Please Read - A Sense of Direction by Bill Ball

It's an EXCELLENT teaching tool and a great read.  Tell me what you think:

Possibly the Worst Film Ever

This is a scene from The Room, by Tommy Wiseau. 

• The acting is bad because:  
• they aren't listening to one another
• they don't know what they want  (the magic key)
• The framing is absurd (rule of thirds)

what else can you come up with?

A Different Aesthetic

So here is the same director working the "yuck" factor.  What do you think the choices were for lighting, editing, and camera movement?  Any other observations?

Dance Scene from Becoming Jane

Hello.

In this scene we are concerned with all the usual things, and here they are done particularly well.

The context (meta) is the moment of true love's first blush.
The lights are soft (quality), the costumes are of a pale, "pure" palette.
Listen to the audio, how we hear the rustle of gowns and the clocking of wooden heels.
And mostly, watch the motion vectors the moment the love interest enters the screen (played by James McAvoy)
And then watch the editing, esp. the hand on the back in close up (CU)

THIS IS WHAT JUNE WILL LOOK LIKE FOR YOU IN THIS CLASS

Hi, Everyone,

Here is what your month looks like in this class:

June 1 - 10

Read the books, think about my posts (I have been recording them all weekend, here they come), watch the videos.  Blog.  Ask me questions via email.

June 11 : Creepy Stalker Project Due (if you choose to do this one)

Post your artifacts (via pictures or a video) on the blog with a written explanation about all the choices you made to explain your character's inner psyche.  Or, you can send your pictures and paper to me via email.  More instructions are located on the blog in various places including a video and the full syllabus.

June 12-14  

Continue reading, making your projects, etc.

June 15

Post your short film or send it to me with a write-up about the choices you made and why, if you chose this option.

Email me your paper if you chose this option.

June 16-25


Continue reading, making your projects, etc.

June 26      
Email the Frame by Frame assignment                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      

Also please post at least twice a week in response to anything you read and found interesting.  2/week= 70% or average

Regarding the Blog Presence

  just treat it like a class discussion and put in your two cents when inspired.  it's fun!

onedirectioncompare

Oscar Wilde caught on camera on Paris Expo 1900 Just for Interest

Ways of Seeing - John berger

This gives one as a visual artist much to think about.

Our blog address

Please post at least twice a week

please post at least twice a week in response to anything you read and found interesting.  2/week= 70% or average

scene from Wilde-Oscar meets Bosie

    


Things to notice:  First, observe the overall aesthetic. 

Light quality:  Warm
Colors: Tungsten (oranges, indoor)
Motivated Lights

Costume:  The fabrics are sensuous.  How do we know?  The way the light hits and makes shadows.  The contrast between light and shadow creates texture.

Blocking:  Notice the traffic, motion vectors, and the placement of the main characters in each framing.  The camera is generally eye level with you as a person in the room's point of view

Motion/Sound:  Notice how the sound production was accomplished for the moment Oscar sees Bosie.  This is highly sophisticated and one of my favorite "falling in love" moments ever on screen because of its creativity.

Our blog address

What to Look For: Part Four

Here, notice the triangle created with his feet and his head:

What to Look For: Part Three

Here, the editor puts the first reaction shot in larger frame on the right, facing left. 

This is a motion vector at work, as the receiving frame is on the left, facing right:

What to Look For: Part Two

Hi,

In this shot, notice the foot is placed directly in the point of the foreground diamond.

Also,

notice how the Rule of Thirds is being used.  That is, divide the screen into thirds, left to right and top to bottom.  For instance, see how the pink shirted man and the blue shorted man are on either side of what would be the direct middle of the frame.

What to Look For: Part One

Hi,

So there's some fun framing and editing here.  The framing and editing are key to creating meaning.  Or not being able to if you're lame.  Just kidding.

Example One:

Decisions:

Notice the costume design.  The foreground is an eye-catching pink, opened in the shape of a triangle, the point of the triangle leading to the man's face.  Think I'm wrong?  Think about how many other ways that shirt could have been arranged.

Look also at the arrangement of the men.  There are four men, a very solid visual balance.  They are in a descending geometric pattern of a diamond.  All four men occupy a different place on the X axis.
(left to right). 

