Objects in Films: Analyzing Signs

Authors

  • Renira Rampazzo Gambarato Virginia Commonwealth University in Qatar

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.9771/contemporanea.v7i2.3643

Abstract

The focus of this essay is the analysis of daily objects as signs in films. Objects from everyday life acquire several functions in films: they can be solely used as scene objects or to support a particular film style. Other objects are specially chosen to translate a character’s interior state of mind or the filmmaker’s aesthetical or ethical commitment to narrative concepts. In order to understand such functions and commitments, we developed a methodology for film analysis which focuses on the objects. Object interpretation, as the starting point of film analysis, is not a new approach. For instance, French film critic André Bazin proposed that use of object interpretation in the 1950s. Similarly, German film theorist Siegfried Kracauer stated it in the 1960s. However, there is currently no existing analytical model to use when engaging in object interpretation in film. This methodology searches for the most representative objects in films which involves both quantitative and qualitative analysis; we consider the number of times each object appears in a film (quantitative analysis) as well as the context of their appearance, i.e. the type of shot used and how that creates either a larger or smaller relevance and/or expressiveness (qualitative analysis). In addition to the criteria of relevance and expressiveness, we also analyze the functionality of an object by exploring details and specifying the role various objects play in films. This research was developed at Concordia University, Montreal, Canada and was supported by the Foreign Affairs and International Trade, Canada (DFAIT).

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Author Biography

Renira Rampazzo Gambarato, Virginia Commonwealth University in Qatar

Dr. Renira Rampazzo Gambarato, Assistant Professor of MFA in Design Studies at Virginia Commonwealth University in Qatar. Post doctorate in Film Studies and Semiotics (2009) at Concordia University, Canada; PhD. in Communication and Semiotics (2005) at São Paulo Catholic University, Brazil and Kassel University, Germany; Master in Communication and Semiotics (2002) at São Paulo Catholic University, Brazil and Bachelor of Industrial Design (1998) at São Paulo State University, Brazil.

Downloads

Published

2010-03-27

How to Cite

Rampazzo Gambarato, R. (2010). Objects in Films: Analyzing Signs. Contemporanea, 7(2). https://doi.org/10.9771/contemporanea.v7i2.3643

Issue

Vol. 7 No. 2 (2009)

Section

Artigos

License

Authors publishing in this journal must agree to the following copyright terms:

Authors retain copyright and grant the journal Contemporanea and the Faculty of Communication of the Federal University of Bahia the right of first publication, with the work simultaneously licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License (CC BY 4.0), which allows the sharing of the work with acknowledgment of authorship and initial publication in this journal.

Authors are authorized to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the version of the work published in this journal (e.g., publishing in an institutional repository or as a book chapter), with acknowledgment of authorship and initial publication in this journal.

Authors are permitted and encouraged to post and distribute their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their personal website), as this can lead to productive exchanges, as well as increase the impact and citation of the published work.