My favourite idea discussed within Certeau’s book was the idea of “space” versus “place”. He describes it as the idea where “place” is an “instantaneous configuration of positions”, an area where items are distributed in a moment of time. “Space” meanwhile is more of an area where things occur, an area where there are movements over a period of time. As such, a “space” is simply a “place” in which movement occurs. This is such an interesting idea because it makes me rethink many films that I have watched in the past. For example, in the anime film Your Name, director Makoto Shinkai uses “space” and “place” to introduce the audience to the lead couple, as well as the context of the story. To introduce the “place”, which included Tokyo and a fictional island, he used a time lapse over the area with little focus on the people below. He then shows the lead couple, in an empty white void (“space” without a “place”), showing that with each other, nothing else matters.
— Ip Fung Yuen, 3035821415
Appreciate that you directly quoted de Certeau’s text in summarising the concept of “space” and “place” in your response. Great effort in extended those ideas to reflect on your example of Shinkai’s Your Name. The framing and subjects of the described scenes are particularly interesting. You may perhaps try to synthesis the common filming techniques from the films you watched to see to realise “space” and “place” – such as what close-up and aerials shots are for; what the role of narration is etc. You could also extend the discussion to the different types of architectural drawings – perspectives, plans, maps, scales etc.