On the Y axis, vertically oriented, the front man is balanced out nicely by the man in the far back.

The man in the far back is giving depth to the picture, on the Z axis (depth).  We work to do this in how we construct shots to mirror how the brain sees the world, thus giving purchase to the world of the film we are trying to construct.  We are trying to take a two-dimensional image and suggest that it is a three-dimensional world.

Also see how the men on the left and right are "holding up" the frame.

The dominant image, or what has the most "graphic weight."

Other ideas?  The hat?  The other colors used?  Please comment:

Black Men Wear Sun Screen

First weekend

How to Write the Paper

How to Make the Short Film

how to do the creepy stalker project

Helpful Concepts

•     Continuity, from the root word continue

•     continuing what came before

•     Historically, this is the typical editing style of most Hollywood movies & TV shows.

•     primary purpose is clarification of events

•     designed to tell a story (relate information in narrative form) clearly and coherently

Continuity Editing

•      goal is to create a smooth flow from shot to shot

•      “invisible” = does not call attention to itself or remind viewer they are watching a movie

•      Assumption: viewers are constructing a “mental map” (cognitive map) based on the info they see and hear.

–   both onscreen and offscreen

•      Continuity editing helps viewers to construct and maintain this mental map.

Common Continuity Editing Shots

•      establishing shot = usually a distance-framed shot that establishes the spatial relations among important figures, objects, and setting in a scene

•      cut-in = instant shift from distant framing to a closer view of some portion of the same space

•      shot/reverse shot = two or more shots edited together that alternate characters, typically in a conversation

Common Continuity Editing Shots

•      eyeline match = a cut where the first shot of someone looking at something is followed by a second shot of what they are presumed to see

•      action match = a cut where action taking place in the first shot continues in the same direction in the next shot (action seems uninterrupted)

•      reestablishing shot = return to view of an entire space after a series of closer shots following the establishing shot 

Continuity Editing
Crosscutting

•      crosscutting = “editing that alternates shots of two or more lines of action occurring in different places, usually simultaneously”

•      gives viewer unrestricted knowledge of causal, temporal, and spatial information

•      binds varied spatial action together through implication of temporal simultaneity

–   unrestricted knowledge is when viewers know more than characters do

–   restricted knowledge is when viewers only know what characters do, and often less.

  Continuity Editing
Zettl’s Key Concepts(based on vectors)(He really likes vectors.)

•             graphic vector continuity

•             index vector continuity

•             index vector line (180° line, axis of action)

•             motion vector continuity

•             motion vector line

•             miscellaneous continuity factors

  Graphic Vector Continuity

•      spatial continuity = principle of maintaining spatial consistency from shot to shot

•      maintaining a consistent horizon line, both indoors and outdoors

•      similar space & volume from shot to shot

•      does not really indicate a direction

Index Vector continuity

•      important part of establishing and maintaining a viewer’s mental map

•      maintains consistent screen direction

•      maintains consistent eyelines

•      Viewers should always know where characters (and self) are in relation to each other and the screen event.

•      Let’s consider the consequences of continuing, converging, and diverging vectors from shot to shot.

Continuing Index Vectors
(pointing in the same direction)

•      goal = to get viewers to perceive separate shots as one simultaneous event

•      persons looking in one direction in the first shot should continue looking in the same direction in the following shots

•      target object continuity = persons appearing to be looking at someone or something in the first shot should be followed by object of their gaze appearing to be located in the direction in which they were looking

–  applies to both onscreen and offscreen

Converging Index Vectors
(vectors crossing paths)

•      goal = to get viewers to perceive separate shots as one simultaneous event

•      Example: Close-ups of people talking to each other following a two-shot of the same must maintain original index convergence.

•      Example: Having established the spatial relationship between audience members and a speaker, subsequent shots must reflect the original index convergences.

Diverging Index Vectors
(pointing away from each other)

•      goal = to get viewers to perceive separate shots as one simultaneous event

•      If you establish index vectors pointing in different directions, you should maintain the original index divergence in the next shot.

•      Example: two people fighting and looking in opposite directions in initial shot should be doing the same in subsequent close-ups.

Index Vector Line

•      also called “axis of action,” “180° line,” “the line,” or “the principal vector”

•      This is an invisible 180° line that the camera does not cross over in order to present screen action in consistent direction.

