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This chapter is from the book 

Using Metaphors and Symbols to Tell Stories

Movies themselves are metaphors for how humans experience life on a deeper level. Creating a unique linguistic communication of metaphors and symbols for your film is a big part of being a visual storyteller. Symbolic images help u.s. to sympathize abstract concepts that cannot always be translated into words. I use the word metaphor to encompass metaphor, symbol, motifs, and leit motifs for the remainder of this book to simplify things.

Metaphor = Action/Sound. Visual or auditory representation of a dissever activeness, feel, or thought. A character blows out (action) a candle in a sleeping room to show expiry of a loved one.

Symbol = Object/Sound. Visual or auditory representation of another object. The candle (object) is in the shape of a ballerina to show grace and beauty.

Motifs = Collections. Collections of related metaphors or symbols used to stand for a related concept. Lights or flames going on and off to show life or death states throughout a picture show.

Leit Motifs = Repetition. The repetition of identical metaphors or symbols to represent a greater concept. The colour of the candle is gilt (valuable color), along with other gilt symbolic objects and activities in each scene to show the overall concept of what is valuable in a character'southward life.

Figure 2.xx When my principal character accomplishes her plot goal of completing her vision quest, she tattoos herself with a symbolic brand she saw in her shamanic journey. This symbol helps the states see that she has undergone a bully transformation. What types of symbols or metaphors can you include in your story to prove whether your characters achieve their plot and theme goals?

Notation

Setting Up Metaphors and Symbols - You can set upwardly metaphors and symbols in your films in two basic ways:

• Universal metaphors and symbols have all been used earlier and everyone understands them right abroad.

• Personal metaphors and symbols are those you lot create by beginning presenting them and and so defining them for the audition.

Figure ii.21 I developed a leit motif using snakes and spiders to represent unknown fears in my vision quest cave story. Ezzie'southward biggest fright is poisionous snakes and spiders, and the cave is full of them playing various archetypal roles. At the end of the story, during her shamanic journeying, she meets the King Rattle Ophidian and Queen Black Widow who help her to sympathise her fears and give her lots of valuable information. Snakes are symbolic of sacred knowledge, decease, fear, and rebirth, which fit nicely with the story. Spiders are known for their ability to travel betwixt the real world and the mystical world, which is what the grapheme needs to do to accomplish her plot goals.

Where to Place Metaphors and Symbols in Your Story

Metaphors and symbols can be used to develop plot, theme, and character in deeper ways visually. Every bit a filmmaker, you need to create a unique metaphorical language in your story. You may want to practice taking unlike storytelling techniques in this volume and seeing how you could use them in metaphorical ways. If yous want to evidence graphic symbol history, yous could have the grapheme doing a metaphorical scene activity from the past, such as a martial arts meditation. You may want to place sure symbolic objects in key scenes, similar pictures from exotic travels. The post-obit list will assistance you think of ideas on where to place metaphorical activities or symbolic objects in your story to help develop plot, theme, and character:

1. Objects/props. Household items, flags, T-shirts, games, art in room, statues, furniture manner, shape of windows, magazines, pictures, weapons, wall hangings, books, instruments, pets, cars, people, houses.

2. Music/sounds. Background sounds, songs, atmospheric music bed, music in scenes, street noises, atmospheric condition sounds, sirens, people crying/laughing/ screaming in the next room, weird unexplainable sounds, heaters, equipment, natural sounds, animals, result sounds. Conceptual narrative sound design and auditory metaphors are covered in Chapter vii, "Narrative Sound Design."

3. Colour. The color of everything in the frame may hateful something. Refer to the color section in this book to explore some meanings associated with each bones color. Advisedly choose colors for everything in each scene, including for costumes, sets, lights, cars, hair color, makeup, props, sky, fur, and conditions. If your theme had a colour, what would it be? Chapter 6, "Mise En Scène for the Twenty-Outset Century," covers the employ of symbolic color in more detail.

4. Words. Heard in dialogue or actualization on sets or otherwise onscreen (pop-upwardly bubbles to signal thought, subtitles, then on). Posters in the groundwork, titles, onscreen text with background info, poems, fables, stories within stories, signs, subtitles for slang, graffiti, product names on packages, license plates, bumper stickers, billboards, song lyrics, street names, grapheme names, location, upshot lingo, speeches, slang, vocabulary, dialect, cultural misinterpretations, multiple significant for some words, word puzzles, T-shirt sayings.

5. Sets. Location every bit character. What does the setting say virtually the mood of each scene? A chat in a junkyard has a unlike context than 1 at the top of the Eiffel Tower. National monuments, natural settings (swamps, waterfalls, caves, rivers, sea, desert), cities with unlike personalities, modest-boondocks local flavor, visual themes, types of businesses, geographical themes, amusements parks, clubs, bars, graveyards, temples, stores, abstract interpretations of the Internet, fine art galleries, circus tents, fantasy places.

