A Demonstration of Deleuze’s Ideas Regarding Framing and Shot Composition Through Photography | Uddalak Chaudhuri, Rajesh Chakraborty

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In The first level: frame, set or closed system of his essay Frame and shot, framing and cutting, Gilles Deleuze discusses the different aspects of closed framing. The frame, according to Deleuze, consists of numerous elements (data), forming subsets, which varies from image to image, thereby making the frame susceptible to two tendencies: towards saturation or towards rarefaction. After organizing these two concepts, he articulates the geometrical, the dynamic as well as the out-of-field aspects that goes into the construction of a closed frame. For the purpose of this presentation, we have selected five images in order to demonstrate  Deleuze’s propositions from the essay. While these images portray a variety of aspects from Deleuze's essay, we have chosen to point out some specific aspects which are most prominent in the specific images.


I

Location: Bakkhali ; Camera: Cannon 700D
This image exemplifies rarefaction in a certain form. Although no particular object occupies the entire screen, the subsets are substantially reduced. To quote Deleuze, rarefied frame is produced , “when the set is emptied of certain sub-sets.”(Cinema 1: The Movement Image, pp. 12).  Also, the lines separating the great elements of nature(the sky, the water, the earth) is prominent.

II

Location: Kolkata(near Esplanade) ; Camera: Cannon 700D



 This image displays numerous geometrical compositions(straight lines, parallels)  formed as a result of the dividers, the streetlights, the flags, the fences, the cars and the people as well as numerous other elements. To quote Deleuze, “The frame is… conceived of as a spatial composition of parallels and diagonals, the constitution of a receptacle such that the blocs [masses] and the lines of the image which come to occupy it will find an equilibrium and their movements will find an invariant.” (Ibid., 13.)


III

Location: Narendrapur ; Camera: Moto e5

 This image is an example of a dynamic conception of the frame. It shows a pandemonium of bustling activities though unrelated. It is not possible to distinguish dawn from twilight by any given element within the frame. To quote Deleuze, “The frame is no longer the object of geometric divisions, but of physical gradations… the set itself is a mixture which is transmitted through all the parts … It is the hour when it is no longer possible to distinguish between sunrise and sunset… it is by degrees of mixing that the parts become distinct or confused in a continual transformation of values...The set cannot divide into parts without qualitatively changing each time: it is neither divisible nor indivisible, but ‘dividual’ ”(Ibid.,  14.)


IV

Location: Near Anwar Shah Road ; Camera: Moto e5

 This image is an example of a point of view frame. To quote Deleuze, “the point of view can be – bizarre or appear to be - bizarre or paradoxical: the cinema shows extraordinary points of view - at ground level, or from high to low, from low to high, etc.”(Ibid., 15.). The wires act as diagonals, dividing the screen with geometric precision. 


V

Location: Esplanade ; Camera: Moto e5
This image exemplifies what Deleuze regarded as out-of-field. The vehicles are going in no particular direction, giving us a sense of a world outside the frame. To quote Deleuze, “the out-of-field designates that which exists elsewhere, to one side or around;.”(Ibid., 17.). The reflection of the railing on the wet pavements gives us a frame within a frame impression. 


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