The impact of space use in cinema on the movie atmosphere: An evaluation of Turkish cinema

This study was conducted at the intersection of the planning and cinema disciplines and aims to explore how the movie atmosphere is molded through the spatial preferences of directors and art departments and the role of these spatial preferences on the spatial perceptions of audiences by examining Turkish cinema. While the characters of a movie enjoy the spatial experience offered by the movie, the spatial perception of the audience is shaped by the director's spatial preferences. The way a director uses space and the interaction of a character with the space within the narrative co-nurture the movie atmosphere, which is composed of colors, light, frame/mise-en-scene as well as the scenario. Thus, in addition to offering a detailed analysis of the spatial experiences of movie characters, the study embarks upon its quest with reference to the idea that the "production of space" should be fulfilled so that the impact of the space on the audience is more apparent and that the space can exert an impact on the atmosphere. Henri Lefebvre, a city philosopher, posits that the production of space hinges upon the concept of "spatial experience", which, according to the philosopher, comprises three elements. Lefebvre describes space as a social and mental means of production and offers the analysis of the "spatial triad", which enables both the interpretation of the production of space in each production style and society and the reciprocal relationship between social and physical spaces on the mental level. Inspired by this view, the study examines the spatial experiences of movie characters within the context of the spatial triad. Moreover, the "good eye" method as proposed by Gillian Rose for the examination of the spatial experience of audiences who interacts with the characters throughout the movie only to the extent the director allows was employed in the study. This method helped explore how the production of space emerges in cinema within the context of the spatial experiences of both the characters and audiences. Benefitting from a qualitative method of social sciences and visual research method of fine arts education, the descriptive analysis method and compositional analysis method were employed together in the study. The sample of the study was made up of 688 Turkish movies. Istanbul was selected as the spatial axis of the study for maintaining its uniqueness in the spatial preferences of Turkish cinema for many years. The inclusion criteria comprised not being spatially analyzed previously and having been appreciated for achievement in editing in movie festivals or having been recognized for creating strong atmospheres. Three movies that allow in-depth analysis of space use were selected as the study material, which comprised Abluka (2015) by Emin Alper, Kaygı (2017) by Ceylan Özgün Özçelik, and Son Çıkış (2018) by Ramin Matin. All three movies were previously appreciated in cinema literature for their ability to create dystopic atmospheres despite their use of real locations. The study furthers this view and explains how the directors achieved the production of space in their respective movies and influenced the spatial perception of their audiences. The "ambient space" perception of the movies was delineated using 19 movie shots and 21 visual images for Abluka (2015), 23 movie shots and 32 visual images for Kaygı (2017), and 23 movie shots and 32 visual images for Son Çıkış (2018). KEYWORDS: Spatial Experience, Spatial Philosophy, Cinema-City Relationship, Space in Cinema