The Use of Plan Sequence in the Construction of Reality: A Reception Analysis of Between Two Dawns
Naz Melis ÖzdilEvery new technique in cinema brings films closer to reality. Plan sequence and depth of field provide this approach in cinema. This study has selected Selman Nacar’s 2021 film Between Two Dawns as a case study due to its use of a plan sequence throughout the entire movie. This study aims to use a reception analysis to examine how reality is constructed through the use of plan sequences in cinema, in the case of Between Two Dawns. The study contributes to the literature by examining the film in the context of an audience reception analysis. The study uses two methods. The first is through a thematic analysis of the scenes where the film used plan sequences, identifying and analyzing the variables accordingly. For the second method, the study chose the reception analysis approach to examine the relationship between plan sequences and reality from the audience’s point of view. A plan sequence reveals the reality of a story in a simplistic way. Because time and space are not separated, the audince gains a greater perception of reality. Due to the low camera movement, the audience is in the positioned as a witness in the scene. The plan sequences also provide rhythm to the movie. As the camera objectively follows the events, the audience becomes a witness as a third set of eyes watching without identifying with any character. Cinematographically, the camera has an objective gaze due to the use of plan sequences. In terms of shooting scale, a general plan was preferred over close-ups, with depth of field being created within these plans. The camera is used to follow the actors in terms of emotion, rhythm and movement. This tracking brings the movie closer to reality. In accordance with the shooting scales used in the plan sequence, while a sense of freedom is present in the general plan, narrower frames such as the knee/waist plan are concluded to have replaced freedom with a sense of restriction.
Gerçekliğin İnşasında Plan Sekans Kullanımı: İki Şafak Arasında Üzerine Bir Alımlama Analizi
Naz Melis ÖzdilSinemada her yeni teknik filmi gerçekliğe yaklaştırmaktadır. Plan sekans ve alan derinliği, sinemada bu yakınlığı sağlamaktadır. Çalışmada Selman Nacar’ın 2021 yapımı İki Şafak Arasında filminin tamamında plan sekans kullanıldığı için örnek olay çalışması olarak seçilmiştir. Bu çalışma, sinemada plan sekans kullanımı ile gerçekliğin inşasının sağlanmasını İki Şafak Arasında örneğinde yapılan alımlama analizi ile incelemeyi amaçlamaktadır. Çalışma ile filmin izleyici alımlanma analizi bağlamında incelenmesi ile literatüre katkı sunulmaktadır. Çalışmada iki yöntem kullanılmaktadır. İlk olarak tematik analiz ile filmde plan sekans kullanılan sahneler ve buna bağlı olarak değişkenler belirlenerek analiz edilmiştir. İkinci olarak plan sekans ve gerçeklik ilişkisini izleyicinin bakış açısından inceleyebilmek için alımlama analizi yaklaşımı seçilmiştir. On izleyici ile örnek film izletilerek derinlemesine görüşme tekniği ile yapılandırılmış görüşme gerçekleştirilmiştir. Elde edilen veriler betimsel olarak analiz edilmiştir. Yapılan analiz neticesinde filmde kullanılan plan sekansın gerçekliği sağlayarak seyirciyi hikâyenin içinde tuttuğu sonucuna ulaşılmıştır. Plan sekans, hikâyedeki gerçekliği yalın bir şekilde ortaya koymaktadır. Zaman ve mekân bölünmediği için izleyicinin gerçeklik algısı artmaktadır. Kameranın hareketinin az olması sebebi ile seyirci sahnenin içerisinde bir tanık konumunda bulunmaktadır. Filmde ritim, plan sekanslar ile sağlanmaktadır. Kamera nesnel olarak olayları takip ettiği için seyirci, tanık rolüne geçerek herhangi bir karakterle özdeşleşmeden hikâyenin şahidi (izleyen üçüncü bir göz) olmaktadır. Sinematografik olarak ise plan sekans kullanımı sayesinde kameranın bakışı nesneldir. Çekim ölçeği olarak yakın planlar (closeup) değil, genel plan tercih edilmektedir. Bu planlar içerisinde alan derinliği yaratılmaktadır. Kamera, duygu, ritim ve hareket olarak oyuncuyu takip edecek biçimde kullanılmaktadır. Bu takip de filmi gerçekliğe yaklaştırmaktadır. İzleyicinin seyir deneyiminde özgürlüğünün plan sekansta kullanılan çekim ölçeklerine göre genel planda özgürlük hissi varken diz/bel plan gibi daha dar kadrajlarda özgürlüğün yerini kısıtlama hissi aldığı sonuçlarına ulaşılmıştır.
