film exam 2 Flashcards
1
Q
Story
A
- basic story: the narration of a series of events in their chronological order
- allow us to empathize and live through experiences of other people without physical and emotional risk
2
Q
Story (children)
A
- narratives important for children
- narratives help children organize their experiences, when to young to have theories on cause and effect
- bedtime narratives help children make sense of daily interactions in the world with symbols, icons, and actions
3
Q
Jerome Bruner
A
- did a study called “ Narratives from the Crib” 1980
- found that children had more sophisticated conversations with themselves rather than with adults
- studied emily at 36 months
- cinema verite
4
Q
elements of narrative fiction
A
- plot
- character
- theme
5
Q
secondary elements of narrative fiction
A
- point of view
- setting
- style
6
Q
plot
A
- the purposeful organization of the actions and events of a story
- the sequential arrangement of actions and events in a story for maximum dramatic, emotional, and thematic effect
7
Q
2 categories of plot
A
- progressive
- episodic
8
Q
character
A
- main character: protagonist
- include major and minor characters
- antagonist is a major character
- traditionally we expect the protag to go through a character change because of his conflict
9
Q
theme
A
- the idea that interests the filmmaker and unifies the film
- reveals something about the human condition
- based on the honest experiences of the filmmaker
- reveals the world view of the writer and or director
10
Q
point of view
A
- a question of who is narrating the story and whether the narrator is reliable
- 1st person, omniscient, third person, and objective
11
Q
1st person point of view
A
- narrator tells his or her own story
- could be objective or subjective, thus reliable and unreliable
12
Q
omniscient
A
- generally are not participants in the story, but are all knowing
13
Q
third person
A
- when an anonymous commentator speaks on background of character
- many times used in documentaries
14
Q
objective
A
- most detached of all narration
- like omniscient
- does not enter the consciousness of characters
15
Q
setting
A
- look, mood, or atmosphere of film
- has to do with time and place
- can reveal underpinnings of the theme
16
Q
style
A
- brings into play three classic tensions of filmmaking: realism vs formalism, misenscene vs montage, and invisiblity vs self reflexivity
17
Q
three act drama structure
A
- thought up by aristotle
- including a beginning, middle, and end
- developed further by dramatist Gustav Freytag
18
Q
Freytag’s triangle
A
- developed by Gustav Freytag
- triangular pyramid shape to illustrate how conflict is plotted
- beginning: provides exposition of characters, motivations, and setting. The conflict sets a narrative movement of increased action in motion
- middle: conflict reaches a point of climax due to crisis or reversal of fortune. There is then a falling action as a result of the climax
- end: there is a resolution, called denouement, to the conflict where all loose ends are tied up
19
Q
conflict
A
- that which the protagonist must overcome in order to reach his desire
- inherently dramatic
- important for action and character motivation
20
Q
four categories of conflict
A
- person vs higher power or force
- person vs another person or society
- person vs nature
- person vs self
21
Q
example of progressive plot structure
A
bourne identity
- highly plot driven
22
Q
example of episodic plot structure
A
whos afraid of Virginia Woolfe?
- not much plot, but setting is emphasized
23
Q
role of the cinematographer
A
- to visualize a director’s ideas through cinematograhy
- manage the camera, lighting, and grip equipment
- responsible for all the cinematography of production
24
Q
tools of cinematography
A
- camera : film or digital
- capture format: in film (16, 35, 65 mm), digital sensor size (1/4, 1/2, 1/3, 2/3, or 1”)
- aspect ratio
- lenses
- lighting
- points of view
- composition and framing
- camera movement
- filters
- special effects cinematography
25
Q
capture format (film)
A
- lense resolves light on film stock, which combines the functions of a sensor and a memory storage system
26
Q
capture format (digital)
A
- lense resolves light on a single sensor or three sensors which seperates each coler into (R G B) then processes the color and luminance into digital data, which is then stored in storage device or hard drive
27
Q
color or black and white?
