Why Study Film?

Knowing how to analyze films and build thoughtful interpretations = More enjoyment

Our Goal Identify the major elements of film art Recognize the way those elements work together to produce meaning Develop the skills necessary to interpret what we’re being told (sold?)

Cinematic Language The visual/aural vocabulary of film Composed of integrated techniques and concepts

Actively Looking at Movies Recognize the many tools and principles that filmmakers employ to tell stories, convey information and meaning, and influence emotions and ideas. Understand movies as narrative, as artistic expression, and as a reflection of the cultures that produce and consume them.

What is a movie? A series of still photos shown quickly to simulation motion A type of communication A form of popular entertainment A narrative that tells a story This “telling” is affected by cultural differences and the era in which it was produced.

Movie, Cinema, or a Film? Essentially interchangeable terms Cinema: from the Greek kenesis (movement) Often implies art films (e.g., “French Cinema”) Film: from the original celluloid strip media Movie: short for motion pictures Motion is the essence of the movie medium 7

The Most Popular Art Form Today Movies are not just watched in theaters today TiVo, big-box retailers, and Redbox machines Online, cable, and satellite stations Streaming video, computers Televisions iPads, smart phones Other systems not yet imagined 8

Communication & Culture

Communication SUCCESSFUL transmission of a message from a source to a receiver Must be sharing of meaning Response, or feedback Two types Interpersonal Mass

How it works… Messages are encoded—transformed into understandable sign and symbol system Once received, message is decoded—signs and symbols interpreted Noise interferes with successful communication Encoded messages carried by medium— means of sending information

Communication Model Who Says what To whom Though what channel With what effect

Communication Model

What is Culture? Learned behavior of a social group. Historically transmitted pattern of meaning. Uses symbols to communicate knowledge. How we make sense of our lives. Communication is required for culture to exist. Culture is learned. It helps us define our world.   I. What do we mean by dominant culture? Majority. Unites us. People oppose this by learning new ways of thinking, changing patterns. What do we mean by bounded (or co-) cultures? Smaller, niche. Allows us to differentiate. Can turn to division (Muslims – post 9/11)

Functions and Effects of Culture Provides useful guidelines for behavior. In pluralistic society both dominant and bounded cultures exist. Cultural values can be contested. It’s fluid, ever changing. Culture can unite or divide.

Communication & Culture Always remember, “the past causes the present and so the future.” View all media through the frame of culture. Fluid Socially constructed Shared meaning

History of Film

How does film “work?” Persistence of Vision human eye retains an image on the retina for 1/24 of a second. Phi Phenomenon & critical flicker fusion If light is pulsed at a certain speed (24 fps), the illusion is continuous light. So, when pictures are flashed in quick succession, we perceive them as moving.

The Beginnings Late 1800s Film language (think language + culture!) Industrial revolution Immigration Film language (think language + culture!) People had to become film literate. It was like being in a foreign country where you don’t speak the language. Had to understand cinematic alterations of time and space; how images and sound combine to create meaning; camera angles.   Industrial revolution (free time, free money, mechanics) Immigration (silent movies required no lang) The “old wives tale” of the train arriving at the station

Precursors of Film Phonotrope (aka Phonographantasmascope) Zoetrope 1800’s Europe Phonotrope (aka Phonographantasmascope) Zoetrope A modern zoetrope, the “zoeflix” And a 3D zoetrope

The Early Years - Pioneers Eadweard Muybridge Developed photography to reveal motion. Wager by Ca. governor Stanford to show all 4 legs of a horse were in the air at one time. Bullet-time – Matrix slo-mo technique which used the basic principles of Muybridge’s “The Horse in Motion.”

The Early Years - Pioneers Eadweard Muybridge

The Early Years - Pioneers Thomas Edison After meeting Muybridge, he set out to invent a projector. As always with Edison, his assistant, Dickson, did. Kinetoscope films But boring. Why?

The Early Years - Pioneers Thomas Edison His assistant, Dickson also invented a better way to film – celluloid. Quick history

The Early Years - Pioneers Thomas Edison Black Maria (N.J.) – motion picture studio (really just a box that could be rotated to have enough light.

The Early Years - Pioneers Lumiere Brothers They were considered the first to exhibit moving pictures – 1895 They thought it was “an invention without any future” Films such as Workers Leaving the Station, Arrival of a Train at the Station

The Early Years - Pioneers George Melies The “cinemagician” Created the “stop trick,” multiple exposures, time lapse photography and dissolves. Still using proscenium staging. Trip to the Moon