Ridley Scott’s 1982 science fiction film Blade Runner is a rich visual experience that rewards repeat viewings. The film’s thematic material has been discussed endlessly in literature, with aspects of discussion ranging from Deckard’s true nature to the way in which the portrayal of futuristic Los Angeles closely resembles modern Tokyo. However, the film’s success should not only be attributed to the acting or set design, but also to the filmmakers for their great use of aesthetic concepts in manipulating the audience’s perception of the film’s events. These basic concepts help to enrich and enhance the experience of watching the film, and are one of the many reasons Blade Runner is still highly regarded nearly thirty years after its initial release.
Harrison Ford plays Rick Deckard, a blade runner who at the start of the film is sent to track down a group of Nexus-6 replicants – androids virtually indistinguishable from humans. The traditional method of distinguishing replicants from humans is the Voight-Kampff test, which exploits the emotional responses of the replicants. The sequence I chose for analysis begins as Deckard arrives at the Tyrell Corporation, home of Eldon Tyrell, the man responsible for developing replicants, to perform a Voight-Kampff test on a Nexus-6 model, to ensure that the test work on these newer models. After Deckard is greeted by Rachael, Tyrell’s assistant, Tyrell arrives and commands Deckard to perform a Voight-Kampff test on her, claiming that he wants to see the test work on a human before he provides a replicant subject. Deckard proceeds, and after an unusually long test, he arrives at the revelation that Rachael is a replicant who believes she is human.
Panel 1 depicts the first shot of the sequence inside of the Tyrell Corporation. In this shot, an owl flies from screen left to screen right, creating a strong motion vector. Motion vectors are the strongest of all types of vectors, and immediately attract the viewer’s attention. The point of drawing the viewer’s attention to the owl is because it catches the attention of Deckard, and it will spark the first conversation between Deckard and Rachael. This conversation reveals that the owl is both artificial and expensive – two attributes that reveal part of the cinematic world of the film. First, many species of animals are extinct, and only present in the world of the near future as robotic imitations. The fact that Tyrell owns an artificial owl indicates his wealth and power (which can be expected, since he is responsible for developing replicant technology).
Panel 2 plays host to a variety of 2-D field forces and graphic depth factors. The large columns on both sides of the frames are graphic vectors, and they contribute to creating a vertical main direction in the shot. The vertical direction exhibits the power of Tyrell and the Tyrell Corporation, and is more visually exciting for the viewer. This visual excitement foreshadows the importance of the coming scene in which a main character (Rachael) and her dilemma (coming to terms with being a replicant) are both introduced.
The lines separating the tiles on the floor seem to converge towards the center of the frame, as do the columns. The point that they converge to is called the vanishing point, and here it represents the horizon line. This convergence of graphic vectors and objects is called linear perspective. Because of linear perspective, the columns in the background look progressively smaller than the ones in the foreground because they are further away. This is called relative size, (another graphic depth factor) and will be explored further on.
These columns seem to push the objects with positive volumes to the edges of the frame, resulting in a large negative volume that lies between them. Negative volumes create feelings of insignificance and awe in the viewer. The filmmakers employed a negative volume to reinforce the aura of intellect and wealth and power inside the Tyrell Corporation. The audience responds to this with feelings of unease and distrust towards Tyrell that his actions later in the sequence only serve to confirm.
The lines separating the tiles on the floor seem to converge towards the center of the frame, as do the columns. The point that they converge to is called the vanishing point, and here it represents the horizon line. This convergence of graphic vectors and objects is called linear perspective. Because of linear perspective, the columns in the background look progressively smaller than the ones in the foreground because they are further away. This is called relative size, (another graphic depth factor) and will be explored further on.
These columns seem to push the objects with positive volumes to the edges of the frame, resulting in a large negative volume that lies between them. Negative volumes create feelings of insignificance and awe in the viewer. The filmmakers employed a negative volume to reinforce the aura of intellect and wealth and power inside the Tyrell Corporation. The audience responds to this with feelings of unease and distrust towards Tyrell that his actions later in the sequence only serve to confirm.