–   (person walking down the street always moving from left to right)

•      keeps an object in the same screen area from shot to shot

–   violation of 180° line rule thought to confuse and  disorient viewers (mess up their mental map

Index Vector Line

Established by Converging Index Vectors

Index Vector Line

•      Is not the same as the Z-axis.

•      They can be, however, but only if there are converging vectors along the Z-axis.

Index Vector Line Rules

•      cross shooting:

–   If using one camera, keep shooting from one side of the vector line.

–   If using two cameras, keep both on one side of the vector line—not one on each

•      O/S shooting:

–   keep cameras on one side of the vector line

Motion Vector Continuity

•      important in establishing and maintaining the viewer’s mental map.

•      Like index vectors, motion vectors are continuing, converging, and diverging.

•      Camera placement desiring continuity can get tricky when shots include both motion and index vectors.

Continuing Motion Vectors

•      Having established the direction of a moving object in one shot, you must keep the camera on the same side of the motion vector line in subsequent shots in order to maintain the direction.

•      Preserving principal direction in subsequent scenes.

–   If you have a guy riding a motorcycle to Wyoming and you show this from screen right to screen left, subsequent shots must also show the motorcycle riding from screen right to screen left (unless , of course, ha has become dissatisfied with Wyoming and is returning to Denver).

Converging Motion Vectors

•      If you show objects heading toward each other, they should eventually converge.

•      Camera placement maintains these directions by shooting from the same side.

Diverging Motion Vectors

•      If two objects are shown as going in opposite directions, subsequent shots should be made in order to maintain  those directions.

Zero-directionality Cutaway

•      You may switch sides of the motion vector line in subsequent shots if you interfect a zero-directionality cutaway.

•      This is when you splice in a shot whose motion vector(s) are not related to those already established.

Vector Line

•      In field shooting, crews typically shoot more footage than needed (production phase).

•      For the sake of efficiency, shots are often shot out of sequence.

•      These shots are expected to be properly sequenced later in postproduction (editing).

•      If shooting for continuity, make sure your shots reflect proper camera placement regarding vector lines.

•      Postproduction cannot correct for careless camera placement that violates vector line rules for maintaining continuity.

Action Continuity

•      To ensure maximum continuity, cut during the action, not before or after it.

  •      When cutting during secondary motion (camera movement), you should try to continue that movement in the shot you are cutting to (if you want to maintain continuity).

–   pan, tracking shot, tilt, etc.

Color and Environment Continuity

•      Depending differences in weather, lighting, and white balance settings, colors and other onscreen objects intended to be the same from shot to shot may vary between shooting sessions.

•      Pay attention to these factors while shooting.

•      Don’t expect to fix them in postproduction.

  Continuity

•      Establishing and maintaining continuity also depends a lot on your manipulation of sound.

 

from:  http://academic.regis.edu/jgschwin/402lecoutline.11.htmContinuity Editing

 

 

Example - Shot by shot breakdown

  http://www.livebinders.com/media/get/MTIzNDU3NTE=

Full syllabus

Media Aesthetics

Professor, Christine Farina, Office K128

email: cfarinac@gmail.com

text: 609 626 1411

 

Assignments and Grading

Choose Three: 25% each
1.  Creepy Stalker Project       DUE June 11
2.  Short Film           experimental or music video        DUE June 15
3.   paper  4-7pp   with evidence to support your ideas        DUE June 15
4.  Make a video of the opening credits for your life     June 22
(examples: )
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AsX6PY2xndU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rn6qkF-zql0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HkWbFKz9_ew                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           
And Everyone Does This:
5.  Frame by Frame    DUE JUNE 26
Shot Break Down: Attack the Block
Dir, Joe Cornish
Release date: 2011
Link One: View video at: http://youtu.be/6x-6HsNbB38?t=36s

http://www.livebinders.com/media/frame?myurl=http://www.livebinders.com/media/get_centered/MTIzNDU3NTE=&mid=MTIzNDU3NTE=#


 please post at least twice a week in response to anything you read and found interesting.  2/week= 70% or average

Course Introduction

Film is a two-dimensional visual art that is fundamentally distinguished by the animation of still images. A complete film initiates, presents a narrative within its own temporal contrictions in real time, and ceases. Metaphysics is concerned with the true nature of reality both of being and knowing. In the realm of the metaphysical study of film, we are concerned with such things as the relationship between the mind and the film matter, the nature of the film form, the nature of the film frame, and the interactive nature of the film and temporal attributes of the physical world. In this course we will explore all of these questions as well as the nature of performance, design, and visual narrative.


