本篇文章共分 6 段，針對 20 世紀初電影默片拍攝時所面對到的敘事清晰問題進行解說，從觀眾面對到的理解困難度說明電影製片人所發展出來的各種拍攝方法如何協助敘事者以及觀眾能夠獲得流暢的觀影經驗。

本篇考題英文原文與對應之中文翻譯整理如下。練習作答解題時若有對語意不清楚之處，請仔細查閱對照，以提升閱讀理解能力。

The Problem of Narrative Clarity in Silent Films 默片的敘事清晰性問題

1. 默片敘事面臨的困難

   Beginning in 1904. American commercial filmmaking became increasingly oriented toward storytelling. Moreover, with the new emphasis on one-reel films, narratives became longer and necessitated a series of camera shots. Filmmakers faced the challenge of making story films that would be comprehensible to audiences. How could techniques of editing, camerawork, acting, and lighting be combined so as to clarify what was happening in a film? How could the spectator grasp where and when the action was occurring?

   從 1904 年開始。美國商業電影製作越來越傾向於故事敘述。此外，隨著對單卷電影的重視，敘事變得更長，需要一系列的鏡頭。電影製作者面臨著製作觀眾能夠理解的故事影片的挑戰。如何將剪輯、攝影、表演和燈光等技術結合起來，以闡明影片中發生的事情？觀眾如何才能掌握動作發生的時間和地點？

2. 製片技術的發展

   Over the span of several years, filmmakers solved such problems. Sometimes they influenced each other, while at other times two filmmakers might happen on the same technique independently. Some devices were tried and abandoned. By 1917, filmmakers had worked out a system of formal principles that were standard in American filmmaking. That system has come to be called the classical Hollywood cinema. Despite that name, many of the basic principles of the system were being worked out before filmmaking was centered in Hollywood and, indeed, many of those principles were first tried in other countries. In the years before the First World War, film style was still largely international, since films circulated widely outside their country of origin.

   在幾年的時間裡，電影製片人解決了這些問題。有時他們互相影響，而有時兩位電影製作人可能會各自獨立完成同一項技術。一些設備被嘗試後又被放棄。到 1917 年，電影製作者們已經制定了一套正式的原則體系，成為美國電影製作的標準。這個系統被稱為經典好萊塢電影。儘管有這個名字，但在電影製作以好萊塢為中心之前，該系統的許多基本原則就已經被制定出來了，事實上，這些原則中有許多是在其他國家首次嘗試的。在第一次世界大戰之前的幾年中，電影風格在很大程度上仍然是國際性的，因為電影在其原籍國之外廣泛流傳。

3. 觀眾無法掌握默片內容

   The basic problem that confronted filmmakers early in the silent-movie era was that audiences could not understand the causal, spatial, and temporal relations in many films. If the editing abruptly changed locales, the spectator might not grasp where the new action was occurring. An actor's elaborate pantomime might fail to convey the meaning of a crucial action. A review of a 1906 film lays out the problem：“Regardless of the fact that there are a number of good motion pictures brought out, it is true that there are some which, although photographically good, are poor because the manufacturer, being familiar with the picture and the plot, does not take into consideration that the film was not made for him but for the audience. A movie recently seen was very good photographically, but the story could not be understood by the audience.” In a few theaters, a lecturer might explain the plot as the film unrolled, but producers could not rely on such aids.

   在默片時代早期，電影人面臨的基本問題是，觀眾無法理解許多影片中的因果關係、空間關係和時間關係，如果剪輯時突然改變地點，觀眾可能無法掌握新的行動發生的地點。演員精心設計的默劇可能無法表達一個關鍵動作的含義。一篇對 1906 年電影的評論指出了這個問題：「儘管有許多好的電影被推出來，但確實有一些電影，儘管在攝影上是好的，但內容卻是差的，因為製造者熟悉畫面和情節，沒有考慮到這部電影不是為他而拍的，而是為觀眾而拍的。最近看到的一部電影在攝影上非常好，但故事卻不能被觀眾理解」。在一些電影院裡，敘事者可能會在電影展開時解釋劇情，但製片人不能依靠這種輔助手段。

4. 因果連結與肢體表現

   Filmmakers came to assume that a film should guide the spectator’s attention, making every aspect of the story on the screen as clear as possible. In particular, films increasingly set up a chain of narrative causes and effects. One event would plainly lead to an effect, which would in turn cause another effect, and so on. Moreover, an event was typically caused by a character’s beliefs or desires. Character psychology had not been particularly important in early films. Comical chases or brief melodramas depended more on physical action or familiar situations than on character traits. Increasingly after 1907, however, character psychology motivated actions. By following a series of characters' goals and resulting conflicts, the spectator could comprehend the action.

   電影製作人開始認為，一部電影應該引導觀眾的注意力，使銀幕上故事的每一方面都盡可能清晰。特別是，電影逐漸建立了一個敘事的因果鏈。一個事件顯然會導致一個結果，而這個結果又會導致另一個結果，如此反覆。此外，一個事件通常是由一個角色的信念或慾望引起的。角色心理學在早期的電影中並不特別重要。喜感的追逐或簡短的情節，較多的是依賴肢體動作或熟悉的情景，而不是人物的特徵。然而， 1907 年之後，人物心理學逐漸成為行動的動力。通過關注一系列人物的目標和由此產生的衝突，觀眾可以理解這些行動。

5. 各種影片元素配合

   Every aspect of the silent-film style came to be used to enhance narrative clarity. Staging or framing action in depth could show the spatial relationships among elements. Intertitles could add narrative information beyond what the images conveyed. Closer views of the actors could suggest their emotions more precisely. Color, set design, and lighting could imply time of day, the milieu of the action, and so on.

   默片風格的每個方面都被用來提高敘事的清晰度。安排與攝製有景深的動作可以顯示各元素之間的空間關係。字幕可以在畫面傳達的訊息之外增加敘事內容。對演員的近距離觀察可以更準確地暗示他們的情緒。色彩、佈景設計和燈光可以暗示一天中的時間和動作的環境等等。

6. 剪接的效用

   Some of the most important innovations of this period involved the ways in which camera shots were put together, or edited, to create a story. In one sense, editing was a boon to the filmmaker, permitting instant movement from one space to another or cuts to closer views to reveal details. But if the spectator could not keep track of the temporal or spatial relations between one shot and the next, editing might also lead to confusion. In some cases, intertitles could help. Editing also came to emphasize continuity among shots. Certain visual cues indicated that time was flowing uninterruptedly across cuts. Between scenes, other cues might suggest how much time had been skipped over. When a cut moved from one space to another, the director found ways to orient the viewer.

   此一時期一些最重要的創新涉及到攝像機鏡頭的組合方式，或剪接方式，以創造一個故事。從某種意義上說，剪接是電影製片人的福音，允許從一個空間即時移動到另一個空間，或切到更近的視圖以揭示細節。但是，如果觀眾無法追蹤一個鏡頭和下一個鏡頭之間的時間或空間關係，剪接也可能導致混亂。在某些情況下，中間字幕可以提供幫助。剪接還強調了鏡頭之間的連續性。某些視覺線索表明，時間是不間斷地在剪接中流動的。在不同的場景之間，其他線索可能表示有多少時間被跳過了。當剪接從一個空間轉移到另一個空間時，導演找到了引導觀眾的方法。