A
- color: can be important element of meaning in different ways. symbolism, mood, and narrative progression represent only a few possibilities
- black and white: by its nature, not realistic, more primal and more abstract. gives it strong expressive power
28
Q
film formats
A
8, 16, 35, and 65 mm are common formats for film
29
Q
digital formats
A
- digital formats are hd
- defined by sensor size
- ranging from : 1/3, 1/2, 2/3, and 1 inch sensors
- most popular cameras are Red One, Scarlet, and Epic cameras and the Arriflex Alexa
30
Q
Aspect Ratios and Common capture
A
- 1.33/1 Standard aspect ration (tv screen)
- 1.37/1 Academy aperture
- 1.66/1 Modern standard European Ratio
- 1.85/1 Vistavision Modern Standard American
- 2.35/1 Cinemascope, Warnerscope, panavision, techniscope, cinemascope 55, superscope 235
31
Q
lenses
A
- designed to collect light from a scene and focus light upon a film plate
32
Q
how lenses function
A
- resolve light on a frame of film or a digital sensor
- spherical or anamorphic
33
Q
lense focal length
A
- shorter lenses see a wider field of view than a longer lense
- types of lenses: wide angle (12mm-28), Normal (50mm; 35-60mm), long angle (85 mm and up)
34
Q
wide angle lenses
A
- pull space in from the sides
- push objects away from the camera
- distance expands
35
Q
long lense
A
- compress distances
- brings objects closer to camera
36
Q
anamorphic lenses
A
- lens system that horizontally squeezes the image exposed on the negative
- the negative and the printed squeeze positive is unsqueezed by projecter so that the image appearing on widescreen will appear normal
- exposes 59% more film area
37
Q
spherical lenses
A
- generic term for flat non-anamorphic photography
38
Q
lighting (most important questions)
A
- where do we want the audience to look?
- what moods and feelings do we want to create?
39
Q
quality of light
A
- hard light
- soft light
40
Q
hard light
A
- light from a single source that produces highly defined shadows
41
Q
soft light
A
- highly diffused light that produces a soft gradation from light to shadow
42
Q
lighting styles
A
- low key
- high key
- graduated tonality
43
Q
- low key lighting style
A
- dark and moody lighting style
- places emphasis on the shadows in the scene
- tends to be high in contrast in terms of scene luminance range
44
Q
high key lighting style
A
- bright in mood and low in contrast
- however, highly contrasting colors can be present in art direction
45
Q
graduated tonality
A
- lighting with luminance range wide enough to include many distinct gradations between black and white
46
Q
studio lighting terminology
A
- key light
- fill light
- backlight
- set lights
- practical lights
47
Q
key lights
A
- usually the main or brightest light on set
- defines direction and strength of light that illuminates actor
48
Q
fill light
A
- the soft light that fills in the shadows and reduces contrast
- usually placed next to the camera lense
49
Q
back light
A
- light that rims the body and seperates the actor from background
50
Q
set lights
A
- lights that illuminate specific areas of the set without affecting actors
51
Q
- practical lights
A
- light that emanates from real light producing fixtures including desk lamps, neon signs, and computer screens
52
Q
Hollywood 3point lighting style
A
- has roots in antiquity
- artists sometimes used the style for centuries for a more realistic lighting scheme for paintings
- key light: set in 45/45 degree position
- fill light: placed next to the camera to control the contrast produced by the key light
- back light: (usually a 3/4 back) to seperate actors and other objects from the background. with color film, backlight is not always necessary
53
Q
camera angles and points of view
A
- objective
- subjective
- indirect subjective
54
Q
objective point of view
A
- camera angle from audience point of view, not character
55
Q
subjective
A
- camera angle from a personal point of view
- represents the eye of the character
- often shaky with characters talking directly at the camera
56
Q
indirect subjective
A
- camera is very close to the actor and in his perspective, but not quite the eye of the character
57
Q
composition
A
- the arrangement of visual elements within the frame
58
Q
framing
A
the frame-re-frame dynamic
59
Q
filters
A
- change the physical properties of the image as it enters the lense
60
Q
types of filters
A
- diffusion filters- defocus the lense
- fog filters - lower contrast
- color filters - change overall color
61
Q
laboratory and post manipulation
A
- special laboratory procedures
- digital manipulation
62
Q
special laboratory procedures
A
- methods of silver retention including bleach bypass and enr
- will increase contrast
- cross processing (e to c in photo slang) increases contrast in unusual ways
63
Q
digital manipulation
A
- digital intermediate process: film by scanning frame by frame into a digital file where color and contrast can be manipulated far more thoroughly than traditional lab timing.