6. Character types. People who represent the theme or plot to the extreme (positive or negative, even an farthermost mix of the two). Costumes, stereotypes, fashion preferences, cultural backgrounds, accents, jewelry, uniforms, piercings, tattoos, hats, clothes, masks, T-shirt sayings.

7. Lighting. Colored lights, calorie-free sources, brightness, lighting subjects specific to metaphor. Good characters may be in bright calorie-free, whereas evil characters may be darkly lit. Quality of light (time of day as a metaphor). Glowing effectually sure characters, confront-lighting strategies to evoke emotion, source of lite (sun, spaceship, flaming building) as metaphor, spinning ambulance lighting in room to represent emergency situation.

8. Staging. Placement of characters and metaphoric objects inside the frame to represent relationships. Where are your characters in human relationship to each other metaphorically? You could have three characters who grade a love triangle continuing effectually a fire to represent a clandestine affair nigh to be uncovered. What metaphoric items surround the characters? Are they talking while walking through a field of sunflowers or in between cactuses? What metaphoric objects could you place between characters to evidence relationships or emotional states during a scene? Two characters on reverse sides of the frame with knives hanging on the wall between them may represent conflicting emotions. How could you use a series of staging metaphor shots to testify relationships? In Citizen Kane, i of Kane's marriages dissolves in front of our eyes every bit, in a few quick match cuts, Kane and his wife sit down farther and further away from each other at bigger and bigger dinner tables.

9. Fables. How could you interject little stories into scenes to show plot, theme, or character? You might want to accept just pictures of parable characters or allude to them visually through stuffed animals, statues, paintings, cartoons, or drawings on the set up. Effort to retrieve of new ways to contain parables visually into your films. Perhaps you could make your ain piddling cartoon fable to play on a Television receiver in the background during a scene. You might make up your ain original Aesop-type legend, which the characters could hash out, see in a play or on Tv set, read in a book, hear nigh in dialogue, or be relayed past a magical object. In the Crying Game, the theme of how you tin't change your bones nature is developed past the characters talking about the frog and scorpion fable in each of the 3 acts. The frog agrees to give the scorpion a ride beyond the lake, but so gets stung.

10. Symbol dictionaries. You may want to start collecting resources for metaphors, such every bit symbol or dream dictionaries, to help y'all tap into universal subconscious visual metaphors. Listed here are some examples of symbols and possible meanings. Record your own favorite symbols and what they mean to you for use in your films.

Project 2.twenty

Option a Colour for Your Theme. Choose one color to represent the theme of your film. List five ways to employ this theme colour, both on physical objects and as a metaphor.

Figure two.22 I/O Error. In this short flick by Michael Dougan, he uses the metaphor of twin boys to show the theme of how 2 opposing sides of a person cannot coexist peacefully. 1 boy is good, and one is evil. Triplet actors were used for the little boys, and compositing techniques in mail were used to indistinguishable the developed thespian who plays the grown men.

Figure 2.23 During the opening shots of Denizen Kane, nosotros are drawn upwardly to a point of calorie-free every bit we become closer and closer to the window of the room in which Kane is dying. When he dies, the light goes out. This is a good use of metaphoric lighting to represent story events. How could you lot apply a similar technique in your story?

Figure 2.24 This symbol, worn effectually the neck of a character, was created by taking an ahnk and turning it upside down to bear witness strange religious beliefs. The shape of a flight saucer was laid over the cross to symbolize alien creators. How tin can you accept ii symbols and combine their meanings and shapes to make a unique ane for your motion-picture show?

Projection 2.21

List Possible Metaphors and Symbols for Your Picture. Every bit you go through the following instance metaphor and symbol charts, list one idea for each type of chart to use in your film. For example, choice a symbolic animal that may announced somewhere in your story equally a pet, in a painting, discussed in dialogue, or equally a graphic symbol in a fable. Exercise combining metaphors and symbols and using repeating patterns to create a unique visual language.

