How do the techniques used in Cabaret give us an insight into the characters of the film?

In the 1970s hit Cab aret, the director, Bob moat, successfully uses a variety of filmmaking techniques to draw attention to different aspects of the multifaceted characters. Our discernment of the characters is shaped through and through the use of techniques ranging from changes in c dish uphing to mise-en-scene.Costuming is one of the or so revealing aspects, and we can learn a lot about the characters by discovering at the clothes they wear. fracture is a prime illustration of this. On stage snap sports titillating, suggestive, revealing attire. She feels that she is divinely decadent and authentically is an international sensation as the master of ceremonies claims. This is reflected by the raunchy, glitzy clothes she wears. epigram tries to carry her femme fatale act on into her everyday life. Her clothing is different from the mainstream and this is fractures drive to be shocking. It shows a certain flamboyance, and self-confidence to wear these distinctive cloth es.However, buffalo chip by bit we start to believe that the glamorous, decadent go is zippo much(prenominal) than a faade behind which a much more troubled, insecure person hides. At crisis points in clefts life, she is exposed physically and emotionally as the femme fatale mask is stripped away. After she has had an abortion we see Sally in ordinary clothes. On a visit to her father, the little female child Sally emerges and she dresses normally to please her dad. Sally wears glamorous, revealing clothes when she is in a position where she feels she is glamorous, decadent and so on. In times of public however, she adopts flying field clothes. It is as though her clothing reflects not only(prenominal) her body fluid and feelings, but also her grasp on reality and submission to illusion.Brians costume is also very reflective of his personality. His well pressed, drab detonator and tasteless shirt immediately present him as a prim and proper, courtly Briton. As we come to meet Brian we find that this is indeed true. He is averse to change, and it takes a while before he accepts sallys sexual advances. Brian undergoes one of the biggest changes when he begins to accept Max. Before he fully accepts Max, Brian changes his drab shirt and jacket for a blue sweater, masking that he is undergoing change. Until this point Brian has worn to the highest degree exactly the same clothes, highlighting his reluctance to change. By the time Brian is wanting to marry a pregnant Sally, he is a different soldiery from the traditional Englishman we met at the beginning. He parades around wearing only a tie, pants and a hat. At the end when he decides to return to England, to his more reserved lifestyle he has also reverted back to his original plain clothes. The changes in his clothes are symbolic of the changes within him.The master of ceremonies captivates his earreach while wearing a smart suit. This consolidates his status as a powerful figure in Cabaret. He knows what will turn over in the film, and his god-like position is reinforced by his smart attire. Maxs wealth is evident from his clothing, as are Fritzs money woes from his frayed cuffs. In Cabaret, the clothing closely reflects the temper of the characters.The characters hair and make-up is also of relevance, and often it too changes with their costumes. The emcee wears a large amount of make-up to accentuate his facial features. His eyebrows are coat in mascara, his face is painted white, he wears vibrant red lipstick and has overly rosy cheeks. He resembles a c outsetn to some extent, or to take it a step further, almost a Shakespearian fool. The emcee plays a role like that of the fool as he dispenses his humorous social commentary. Sallys attempts to dazzle and shock continue on into her hair and makeup. Her foreign fringe and hairstyle are truly unique, her eyes are accentuated and her green nails are almost unmistakeable. Sally wants to attract attention and to ap pear, as she describes herself , as an planetary Woman of Mystery. Especially in the club, and also in normal life, Sally believes she is this shocking, fantastic person she so desperately wishes to be. Once again, after she returns from her abortion, she is fend off of her extravagant makeup and the physical exterior behind which she masquerades is gone. The real Sally is exposed. This occurs too when she goes to visit her father. Sallys makeup is another device she uses to propagate her faade.Fosse uses mise-en-scene to shape our perceptions of the characters. Music and dancing is key to Sallys life and her record participant is visible in many shots to emphasize this. Sally is a swooning girl, and we are reminded of the centrality of her sexual relationships by the central location of her large crease in her room. There is a component of Sally that is truly flamboyant, and this is shown in her room by the presence of living plants. Fosse places barriers in the shots amid Sa lly and Brian right from the beginning, and these barriers allude to the ultimate break-up of their relationship.Fosse uses editing to smashing effect to communicate parallels and connections between the characters and between events. One example is when Sally performs Maybe This Time. This song drops Sallys blas, promiscuous attitude and shows that Sally really does pine for love. She is not just singing this song, but she really does hope that by chance this time her relationships will work out. This is shown by the intercutting of scenes showing the development of Sally and Brians new intimacy. We understand that this is how Sally feels about Brian. This song is also all-important(a) in terms of the choreography. In the other numbers Sally feels sexy and important as she performs her vivacious, suggestive routine to a large audience. In this song, there are no raunchy moves, nor is there much of an audience. We see that sally is not trying to impress anyone with her apparent decadence. There is no need for her suggestive moves, because this is a song in which she is being herself person who longs for love.When Brian first appears he is immediately connected to the cabaret world through intercutting with scenes of the emcee. The emcees god-like role is reinforced by crosscutting, as shots of him smiling sinisterly are shown after noteworthy events have occurred, as if he is saying I knew that would happen. The political nature of the emcees song, If You Could See Her, and his sympathy to the Jews, is highlighted by the continuation of the songs medicinal drug into the next shot, which shows Fritz having made his decision.Camera angles are key in showing people as being strong and in control, or irresolute and powerless. After her abortion, Sally is shown from a number of high angles, and as we look down on her we get the impression of her powerlessness. In contrast, the emcee is shown from low angles, and he appears at an elevated position on the sta ge. This reaffirms the power the emcee possesses, that is the knowledge of what is to come. In Sallys final song, lighting is used to show her ever-changing emotions. She sings that life is a cabaret but is she brisk to have move on from Brian? A close up of her is shown in which as she sings, the set off on her progressively increases in warmth. This change in lighting alerts us to the fact that Sally has indeed committed herself to the cabaret, and is in fact ready to resume her search for stardom.The techniques used in Cabaret really do give us an insight into the characters of the film. People are presented not only as who they are, but also as who they attempt to be. These techniques allow us to better understand each character, and tell us a lot about how theyre feeling, their desires and emotions. Whether it is through the subtle changes in mise-en-scene or through the dazzling differences in choreography or costume, Fosses host of film techniques shapes the characters an d our understanding of them.