In film theory, the IMR is the dominant mode of film construction, which developed in the years after the turn of the century, becoming the norm around 1914. Classical Hollywood cinema is the dominant style within the IMR, but other styles such as art house, independent, and most (current) foregin styles fall no less under the IMR.
The concept was developed by Noel Burch in his 1969 book: Parxis du Cinema. His goal was to show that the IMR is a class-determined practice, developed out of the bourgeois desire for totalising illusionistic representation. Andre Bazin has identified the 'myth of total cinema', or a constant to represent reality as completely as possible, which he claimed as the root of cinema innovations.
The IMR is characterised by the attempt to create an entirely closed fictional world on screen. The audience is completely imaginatively involved in the film, instead of being distant from it and seeing it as an object to be examined. Burch argues that the key to the IMR is 'spectatorial identification with a ubiquitous cinema'. Various techniques were developed in order to accomplish this identification.
Films are constructed out of a sequence of shots, each of which presents the viewer with one clear piece of information. In contrast to Primitive Mode (early cinema), IMR uses close-ups.
A 3D space is created, using Renaissance rules of perspective as well as new cinematic techniques such as editing and lighting. To preserve the illusion of spatial integrity, which was lost with the introduction of close ups, eye line and directional matches were created. The film is thus perceived as taking place in an environment around the viewer.
Characters are psychologically individuated, through closeups on faces and acting methods borrowed from (bourgeois) theatre. Psychological depth is prized, and the narrative is driven by character psycholo. The audience is therefore invited to interpret the motivations of the characters, and thus involve itself with the film.
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