Animal	Symbolic Meaning
Bee	Social club, industry, work, dangers of courtship, immortality, rebirth, order
Bird	Freedom, flying, betwixt higher and lower worlds
Dragon	Money, fame, danger, myth, fire
Horse	Chivalry, spiritual carrier, supremacy, generosity, backbone
Raven/crow	Death, war, supernatural, transformer, trickster, messenger, prophet
Pet	Unconditional love
Firefly	Perseverance, spirits of the living, souls of the expressionless, passionate love
Unicorn	Gentleness, wise rule, famous children
Wild brute	Unsafe passions and people
Woodpecker	Noisy, guardian, ambitious
Domestic dog	Loyalty, guardian, friend
Shark	Danger that lurks out of sight, fear
Dolphin	Playful, spiritual mediator between worlds, helper
Butterfly	Metamorphosis, rebirth, imitation lover, transformation, soul, summer, joy, witches
Dove	Peace, messenger, holy, renewal of life, vulnerability, sensitivity, spirit
Peacock	All-seeing, pride, vanity, solar glory, royalty, immortality, love, dazzler, paradise
Owl	Wisdom, scholar, occult powers, all-seeing, death, supernatural protector
Spider	Weaving, letters, ability to travel betwixt worlds, architecture, pain
Ophidian	Sacred knowledge, expiry, afterlife, rebirth, phallic, fertility, eternity, magic, fearfulness
Elephant	Memory, intelligence, wise nature
Bear	Creation, guardians, spirit guide, strength, transformation, healing, courage
Crocodile	Creative abilities, predator, subconscious danger
Horned fauna	Expanded perception
Nursing animal	Unconditional motherly love
Bull	Earth, male, physical, danger, powerful

Establish	Symbolic Meaning
Honeysuckle	True devotion, sweetness
Garlic	Protection, clarified, healing
Fennel	Restores lost vision
Lavender	Calming, sweet, soothing for burns and wounds
Dandelion	Troublesome, tough and persistent
Rose	Queen of flowers, honey, devotion, beauty, sugariness, creative powers
Thyme	Backbone, bravery
Sunflower	Sacred, gilt, sun, wild, tall, attractive
Rosemary	Love, remembrance, fidelity (The wife rules the firm when rosemary is planted outside.)

Atmospheric condition	Metaphoric Significant
Lightning	Unexpected changes
Tornado	Violent destructive behavior
Floods	Chaos, devastation, welled-up emotions overflowing, retribution
Hurricane	Forces beyond our command, passion
Rain	Sadness, romantic, common cold, fetility, precious, life-giving
Rainbow	Wholeness, beauty, perfection, bridge betwixt sky and earth, unity
Hot and Sunny	Hot tempers, sensual, summertime, lazy, fun
Common cold and Icy	Frozen emotions, common cold feelings, static, winter, sharp, harsh, survival, death

Object	Symbolic Significant
Axe	Potency, sacrifice, penalty
Bubble	Beautiful but fragile object, nonpermanent, childlike happiness
Egg	Cosmic totality
Fig	Psychic ability, fertility
Flame	Danger, anger, speed
Honey	Pleasance, sweetness, fertility
Ice cream	Pleasurable, sensual tastes
Quartz	Becoming more powerfully expressive
Satellite	Communication
Shoes	Grounding, in touch on with life (Weird shoes hateful new modify.)
Waves	Ups and downs of life
Anchor	Stability, grounded, sanctuary
Bong	Warning, disaster, death, alarm, religious
Fire	Passion, desire, anger, destruction
Spiral	Rebirth, learning, evolution, path
Sunday	Creative energy, male, transformation, college consciousness, light
Moon	Unconscious, intuition, female, cycles, changing
Paring	Unfortunate event
Drowning	Overcome by emotions
East	Nascency, consciousness
Kissing	Acceptance, approval, respect
N	Unknown
Southward	Earthly passion/sensuality
Victory	Overcoming disharmonize between ii parts of ourselves
West	Spiritual awareness, death
Coins	Wealth
Grapes	Fertility, wine, pleasance, harvest
Falling leaves	Harvest, dropping, letting go, surrender
Crystal	Clarity of perception
Fountain	Source, life-giving spring, medicinal, spiritual refreshment
Gate	Change in state, secular power, ownership, new beginnings
Well	Supernatural portal, birth, blessings, mercy, unusual events
Flag	Identity, nationhood, fidelity
Ladder	Rising/descent, spiritual transformation, stages of piece of work, decease

Occupation	Metaphoric Significant
Butcher	Decease, rejuvenation, bloody, fierce
Outlaw	Rebellious, chaos, lawbreaker
Queen	Female authority figure, ruler, political
Artist	Inner creative force made physical
Broker	Say-so, managing director of resources, wealth
Dr.	Healer, authority, respect, caregiver
Guru	Wisdom, father figure, unconscious, knowledge
Priestess	Intuitive, female, moon, independence, responsibility, clarity, balance, clairvoyance
Rock Star	Superman, decadent, talent
Landscaper	Sculpting earth, connected to plants, making natural things beautiful
Lawyer	Server of justice, shark-like instincts
Solider	Brave, team player, trained for combat
Stockbroker	Risk taker, big money, fast decisions
Waitress	Server, cheerful
Secretary	Item-oriented, part worker, assistant
Player	Trained to pretend different feelings or personalities, hard to read

