I Am Sam Visual Techniques
Describe an important idea worth learning about. Explain why the idea was worth learning about using visual techniques.
An important idea worth learning about in the film I am Sam directed by Jessie Nelson is the power of love. This theme is portrayed by the relationship between Sam and his seven year old daughter Lucy. Love is an important idea in the film because Sam has a mental handicap which causes society to misjudge him, but Lucy chooses to see past his disability and loves Sam for who he is.
There are some key techniques used by the director to demonstrate ideas about the power of love. These techniques include music, colour representation and camera shots.*-
The theme of the power of love is conveyed through the visual technique of colour representation, whereby the use of this feature has helped highlight the relationship and how the power of love influenced characters throughout the film. For example, in the scene when Sam is in court trying to regain custody of his daughter, the colour blue is used and everything is tinted blue. Throughout the film the colour blue is used to symbolize Lucy and her character. Even though Lucy wasn’t physically present is the court room at the time, her colour, blue, is the main visual technique in the scene. This is because the scene is about Lucy and it also shows that Sam cares for and *loves his daughter, and he is fighting to keep her.
Another way the power of love is shown in I am Sam, is through the music. Throughout the film, often there will be no diegetic sounds (in this case dialogue) and only non-diegetic sounds, which in
I am Sam is music. This allows the music to tell a part of the story that words may not be able to. For instance, in the scene when Lucy and Sam are running away on a bus after a supervised visit, the song ‘strawberry fields’ is played. The idea the song portrays is the power of love, focusing especially on the relationship between Sam and Lucy, and about the two of them trying to
An important idea worth learning about in the film I am Sam directed by Jessie Nelson is the power of love. This theme is portrayed by the relationship between Sam and his seven year old daughter Lucy. Love is an important idea in the film because Sam has a mental handicap which causes society to misjudge him, but Lucy chooses to see past his disability and loves Sam for who he is.
There are some key techniques used by the director to demonstrate ideas about the power of love. These techniques include music, colour representation and camera shots.*-
The theme of the power of love is conveyed through the visual technique of colour representation, whereby the use of this feature has helped highlight the relationship and how the power of love influenced characters throughout the film. For example, in the scene when Sam is in court trying to regain custody of his daughter, the colour blue is used and everything is tinted blue. Throughout the film the colour blue is used to symbolize Lucy and her character. Even though Lucy wasn’t physically present is the court room at the time, her colour, blue, is the main visual technique in the scene. This is because the scene is about Lucy and it also shows that Sam cares for and *loves his daughter, and he is fighting to keep her.
Another way the power of love is shown in I am Sam, is through the music. Throughout the film, often there will be no diegetic sounds (in this case dialogue) and only non-diegetic sounds, which in
I am Sam is music. This allows the music to tell a part of the story that words may not be able to. For instance, in the scene when Lucy and Sam are running away on a bus after a supervised visit, the song ‘strawberry fields’ is played. The idea the song portrays is the power of love, focusing especially on the relationship between Sam and Lucy, and about the two of them trying to