Implications of Cinematography in Tondoscope

Abstract

Circular cinema is referred to as the Tondoscope (derived from the Tondo movement in the Renaissance) by Gust Van den Berghe (director of Lucifer, 2014). Regarding the perception of the viewer, it differs from the traditional rectangular visual formats of cinema and possesses specific traits; namely, visual balance, symmetry, and harmony. This paper tries to understand the implications of cinematography in a circular-shaped image, by analysing the characteristics of circular images from the history of various visual media along with the case studies Lucifer (2014) and I am not Madame Bovary (2016). Furthermore, it discusses the potentialities of tondoscope as a visual dramaturgical tool.