Film language has evolved only over the last 100 years.  The meanings it has have been shaped by the modern mind.  Yet, much of film harkens its visual composition and themes to Western Civilization's visual art tradition. In this class, we are concerned with the elements of film syntax.  That is, why do we use a two shot, why do we use a close-up shot rather than a longshot for a certain part of the film, why do we use sound effects and what kind, etc.


We are also going to figure out whom the performance belongs to….


For your guided study:  Start looking at basic film aesthetics websites and books and figure out even the most rudimentary aspects of film aesthetics such as "CU" and "LS", "SPFX" and "SFX."


The learning objectives for the semester

*  awareness of the serious scholarship produced about film

*  understanding of the basic elements of telling a story cinematographically

*  familiarity with basic film aesthetics language

*  learning auteur theory

*  experience researching and writing a critical comparison paper

*  being able to blow your friends away with your insightful film commentary

*  knowing how to discern a really pitch perfect performance vs a really poor one

*  understanding what elements combine to create a film performance

*  discover an auteur filmmaker

*  conducting critical viewing

*  Practice reading a film journal

*  Exposure to some film theory, modern or historical

*  Writing a position paper using scholarly evidence to substantiate your claims

*  Familiarity designing Unity

*  Learn how to properly format a screenplay

*  Imagination exercise

*  Experience thinking about character elements

*  Experience writing dialogue

*  Define Aesthetics and apply it to film

GRADING GUIDE

These are the usual things for which I mark off that are simple to avoid:

Do not use contractions

Spelling and grammar matter

Punctuation matters, too

When I look at your work, I am doing the normal layers of evaluation:

a) basic mechanics

b) form

c) content

…and then I consider if the work is:

a) really exceptional, or worth an “A” (wrote more than the word limit, supported your assertions, had assertions in the first place, weaved together a compelling argument in your voice),

b) a pretty good job, or worth a “B” (Pushed yourself beyond the word limit, had some writing style/was not pedestrian, low-level writing, but lacked appropriate supporting material or any really breathtakingly new ideas)

c) an acceptable paper but average, or a “C” (nothing special happening there, just writing the minimum amount of words, piecing together unsophisticated sentences, boring sentence and paper structure, spitting out information but showing no evidence that you're thinking about your opinions and supporting them with concepts you've synthesized from class and the readings)

Be certain to put quotation marks around anyone else’s work that you use and cite it as well.

Assignments and Grading

Choose Three: 25% each

1.  Creepy Stalker Project    

2.  Short Film           experimental or music video        

3.   paper  4-7pp   with evidence to support your ideas    

4.  Make a video of the opening credits for your life

(examples: )

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AsX6PY2xndU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rn6qkF-zql0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HkWbFKz9_ew                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              And Everyone Does This:

5.  Frame by Frame    

Shot Break Down: Attack the Block

Dir, Joe Cornish

Release date: 2011

Link One: View video at: http://youtu.be/6x-6HsNbB38?t=36s

Contextual Introduction and Synopsis

Characters

 

John Boyega as Moses           Jodie Whittaker as Sam   

Synopsis

The film opens one night in the crime-ridden neighborhood of Lambeth in South London.  Samantha ‘Sam’ Berrins, a nurse, is mugged by a gang of British teenagers on her way back from work.  But the crime is interrupted when aliens attack the block.  Enter Moses, the gang leader, who is soon called upon to choose the hero’s path to defend his gang, neighborhood, and his own life.  The meta-theme of the story is Moses’ evolution from the fantasies of childhood to accepting the responsibilities and rewards of adulthood. 

Segment Outline

At this point in the film, near its end, we find that Moses and Sam have come to respect each other through their mutual efforts to defend the neighborhood against the aliens. 

Following below are the moments right before the film’s final chase scene, and then part of the chase itself.

