Multi-Modal Costanzo Chapter 2

In this particular chapter, I never really understood the "entire" concept of their being different languages within a film. I do get the fact that film has characters/actors, and what they say and do doesn't necessarily mean what we may think it means. On page 16, Metz says "A film is difficult to explain, because it's so easy to understand." He makes a valid point that as an audience our main objective is to get to a theatre, sit down, watch and interpret. We don't have any other objective when we go see a movie. However, there is so much more there than what meets the eye. All of the angles, the cast of actors/actresses, the setting, tone of voice, etc. Everything comes into play in these movies, and that's what I think he is referring to.

Throughout the chapter talk about Cinematic Grammar and the use of signs and referants. The grammar part is understandable to me. I believe that things such as music, sweat, position of an actor plays a vital importance to getting a message across. The tune of a sorrowful jazz saxaphone can indicate a mopd change for a particular character. There are things in movies that don't need words to get the message across to the viewer. On page 18 Costanzo explains the difference between signifiers, and what is being signified. I know that when I watch scary movies, as soon as I hear eerie music, I brace myself for a surprise because of years of that happening to me while watching movies.

I enjoyed this chapter because it took a look at more of the elements of film, rather than JUST how we VIEW it. I would have never stopped to think of such things, had this book not been a requirement for the class.