FILM AS TEXT Studying Films in the English Curriculum

WHY STUDY FILM?  Film is a complex text form. The reason for its complexity is that film includes aspects of spoken and visual text forms and can even sometimes include written text forms. It is important to learn each aspect of film before you can fully understand a text.  It is imperative to view the film in the right conditions and only begin your deconstruction & analyses after multiple viewings.  It is not popcorn time!

FILM AS TEXT How a film is deconstructed for analysis:  Plot Analyze key moments/scenes in the film  Characters Closely examine how characters are established and developed  Setting Focus on where the film is set (time and place) and how it impacts on the storyline.  Themes Note the underlying meaning and messages of the film. What is the directors intention?  Social Values How attitudes and ideas of a particular time and place presented

WE ALSO ‘READ’ FILM Employing reading strategies to have a greater connection with the text:  Text to Self Reflect on personal experiences and attitudes to shape your own interpretation of the film  Text to World Films often reflect real world issues and events; perhaps you can think of a film that raised ideas based on reality (sci fi and horror, even though far removed from realism provide interesting social commentaries).  Text to Text Many films are adapted from written forms, such as memoirs and novels, including Hugo, others are merely inspired and similar stylistic signatures  Questioning Throughout a film clues are provided to give audience members an idea of the film’s direction, this known as foreshadowing.  Inferring Sometimes the viewer needs to draw their own conclusions about the film based on information provided by the filmmakers

THE ROLE OF THE AUDIENCE  Audience It is your job to make sense of the film based on your own prior knowledge, beliefs and active engagement.  Story Elements  Production Elements  Genre  Adaptation  Viewing Context

INTRODUCTION TO FILM TECHNIQUES How a film is constructed for greater meaning?  Camera Shot Types, Angles & Movement  Editing Invisible Editing, Pacing, Tone & Rhythm, Ellipsis of Time, Juxtaposition, Montage  Mise-en-scene What’s in the scene  Sound & Music Diegetic & Non-diegetic  Lighting High & Low Key Lighting

SHOT SIZES & ANGLES Types of shots: The followings are types of shots commonly used in film, video, and animation.  Extreme Close Up (ECU)  Close Up (CU)  Medium Close Up (MCU)  Medium (MS)  Wide (WS)  Extreme Long (ELS)

CAMERA MOVEMENT The main types of camera movements that are used in film are:  Panning  Tilting  Crane  Tracking  Zooming  Handheld & Steadi-Cam

FILM TEXT EXAMPLES  Psycho - Hitchcock  Raising Arizona – Coen Bros.  Gattaca – Niccol  The Third Man – Wells  Panic Room – Fincher  Inception - Nolan

INTRODUCTION TO STORY ELEMENTS How elements of the story are developed, delivered and interrupted?  Cause & Effect  Setting  Structuring of Time  Narrative Possibilities  Multiple Storylines (plots & subplots)  Character Establishment & Development  Opening Sequences

FILM TEXT EXAMPLES  Where the Wild Things Are – Jonze  Run Lola Run – Tykwer  The Matrix – Warkowski Bros.  The Good, The Bad, The Ugly – Leone

NARRATIVE STRUCTURE In what order is the story told?  Analysis of narrative structure: Plot Progressions Linear Non-linear Parallel Flashback

FILM TEXT EXAMPLES  Run Lola Run - Tykwer  Sliding Doors - Howitt  Memento – Nolan  Donnie Darko – Kelly

THE ROLE OF THE AUDIENCE  Diversity of interpretation  How meaning is created via the viewer’s background Beliefs Values Likes & Dislikes Cultural backgrounds Personal experiences  Viewing Context

SOCIAL CONTEXT  A film is a product of it’s time  Influenced by social values of the day  Historical events  Political context

FILM STYLE  Intertextuality - intended or not  Cinema Influences  Genre  Filmmakers – The rise of the auteurs  Cinematic Motifs  Three-Act Structure

SYMBOLISM  What is the filmmaker really trying to say? Finding meaning beneath the obvious.  Representations  Denotation/Connotation

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