Pi Cinematic Techniques Essay

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Darren Aronofsky’s 1998 debut feature film, Pi, helped paved the way for his illustrious career in the US independent film scene. Shot for a miniscule budget of $68,000, Pi follows an intelligent, yet paranoid man who discovers a link between numbers and reality, believing that with this knowledge he can predict the future. The drama thriller is short in length, but helps to convey its story in a number of cinematic techniques. These techniques would include the editing, soundtrack, and cinematography. A staple of Darren Aronofsky’s filmography is quick paced editing and cuts. This is no different in Pi, as Aronofsky uses the fast cuts to communicate to the audience the character's emotional state, which is mainly paranoia. An example of this technique is whenever the main character Max (Sean Gullette), leaves his apartment. We are provided with shots of his door, locked behind numerous chain locks, and every time Max slides the lock off we are pushed in closer to the locks. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_CtgelI6xU start at 0:52] This style of editing also helps to convey the grittiness of Max’s world, that his world is always moving, never stopping for anyone or anything. The use of the montage, or the so-called …show more content…

Aronofsky is famous for using the SnorriCam, a camera attached to the actor’s body that creates a vertigo effect. When the actor is walking with the camera rigged to to their body, it does not appear that they are moving, but everything else around them does. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hdcKcmQESzY] This camera technique is notoriously difficult to use because of its negative effect from audiences who report becoming nauseous and light-headed having watched it. This, however, is exactly what Darren Aronofsky wants. He wants to make you feel stuck in the same state of mind and body as the

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