test 2 Flashcards

1
Q

What coincided with the spread of sound in cinema?

A

The early years of the Great depression in the US

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2
Q

When was sound added to films and who did it?

A

1927 Warner Bros released The Jazz Singer, a successful movie in the US; first film of synchronized sound

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3
Q

Which country was the 1st to move to sound production?

A

US. Germany & USSR came after

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4
Q

When were all films converted to sound?

A

By 1932 despite Great depression

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5
Q

Who invented the Phonofilm and when?

A

Lee Deforest, an American inventor in 1923

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6
Q

What was the phonofilm?

A

A sound on film process that converted sound into light waves reproduced on a photographic strip running alongside images on a film strip

Phonofilm is an optical sound-on-film system

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7
Q

Where were films distributed?

A

Where they were in most demand

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8
Q

What were the big 5 studio systems in hollywood? called major

A

Paramount, MGM, RKO, 20th century fox, Warner bros

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9
Q

Where did storytelling originate or what is the earliest forms of storytelling we have?

A

myths

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10
Q

Where can we see the ideological use of storytelling in uses of genre?

A

For example in sitcoms like the fresh prince of bel air where there’s always a lesson at the end of the episode

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11
Q

What are the 3 important ways of understanding movie genre?

A

Atmosphere, character, story

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12
Q

What brings in an audience to a movie?

A

Expectation

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13
Q

What country had strict policies for subject matter and style of films during 1930s?

A

Soviet Union. Nazis gradually absorbed the film business and installed strict censorship, which later controlled French filmmakers during WW2.

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14
Q

What resulted in a move toward political documentary in western countries?

A

Growing power of fascist regimes around WW2 1930s

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15
Q

What 3 countries dominated the world’s conversion to sound?

A

US germany USSR (US First)

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16
Q

What did the Jazz Singer film signify?

A

1927 synchronized sound, a cheaper way of reproducing stage acts and music

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17
Q

What were films with sound called?

A

talkies

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18
Q

What was the big 5 agreement in 1927?

A

five largest producing companies in hollywood agreed to act together in adopting whatever sound system that was best, which were western electric sound on disc and RCA sound on film systems. Western Electric was picked as best

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19
Q

When was the conversion to sound virtually complete in the us?

A

mid 1932

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20
Q

What genre was made possible by the invention of sound?

A

musicals

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21
Q

What are the 3 elements of sound?

A

direction, cue, and perception/interpretation

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22
Q

when the the camera invented?

A

1895

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23
Q

when could cameras record sound?

A

1926

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24
Q

When was sound first introduced?

A

In the US in a film The jazz singer where a man is wearing black face, “you aint heard nothin yet.”

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25
Q

What does this element of sound mean? Direction

A

Sound directs audience to a particular part or detail of a frame. For example, when we hear the Jaws theme, we look to the sea for the shark

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26
Q

What does this element of sound mean? Cue

A

Sounds gives viewers cues about what’s about to happen. Ex: scary music leading up to violent scene

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27
Q

What does this element of sound mean? Perception/Interpretation

A

Sound changes our perception or interpretation of what’s about to happen. Ex: good thing or bad thing

28
Q

What are the 2 forms of sound?

A

Diagetic and non-diagetic

29
Q

What is diagetic sound?

A

anything that happens within the world of the film. Ex: dialogue, singing a song, turning on a radio or tv, car roaring by

30
Q

What is a nondigetic sound?

A

anything not in the world of the movie. Ex: film score or voice over

31
Q

What were the little 3 studio systems in hollywood? called minor

A

Columbia, Universal, UA (united artists)

32
Q

what 3 main factors did hollywood studios control?

A

production, distribution, exhibition

33
Q

Who owned theaters in 1930s-1940s?

A

Studios controlled the entire industry and controlled how film culture developed in the US around 1930/1940

34
Q

Is the hollywood studio system a classification of film or an era of film history?

A

It’s an era of film history where films were thriving in 1930-45 despite great depression

35
Q

What new film company was created as a result of the coming of sound?

A

RKO, created to exploit RCA’s new sound system the photophone during late 1920s

36
Q

What was the photophone?

A

RCA Photophone was the trade name given to one of four major competing technologies that emerged in the American film industry in the late 1920s for synchronizing electrically recorded audio to a motion picture image. First film made with photophone in 1929

37
Q

What was vertical integration?

A

to be a major film company, the company had to be vertically integrated, meaning it owned a theater chain and had an international distribution operation

38
Q

What were the qualities of paramount? 1920-1940s

A

It was a big 5 major league studio that began as a distribution firm and bought up a large # of theaters in the 1920s when it went bankrupt, then became profitable again in 1930s with european style films

39
Q

What were the qualities of MGM/Loew’s? 1930-1945

A

It was a major league big 5 studio but smaller theater chain and most profitable american film firm in 1930-45. MGM films were more luxurious than other studios with higher budgets and had large bright white sets.

