Final Exam Flashcards
Four Dimensions of Film
mise-en-scene
cinematography
editing
sound
Mise-en-scene meaning
“putting into the scene,” from the French theatre
Elements of Mise-en-scene
setting
lighting
costumes + makeup
staging/figure movement
Setting
shot on location or on a constructed set
prop (property) –> an aspect of setting
Four major features of film lighting
quality
source
direction
color
Composition
the arrangement of visual elements within the frame
Elements of Composition
symmetry
balance
shape
color
Visions of Light
Arnold Glassman (1993)
Four factors in every shot
framing
depth of field
color
movement
Framing
the use of edges to determine what will be visible on screen
What does framing define?
mise-en-scene
Aspect Ratio
ratio or width to height
Camera…
angle
level/balance
height
distance
Depths of Field
deep (Citizen Kane 1941)
shallow (Se7en 1995)
racking
Camera Movements
pan
tilt
tracking
crane
Four Methods of Joining Shots
cut
fade
dissolve
wipe
Four Basic Areas of Editing
graphic
rhythmic
spatial
temporal
Graphic Editing
editing together the pictorial qualities of two shots
Rhythmic Editing
when a discernible pattern emerges, editing has its own visual “beat” or tempo
Spatial Editing
editors can juxtapose any two points in space and time
Temporal Editing
manipulation of our experience in story time through editing
flashback
flashforward
elliptical editing
overlapping editing
When did synchronized sound become the industry standard?
1927
Which film introduced synchronized sound?
Warner Brother’s release of “The Jazz Singer”
Three Types of Cinematic Sound
speech (dialogue)
music
sound effects (noise)
Two Kinds of Sound Image Relationships
on-screen sound (visible onscreen source)
off-screen sound (no visible onscreen source)
Diegetic Sound
has a clear source within the film’s diegesis (story)
Nondiegetic Sound
Does not have a clear source within the films diegesis (story)
Two Types of Diegetic Sound
internal and external
Internal Diegetic Sound
Originates within a character’s subjectivity, part of the diegesis, but other characters cannot hear it (inside the character’s head)
Narrative
a chain of events linked by cause and effect and occurring in time and space
Motif
a significant element that is repeated in a film (similarity and repetition)
What can strong similarities and repetition create?
Parallelism
Four Types of Character Development
External Change
Internal Change
Progressive Character Development
Regressive Character Development
External Change
indicates physical changes
ex: graying hair, weight loss
Internal Change
measures character change from within
ex: character becomes bitter
Progressive Character Development
an improvement or advance of some quality in a character
Regressive Character Development
loss of or return to some previous state or a deterioration from the present state
Documentary
a non-fiction film that presents real people and events
How is narration different in documentaries?
common use of voice-over and direct address
Documentaries are assumed to be factual even if
the filmmaker has an agenda
Documentaries are
informative, cultural, historical, biographical, rhetorical (persuasive), etc.
Features of Errol Morris’ Filmmaking
- investigative approach to everything
- always testing the limits of human knowledge and understanding
- an abiding belief that the truth is out there
- complex narratives
Highly stylized elements of Errol’s filmmaking
- cinematography –> framing, slow-motion, use of shallow focus, grainy image
- editing –> artful match cuts
- sound –> sophisticated relationship between sound and image
Auteur
from French for “author”
The auteur is always the
director b/c at the end of the day its the director who makes the final decisions regarding casting, editing, cinematography, etc.
What did Francois Truffaut write?
his essay “Une Certaine Tendence du Cinema Francais” for Cahiers du Cinema in 1954
What did Francois Truffaut argue?
that the work of an auteur could be detected in Hollywood productions; director’s filmography illustrates the author’s “signature”
Who did Francois Truffaut name as auteurs?
Hitchcock, John Ford, Welles, and Howard Hawks
Who are two other auteur critics?
Andrew Sarris and Peter Wollen
What did Andrew Sarris argue?
the the whole body of work marks an auteur, regardless of different cinematographers, stars, and screenwriters
What does Sarris say a director must have to be considered an auteur?
- a substantial body of work by which to judge
- a strong command of the medium and must make good movies
Arguments against auteur theory
- genesis of a film is too complicated to ascribe to a single person
- cinematographers, stars, producers, and screenwriters are as least as much auteurs if not more than directors
- many films bear the recognizable stamp of the studio system more than the director
- privileges contributions of white male directors and marginalizes women and artists of color
Who is the cinematographer on most of Spike Lee’s films?
Ernest Dickerson
Avant-garde meaning
comes from the French, meaning “vanguard” or “advance guard”
Avant-garde
- stretches the conventional limits of the medium
- experiments with aesthetics
- rejects the conventions of mainstream movies and the studio system
T.D. Rice
- most famous minstrel performer
- created the Jim Crow character in the 1830s
- particularly popular in the postbellum era
Possibly In Michigan concludes with Sharon and Janice sitting down to a nice meal, the main course of which is
Arthur, the man stalking them who they killed
Deborah Stratman dedicates
Hacked Circuit to two people.
Walter Murch and Edward Snowden
Chris Marker described his film ______ as a photo-roman (photo novel?)
La Jetee (1962)
Who was Maya Deren’s first husband and the cinematographer for Meshes of The Afternoon (1943)?
Alexander Hammid
Who was Maya Deren’s third husband who’s music was incorporated into the previously silent film Meshes of the Afternoon (1943)
Teiji Ito
