conventions of silent drama

Question 1

what is a Wurlitzer organ?

Answer 1

a large instrument that can imitate the sound of many instruments

Question 2

define leitmotif and how it can be used to help tell a story

Answer 2

a reoccurring piece of music associated with a certain character/situation/idea, tells stories by changing slightly to reflect a character’s changing situations

Question 3

when is the earliest known example of a colour film?

Answer 3

1902

Question 4

what are the 3 techniques for producing simple colour film?

Answer 4

hand painting, tinting, and two strip technicolor

Question 5

define tinting and how it can aid complex storytelling

Answer 5

strip of celluloid is dyed in a single colour, aids complex storytelling through colour coding certain scenes according to a pattern

Question 6

what colours can 2 strip technicolor produce?

Answer 6

only reds and greens, blue is totally absent

Question 7

what film is almost a perfect example of melodrama?

Answer 7

Way Down East, D. W. Griffith, 1920

Question 8

what are the 5 characteristics of melodrama?

Answer 8

moral polarization, pathos, raw emotion, situations, and poetic justice

Question 9

define moral polarization

Answer 9

characters are divided into extremes of good and evil

Question 10

define pathos

Answer 10

the evocation of sympathy and pity

Question 11

define raw emotion

Answer 11

characters suffer terribly and express their suffering in unrestrained emotional outbursts

Question 12

define situations

Answer 12

a moment in the plot designed to increase tension and excitement

Question 13

define poetic justice

Answer 13

virtuous characters suffer but are rewarded, the villains are punished or reformed