Scene Activities	Metaphoric Significant
Kneeling	Respect, humility, sacred, spiritual, request for guidance
Getting a tattoo	Transformation, symbolic of grapheme modify, rebel, outsider
Dancing	Ecstasy, trance, celebration, ritual, playfulness, worship, functioning
Bathing	Cleansing, rebirth, purification, regaining youthfulness
Journey	Spiritual quest, search, pilgrimage, test, new beginnings, change
Hunting	Skill, prowess, risk, death, persecution, domination

NOTE

Combining Metaphors. How could y'all combine some of the previous examples of metaphors to create new ones? Create three different combinations with explanations for what they represent. How could you lot add specific colors and numbers to deepen the meaning? You could compose a shot of a queen figure eating a fig, with two woodpeckers on her shoulder, adjacent to a pyramid, with lightning bolts in the background, to symbolize female dominance, guardians, psychic ability, concentrating power within, and unexpected change.

1. Numbers. Sacred geometry is universal and volition help you plan story elements using numbers every bit metaphors. You could have a character say he has seven (often associated with beingness lucky) dreams about an upcoming event. Or utilize the corresponding geometry and shapes when constructing your scenes, such equally having vii colored stones on an altar that a character uses to pray for things.

2. Juxtaposition. Show the audience one metaphor or symbol, then some other, and have them draw a third separate conclusion from the two. Chapter eight, "Preproduction Story-Editing Choices," covers in depth ways to use juxtaposition.

Number	Symbolic Meaning
ane	Number "1," top of group, circle, wholeness, center, unity, oneself, independence, single purpose, universe, equality, seed, stable, begetter, intolerance, stubbornness
2	Partnership, duality, indecision, rest, two sides, opposites, relationships, root, mother, indecision, indifference, making choices
iii	Third time a charm, things always come in 3s, two failures to 1 success, triangle, harmony, freedom, completion, relationship/balance, holy divinity, power, God'southward halo
4	Foursquare, forcefulness, stability, Mother Earth, heart, 4 directions, four elements, grounded, clumsiness, dull
5	Human body, 5 senses, stars, leaves, communication, nature, footprints, regeneration, vortex, authorisation (five-star full general/sheriff star) spiral/transformation (the yellow brick road in The Wizard of Oz begins as a gilded screw (based on 5) to symbolize transformation).
half dozen	Structure, residuum, social club, function, time, weights, intuition, practical
7	Magical, God, spiritual, cycles, excellence, myth, luck, musical harmony, crystals, rainbow, chakras, religion, virgin, dreams, voices, sounds, higher cocky, levels
8	Renewal, death/resurrection, nourishing, resonance, cosmic breath, chessboard, moon phases, limitless growth, goddess, traveling between higher and lower worlds (spider), atom groups, natural vibration
9	Completion, spiritual awareness, pregnancy, gift, highest attainment, body of water, horizon, ultimate extension, worship, essential elements, cosmic ruler
10	New beginning, high honor, whole family unit, perfect, top score
xi	Main number, mystical, gateway, higher dimensions, higher consciousness

Figure ii.25 According to Norse mythology, horses could empathize the will of the gods. Odin rode an eight-legged stallion called Sleipnir. The eight from our number nautical chart symbolizes the ability to go between worlds (like spiders with 8 legs). This combination of number and symbol works well for this myth. How could you lot combine established metaphors to create original ones? How could you apply your digital tools to create new visual metaphors? It would exist interesting to meet an eight-legged 2D or 3D animated horse.

Figure 2.26 This Bigfoot biting the head off of a raven (decease) could be a metaphor to foreshadow a shut brush with decease or a metaphor for overcoming the fright of death.

Using Visual Metaphors to Show Character History

Metaphors and symbols are a keen way to develop your grapheme history. Get through your character history questions and run across how you could show the important points using metaphors.

Figure 2.27 Clocks are sometimes shown going haywire when something in the film earth is out of synch. What other types of ordinary symbolic objects or metaphors could y'all play with visually to show the country of your film world irresolute?

Project 2.22

Utilize Metaphors and Symbols. Think of iii ideas to prove grapheme history using metaphors and symbols somewhere in your film.

Using Visual Metaphors to Show Backstory

Metaphors are bang-up to develop the backstory for your film without having to explain everything.

Using Visual Metaphors to Testify Grapheme Traits

Metaphors are great tools to utilize when developing character traits.