Note: Phrasing:  Within a scene, a film maintains a rhythm called “phrasing.”  This amounts to smaller stories, with rise and completion of action, that define the beats of the scene and propel the story further.

Shot Deconstruction

We begin in the moment when the plan to overcome the attacking aliens is set into motion.  Here, Sam has gone upstairs in the apartment complex to Moses’ home.

As Sam walks through the apartment, the story’s action is given a temporary break to evolve the Moses character, which works to create empathy that will work to support the drama of the final chase.

Begin Phrase One:

Sam and Moses communicate by phone to execute the plan to end the invasion: Lure the aliens into Moses’ apartment, turn on the gas, and detonate fireworks.  This is the first time Sam has ever seen Moses’ interior life. 

            

Figure 1                                   Figure 2                       Figure 3

Figure 1: Camera observes Moses from his back, which works to place the viewer into the scene.  This perspective is important to support the story as Moses is feeling particularly vulnerable.  He is framed in medium-close with an eye-level frame that gives the viewer access to the character’s personal space and interior emotions.

Figure 2: We track through the empty apartment tentatively with Sam, again in eye-level medium-close framing.  The camera follows or leads, depending on the importance of the information (Figure 2).  When creating the feeling of suspense, the camera observes; when providing important information about the Moses character, the camera switches to Sam’s point of view (Figure 3).

Figure 3:  A film is a collection of still images; each shot is constructed with certain conventions.  The picture of a young(er) Moses sits under the lamp’s spotlight, the rest of the frame is darkened to underscore this dominant image.  The frame of the picture is green, as is the lampshade.  The green swan in the foreground compliments this arrangement nicely, creating a visual triangle, one of the fundamental aspects of shot construction.  This guides the eye immediately to the important information because of this arrangement of screen elements.

              

Figure 4                                                Figure 5                                  Figure 6

Figure 4: We cut back to Moses as the conversation continues in an ordinary two-shot-reverse that is a fundamental of film editing syntax.  There is a shallow depth of field, which is used to relay what the important information is in the shot by blurring out what is behind the dominant image in the foreground, in this case, Moses.  The depth of the field is the Z-Axis.

The camera moves in a circle around Moses, mimicking the feeling of reeling emotionally.  Likewise, the camera is in constant motion with Sam, keeping the feeling of movement continuing between the two locations in concentric circles.

Notice the lighting in the two settings.  The consistency of the light quality between the two characters’ points of view, in this case darkness and shadow, allows the viewer to see them in agreement.  However, in Sam’s frame, the apartment is lit in a cold, greenish-tungsten glow.  This expresses the interior of Moses’ psyche.  Moses is framed in otherworldly blue and green light, evoking a visual trope of science fiction film.

Figure 5: Here the camera follows Sam as she walks through the apartment.  The suggestion of following the subject creates a visceral response of tension in the viewer’s mind.  Suspense is then achieved because the discomfort of not-knowing is firmly at play.

Figure 6: Here the information we glean through Sam’s eyes shows the disarray of Moses’ life.  Moments earlier the picture of a young Moses suggested that a parent might live in this apartment.  Given that, we experience a cognitive dissonance when the next clue we receive reveals an unkempt living area, which suggests the absence of a caregiver.

                 

Figure 7                                               Figure 8                                               Figure 9

Figure 7:  This is a very important example of the work of editing.  Here Sam is about to see something that will change the entire story.  This is a fine example of using visuals, edited together in a modified temporal space, to tell the story by showing the story.  Investing in the importance of this moment, the film slows down time by spending more time reaching the reveal. 

We see Sam from the front while the camera tracks backwards, mimicing a slow-walking movement. The interior frames created by the walls and door edges work to confine Sam within the frame of the picture itself, thus forcing a viewing tension.  This tension is suppoorted by the fluid, backwards camera moving slowly to reveal:

Figure 8:  Right before the reveal, we once again stand behind the character, emphasizing the feeling of vulnerabilty.  Moses knows what Sam is about to see.  He is hiding from our view.

Figure 9:  Sam’s revelation: Moses is fifteen.  The reveal: The edge of the door moves out of frame as we enter the room from Sam’s point of view.  We see a Spiderman bedspread and backpack illuminated in a pool of light.  This key information works to tell us about the character: emotionally he is still a young boy. 

