In this essay I will be comparing and contrasting graphic novels that have been developed into films with a style that represents a graphic novel. Frank Miller is going to be a key figure behind this essay for I will be using his work from both his novels and films. Two of these I will be using are Sin City and 300. Followed by the Matrix by the Wachowski brothers. My main intention is to compare and contrast all of the graphic novels and how they are portrayed in the films. I will be writing about how these novels, through simple use of colour and contrast can significally change the approach of the film and really make it appear like an animation of the novel as well as the screenplay techniques, choreography and the cinematography.
Firstly Frank Miller is an American comic, writer and a director the main focus is on his works of graphic novels which he has later directed and produced into films. The Wachowski brothers aka Larry and Andy Wachowski who are also film directors/producers and writers who have done graphic novels into film. Frank Miller’s Sin City was originally written as a graphic novel the style in which it was done is a technique called film noir a style that uses a black and white as the sole colours throughout. The main purpose behind using this technique is for having such high contrast two colours the effects are a lot clearer and a lot more focused. This approach is used as in the film of Sin City in the ‘film noir effect but having very dull/mid skin tones, using the blacks and whites as the core colours and the few occasions that things like blood, hair and lipstick would blossom out with solid colour to give it a real focus and give it a lot more effect for e.g. the character called ‘Blondie has a very pale mid tone skin but lush red lips and vibrant blonde hair which draw your attention to her beauty through a use of selective colour. It really captivates the idea of the film being set from a graphic novel. The same ways are used in the novel and film 300 but also very different. The style of cinematography used in 300 is similar to that in Sin City but the colour use is different again selective colours but more flowing of rich colour no high and low contrasts, mid tones. The effects are similar to that of Sin City mostly with the use of colour, which I think represents a graphic novel. The 300 and Sin City graphic novels are portrayed in the films by using selective colour that style in which represents in the novels most and also the way in which scenes are shot for e.g. the scene in 300 where Leonidas is of a young age the scene shows him facing one to one against a wolf in the night with a spear, as Leonidas gives the killing the blow the angle of the camera shows the scene through the shadows on a rock cliff wall. The same technique is used in Sin City this type of scene is very common in comics and graphic novels it’s as if to show the violent scenes but through an imaginational view, indirect.
The last graphic novel and film is The Matrix the most different out of the two but still follow the same principles the use of selective colour but all three films have well collaborated cast of actors who fill the roles matching the novel appearances well. In The Matrix novel there’s a specific way in which they used colour, for when the characters were in reality the colours were brought down to low tones blues and when they entered the virtual world of the ‘Matrix solid mid tones and greens were used to represent the feel of being in a ‘clean virtual world. While in reality they all look rugged and aged the scenes look realistic as for when they enter the Matrix things like their skin are a lot smoother their clothes are fresh. They do this in novel by having rougher drawing and colouring on the reality scenes while in the matrix’s it is very block coloured cleaner drawings. You can tell just by noticing the atmosphere aura colour that changes depending where they are in both the novel and film, green being them in the Matrix and blue them in Reality.
Comparing all three films from how in their graphic novels they are portrayed in film, a huge key thing that all three have in common, is how they use the same style of colour. Selective colour from the graphic novels and put that into the film. This approach is unique, as to most film the style that Sin City and 300 are done in a quite literally animated comic with real actors. The films portray the sense of the novel in doing some of the scenes exactly like they should appear as if reading the graphic novel for fighting scenes and violent scenes. An example of this is that in the novel it might show someone about to be shot and then show the shadows of it with blood splatting over the camera shot. Use of slow motion in all three films to give the idea it’s slowly building up as it would in the novel to the final outcome. The three films have amazing correlate casts which make the films look like a duplicate to the novels. I have found out how important the technique of contrasting is in the films.
