Midterm #1 Flashcards
Makeup of film form
narrative and stylistic elements
What is the power of form based on?
expectations, either fulfilling or thwarting them
Four Dimensions of Film
- mise-en-scene
- cinematography
- editing
- sound
Mise-en-scene
“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
- props (property) –> an aspect of setting
Lighting
the most complicated aspect of mise-en-scene
Four major features of film lighting
- quality
- source
- direction
- color
Staging
- figure movement and performance
- how a figure moves has a huge impact on how we perceive the character
Composition
the arrangement of visual elements within the frame
Elements of Composition
- symmetry
- balance
- shape
- color
Visions of Light
Arnold Glassman (1993)
Important duo from Visions of Light
Gregg Toland and Orson Welles
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 of width to height
Camera…
- angle
- level/balance
- height
- distance
Depth of Field
range of distances before the lens within which objects are in sharp focus
Depths of Field
- deep
- shallow
- racking
Deep depth example
window scene in Citizen Kane (1941)
Shallow depth example
gun scene at the end of Se73n (1995)
Racking Depth
shift from front to back or vice versa
Color
comprised of color and tone
Color: Color
the spectrum of colors and hues
Color: Tone
the shading and saturation of the colors
Camera Movements
- pan
- tilt
- tracking
- crane
Pan
left to right axis
Tilt
up and down axis
Tracking/Dolly Shot
forward/back or in/out
Crane Shot
shot with a crane
Duration
how long a shot lasts
Four Methods of Joining Shots
- cut
- fade
- dissolve
- wipe
Four Basic Areas of Editing
- graphic
- rhythmic
- spatial
- temporal
Graphic
concerned with editing together the pictorial qualities of two shots (ex: bone to spaceship in 2002: A Space Odyssey (Kubrick, 1968))
Rhythmic
when a discernible pattern emerges, editing has its own visual “beat” or tempo
Spatial
editors can juxtapose any two points in space and time
Establishing Shot
defines overall space
Temporal
manipulation of our experience of story time through editing
- flashback
- flashforward
- elliptical editing
- overlapping editing
Elliptical Editing
suggests more time actually goes by in a story than is presented on screen (skipping the boring parts)
Overlapping Editing
action from one shot partially repeated in next shot, expands story time
Run Lola Run - director and release year
Tom Tykwer (1998)
Run Lola Run editor
Mathilde Bonnefoy
The Player - director and release year
Robert Altman (1992)
The Player- cinematographer
Jean Lepine
When did synchronized sound become the industry standard?
1927
Which film introduced synchronized sound?
Warner Brother’s release of “The Jazz Singer”
What did audiences experience prior to synchronized sound?
Movies with live musical accompaniments
Three Types of Cinematic Sound
- speech (dialogue)
- music
- sound effects (noise)
Two Kinds of Sound Image Relationship
on-screen sound and off-screen sound
On-screen sound
sound has a visible onscreen source
Off-screen sound
sound does not have a 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)
Voiceover
characters in diegesis can’t hear it
Film used to exemplify the usage of sound
Apocalypse Now (1979)
Francis Ford Coppola
What kind of narrative does The Conversation have?
Totally restricted to Harry’s subjectivity (audience only knows as much as the character)
What is a key motif in The Conversation and some examples?
Semi-translucence
– windows, screens, raincoat, curtains, scrim
- metaphor for Harry’s understanding of the circumstances
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 do patterns of motifs create?
expectations
What can strong similarities and repetition create?
Parallelism
What can changes and variations of elements create?
variety, contrast, and change
Does repetition occur in exactly the same way in a film?
No, and the differences can be meaningful
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 deterioration from the present state
Examples of Difference and Variation in Mulholland Drive
Diner scene
- guy and his dream
- Camilla and Betty
- Diane and the hitman
The Conversation - director and release year
Francis Ford Coppola (1974)
The Conversation - sound and music
Walter Murch
David Shire
Mulholland Drive - director and release year
David Lynch (2001)
