La victimización dentro del proceso penal

This study set out to gain insight into a genre primarily concerned with fashion communication, namely fashion film, by reflecting on an understanding of how the

movement of cloth and the body have potential to articulate meaning. The following aims and objectives were developed in support of this study:

• To define the term fashion film and to conceptualise the industry views of this type of fashion communication, as well as to establish the essential characteristics of the genre.

• To examine how semiotics can assist in reading potential meaning in the relationship between movement, cloth and the body within the genre of fashion film.

• To describe and examine Loïe Fuller’s film Serpentine Dance and Moderat’s film Rusty Nails in order to determine how cloth, the body and movement communicate meaning.

• To compare the possible symbolic associations derived from reading the

characteristics of movement, cloth and the body so that commonalities and differences in communicating meaning can be determined.

Both Rusty Nails and Serpentine Dance exemplify aspects of fashion film in that they utilise the body, cloth and movement as primary communicators to convey meaning and they do not rely on a clear narrative or plot. Defining fashion film is an inexact activity because its influences are so many and its ‘essence’, what is at its core, is something other than itself: music videos, early filmed dance performances, and so on. The

implications of this are that, as a genre that is still developing, fashion film is able to borrow approaches and techniques used in other genres. Approaches and techniques that

accentuate particular ideas, concepts or characteristics of the fashion film and make the genre distinct and yet potentially unbridled by conventions of fashion communication, marketing and advertising.

Chapter 2 established that fashion film is a genre that incorporates a broad spectrum of already established film genres, as well as new forms of fashion expression. These include

runway shows, backstage footage, interviews, documentaries, music videos, feature films, experimental films and advertisements (Honigman 2009:6; Kershaw 2011:1; Pernet

2009:1). Fashion, cloth, the body and movement in film were explored in Chapter 2 in relation to the communication of literal and figurative meanings in film. Meaning as defined by Barnard (1996:73) is understood to be located inside (the physical properties of texture, colour, silhouette, construction) and outside (as the social and cultural context and wearer, designer, film and/or media) the fashion, costume and cloth. In fashion film, fashion,

costume and cloth are primary communicating devices: they are a dominant source of inspiration for the creation and style of expression that characterise fashion film.

Essentially fashion and fashion design are fundamental influences in fashion film and the qualities of cloth and its relationship with the body are also key influences to consider in how fashion is used as an expressive, creative and physical artefact in film. Thus the interrelated characteristics of cloth, the body and movement were established and used as criteria to guide the analysis of Serpentine Dance and Rusty Nails. In the analysed films it became apparent that the interrelationship between cloth, the body and movement could create both interesting points of intimacy as well as mystical and expressive meaning.

However the possible symbolic interpretation and the associated meanings communicated in the films, incorporating cloth, body and movement are reliant on a number of other interrelated characteristics. These include the context in which they are used, their

interrelated histories, perceived meanings, and various aesthetics such as lighting, colour and sound.

The main objective of Chapter 3 was to formulate a method of reading fashion film, in order to analyse and compare how Serpentine Dance and Rusty Nails use cloth, the body and movement to communicate meaning. The devised method was guided by a

communications perspective and visual semiotic analysis. The communication perspective was used to provide a methodological framework to discuss the films’ communicator, the content and the context. A modified framework for visual semiotic analysis was developed and included codes of content: theme/story, objects, décor and props, background and foreground, lighting, costume, colour and movement of cloth and body. The codes of the form include lenses and focus, camera distance/shots/angle, primary movement,

secondary movement and tertiary movement.

Chapter 4 used the methodological approaches developed in the Chapter 3 and the criteria developed in Chapter 2 to guide the introduction and discussion of the films. The introduction of Serpentine Dance included the communicators, Loïe Fuller and the Lumière

brothers, and the context of the Belle Époque era. The introduction of Rusty Nails included the communicators, Moderat and Pfadfinderei, and the context of Berlin dance culture. A detailed comparison of Serpentine Dance and Rusty Nails was provided to determine what similarities and differences characterised their use of movement, cloth and the body to communicate possible symbolic meaning.

The comparison revealed the similarities in both films where they used the movement of cloth and the body to communicate abstract concepts that functioned as potential

metaphors and that meaning was generated by associating the cloth, body and movement with concepts and themes generated inside the film by the communicators, as well as outside the film (within the context of the interpretation and social/cultural climate). Both films used similar minimalistic aesthetics that allowed cloth, the body and movement to be the central focus. Cloth, the body and movement can be gendered, classed or expressive of power and status or they can be neutral and imbued with different meanings in different contexts, which then influences their potential to communicate possible symbolic

associations in each film. The films both used the body as an abstract form (Fuller’s body is often fully abstracted and the protagonists in Rusty Nails although abstract are still viewed as human) that was revealed and concealed by the cloth and the movements of the cloth and body, which meant that the visuals were open for interpretation.

The comparison also revealed differences between the films: in Serpentine Dance the content is evenly lit and moving kaleidoscopic rainbows of pastel shades were applied to Fuller’s furling costume in postproduction. The effect was youthful and fantastical. Rusty Nails used dramatic lighting, with sharp contrasts, and applied a rust filter and black geometric vector graphics in post-production to create a sensual or erotic mood. Rusty Nails, as a music video, was developed around specific lyrics and sound and the

synchronisation between visuals and sound fundamentally alters the reading of the cloth, body and movement. With Serpentine Dance no sound is provided with the film, as was customary with the technology at the time of its creation, however it has been suggested that music inspired the original choreography and accompanied the live performances.

The biggest contrast between the films is the use and kinds of movement used in terms of the body, cloth and editing. Fuller’s style of movement is described as modern dance: she makes use of constant motion of a similar s-shaped, twirling nature that is characteristic of both the body and the cloth. Rusty Nails makes use of more non-dance movements such as running, jumping and standing actions and subtle movements such as head and neck

rotations, and at one point the man and woman dance together hand in hand. The movements are irregular in time and nature and are separated by numerous cuts and edits. The nature of movement through picturisation is also an area of difference, where many camera angles, focal lengths, tracking shots and handheld camera shots are used in Rusty Nails, while in Serpentine Dance the camera is stationary and does not change its shot length or angle.