Character History	Metaphoric/Symbolic Image Description in Script
Strange rituals in family for immortality.	Blue shrine full of drinking glass bees in character's bedchamber.
Weird hobbies for character in position of authority.	Majestic sporting axes hung on walls.
Character feels trapped in old symbolize loss of freedom.	Character eats partner's pet bird to relationship.
Unsafe person.	Pet alligators and venomous snakes clamber around backyard.
Well-educated and cultured upbringing.	Has a grand piano delivered to house.
Misses lost dearest.	Carries a picture, souvenir from beloved, or ribbon from pilus.
Creative side.	Artwork displayed.
Most prized possession is an old love letter.	Alphabetic character is kept in a hush-hush depict in a golden case.
Grapheme is very happy and playful emotionally.	Wears rainbow suspenders, has a pinball machine in his bedroom, and has funny toys
Character needs tension to create.	Character turns on music really loud late at night to build sculpture, disturbing other people.
Character is terrified of getting sick.	Wears gloves, disinfects chairs before he sits downwards, wipes off phones, wears a surgical mask outside.
Character thinks the good old days were better.	Character drives a 1957 Chevy and wears vintage clothes.

Backstory Information	Metaphoric/Symbolic Image Description in Script
Leader of movie world every bit an outlaw	Picture of king surrounded by gun drove framed on the wall.
Social lodge of people in boondocks	Rich people wear vivid colors, walking poodles; poor people wear gray and are sweeping the street.
Lay of the state with edge of the known world said to be forbidden	Mural featuring a map with the edge of earth total of monsters; characters call it "the edge."
Of import heroes who character admires	Temple devoted to expressionless hero in middle of boondocks.
Past catastrophic effect	Pitch-black historical memorial site with a large flame still called-for.

Character Trait	Metaphoric/Symbolic Paradigm Description in Script
Leader	Uniform, medals on chest, ribbons, special gold scepter.
Professional wrestler	Superhero outfit, mullet, aureate chains with wrestling medals around neck, apartment full of wrestling posters and trophies.
Alcoholic	Silver flask in pocket, mini liquor bars in cloak-and-dagger spots in each location, drinking at each location.
Lover	Tattoo of girl'south name on centre, conveying fresh picked flowers, digital furnishings slight gilded glow aura.
Humble	Character hiding from recognition events, awards.
Well–educated	Carries books everywhere, uses a magnifying glass to look at things, wears glasses, hangs out at museums.
Uptight	Hair perfect, tight starched clothing, gets upset virtually litter on the street or slow people at stores.
Warrior/solider	Scars on body, wears hidden weapons, jumps when people bear upon him from behind, flips into martial arts pose when startled.

Effigy ii.28 This sacred Bigfoot cave has symbolic paintings on the walls that tell the history of the clan (to develop backstory information).

Project 2.23

Backstory Objects. Choose 10 items to identify symbolically on your sets to represent the backstory of your film using the metaphoric approaches previously described.

Projection 2.24

Character Trait Metaphors and Symbols.Call up of three ideas to show character traits using metaphors and symbols somewhere in your picture.

Using Visual Metaphors to Show Character States

Mental, emotional, physical, spiritual, and intellectual states of characters should be expressed through metaphoric and symbolic cues. An object may be present in the scene to symbolize a character'south state or the character may say something that gives us a inkling.

In Transit, the Venice hotel room has clothes all over the floor, symbolizing how messed up Emmy's life has go with Oscar. She has a blackness eye, too. These visual clues let usa know her graphic symbol state in the scene. In the Baden-Baden scene with her husband, the hotel room is perfectly great—with divide twin beds symbolizing the country of their marriage. How can you lot employ symbols like this to show united states of america character states in each scene?

Effigy 2.29 This Bigfoot finally snaps one day during a date and punches a hole through a tree. How could you testify your characters having uncontrollable outbursts or overwhelming emotional moments that cause them to alter suddenly in your flick?

Project 2.25

Create Character States. Recollect of iii ideas to show character states using metaphors and symbols somewhere in your pic.

Graphic symbol Land	Metaphoric/Symbolic Image Clarification in Script
Someone not what he or she seems	Reflection in funhouse mirrors
Wise shaman head of tribe	Says he simply "drinks out of ancient skull"
Person going crazy	Gory agonizing art project the character is making throughout moving picture
Loss of life force	Crops in field dying
Relationship condition negative	Couple fighting over the color of drapes
Lost-dearest retentiveness	Pendant with old picture around neck
Revenge for death of loved one	Handmade knife from loved one'due south family
Midlife crisis	Character buys Harley-Davidson motorcycle
Obsessed with food	Grapheme excavation around for hidden candy bars
Scientific mindset	Has vision looking into liquid within heated glass chalice
Losing important object	Canis familiaris floating down the river
Spiritual epiphany	Shaves caput or cuts off hair to symbolize new kickoff or mindset
Needs to control every piddling thing because of fearfulness of chaos in earth	Arranging objects in straight lines
Needs to feel clean in a dirty business	Taking very long and meticulous grooming shower with lots of special lotions and shampoos
Graphic symbol striking bottom	Character starving in a nighttime messy house

