Reorientation In Films Research Articles

Directors and DVD Commentary: The Specifics of Intention

In chapter 2, we clarified the process by which different components of special edition DVDs are produced. Particular attention was accorded to the commentary track since this is one feature specifically enabled by the format itself. At its best, commentary by directors and screenwriters can afford a glimpse of the care and deliberation behind the production of movies: how details are carefully weighed for significance, how patterns of meaning are built up and maintained, and how the editing process shapes meaning out of conflicting visions. It also shows the limits of intention, that is, the ways in which contingency and chance in shooting a film can become part of meaning. For those unaccustomed to thinking in terms of the deliberate processes of construction, selection, and concentration crucial to art, these commentaries—delivered by authoritative figures such as directors, writers, and set designers—can be a valuable, pragmatic introduction to the study and enjoyment of film. In this chapter, we would like to examine one facet of the DVD’s reorientation of film, the new prominence it gives to questions of intention, both directorial and cinematographical, and to speculate on the curious fitness of this recrudescence for the present moment.1

Photoreaction and Molecular Reorientation in Films of Novel Photosensitive Polyesters Containing n-Alkyl Side Groups and 1,4-Phenylenediacryloyl Units in the Backbone

Photoreaction and photoinduced molecular reorientation in nanoscaled films of poly[oxy(4-n-alkyl-3,5-benzoate)oxy-1,4-phenylenediacryloyl] (PPDA-CnBZ), which contains n-alkyl side groups and photosensitive 1,4-phenylenediacryloyl (PDA) units in the main chain, were in detail investigated by linearly polarized infrared (IR) and ultraviolet (UV) absorption spectroscopy and optical retardation analysis. The PPDA-CnBZ polymer molecules were found to undergo mainly photodimerization upon UV light irradiation. However, the occurrence of trans−cis photoisomerization in the PPDA-CnBZ film could not be detected. In addition, irradiation with linearly polarized UV light (LPUVL) induced selective photoreaction of the PDA chromophores positioned parallel to the polarization direction of the LPUVL, which caused the molecular reorientation of the polymer chains. In the irradiated films the unreacted PDA chromophores were found to anisotropically distribute in a direction perpendicular to the polarization direction of the LPUVL, whereas the photodimerized PDA units displayed nearly isotropic distribution in the film plane. Thus, the LC alignment on irradiated PPDA-CnBZ films can be deduced from the relationship between the distributions of polymer chains and of liquid crystal (LC) molecules. In particular, the unreacted PDA chromophores remained at the film surface irradiated with LPUVL favorably align the LC molecules along their reorientation direction, which is perpendicular to the polarization direction of the LPUVL via their anisotropic interactions with the LC molecules.

Observation of optically induced molecular reorientation in films of smectic C liquid crystals

A linearly polarized laser beam incident on a freely suspended film of a smectic C liquid crystal has been observed to reorient the molecules. In films of 4, 4 bis (heptyloxy) azoxybenzene, large reorientations have been observed with an incident optical power of less than 50 mW. Photographs are presented showing the change in molecular orientation as the incident polarization is rotated. A simple theory explaining the effect is also included.