English 12B Film Notes

How many films do you watch a week? A month?

Why Study Film? Significant component of our culture Illuminates many contemporary issues Our information age is dominated by visual images Intelligent living in our society calls for perception, analysis, and judgment of visual data

Film as Literature 1/3 of all films ever made are based on novels Adding other literary forms increases the figure to 65% or more

Film as Literature Films are a form of narrative just like novels, plays, short stories, etc. Uses setting, characterization, plot, symbolism, and tone (as does writing). It is just developed differently.

How do filmmaking techniques add to meaning? Lighting helps to define character, plot, and setting.

Lighting Techniques High-Key Lighting – scene is flooded with bright light, giving it a cheerful tone Low-Key Lighting – low light with shadows, creates melancholy or ominous mood

Lighting Techniques Bottom Lighting – makes the face look sinister by casting shadows on the face Front Lighting – softens the face Back Lighting – strong light from behind separates the subject from the background

Lighting Techniques Eye light – placed near the camera to add sparkle to the eyes Side light – adds solidity and depth, accentuates features that give a face its character

Camera Shots and Angles Close-up – might show an actor’s head or hand Medium shot – might show the actors body from the knees up Long shot – might show the entire actor running through a field

Camera Shots and Angles Low angle shot – taken from below the subject High angle shot – taken from above the subject

Camera Movement Pan – camera pivots horizontally either left or right Tilt – camera pivots up or down

Camera Movement Tracking Shot (Dolly Shot) – camera moves along with the subject on a set of tracks Boom Shot (Crane Shot) – camera moves vertically through space

Color Specific colors used to develop characters, create specific moods, Can sometimes be considered symbolic

Sound Music and sound effects contribute to plot, character, mood, and symbolism Diagetic – Characters and audience can hear it Non-Diagetic – outside the story; only audience can hear it

Special Effects Made up of visual effects and mechanical effects

Special Effects Stop-motion photography – shooting interrupted while the scene is rearranged Animation – drawing or clay object changed every time camera stops

Special Effects Pixillation – live actors make one motion at a time, camera stops after each movement; takes 14,400 frames to shoot ten minutes of film Miniatures (Model Shots) – small scale models filmed to look full size

Special Effects Glass Shot – scenery painted on transparent glass; action photographed through the glass Rear Projection – actors are stationary while a movie of the landscape plays behind them

Special Effects Computer generated imagery combined with green screen technology Rain and snow machines

How Films are Made Every film goes through four stages

Development Idea starts from book, event, film, or imagination A brief synopsis or outline is sketched out Expanded into a treatment (short story)

Development Scenario, or screenplay, fleshes out the action and dialogue Shot by shot blueprint of the film is produced called the shooting script Few ideas make it past this first stage

Preproduction Film is approved and planned Actors are cast Locations are scouted Research is conducted

Preproduction Sets, props, and costumes are designed Shooting schedule is finalized Production budget is finalized

Production Director supervises the set and is responsible for turning screenplay into film Numerous technical support crew

Production Cinematographer (director of camera work) among most important Production mixer responsible for all sound

Postproduction Editor takes over with the assistance of the director All shots cut, spliced, and arranged to form continuous scenes

Postproduction Sounds are synchronized with images Visual effects and musical tracks are created

Brief History of Film August and Louis Lumiere credited with inventing the motion picture in 1895 A Trip to the Moon (1902) first feature film

Brief History of Film The Jazz Singer (1927) starring Al Jolson was the first film with sound (talkies) By 1931 the last silent feature length film was released

1930s Industry at its peak By 1938 65% of population attended movies weekly In 1938 500 films produced in Hollywood Compare to 1968 (10% attended movies weekly and 175 movies produced Musical and screwball comedies – took people’s minds off depression

1940s Films more cynical and serious as a result of WWII

1950s Science fiction and Westerns emerged as popular forms

1960s Audience became younger, better educated, more affluent, and smaller Violence, social protest, and counterculture developed in film

1970s Disaster film (Airport), gangster films (The Godfather), horror films ( The Exorcist), and space films (Star Wars) dominated Emergence of high budget blockbuster films Hollywood popularity began to revive

Contemporary Films More integrated to reflect the times More minorities in films More likely to be shot overseas, in several locations, with casts and crews of several nationalities