Using Visual Metaphors/ Symbols with Nature Shots

In the animated short Transit, nosotros see subtitles of what happens to the characters at the end. When the information comes upward about Emmy being missing and her body never plant, an ominous shark fin glides by the floating suitcase in the water and then the suitcase sinks. This symbolizes foul play is involved in her disappearance; afterward all, sharks can swallow people and leave no clues. A puddle of claret then forms on the surface of the water, letting united states know that Oscar killed her, cutting her up, and threw her body overboard in the suitcase. All of this information is conveyed with simple text on the screen and a shark fin moving around a symbolic suitcase covered with travel stickers from the places they had visited together.

Figure ii.30 Mutant bugs and snails in a toxic waste dump cavern could be used to prove the unsafe effects of chemicals on living organisms.

Effect Occurring in Scene or Another Surface area	Metaphoric/Symbolic Epitome Description in Script
Death	Black crows on a snowfall-covered black winter tree
Rebirth/resurrection	Springtime shots of flowers blooming, little birds in nests chirping, sunny skies, light-green grass
Losing important relationship	Dog watching a brawl coil into storm bleed and looking upset
Someone about to steal	Trick in henhouse stealing chickens
Catastrophic event coming	Comets (lens-flare furnishings) in heaven
Rough emotions	Big waves crashing on rocks
Spiritual epiphany	White fauna existence built-in in a barn
Murder	Blood running into water
Lots of work to be done	An anthill or bees in groundwork
Aroused emotions boiling over	Heat waves melting up from a prickly cactus-covered desert road

Projection 2.26

Create Nature Shots. Think of three ideas to utilize nature shots with metaphors and symbols to visually develop data in your story.

Writing Exercise ii.12

Write a few pages concentrating on only using different types of metaphors, symbols, and themes.

Using Metaphors and Symbols to Testify Theme

As discussed earlier, metaphors and symbols are corking ways to show theme in subtle ways. You could plow your characters into blithe animals or use some of your digital tools to invent new types of metaphoric characters. What other ways can you lot use metaphors and symbols to show themes in your picture?

David Lynch is a master of cinematic metaphor. All of his films, and the Tv evidence Twin Peaks, are worth studying for how they handle metaphor in bold, simple, and original ways. He is particularly practiced at creating personal metaphors and symbols. An opening scene in the moving-picture show Fire Walk with Me takes place at an airport (new beginnings); this sets up the whole motion-picture show. A dancing girl in a cherry-red wearing apparel comes out and does a quick pantomime, just says cypher, every bit the 3 detectives advisedly scout. Later on in the automobile, i detective asks the more experienced 1 what the dancing girl meant. Below is a chart breaking down the metaphors and symbols of the "dancing girl" scene. The audience would never understand the significant of this symbolic language unless the characters explain them, which makes the metaphors a personal creation of the filmmaker.

The theme of the flick is that in the search for meaning, you cannot know everything and nil is what information technology seems, which is wonderfully illustrated with the use of visual metaphors and symbols. Detectives equally characters are metaphors for solving a mystery, such equally solving life's mysteries, which is part of the theme of the film. Theme and metaphor are often tied together very closely in visual stories.

This scene is interesting because of the original use of metaphors and symbols. If the film would have started in an office with the detectives talking about the case, it would have been flat, uninteresting, platitude, and dull. The startling use of personal metaphors in this film pull us into the story, much like a puzzle we demand to solve to sympathize what is happening.

Effigy 2.31 This bluescreened grapheme is floating over a movement graphics timeline blitheness of his life every bit a dream. How could you create an original dream sequence in a motion picture using digital tools? Maybe you could build a surreal dreamscape in a 3D or 2D photo collage, and use bluescreened characters flying or drifting over areas.

Annotation

Write Down Your Dreams. If you accept problems remembering your dreams, merely tell yourself before you become to bed that you will remember them and keep a notebook with a pen nearby so that you tin write them down as before long every bit you wake upward. You lot may even want to tell yourself to dream that night of certain themes or questions to see what comes up. Write all dreams down even if they do not make sense, because they might reveal their meanings later. Sketch whatsoever cinematic elements of dreams next to the description if you have time.

Using Your Dreams to Help Create a Personal Visual Language

Many of us have developed a personal system of metaphors and symbols from life experiences hidden deep inside our subconscious, and these ofttimes bear witness upwardly in our nightly dreams. Peradventure whenever you dream about playing chess, you are having to recollect strategically most changing some state of affairs in your daily life. You lot may want to keep a dream journal and get a sense of how your mind thinks almost metaphor and symbol, which you tin and then work into your films. The more y'all write down your dreams, the more you lot understand how y'all personally recall in visual symbols and metaphors. Dreams can often help the states find new means to communicate visually on a deeper subconscious level, to show emotions or situations that may exist hard to explain with straightforward dialogue or action.

