FILM/Cinema Notes Modern Literacy

Film Literacy Basically… we are going to take all of our print literary analysis skills, and apply them to motion pictures. So… let’s start with what we know What are the basic parts of any story?

Film Literacy Diegesis – includes objects, events, spaces, and the characters that inhabit them –In other words, this is the creation of an entire new world in which the story functions

Film Literacy Editing- The joining together of film clips into one film strip Flashback/Flash-forward- jumping around in diegetic time- causes the plot to unfold out of a “normal” time sequence

Film Literacy Mise-en-scene –All of the items put into a scene to make the setting, décor, lighting, costumes, performance, etc. Genre- Types of film recognized by audiences and producers –Thriller/Detective, Horror, Western, Comedy, Romantic-Comedy

Film Literacy Story- refers to all the audience infers about the events that occur inside the digesis on the basis of what they are shown by the plot (more extensive than plot) Plot- the events that are directly presented in the film –Elements of the plot include the order, duration, and setting of events, as well as relationships between them.

Film Literacy Scene- A segment of narrative film that takes place in a single time and place, often with the same characters. Shot- A single strip of images uninterrupted by editing

Mise-en-scene Décor- the objects contained in, and setting a scene –Amplify character development or certain moods of a film

Mise-en-scene Rear Projection- Used to combine foreground image (characters talking) with a background image that was previously shot. –Economic way to set films in dangerous or exotic places Rear Projection

Mise-en-scene Light –Affects the way colors are rendered –Focus on a particular element Red Light- Passion Green Light- Science Fiction –Documentary Lighting Natural light to create authenticity –Mainstream Three-point lighting

Mise-en-scene Three-point lighting –Three lights are used to give actors’ faces or other options depth Backlight picks out the subject from its background Bright key light highlights the object Fill light from the opposite side ensures that the key light casts only faint shadows

Mise-en-scene High-key lighting- fill lighting is raised as high as the key lighting resulting in very bright shots (musicals or comedies) Low-key lighting- Employs very little fill- light, creating strong contrasts and shadows (suspense genres) Peking Opera Blues 1986 Touch of Evil

Space Deep Space- significant elements of an image are positioned both near and distant from the camera Off-screen Space- space that exists in the digesis but is not visible in the frame- becomes significant when a viewer’s attention is called to an event or presence not visible in the frame Offscreen Space

Space Shallow Space- Opposite of deep space – image is staged with very little depth Costumes- outfits worn by actors in narrative films Typage- casting of actors to fit certain stereotypes

Cinematography Cinematography- the elements at play in the construction of a shot Color- Original film in black and white- color soon followed –Add realism and Glamour –Establish character or emotion

Cinematography Contrast- ratio of dark and light in an image –Large difference between light and dark is “high-contrast” – the opposite is “low-contrast” –Most films use low-contrast to obtain a naturalistic look –High contrast reserved for horror/thriller genres Also distinguish between good and evil and other racist or sexual connotations

Contrast From Orson Welles’ Touch of Evil High-contrast used to emphasize differences between American blonde and menacing Mexican man

Types of Focus Deep Focus- like deep space in that two main images occupy two different planes; however deep focus requires that both images be in focus (Besieged 1998) Touch of Evil 1958

Types of Focus Shallow Focus- keeps only one plane in sharp focus Used to direct viewer’s attention to one element of the scene (close-ups) Central Station 1998

Types of Focus Racking Focus- changing the focus of a lens so that an element in one plane of an image goes out of focus and an element at another plane in the image comes into focus. –Steers audience attention through scene –Connects characters or objects Racking Focus

Framing Choosing what will appear inside the borders of the shot Angle of Framing –Dutch Angle- Shot is taken with the camera at an angle Used in horror films a lot- signifies uneasiness and psychological trouble –High Angle- Shot taken from higher than subject –Low Angle- Shot taken from beneath subject Angles can indicate power, status

Framing Aspect Ratio- ratio of the horizontal to the vertical sides of the frame –As widescreen entered the filming world in the 1950’s aspect ratio’s changed to a wide variety of aspect ratios. –Videos are often trimmed to fit the screens on which we view them- here is a result of this trimming

Framing Level of Framing –Not the Angle of the camera, but the height –Used to create sympathy, or to show contrast in characters and objects in a scene

Framing Following Shot –Shot within a frame that shifts to keep the object in the frame Following Shot Canted Framing –Frame is not level- either the right or left side is higher than the other Used to create a feeling of chaos

