Film Ch. 22: Film

The art of film was first developed primarily in France, Italy, and the United States (Thomas A. Edison) in the 1890’s. Due to time constraints, we will focus on the American narrative film tradition and cultural values in the 20th-21st c. However, we will start with discussing the use of film as propaganda and briefly discussing Eisenstein and his classic film Potemkin. (Read carefully page 576 of your textbook.) We will then discuss the formal aspects of film, and you will need to study the following terms, print this study guide as slides, and bring the guide to class.

The Battleship Potemkin Eisenstein, 1925

Film Terms Formative approach to film aesthetics: following the lead of the older arts, such as painting and theatre, in the “arranging” of actors, sets, and lighting. The object is to create a world, usually one that appears real to the audience (even when a fantasy world). Realistic approach: real people, actual places, and existing light are filmed, and the object is the recording of life as it is. Mise-en-scene (meez on sen): All the elements placed in front of the camera to be photographed: the settings and props, lighting, costumes and make-up, and figure behavior.

Shot: In a finished film, one uninterrupted image from a single static or mobile framing. Cut: In a finished film, an instantaneous change from one framing to another. Continuity editing: A system of cutting to maintain continuous and clear narrative action. Accomplished by matching screen direction, position, and temporal relations from shot to shot. Uses the following tools: Axis of action: The imaginary line that passes from side to side through the main actors, definin the spatial relations of all the elements of the scene as being to the right or left. Also called the “180° line.” Eyeline match: Obeys axis of action: first shot shows a person looking off in one direction and the second shows a nearby space containing what he or she sees. Shot/reverse shot: Two shots edited together that alternate characters, typically in a conversation situation. In continuity editing, axis of action is maintained. (Study the following slide to get a better understanding of most of the terms above.)

Scene One Shot 1: Slow pan left over Oxford, ending with shot shown: establishing shot, over opera-singing Shot 2: Intertitle Shot 3: Interior: close-up of singer already heard, inside building already established Shot 4: Re-establishing interior shot Shot 5: Slow pan right over audience (start and end frames shown) Shot 6: Back to the singer

Storyboard: A tool used in planning film production, consisting of drawings of individual shots or phases of shots with descriptions written below each drawing. Usually pinned on a wall and resembling a comic strip in appearance. (right: form for planning storyboard in film school.)

Diegesis (and diagetic and nondiagetic): In a narrative film, the world of the film’s story. The diegesis includes events that are presumed to have occurred and actions and spaces not shown onscreen. For example, diegetic sound would include any voice, music, or sound effect presented as originating from a source within the film’s world. By contrast, nondiegetic sound would include mood music or a narrator’s voice, sounds that the characters in the story would not hear. (Definitions are from Film Art: An Introduction, Bordwell and Thompson, 3 rd ed., McGraw-Hill, 1990.)