Andrew Stingley

Film 1070

Cinematography of ARGO

How is the themes and message conveyed using cinematography and editing in

ARGO?. The cinematography and editing of ARGO and how it explores the themes of the film, Rather more specifically the many variety of shooting styles that the cinematographer used through the film to help display the main themes throughout the entire film. These skills are much like an artist's brush stroke, however rather than using paints of many different hues they use: color filters, Different types of shots, objective/subjective cameras, and a wide variety of different camera operations and equipment. I feel that there are a few scenes that bring attention to a main theme of

ARGO was. A few of these themes can be: Doing the right thing, Sticking to your word, standing up in adversity and making a difficult decision, Trust in others and your allies.

An great example that there is in the very first initial scene of the film when the characters are first shown in the embassy. When uprising starts to breach the walls of the embassy and it shows the frantic pace of their thought pattern. The office becomes a scene of chaos with destroying sensitive documents and the cinematographer shows all the embassy workers frantically trying to do this, there comes a point when a decision has to be made and the camera makes a viewpoint of the characters faces when they decide to attempt to leave the embassy through the back entrance and onto the streets. The camera work used throughout this scene finds the raw emotion of what the characters were going through and displayed on screen. This was done through using different shot styles i.e.(a wide shot to display the chaos in the office, a medium shot on the person who suggested the escape out the back of the embassy.)

There was the scene when the maid for the Canadian is greeted by the militaristic patrolman who is searching for anyone who is against the new regime. Which shows the trust the Americans gave to the Canadians and to anyone in the house. That was proven by this act of not allowing knowledge of them to the man.

Another scene that uses techniques that show a theme of standing up is when the CIA is discussing exit strategies for the escaped embassy workers. This scene shows the discussion in the meeting it has the shot dart from person to person as they spout out there subsequent ideas and as each are shot down with some of them being somewhat illogical one coming to mind particular is the one about the bikes in the winter. After all of those ridiculous and in some cases impractical ideas, Tony gives his idea of using an idea of a film crew, the shot zooms in on him as to create the sense of the theoretical

"light bulb" that this idea was important.

Another moment in the film that brings one of the themes out in major force is the scene near the end of the film. This is when just after the CIA tells Tony that his operation has been sidelined and all of the people don't know about that hurdle and they are just minding themselves and partying all they can before they start their emotional grilling operation. It shows Tony just grabbing a bottle of liquor and leaving to be by himself to make the decision whether to tell them in the morning or to just go through with it. It shows the major emotions of him by making a wide shot so that you can see his body language showing what he is feeling. The party scene had more bright lights showing the better mood of what was being displayed. The scene in the hotel was darker and just had more of a gloomy image to it. a

There happened to be one more scene that really conducted the major message of being "heroic" is the very final scene where the camera zooms in on the board which showed the protagonist of ARGO flying out of the city saving his son, That is what can be described as a metaphor of what Tony was trying to do.

There are some other things that were interesting when researching about the cinematographer ( Rodrigo Prieto) had a interview about this film. What was interesting is that for the scene that was shot in Turkey he asked to change the light bulbs from the florescent to a incandescent bulb because the florescent gave an unsatisfactory green hue to the screen. The Turks liked it that they have not changed back to the old bulbs.

With dedication that shows in just the light bulb for one scene. The film used many different styles to either give an perspective of what the characters were feeling, and what chaos that must be given for a simple operation. The trust that must be displayed through when a guard is coming knocking at the gate and not be given up by that. Or working through pressure that tells you that this will not be done. Even with that doing what is right and standing by a promise that was given. These are all elements that were visually represented by the cinematographer in this film.