
Mid
Long
Shot
Mid
Shot
Mid-
Close up
Close
up
Extreme Close
up
7:15 Tyre moving cycle of life
14:25 Silhouette of Bhuvamindicating the darkness in
his life
19:10 In the shot the cart is inclined such that the man who owns the
cart is shown upwards indicating that he has the power of the
vehicle
44:06 Gauri is seen sitting & Bhuvam standing the height difference
is a clear indication of difference in power they have
A Study on the Usage of Camera Techniques for Communication in Cinema (With Special Reference to Mrinal Sen’s Bhuvan Shome)
428
48:50 Bhuvan’s close up to
show the
extremeness of his
reaction
1:15:14 Long shot of Bhuvan sitting in the middle of dessert shows his
loneliness the shot slowly moves to close up focusing on his
emotions and loneliness.
9. CAMERA ANGLES, MOVEMENTS AND SHOTS TABLE
ANALYSIS
The camera in this movie has been very beautifully used to say a lot of things
non- verbally. Many scenes and shots have lots of deep meanings and many things
have been signified beyond the lines through the cinematography of the film. Basic
shots such as zoom in to emphasize emotions, shaky shots to indicate disturbance,
low angle shots to show bhuvam powerful than the other people around him and
high angle shots to show other characters as powerless has been used a lot. In one
of the scenes were the cart owner fights with the bull, both the bull and the cart
owner are shown in low angle to indicate that both are powerful and ready to fight.
Many wide shots of the dessert have been shown with bhuvan walking indicating his
loneliness. Even though the movie was made in the year 1969, technique such as
stop motion has been used in many scenes. In one of the scenes were gauri is
showing bhuvan various parts of the castle, in one corner she stands and says that,
once there was a swing over here and she stands with her hand doing the action of
holding the strings of the swing, the frame for one second becomes still and then the
frames start going back and forth just like a swing, it is a very beautiful piece of work
by the cinematographer to indicate the swing in that scene. In one scene were
Bhuvan is disturbed, a shaky camera movement has been used to indicate his
disturbed state of mind. Throughout the movie, mid shots of bulls of bullock cart and
trains’ engine have been shown, this indicate the journey of bhuvan’s life and how
he unfolds many things throughout this journey, these shots are often point of view
shots, which might also mean that, the journey is a metaphor for bhuvan’s life and
how his point of view of looking at life changes as he completes this journey of bird
hunting. In the beginning of the movie, whenever bhuvan gives any clarification
about his character the frame freezes and becomes narrow, indicating the narrow
point of view that he has towards life. In one of the early scenes, bhuvan is shown in
a silhouette, indicating the dark side of his life or the loneliness of his life. In one the
scenes the bullock cart is shown such that the driver is shown sitting at a higher
level than bhuvan and he instructs bhuvan how to sit properly in the cart, bhuvan in
the same scene is shown in a low level, this indicates that though bhuvan was more
powerful than that man but at this point the man was the owner of the cart and had
more power and control on his vehicle. Many times, a mid-close up shot of wheels
have been shown, indicating the journey of life and its pace. Thus, a lot have been
non-verbally communicated through the camera in this movie.
Apart from the shots, this movie has also used a lot of cartoons and animations
to indicate many things beyond the story.
10. CONCLUSION
From the above research it can concluded that the use of camera angles, shots
and movements have been done a lot in the movie to communicate many emotions.
The movie starts with the shot of train’s types moving signifying the journey of the
Sheuli De Sarkar, and Dr. Urvashi Parmar
ShodhKosh: Journal of Visual and Performing Arts
429
movie and the journey that Bhuavan will be undergoing both physically and
mentally. Wide shots have been used at many places which signify the feeling of lost
that Bhuvan experience. It also communicates the feeling emptiness that Bhuvan has
as a result of his uptight behaviour with everyone around him. Shots of roads and
moving vehicles have also been used again and again to maintain the feel of a
journey that the characters are in and to keep the audience also remains in the same
zone. This shot may have also communicated the journey of life and how it is filled
with ups and downs just like the roads of the village. The movie has only two three
characters among whom Bhuvan belongs to the city and is a bureaucrat and the rest
are villagers. This class difference has been time and again communicated through
low and high angle shots where Bhuvan was most show through low angle indicating
that he is powerful and strong as compared to the other characters. But in one of the
scenes when he is sitting in the bullock cart and tries to give directions to the bullock
cart owner but the guy does not listens to him and rides the way he likes, Bhuvan is
shown weak here through high angle shot and the other guy is show through low
angle communicating that he is in power of the situation. Pan shots have been used
at many places to establish the location and zoom in and out have also been used to
direct the audience’s focus towards any action done by the actors. In many scenes
the camera can be observed to be shaky which communicates the disturbed state of
mind of Bhuvam. In one of the scenes gauri shows Bhuvam various parts of a palace
and in one corner she stands with her hand as if holding a swing and the camera
moves to and fro to make it look as if she is swinging on a swing.
Thus, from the entire study it can be said that the camera techniques have been
used in the movie in such a way that it has communicated a lot more than the
dialogues and helped make the movie more artistic and visually pleasing for the
audience.
CONFLICT OF INTERESTS
None.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
None.
REFERENCES
Baranowski, A. M. (2017). Effect of Camera Angle on Perception of Trust and
Attractiveness. Empirical Studies of the Arts, 1-11.
https://doi.org/10.1177/0276237417710762.
Chandler, D. (2001). The ‘Grammar’ of Television and Film.
Choudhary, B., and Bhattacharyya, K. (2014). Communication from Indian
Perspective with Special Reference to Nātyashāstra. Dev Sanskriti
Interdisciplinary International Journal, 4, 6272.
https://doi.org/10.36018/DSIIJ.V4I0.46
Jowett, G. (1991). Movies as Mass Communication. Canadian Journal of
Communication, 16(2). https://doi.org/10.22230/cjc.1991v16n2a617
Kumar, A. (2019). Bhuvan Shome An Analysis with Reference to 5 Codes of Roland
Barthes. International Conference of Modern Research in Social Science.
Milan : IOMRSS, 39-38.
Kumar, K. J. (2013). Mass Communication in India. Jaico Publication House.
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The 'Grammar' of Television and Film
  • D Chandler
Chandler, D. (2001). The 'Grammar' of Television and Film.
Bhuvan Shome -An Analysis with Reference to 5 Codes of Roland Barthes
  • A Kumar
Kumar, A. (2019). Bhuvan Shome -An Analysis with Reference to 5 Codes of Roland Barthes. International Conference of Modern Research in Social Science. Milan : IOMRSS, 39-38.
Mass Communication in India
  • K J Kumar
Kumar, K. J. (2013). Mass Communication in India. Jaico Publication House.
Movies as Mass Communication
  • G Jowett
Jowett, G. (1991). Movies as Mass Communication. Canadian Journal of Communication, 16(2). https://doi.org/10.22230/cjc.1991v16n2a617