- file can then be laser rescanned back onto films.
64
Q
role of director
A
- primary creative force in a film
- job is to create moving images that will narrate the actions of a screenplay
- must collaborate creatively with artists and utilize tools available to produce a personal vision on screen
65
Q
artistic and practical challenges
A
- time
- budget
- personnel
- tools of production
- location realities
- imagination
66
Q
director as collaborator
A
- working with writers
- studio or independent production
- ## working with actors
67
Q
the production process
A
- block
- light
- rehearse
- shoot
are also called set ups by assistant directors
think blurs without the u
68
Q
block
A
- rough in the lighting
- block actor movement
- block camera movement
- evaluate action
69
Q
light
A
- light the stand ins for principal actors
- rehearse camera and dolly moves in terms of lighting and grip requirements, camera, lighting, and sound departments
70
Q
rehearse
A
- first team actors do their final rehearsals
- assistant camera and dolly grip set marks
- electricians and grips “tweak”
71
Q
shoot (the take)
A
- roll sound
- roll camera
- slate
- action begins
- cut by director
- final appraisal, “was it a good take?”
72
Q
question of authorship
A
- depends on how much artistic power a director has
- is he a creator or interpreter
- in tv producers have the artistic power and directors are their to inerpret screenplay ensure consistency
73
Q
Auteur theory
A
- developed by Andre Bazin
- the idea that the director is the auteur or author of a film, the primary artistic force
- based on alexander astruc’s idea that the camera is the equivalent of a pen, “camera stylo”
74
Q
Francois Truffait
A
- took ideas of Bazin and proposed that the greatest directors are able to use personal experience to film difficult to capture moments on film
- called the politique de auteur
- helped to start the french nouvelle vague in the 1950s- 1960s
75
Q
notable french new wave directors
A
- jean luc godard
- francois truffait
- eric rohmer
- claude chabrol
- jacques rivette
- agnes varda
- jacques demy
76
Q
Le Politique de auteur
A
- Truffait’s strategy to promote the idea of auteur
included:
- elevating the status of underrated hollywood studio directors
- vilifying french and european directors for their emphasis on literary classics that had no personal feelings involved. called this a “tradition of quality” sarcastically
- emphasized importance of stylistic consistency and “world view” of a director’s work
- raise the status of film from trivial popular entertainment to a major form of art
77
Q
Truffait’s question of authorship
A
- auteurs must have a consistent world view that spans all their collection of pictures
- this collection of pictures is called “ouvres”
78
Q
style and personal vision
A
ways a director can bring a personal style to their works:
- choice of genre or narrative interest (consistency over a series of films)
- world view (recurrent themes regardless of genre
- camera style (composition, framing, movement, lighting, lenses)
- editing style (montage and or misenscene)
79
Q
two ways that directors can confront and shape the material of film
A
- design a style to suit material: de-emphasizes personal style
- design material to suit a personal style: has consistent style within all their films. can create their own “special worlds” because their style is so distinct
80
Q
kurosawa’s world views
A
- constantly deal with a protag that must break away from the social and cultural patterns of Japan in order to survive
81
Q
Ozu’s world views
A
- constantly deal with a protag that resists the cultural and social patterns of Japan and eventually accept them in order to find freedom and happiness
82
Q
Naruse’s
A
- the constant social and cultural patterns of Japan are unacknowledged and freedom is lost as it is sought
83
Q
world view
A
- the use of personal experience and honest self expression in order to create and portray a personal and