Panel 3 consists of two successive shots of Deckard and Rachael as they talk to each other. Both characters look directly at the camera, creating z-axis index vectors. The framing of the two of them (Deckard is placed slightly screen right, Rachael slightly screen left) along with the fact that they are talking to each other, combine to turn these ordinary z-axis index vectors into converging index vectors. Despite the fact that both characters appear to be looking at the camera and the audience, from context clues it is understood that they are talking to each other and looking at each other. From this, it appears that their gazes seem to be piercing one another, suggesting the sexual attraction that will be revealed in later scenes in the film.
Additionally, Panel 3A offers the concept of a heavy graphic weight. Because the filmmakers wish to focus on the reactions that Deckard and Rachael have upon first seeing each other, they do not crowd the frame. Instead, they frame the characters to endow them with a large graphic weight, emphasizing that they are the most (and in this case, only) important things in their respective shots. In the shot in Panel 3A, Deckard occupies a large dimension of the screen and is oriented towards the right side of the frame, the more dominant side. The image is also geometrically simple (easy for the audience to recognize), and vertically oriented, which itself demands more attention. All of these factors contribute to forming a heavy graphic weight within the shot.
Directly beneath Panel 3A lies Panel 3B, which beautifully demonstrates the figure/ground principle. In this shot, Rachel’s head and shoulders are clearly distinguishable as the “figure” in front of the blurred background representing the “ground”. All five rules behind the figure/ground relationship are followed in this shot. Rachael is thing-like, and she stands in front of the blurry, indecipherable background that is basically just uncovered screen area. The line separating Rachael from the background is her own outline, thus belonging to her. Rachael is less stable than the background and therefore more likely to move across or out of the frame. Although both Rachael and the background extend beyond the frame in this shot, this rule would still fall in Rachael’s favor because if the shot were of Rachael’s entire body, it would not continue outside of the frame, whereas the background would. The fact that Rachael is a prominent “figure” in front of an indiscernible “ground” adds to the effect of her heavy graphic weight, ensuring that she is the focus of the shot.
Additionally, Panel 3A offers the concept of a heavy graphic weight. Because the filmmakers wish to focus on the reactions that Deckard and Rachael have upon first seeing each other, they do not crowd the frame. Instead, they frame the characters to endow them with a large graphic weight, emphasizing that they are the most (and in this case, only) important things in their respective shots. In the shot in Panel 3A, Deckard occupies a large dimension of the screen and is oriented towards the right side of the frame, the more dominant side. The image is also geometrically simple (easy for the audience to recognize), and vertically oriented, which itself demands more attention. All of these factors contribute to forming a heavy graphic weight within the shot.
Directly beneath Panel 3A lies Panel 3B, which beautifully demonstrates the figure/ground principle. In this shot, Rachel’s head and shoulders are clearly distinguishable as the “figure” in front of the blurred background representing the “ground”. All five rules behind the figure/ground relationship are followed in this shot. Rachael is thing-like, and she stands in front of the blurry, indecipherable background that is basically just uncovered screen area. The line separating Rachael from the background is her own outline, thus belonging to her. Rachael is less stable than the background and therefore more likely to move across or out of the frame. Although both Rachael and the background extend beyond the frame in this shot, this rule would still fall in Rachael’s favor because if the shot were of Rachael’s entire body, it would not continue outside of the frame, whereas the background would. The fact that Rachael is a prominent “figure” in front of an indiscernible “ground” adds to the effect of her heavy graphic weight, ensuring that she is the focus of the shot.
Panel 4 is a good demonstration of the graphic depth factor overlapping planes. Overlapping planes increase depth because when one object is shown to be in front of another, the audience registers the overlapping object to be closer than the overlapped one. Overlapping planes is also related to the figure ground principle, because with overlapping planes, the object in front acts as the figure while the object behind acts as the ground. For instance, in Panel 4, Deckard acts as a figure as he stands in front of a chair, which acts as part of the ground in that particular figure/ground relationship. However, the chair is visibly in front of the table, and in this case, the chair has become the figure and the table is the ground. The audience unconsciously knows that this means that Deckard is closest to the camera, followed by the chair, followed next by the table. Another example from this still is that Rachael stands in front of the bonsai tree, which rests in front of the column in the background, which in turn is in front of the panoramic view outside the window.