The shot composition: A spotlight on the bed illuminates the vital information.  The colors of red and blue are primary, evoking childhood.  The use of the Spiderman superhero is significant to science fiction fans because of the metaphor: Peter Parker is an ordinary kid who must face extrordinary circumstances.  This explains the hero’s journey and fortells of the upcoming trial that Moses will face.

        

Figure 10                                 Figure 11

Figure 10:  Moses revealed.  We see Moses from the front now.  The camera stops movement and observes.  The understated performance works to perfectly articulate the gravity of this event.  The actor has placed his entire trust in his eyes to convey the character’s inner turmoil.  This is an organic response that can only be achieved through tremendous craft and talent.  It is particularly important for screen actors to control the body and face as the intimacy of the camera mirrors interpersonal communication.  This means that the usual cues of falsehood can be detected by the viewer, threatening to interrupt the suspension of disbelief necessary when committing to a story.  (I usually show “Ted Talk: How to Spot a Liar.” see Link Two: http://youtu.be/P_6vDLq64gE)

Figure 11:  “You look older.”  With this one understated line, the script beautifully encapsulates the emotional drama of the entire film, giving us closure in preparation for the upcoming action.  Now the viewer is invested in Moses’ challenge at an emotional level, intensifying the effectiveness of the chase scene.

End Phrase One

Begin Phrase Two:                                                                                                                                                                              

                 

Figure 1-a                                                  Figure 2-a                         

Figure 1-a:  “Go get them, Moses.”  Editing is a dance of eyes, which we can see clearly here in these two consecutive frames.  Notice that each character is framed individually in a medium close shot to say their individual lines. This is an adaptation of film syntax from the stationery wide-angle frame that contains the action to mimicking how the mind focuses on certain information when cued.  In this case, we focus on the subject who is speaking much as we do in face-to-face interactions.

Figure 2-a “Allow it.”  Here we continue the focus on the individual line with a dramatic flourish: the mysterious hero is seen from the back, his face masked by shadow.  This is the moment before metamorphosis.

     

Figure 3-a à

 

Figure(s) 3-a: Drama is increased.  The camera trolleys backwards, revealing more and more of the world around the hero who is standing in the ‘ready’ position in the center of the frame.  Notice the use of interior “arrows.”  The lines of glowing white light frame the character in a “V” and suggest the archetype of superhero/god; it the archetypal lightning before the Great Arrival. We will see this interior-framing convention repeat throughout the following sequences. 

End Phrase Two

Begin Phrase Three:

             

Figure 1-b

                 

Figure 1-b:  Close up on the pertinent information opens the action.  We do not know yet how the fireworks will be used, how the plan is set to unfold, but we do know by the close-up that this is pertinent information that will drive the story forward.

SFX (sound effects) We hear the crackle of the fireworks.  The suggested audio (motivated) continues on to the first frames of the next view in a perfect L-cut, and is slowly, completely muted out, giving over the scene to the complete sonic fabric of the music (unmotivated), which works to allow the viewer to viscerally feel the energy of the scene. 

(Note: The music will give way to SFX again and will be bedded under the action at the end of the sequence when Moses goes back to regular time and actually executes the plan, giving us an audio cue to the meta-narrative’s meaning(s).)

End Phrase Three

Begin Phrase Four:

Here notice the dynamic “V” created by the rockets.  Observe the interior frame produced by the use of the door’s frame, a neo-realistic approach that harkens back to DiSica’s influence.  We see the superhero as a darkened shadow-identity that bursts through the frame towards the viewer and onto his trial.

Slow motion is utilized at this point in the film to convey this key moment of metamorphosis of the Moses character:

        

         

          

Moses has transformed.

End Phrase Four

Begin Phrase Five:

Moses faces the first trial.  Shot in long-shot to see all action.  If an internal dialogue were important at this point, the cinematographer would have used a close-up. 

Notice the blackness of the aliens.  This is designed to represent the monsters of Moses’ own psyche.  The aliens are shadows of his psyche.

   

      

The monsters dominate the frame.  They have the most graphic weight.

  In this final shot, we notice the editor has used the blue light, which blends nicely with the change of scene in the next sequence.  Also Moses has run from right to left through the frame.  The motion will continue through the next sequence:

End Phrase Five

Begin Phrase Six:

Notice the agreement in light and color between the last frame of the previous phrase and this scene. Visual continuity is achieved.

