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Looking at Movies

Looking at Movies. virtually every movie employs a narrative . cultural differences affect how stories/narratives are presented. editing gives movies the power to choose what and how the viewer sees the story. in order understand a movie, there needs to be analysis .

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Looking at Movies

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  1. Looking at Movies

  2. virtually every movie employs a narrative

  3. cultural differences affect how stories/narratives are presented

  4. editing gives movies the power to choose what and how the viewer sees the story

  5. in order understand a movie, there needs to be analysis

  6. no time to analyze/ contemplate while watching audiences absorb movie meaning intuitively and instantly intuitive example: a low- angle shot…

  7. a polished film gets rid of distractions: producing a highly manipulated artificial reality ex: cutting in on action ex: coming in at last possible moment

  8. key to entertaining (and making $): give customers what they want

  9. Implicit and explicit meanings

  10. Explicit: what is the film about Implicit: what is the movie trying to say? what does it mean? an overall message or point?

  11. Viewer Expectations for a Film The basic structure: • a clearly motivated protagonist • pursues a goal • meets obstacles in the way • a clear resolution your experience of a movie is affected by how a particular film manipulates these expected patterns

  12. Formal Film analysis: analytical approach mostly concerned with film form… or the means in which the narrative is expressed dissecting the complex synthesis of cinematography, sound, composition, design, staging*, performance and editing

  13. it’s possible to read more meaning into an included component – but know that filmmakers exploit every tool at their disposal and therefore everything is there for a reason

  14. JUNO

  15. Principles of Film Form

  16. Film Form Remember, very little if anything, is left to chance, a movie is a highly organized and deliberately assembled

  17. Film content: the subject of a movie (what it’s about)

  18. Film Form: the means by which the subject of the narrative is expressed and experienced • doesn’t just let us see the subject, lets us see it in a particular way • explained in cinematic language: the tools and techniques that a filmmaker uses to convey meaning and mood

  19. Works of art need both: content and form

  20. Film Form and Expectations

  21. Audiences will form impressions quickly, sometimes opening credits • in Hollywood, producers and screen writers assume the audience will decide if they like/dislike a movie in the first 10 minutes

  22. Audiences expect that most movies start with a “normal” world - that is altered by a particular incident (inciting incident) -compelling the protagonist to pursue a goal.

  23. The film’s narrative structure is written around the viewer’s desire to learn the answers • will Dorothy get back to Kansas? • will Frodo destroy the ring?

  24. This desire stresses the importance of the opening scene. (American Beauty, The Shining)

  25. Then there’s the “McGuffin” - a ‘thing’ in a story that is of vital importance the characters, motivating their actions – but turns out to be less significant to the narrative than expected (Psycho, Pulp Fiction)

  26. Patterns in film form: • viewers search for patterns and progressions in all art forms • the more these meet our expectations (or contradict them in interesting ways), the more likely we are to enjoy (and analyze) them

  27. Pattern Example - Parallel Editing: • making different lines of action appear to be happening at the same time • creates illusion of connections = drama (Silence of the Lambs, No Country for Old Men)

  28. Fundamentals of Film Form

  29. Movies depend on light. Light can be manipulated to create mood, reveal character, and convey meaning (esp. chiaroscuro) (Grapes of Wrath)

  30. Movies provide an illusion of movement.

  31. Movies manipulate space and time in unique ways.

  32. can move seamlessly from one space to another or make space move or fragment time in many ways (The Matrix) • the camera is always selecting and manipulating what is seen on the screen

  33. continuous record of action occurring in different locations - an illusion no other art form can convey as effectively (Godfather) • can successfully rearrange time: Citizen Kane, Atonement, Memento

  34. Realism and Antirealism: not every film strives to be “realistic”, but nearly all films attempt to immerse us in a world that is depicted convincingly

  35. realism – est. by Lumiere brothers - view or represent things as they really are • realism is an illusion as well antirealism – est. by Georges Melies - interest in or concern for the abstract, speculative, or fantastic Most movies are a mix today

  36. These last few slides will not be on the quiz…

  37. Verisimilitude: a convincing appearance of truth.movies are verisimilitude when they convince you that the things on the screen (people, places…) no matter how fantastic or anti-realistic they are, are real

  38. Cinematic language – accepted systems, methods, or conventions by which the movies communicate with the viewer • most of the individual elements carry conventional, generalized meanings – but when combined with other elements the basic meaning becomes more defined and complex

  39. If you are asked to refer to the ‘text of a movie’, or ‘read a particular shot or scene’ - you are being asked to apply your understanding of cinematic language The conventions that make up this language are flexible, not rules

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