Explain the way the human eye perceives a movie composition and briefly explain how directors Roman Polanski and Orson Welles used composition and visual design differently in their adaptations of Shakespeare’s Macbeth to enhance the ideas of madness and isolation

What will be an ideal response?

Answer: The ideal answer should include:
1. Movie images are generally scanned in a structured sequence of eye-stops. The eye is first attracted to a dominant contrast that compels our most immediate attention by virtue of its conspicuousness. The eye then travels to the subsidiary areas of interest within the frame.
2. Roman Polanski’s presentation of Lady Macbeth’s isolation and madness is conveyed in a relatively realistic manner, with emphasis on acting and subtle lighting effects.
3. For example, in one shot where Lady Macbeth lies next to her husband in bed, Polanski lit the shot in high contrast, with Lady Macbeth brightly lit and her husband lit in a more subdued manner. She is also surrounded by darkness except for the brightly lit “empty” space between her and her husband. This emphasizes the dramatic context of the film, for Lady Macbeth is slowly descending into madness and feels spiritually alienated and isolated from her husband.
4. Orson Welles took a more formalistic approach, using physical objects with the frame to convey Lady Macbeth’s interior states.
5. For example, in one shot Welles photographs Lady Macbeth next to an iron fence’s knifelike blades, which almost seem to pierce the character’s body. The fence is not particularly realistic or even functional. Welles exploited it primarily as a symbolic analogue of her inner torment.