This study has selected Selman Nacar’s 2021 film Between Two Dawns as a case study due to the use of plan sequences throughout the entire movie. The study aims to use a reception analysis to examine how reality is constructed of through the use of plan sequences in cinema in the case of Between Two Dawns. The study contributes to the literature by how it examines the film in the context of an audience reception analysis.
The study seeks answers to six questions:
RQ1: What is the relationship between plan sequence usage and reality in the case of Between Two Dawns?
RQ2: What plan sequences are used in the case of Between Two Dawns?
RQ3: How does the audience perceive plan sequences in the case of Between Two Dawns?
RQ4: Does the use of plan sequences liberate the audience in the case of Between Two Dawns?
RQ5: What are the cinematography preferences in the case of Between Two Dawns?
RQ6: From whose point of view does the audience experience the story in the case of Between Two Dawns?
The literature section of the study presents the history of realism in cinema, realistic film theory, and plan sequence titles. In this context, the camera provides the link between cinema and realism. According to Armes (2019, pp. 17-18), the images a camera records are images where successive processes are recorded in the form of movement in real life, which is why cinema has the potential for realism. Cinema started with the Lumière Brothers’ invention of the Cinématographe, and they recorded everyday life with this device, which could both record and show what was recorded (p. 23). Georges Méliès’ narrative films introduced fiction narratives into cinema, and cinema has been shaped by two basic traditions: formalist and realist film theories. Realist film theory states that technical innovations in cinema bring cinema closer to reality, thus making cinema an art. According to André Bazin (as cited in Andrew, 2010, p. 229), cinema is the art of truth because it displays the spatiality of objects and the space in which they exist.
Because this article conducts a case study, the research has no population or sample. This case study examines Nacar’s 2021 film Between Two Dawns, which consists entirely of plan sequences. The study uses two methods. The firstly is a thematic analysis of the scenes in which the film uses plan sequences, with the variables accordingly being determined and analyzed. The study chose the reception analysis approach as its second method in order to analyze the relationship between the plan sequences and reality from the audience’s point of view. The in-depth interview technique was used to conduct a structured interview with a 10-person audience by having them watch the film.
The audience reception study used homogenous sampling, which aims to identify a distinct sub-group by creating a small, homogenous sample (Şimşek & Yıldırım, 2018, p. 120). The study selected 10 viewers between the ages of 26-35 who studied cinema at the university level as an undergraduate or graduate in order to define the relationship between the plan sequences and reality within a certain subgroup of cinema-educated people. The obtained data were then analyzed descriptively.
The film uses plan sequences to deepen reality and keep the audience engaged with the story. These plan sequences simply reveal the reality of the story. Because time and space are not separated, the audience gains a greater perception of reality. Due to the low camera movement, the audience is positioned as witnesses to the scene.
The film also uses plan sequences to provide rhythm. As the camera objectively follows the story, the audience becomes a witness as a third set of eyes watching without identifying with any character. The plan sequence gives the film the impression of a documentary and makes the viewer believe in the event by creating a sense of reality. Cinematographically, the camera has an objective gaze. As for shooting scale, the film prefers generals over close-ups and creates depth of field within these plans. The camera is used with mobility and follows the actors in terms of emotion, rhythm, and movement. This pursuit brings the film closer to reality. According to the shooting scales used in the plan sequences, the study has concluded that, while a sense of freedom is present in the general plan, narrower frames such as the medium full shot and medium closeup shot replace freedom with a sense of restriction.