Framing Reframing – slight panning or tilting to adjust for a figures movements, keeping them centered or onscreen –ReframingReframing

Scale Extreme Long Shot- Shot in which the scale of the object shown is very small; instead, a building, landscape, or crowd of people fill the scene –Usually the first or last shot of a sequence Eyes Wide Shut 1999 A Summer Tale 1996

Scale Long Shot- Shot in which the scale of the object shown is small; a standing human would appear nearly the height of the screen –Stable shot- allows for movement without reframing –Used in genres where full body action needs to be seen

Scale Medium Long Shot- Shot in which an object 4-5 feet high would fill the screen –(Also Called Plain Americain- attributed to the Western genre where the scenes would be framed to always show the cowboy’s weapon Eyes Wide Shut 1999

Scale Medium Close-Up- Shot in which the object shown is fairly large; a human figure seen from chest up would fill most of the screen Eyes Wide Shut 1999 A Summer Tale 1996

Scale Close-up- A shot in which the object shown is relatively large; a person’s head, or similarly sized object would fill the frame –Important to note that scales are not universal, rather they are established by a relationship between other frames from the same film Eyes Wide Shut 1999 A Summer Tale 1996

Scale Extreme Close-up- A shot in which the object shown is very large; small object or part of the body, usually shot with a zoom lens –Mostly done with faces The Color of Paradise 1996

Movement Handheld Camera/ Steady Cam- Use of the camera operator’s body or harness to support the camera –Newsreel, documentarists, wartime reporters favor handhelds for convenience –Young film-makers for affordability –Originally considered anti-cinematic, but now accepted as a style –Handheld/Steady CamHandheld/Steady Cam

Movement How the camera moves to film a shot Crane Shot- Shot with a change in framing taken by having the camera above ground and moving through the air in any direction (often on a crane, or large arm) –Often Long or Extreme Long Shots Crane Shot

Movement Pan- A camera movement with the camera movement moving from the right or the left –Mobile framing that spans horizontally –Think “turning head” –Used to connect two characters and make us aware of their proximity –Speed can be altered for dramatic effect Pan

Movement Tilt- A camera movement with the camera body swiveling upward and downward on a stationary support. –Scans the space vertically Tilt

Movement Tracking Shot- Mobile framing that travels through space horizontally or vertically; follows a character or object as it moves along the screen –Moving WITH the character, not watching them move –Originally a filmed by a camera on rails –With technological developments, essentially anything with wheels can be fixed to take tracking shots –Tracking ShotTracking Shot

Movement Whip Pan- Fast movement from side to side, temporarily causing the screen to blur –Often used with another whip pan scene to create a transition in editing –Common in films with fast-paced action –Whip PanWhip Pan

Editing Transitions- Process of joining shots together Jump Cut- a cut that appears to be an interruption of a single shot; figures change instantly in front of a consistent background or a background changes behind consistent figures Jump Cut

Editing Cut-in/Cut Away- An instantaneous shift from a distant frame to a close view of some portion of the same space, or vice versa. Cut-in/Cut-Away Dissolve- A transition in which the first image gradually disappears while the second image gradually appears Dissolve

Editing Iris- a round moving circle that can close down to end a scene or emphasize a detail, or open to begin a scene Iris –Why common with older films?

Editing Establishing Shot- A distant framing that includes the spatial relationships between the main objects of the scene, as well as identifies the setting –Usually the first few shots of each scene are establishing shots –Reestablishing shots occur after a variety of other shots are used, to reestablish the setting and spatial relationships of the scene Establishing and Reestablishing Shots

Editing Superimposition- 2 images on the same film strip. Unlike a dissolve, it does not signify a scene change –Could be used to allow an actor to be two characters –To show something about a character’s thoughts/feelings Shot/Reverse Shot- Two or more shots edited together that alternate characters, typically in conversation Shot/Reverse Shot

Editing Wipe- A transition between shots where a line passes across the screen, eliminating the first shot and replacing it with a second. –Action or adventure films –Suggests a direct connection between the two images Wipe

Matches Techniques that join or divide a shot by making a connection between them. Eyeline Matching: Shows a person off in one direction and the object in a nearby space that he or she see. The direction the individual looks to see the object establishes his or her spatial positioning –Eyeline MatchingEyeline Matching

Matches Match on Action- A cut which splices two different views of the action together, making it seem seamless –Action Films! –Match on ActionMatch on Action

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