   

   

Performance: The body is part of action.  This actor is fully committed to the imagination of the scene, which translates belief to the viewer. 

Motion:  Running down the stairs to increase the flow of the original motion vector that began at the apartment.  The graphic weight of the subject (Moses) grows as he increases size in the frame.  This suggests threat to us as we are biologically programmed to be hunters.

End Phrase Six

Begin Phrase Seven:

           

This sequence is shot in slow motion, heightening the investment by giving focus to every micro-moment of the character’s (suggested) experience.

     

     

Motion vector continues left to right, the action growing larger in the frame, propelling the motion forward.  Notice the use of looking over the shoulder (Moses) to increase investment: we tend to follow the eyes of those at whom we are looking. 

The music is cut in common time, the most recognizable rhythm in media today.  It is a marvelous piece written in D minor, the “chord of agony” to the human visceral response system.

End Phrase Seven

Begin Phrase Eight:

Change in view, anticipates a scene change, suggests a rise in action.

        Here we see the hero from the prostrate position, giving him iconic grandeur. 

              The parallel lights of the tenament’s ceiling echo those of the emergency corridor of a hospital.

                   Shot construction: The lights frame the hero while adding a visual dynamic tension.  The greenish blue of the lights’ glow is consistent visually with the rest of the visual text.

                                        Notice the color continuity.  And the costume on Moses, all black, the antihero, the stealth Batman, the Post-Modern depressive.

And so forth.

 

Plagiarism will not be tolerated in any form.

Late assignments are accepted at the following rate: first 24 hours = Lowering of the final assignment grade by 25 percent

next 24 hours = Lowering of the final assignment grade by 40 percent

next 24 hours = Lowering of the final assignment grade by 50 percent

anything beyond the first 72 hours = lowering of the final assignment grade by 80 percent

I do not give extra credit.

Quizzes cannot be made up.

Tests cannot be taken on a day other than the one scheduled.

HANDY FILM-TERM REFERENCE GUIDE

LIGHTING

backlight hits subject from behind/separates from bkg; not significant lighting source

key light primary light source/ finds directionality

fill light erases key-light's shadows

kicker finishes the lighting job

eye light puts white in the actor's iris/ gives life tot he shot

bounce card takes light from key and "bounces" it onto the actor; diffusing effect

day-for-night (dusk -for) changing the camera iris to make day shots

look like night shots

directionality from where the light source is

diffusion to make actors look great; softens light with bounce card or diffusion

material like toughspun, a wire mesh that is placed near the bulb

EDITING

assembly editing from point A to B

non-linear editing in any order (more sophisticated; new technology)

linear assembly editing

on-line the final edit

off-line the rough edit

cut-away shot used to emphasize scene detail

b-roll cut-away material

cut point where shot begins or ends

montage arrangement of many shots to show theme

match cut edit that maintains continuity from angle to angle

outtakes what is not used in a film

parallel editing two related sequences are cut back and forth

rough-cut the rough draft of a film

running time how long a film lasts

splice the actual point of cutting on the physical film or tape

answer print the rough cut sent from the lab

rushes the day's answer print

L-cut sound precedes image

SOUND

synch/crystal synch

(double system sound)

striping

track

dub

boom

Nagra voice and image are recorded separately and

synchronized between the camera and nagra

(sound recorder)

putting a magnetic stripe on the film to catch sound

the sound tape

taking sound from one tape to another

the pole that hold the microphone

mics: the recording instrument

omnidirectional

cardioid

mix

lavaliere

unidirectiona1/shotgun

bi-directional

condenser

Foley

voice-over

the joining of all soundtracks to one track

sound effects

narration over picture/ no synch; post -production

CAMERA

CREW

angle how the shot is taken

CU close up

LS long shot

MS medium shot

OS over-the-shoulder

establishing shot

dolly a wheeled shot

depth:-of-field how much is in focus

dutch angle a canted angle

extreme long shot/extreme close-up

master shot the long shot which establishes a scene

rule-of-thirds the main action takes place at the center of the depth of field

tilt camera movement up and down

pan camera movement side to side

zoom camera focus comes to extreme close-up quickly

mise-en-scene from the Neorealist movement; through the scene elements

structure is accomplished

eyeguiding arranging cuts to bring the eye to where the director needs it

key grip

best boy

gnps

continuity

slate

usually key technician

primary manager for the stage manager(grip)

grunts

person who maintains continuity from shot to shot

person who synchs sound mark on set

logs person who maintains sound logs and lighting diagrams

•

DIRECTOR

storyboard

shooting scripts

shooting plan

auteur

comic strip ofhow film will look

chronological list of script, shots and sound plans

grouping of scenes as to days to be shot

director's "fmgerprint"