Panel 5 is an example of a lighting technique called Chiaroscuro lighting. The fast falloff of the shadows creates a strong light contrast that defines the whole scene. The shadows created by the falloff add shape and volume to the room and seem to suggest once again the vastness of the Tyrell Corporation and the power of the man whose name it holds. The moodiness evoked by this lighting scheme seems to label Tyrell and his Corporation as shady and untrustworthy. In Panel 5, Dr. Tyrell makes his first appearance in the film, walking (appropriately) out of the shadows.
With the arrival of Panel 6, comes the arrival of more graphic depth factors. On the left side of the frame, the base of the frontal column would have a distinctly smaller y-value than the column behind it if the frame were a coordinate plane. The column in the back appears higher on a 2-D piece of paper or screen, but the viewer does not interpret the column as floating, but rather as merely being further away. This is known as height in plane. The objects on the table in the immediate foreground appear under the edge of the table at which Rachael is sitting and Deckard and Tyrell are standing. In fact, most likely, these objects are probably higher off the ground than the table. But because the table is further from the camera, it appears higher in the frame. The same goes for the tops of the chairs at the heads of the table; the one closest to the camera appears lower on the frame than the one at the far end of the table that is farther away.
Just behind Rachael in the room are two busts on marble pedestals. Whether or not they are identical is unclear, but they are most certainly similar in size. Their relative size, however, is different. The bust in the foreground appears larger because it is closer to the viewer. From contextual clues the viewer assumes that both busts are the same size, and the one in the background is only smaller because it is further away. The bust in the background (as well as the column n the background on the left side of the frame) seems to get smaller and move more towards the center of the frame because of the linear perspective in this panel. Relative size can also explain how the plant in the immediate foreground on the right of the image occupies more screen space than the character Deckard. It is not because the plant is larger than Harrison Ford, but because it is much closer to the viewer than Deckard.
Just behind Rachael in the room are two busts on marble pedestals. Whether or not they are identical is unclear, but they are most certainly similar in size. Their relative size, however, is different. The bust in the foreground appears larger because it is closer to the viewer. From contextual clues the viewer assumes that both busts are the same size, and the one in the background is only smaller because it is further away. The bust in the background (as well as the column n the background on the left side of the frame) seems to get smaller and move more towards the center of the frame because of the linear perspective in this panel. Relative size can also explain how the plant in the immediate foreground on the right of the image occupies more screen space than the character Deckard. It is not because the plant is larger than Harrison Ford, but because it is much closer to the viewer than Deckard.
Panel 7 is an example of a superimposition, here a single frame during the editing transition known as a dissolve. The dissolve is usually used to indicate the passge of time, and that is in fact why it’s being used in this sequence. As the old image fades and the new appears, the audio of Deckard asking Rachael a question from the Voight-Kampff test fades outs and the audio of Deckard asking a different question fades in. The superimposition is interesting because it offers a figure/ground paradox. For example, in Panel 7, it is unclear whether the close-up of Deckard is the figure and the wide shot of the test being conducted is the ground, or vice versa. The superimposition is actually a crucial part of the scene, because it indicates to the audience that the Voight-Kampff test is taking a long time. After the test ends, Tyrell and Deckard discuss why the test took so long; Rachael is unaware that she is actually a replicant. The way in which Tyrell acts triumphant following the test confirms the expectations of him that the aesthetics of the scene have suggested – he is not to be trusted and his motives are most likely personal.
The depth factors of this sequence contribute to defining the cinematic space of the Tyrell Corporation, which in addition to the lighting, editing techniques, and framing, all create a scene in which each frame has a specific job that contributes to the sequence’s overall effectiveness. Although this scene in particular is successful, the film as a whole is also aesthetically rich. In fact, the film’s enduring popularity can be attributed at least in part to this, because a film that is aesthetically strong can only boost the effectiveness of the other areas of the film.
The depth factors of this sequence contribute to defining the cinematic space of the Tyrell Corporation, which in addition to the lighting, editing techniques, and framing, all create a scene in which each frame has a specific job that contributes to the sequence’s overall effectiveness. Although this scene in particular is successful, the film as a whole is also aesthetically rich. In fact, the film’s enduring popularity can be attributed at least in part to this, because a film that is aesthetically strong can only boost the effectiveness of the other areas of the film.
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