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Introduction
Visual perception is one of the essential sources of information for the human brain. This idea has been effectively utilized in the filmmaking industry, allowing directors to transmit profound ideas subtly. Christopher Nolan is a renowned expert in cinematography, which makes his works worth examining from this point of view. Tenet is the directors most recent work, and it combines his prior experience in terms of using advanced visuals to create the desired effect. The films cinematography contributes to the overall sense of suspense and captivates the viewer. Simultaneously, the abundance of small, seemingly insignificant visual details adds a deeper layer of meaning, as Nolan uses them to tell his story in implicit ways. The purpose of this essay is to discuss the role and effect of the visual aspect in Tenet.
Main body
Human eyes serve as the primary source of information regarding the surrounding world. While the entire concept of filmmaking dwells on this idea, Christopher Nolan attempts to utilize the full potential of visual perception in his works. Cinematography is a major component of Nolans storytelling, and his style devotes an active role to the camera, which acquires a certain narrating potential (Martinez Alvarez et al. 137). In Tenet, the director achieves an unusual level of visual credibility for science fiction. This effect is established through the realistic cinematography of the scenes combined with a limited amount of computer graphics. For example, Nolan used a real airplane, which he crashed into a building on the set (Lord). This way, the visual credibility of the scene was established, improving the immersion of the viewers.
Such scenes serve to create stronger suspense, which is enabled by the realistic portrayal of events and the lack of notorious green screens. In addition, Nolan asked the actors, who played time-inverted characters, to move accordingly. When perceived by the camera, they appeared to be in rewind mode, but, in reality, no technical instruments were used for these scenes. In other words, the choreography was designed around the reversed movement in time, which posed additional challenges for the crew but deepened the effect of the film. This unnatural choreography added another layer of the unique science fiction realism and created a stronger sense of suspense.
Simultaneously, Christopher Nolans films are filled with small details, which complement the main plot. Show, dont tell is one of the universally recognized principles of storytelling, and Tenet utilizes it to a maximum. The film can be characterized as mysterious, as its plot introduces many questions. However, the implicit visual storytelling elements enhance this effect even further. Small, seemingly insignificant details are scattered throughout the film. They are neither in the focus of the scene nor discussed within the plot, which prompts the viewer to engage with the story and creates a halo of mystery. The red string on a mysterious characters backpack and implicitly pointing toward his identity as one of the main characters by the end is a vivid example of this tool. The uncertainty regarding such details contributes to the storys overall suspense, making the viewer invested in the plot.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Christopher Nolans Tenet demonstrates excellent visual cinematography techniques, which create suspense and mystery. The realistic portrayal of fantastic events adds a dimension of credibility and plausibility due to the lack of computer effects. Furthermore, the director incorporates hidden details in the movie, which tell an exclusively visual story. They convey information implicitly, keeping the viewer engaged and invested in the development of the plot.
References
Lord, Annie. Tenet: Christopher Nolan Crashed Real Plane into a Building for Explosion Scene . Independent, 2020. Web.
Martinez Alvarez, Luis Daniel. Cinematic Phenomenology: Theoretical Analysis of the Camera as a Narrator in the Film Interstellar by Christopher Nolan. International Journal of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences Studies, vol. 5, no. 12, 2020, pp. 137-140.
Tenet. Directed by Christopher Nolan, performance by John D. Washington, Warner Bros. Pictures, 2020.
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