The personal space in the film work of Hiroshi Teshigahara

Research Paper, title: The personal space in the film work of Hiroshi Teshigahara
Supervisor professor: Panos Dragonas, Department of Architecture, University of Patras (2023)
This research paper examines the concept of personal space, and its boundaries as recorded in the cinema of Hiroshi Teshigahara. Selected, filmic spaces are presented in which these boundaries become noticeable through the positioning and movement of subjects in space. Two main questions are being investigated. The first concerns the definition of the boundaries of personal space by the director. The second one concerns his interpretation of their violation or protection. The filmic spaces are selected from the films “Woman in the Dunes”, “The Face of Another”, “Pitfall” and “Ako”. Personal space is defined through the research of Edward T. Hall and Robert Sommer. Their discoveries are tracked and analyzed in Teshigahara's work. The selected film spaces were analyzed by design in two ways. Firstly, the space is being analyzed objectively through architectural drawings with personal space being presented as defined by Edward T. Hall. Secondly, atmosphere drawings were produced for each filmic space by using the angle of the camera emphasizing the director's decisions regarding the frame, the composition, and materials in both architectural and natural environments.