40
Q

What were the qualities of RKO? 1928-1940s

A

Big 5 major league studio but shortest lived. It was when RCA, unable to convince other studios to adopt its sound system went into movie making business themselves as RKO, but it lagged behind and went bankrupt. Had isolated hits such as King Kong; slim profits were brought in by Disney films

41
Q

What were the qualities of 20th century fox?

A

big five major studio merge of fox and 20th century firms; studios biggest star was shirley temple

42
Q

What were the qualities of warner bros?

A

Big 5 major league studio, debt during great depression coped by selling holdings and cutting costs. Recycled plots, focused on creating popular genres such as the musical, gangster films, the problem film, combat films. Succeeded with limited resources.

43
Q

What became illegal in the hollywood studio system in 1948?

A

Supreme court ruled that studios could no longer control theaters. It became illegal to sell blocks of films (called block booking) which is when a theater wanted one film but was forced to pay for all

44
Q

When was the dismantling of the hollywood studio film system?

A

1940s-1950s

45
Q

Who were operating theaters selling 85% of tickets?

A

Big 5: paramount, mgm, rko, 20th cent fox, warner bros

46
Q

What was classical hollywood cinema all about?

A

Churning out the same exact narrative structures because it worked and met expectations therefore had an audience. They did it very quickly and exploited creatives

47
Q

What is the genre cycle?

A

A cyclical process, not a straight path, where each stage brings different meaning and expectations for an audience. All genres of film are part of the genre cycle.

48
Q

What are the stages of the genre cycle?

A

Experimental, classical, parody, deconstruction

49
Q

What is genre’s relationship with the studio system?

A

Genres were distributed where there was an audience, where they would do well geographically, so films might still be made that weren’t popular but with a smaller budget and only sold in the south where westerns are popular

50
Q

Is classical hollywood cinema a genre?

A

no, it’s an era, a system of classification of time

51
Q

How did classical hollywood churn out so many films?

A

by using same narrative structures that had an audience and with harsh treatment of creatives and people making the film such as drugging them like judy garland

52
Q

What was the role of contract control in classical hollywood?

A

Ex: Buster Keaton signing aggressive contracts being promised 1 thing with creative control but contract doesn’t guarantee success and is years long

If a tv series gets cancelled, you can still be under contract for years where you don’t have legal ability to find other work, which still happens today.

53
Q

What is the experimental genre cycle?

A

Ex: cabinet of caligiri

Experimenting with what a genre can be and what audience might want through aesthetics and such. Starting to develop and establish expectiations

54
Q

What are elements of the classical genre cycle?

A

Classical structure of the myths; myths adapted that reoccur through cultures. Ex: roman & greek mythology as Thor. Same story, same structure, but challenging ideologies.

55
Q

What are elements of the parody genre cycle?

A

Embellish details & assumptions not necessarily for comedic effect to break down assumptions to refine, give new form & understanding.

56
Q

What are 3 ways to understand genre?

A

aesthetics, myth, ideology

57
Q

What is understanding aesthetics in genre?

A

masks in horror movies. Conventional aspects that signify genre such as narrative structure, set design, customer, makeup, which all convey genre

58
Q

What are the characteristics of the french new wave?

A

abandonment of the script, romanticizing the antihero, handheld camera (presence of camera), existentialism & dysfunction

59
Q

What led to the emergence of italian neorealism? 1943

A

After WW2 in 1943, Italy was raviged and went from monarch to republic after being on axis powers with Germany. This led to the rise of the republic and no more censorship from dictators like mussolini

60
Q

What were some characteristics of Italian neorealism?

A

Very big on emotion, crushing the happy ending, breaking the facade and showing how society really was ravaged after WW2 with loss of job opportunities through rise of technology in Italy. Big historical epic movies whereas previous films showed a utopia due to censorship

61
Q

What were some characteristics of Italian neorealism?

A

Very big on emotion, crushing the happy ending, breaking the facade and showing how society really was ravaged after WW2 with loss of job opportunities through rise of technology in Italy. Big historical epic movies whereas previous films showed a utopia due to censorship

On location, nonprofessional actors, difficult moral choices

Bicycle thieves

62
Q

What was importance of rise of technology in Italian realism?

A

transition from hard labor to mechanically focused world and loss of jobs

63
Q

What were some important events of french new wave? late 1950s

A

first film made in 1959 and Breathless in 1960

Often shot with cheap handheld cameras due to decline of big budget films, big movie theaters were declining but individual filmmakers were thriving

Rise of film clubs that discussed and watch movies led to film critics

auteur theory

64
Q

What was auteur theory in french new wave?

A

Developed by French cinéphiles in the 1940s and 1950s. Argues that a film’s director is the primary creative source (the author or auteur) and that his/her vision expresses a distinctive world vision.

65
Q

What were some characteristics of french new wave in the late 1950s?

A

abandonment of the script, romanticizing the antihero, handheld cameras, existentialism and dysfunction