Shot in Fire Walk with Me	Metaphoric/Symbolic Meaning
Someone smashes a Boob tube during one the Telly bear witness Twin Peaks.	This film is going to be different from of the opening shots.
FBI detective has a safe strapped effectually his body.	"He croaky the Whitman case," meaning this man is good at solving mysteries.
David Lynch makes a cameo as an FBI boss.	This is important information, and then pay attention.
Dancing daughter in a ruby dress comes out with a sour-looking face and does a quick pantomime.	Sour confront ways problems with the local authorities.
Dancing daughter's eyes are both blinking.	Trouble higher up with sheriff and deputies.
Dancing girl has one hand in pocket, and ane in a fist.	The local authorities are hiding something, and they are going to exist belligerent.
Dancing daughter starts walking in place.	This instance volition involve a lot of legwork.
Dissimilar colored thread has been used to change the girl'due south wearing apparel to size.	Tailored dresses are lawmaking for drugs.
Blue rose pinned to dress.	No such thing as a blue rose. More experienced detective tells the other one, "Tin can't tell you well-nigh that." Hermeneutic search symbol.

Creating Film Puzzles with Metaphors

Films are like puzzles and people like to try and figure things out in their heads. What was "Rosebud" a metaphor for in Citizen Kane? This is the dying Kane's final word at the start of the film, and the rest of the film is a search to discover who or what Rosebud was about. Film geeks proceed to contend well-nigh the true meaning of "Rosebud" whenever the subject comes upwards.

How can y'all put a puzzling aspect in your pic to make it more engaging? Can you ask some type of visual question or create a visual puzzle? In Memento, the master character is trying to figure out who killed his wife, which gets pretty messy and disruptive because he cannot retrieve annihilation for more 10 minutes. Polaroid pictures serve as the metaphoric puzzle pieces this character uses to effort and put his past back together. The answer to both these motion-picture show puzzles are still not very clear fifty-fifty by the terminate of the films. Sometimes it is more interesting not to solve everything for the audience and let them effigy it out for themselves (or keep to question).

Notation - Definition

Hermeneutic The search for meaning. This pop philosophy comments on how humans search for pregnant in films. Sentry for this idea and see how each director handles it differently.

Figure ii.32 Metaphoric Puzzles. Orson Wells gives us an extreme close-up of Kane'due south final give-and-take, "Rosebud," which serves as the mystery puzzle to be solved in the film.

NOTE

Create a Puzzle in Your Film. Think of some way to twist your plot effectually a mystery or puzzle for the audition to solve. Review your favorite films that have puzzles and add the techniques used to this list. A good arroyo is to begin near the heart or cease of the story and effigy out some reason to go over what happened. You might use a detective interviewing someone near a criminal offence, an old person thinking about her life, a reporter interviewing someone, a grapheme reflecting dorsum on his experiences through old photographs, a character telling his story in a voice-over, or present a mystery to be solved.

Film Puzzle Ideas to Get You Started

A character cannot remember something, but she is trying to find out what it is by using visually metaphoric clues.	A mystery event, criminal offence, or situation needs to be solved.
Key grapheme says something puzzling and and then disappears.	One grapheme is trying to find out the truth about someone/something that is not what information technology appears to exist.
The graphic symbol is displaying puzzling behavior, which is discovered to be continued to a past and forgotten trauma.	The character is trying to sympathise a strange situation. The character is in such a setup, alternate reality, or dream.
The character finds a strange object or data he has been tracking downward.	Employ multiple story lines, unlike graphic symbol POV's, or characters intersecting at key points.

Working with Positive and Negative Theme Charges

Another style to work with metaphor and theme is to play back and forth betwixt negative and positive manifestations throughout the moving-picture show.

Different characters often stand for different perspectives on the same theme. If you are doing a theme on loyalty amongst gangsters, you could have i super-loyal gangster, one who is playing two different criminal offence families against each other, and some people who get back and forth betwixt loyalty and disloyalty. What happens to these characters shows us your theme. If the super-loyal grapheme gets rich and the ii-timing one dies horribly, loyalty is a proficient thing. If the super-loyal gangster gets killed and the disloyal one wins the big prize, loyalty is not important or is even a bad thing in your film earth.

Notation - Definition

Theme Charge Negative or positive manifestations of theme.

Characters themselves can exist smashing metaphors for themes.

Projection 2.27

List Positive and Negative Theme Charges. How could you lot have different characters or situations represent positive and negative sides of your theme?