SCREENPLAY

elements

one page = one minute

fade to: dissolve: fade out:

INT/EXT PLACE TIME

breaks; ABC stories

20:30; 56:30

Executive Producer, Manager, Agent, Producer, Writer

Helpful Terms

Indicating: Acting performance that is focused upon excessive physical expression of emotions in easily recognizable ways. eg: An actor playing a role of an angry man might shake his fist in the air and grimace. We get it, you're really mad. Next time try actually giving up your ego and feeling the emotion and let's see where that gets your performance.

Packing: Actors must do their packing before getting the portal to the inner life of the character to open up to them. This means that when first introduced to the character, the actor then begins the contemplative and creative process of understanding the character. The actor will think about such things as what the character ate for breakfast that morning and why, the character's favorite color, and who was the character's first grade teacher, etc.

Beat: The place of a natural pause in the script or movement.

The Middle Space: The place that allows an actor to observe his performance whilst performing. It is the place between actor and observer, and so having the actor hog up space in the audience to watch himself as well is plain bad form. Anachronistic Response: Moving the body in a (sometimes cliche) way that is representative of an era other than the one being created in the world of the film.

Chirascuro Lighting: Rembrandt lighting; fast FALL OFF ratio 1:1 or equal parts dark to light.

Motivated/Unmotivated light: Light source is suggested in the frame - motivated. Media and the Mind

For week one, we are concerned with the elements of film syntax. That is, why do we use a two shot, why do we use a close-up shot rather than a longshot for a certain part of the film, why do we use sound effects and what kind, etc.

For your guided study: Start looking at basic film aesthetics websites and books and figure out even the most rudimentary aspects of film aesthetics such as "CU" and "LS", "SPFX" and "SFX."

To ponder: Film language has evolved only over the last 100 years. The meanings it has have been shaped by the modern mind. Yet, much of film harkens its visual composition and themes to Western Civilization's visual art tradition.

The way film theorists discuss this concept is rooted in a consideration of film as art.

One of the basic film theories related to this is: Auteur Theory.

The other of the basic building blocks is Aesthetics.

So, we are understanding film as art that is created by a series of choices (such as lighting, sound, etc.)

Now, if we are understanding art and its grounding in choices, what we are doing is studying Aesthetics. What that amounts to is thinking about how lighting quality or sound-tracking (choices in production design) etc. (a) work with the human brain, (b) work to create Unity in production design (or fail at it), and (c) evolve a filmic language as an art form and visual syntax (e.g. we know that a close-up shot means one thing as opposed to a long shot.)

Finally, we are scholars and need to learn how to use scholarly tools, and therefore I bring you to use the tools of film journals and the historically pertinent, Cahiers du Cinema.

The last assignment is meant to be a fun, creative exercise where you can use what you've learned by thinking about aesthetics, reading about filmmaking, and actively observing three films.

See how I wove this all together? It's like Karate Kid.

So by the end of the weeks, you will have thought about the fundamentals of film theory and learned how to use them, too.

If you would like further information to explore regarding Film and Music theory:

http://web.archive.org/web/20031208182300/

http://www.franklinmarketplace.com/filmmusic.html

Film Theory in Practice:

http://www.storyispromise.com/cascade.htm

Philosophy of Narratology:

http://www.cla.purdue.edu/academic/engl/theory/narratology/terms/narrativetermsmainframe.html

Persistence of Vision:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persistence_of_vision

Depth of Field:

http://www.cs.mtu.edu/~shene/DigiCam/User-Guide/950/depth-of-field.html

and

You will find a lot of articles of value for this course at:

http://www.storyispromise.com/wmovies.htm

and

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uzedefUXARE