Chapter 4 Summary

I read Chapter 4 of Anne's book "The Screen." To sum up, the chapter was about how the Window as a screen is different than the Window at a still painting or image.

The screen moves while the viewer is still, fixed in a seat in a theater. Whereas the old Window, the viewer is free to move around and look at the painting, which stays the same.

She also talked a lot about "virtual mobility." That within a screen, shots change which means the perspective and vantage point are constantly changing. The viewer is the camera and moves with each shot. We are close , we are far, we are above, etc. Within those shots are also movement--characters, objects are constantly moving in and out of the frame. We are constantly be taken out of and then stitched back into the film.

She also talked about Edison Train film--when it was first showed, it was said people panic at the site of an incoming train. But were they freaked out because they thought the train was real or because the "magic" of cinema was too much to handle--that they knew it wasn't real but it was too shocking anyway.

She gave some back history about the architecture of Theaters, how they started off as churches or pre-existing buildings that had a projecter and screen added and then how they evolved into new building where the focal point became the screen... everything in the room was made to focus the viewer toward the screen.

There were also discussion on Film vs TV screens. The TV is also a window, but how is it different than the movie experience? There's smaller, the screens were full screen instead of widescreen black and white etc. And there were TV programs instead of movies like in the theater. Its interesting how now Home theater systems are closer and closer to a movie experience--bigger screens, better quality, better sound etc. Anne didn't discuss this in her book, but I'm curious about her opinions on this. What does the improvement and sophiscation of TV mean to Film? In the past it seemed Film took it up a notch, they did color, wide screen, 5.1 surround sound, etc. Where will they take it now to bring back movie goers?

She started to discuss the Computer screen but that was mostly discussed in Chapter 5. Where the image on a computer and the interaction there is even more extreme because we have screens within screens and an interactive world. We are no longer merely observers of the Window but participants with it.

Anyway, hopefully this gives you a good overview of Chapter 4. If i think of more, I'll add it later.