The principal character in Kafka'due south Metamorphosis wakes up i solar day as a cockroach. How tin can you play with transforming your character types to showcase your theme better? Digital tools and blitheness techniques brand it easier to turn characters into bugs or other metaphoric creatures. Harvey is a 10-minute short film from Australia with a graphic symbol that is literally sawed in half (3D effect) looking for his ameliorate half or ideal relationship (a great use of visual metaphor with digitally enhanced original grapheme design). How could y'all apply DV furnishings or 2D/3D animation to metaphorically testify your characters in a new way?

What type of metaphor tin can each of your characters represent in your movie world? What do the characters do for a living, how practice they clothes, what kind of cars do they drive, where do they alive?

Themes sometimes represent best dreams or worst flaws. Who is destroyed? Who grows? What special quality in the protagonist helps him reach his goals? In Lily and Jim, both main characters desire a relationship, but both of them accept pretty ineffective communication skills (worst flaw and theme).

Using Visual Metaphors to Develop Theme

The theme, or unspoken moral message of the story, needs to be carefully handled. Yous must brand sure the audience gets the theme on some level, simply non exist too preachy (a delicate balance). Metaphors provide a great way to communicate theme while telling your story visually.

You tin can use existing metaphors or create your own original visual metaphoric language for your film. Suppose that you lot are doing a film on the theme of greed. Yous might have all the really greedy characters wearing dark-green, talking near money, clinging cash registers in the background, characters using greed-type slang such equally "time is money," people in the background chasing bravado dollar bills, or a lead character counting his money as he delivers his lines. The best approach for developing visual metaphors and symbols is to create a listing of possible ideas and and so run into which ones you can play with without being likewise obvious or preachy.

Figure 2.33 A character falling into a bottomless pit could exist metaphoric for diving into the unconscious. The theme of my moving-picture show is that every living beingness has a specific purpose. The theme goal of my protagonist is to observe her purpose past learning to trust her intuition. Showing her falling into a pit is a good way to symbolize going deep within to find her purpose and trust the hidden parts of her intuition.

Theme	Metaphoric/Symbolic Image Description in Script
Treasure the trivial things in life.	Grapheme eating fresh pie, savoring every bite.
Alienation of youth.	Young character looking out of place at grownup party.
Desire leads to suffering.	Grapheme getting vanquish upwards trying to get what he wants.
Exploration of character.	Searching for meaning of last give-and-take uttered on deathbed.
The blurry line between sanity and insanity.	Bear witness all the characters acting crazy but functional.
Violence as cost of individuality.	Hip, cocked, unique criminal characters.
Cost of deception.	Pet cat found hanging on clothesline by adversary.
Power of love can change fate.	Grapheme screaming so loud that he wins game of chance to save lover.

Writing Exercise ii.thirteen

Write a few pages about how to testify your theme using a unique set of metaphors and symbols.

Projection 2.28

Showing Theme. Recollect of five symbols or metaphors to prove theme in your film.

The opening shot of the picture show Memento shows a fresh Polaroid moving-picture show equally information technology develops. It takes a moment for viewers to realize that the motion picture is rolling backward—the moving picture is becoming less clear the longer we sentinel information technology. This is a great visual symbol for the theme of the style we reconstruct memory and how what we remember fades and changes over time. This whole film is told backward in brusk retention bursts considering the master character can think things for only x minutes at a time. Polaroids are the way this character keeps track of who people are and what he thinks is happening. The opening shot tells us a great deal well-nigh the character, plot, and theme in a stunningly original visual metaphor that is both simple and securely complex at the same time.

When you actually understand your main characters, metaphors, and theme, information technology is much easier to develop the events in your story and write your script. Building up original characters is like creating new beings in the world who start to have on a life of their own inside your imagination. Creating strong metaphors and themes will brand your story deeper and assist you choose visual designs that fit the ideas you are presenting.

Figure 2.34 Ezzie stole a video cell phone from a camper and likes to crank call the speed dial people and scare them with her big hirsuite face and ferocious roar. Sometimes during the motion picture, she calls different people on the phone and asks for help or advice, or does something lightheaded. This helps show a connection between the Bigfoot film globe and the human being earth. A Bigfoot using a video phone could be interpreted as a metaphor for the way applied science is trickling downward into the masses and changing our lives in unexpected ways. This idea could exist used every bit a subplot device in an animated series where the grapheme steals a different phone each week and talks to a new cast of speed dial people. How could you lot contain a unique digital storytelling approach in your film as a symbol or metaphor for theme? Maybe your character could consult his PDA–playing DV video clips you create to evidence a college power guiding him through the story. What other digitally enhanced gizmos could you use to tell u.s. a story in a new way?

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