Film Theory and Analysis Lesson 6

Film Theory and Analysis Manu Scansani Office Hours: (Room 1#511) Monday 11.45/12.45; Wednesday 16.00/17.00 QQ: Niko Brauer Office Hours: (Room 1#519) Thursday 12.30/14.00 QQ:

Film Screening (next week) Action Films – Monday 17.20/20 1.Indiana Jones: Raiders of the Lost Ark [ 夺 宝奇兵：法柜奇兵 ] (S Spielberg, 1981, 115 min) (Cinema) Goldfinger [ 007 詹姆斯 庞 德 : 金手指 ] (1#410) 3.Ronin [ 冷血悍将 ] (1#412) (J Frankenheimer, 1998, 122 min) 4. Pirates of the Caribbean I (1#416) Film Corner – Monday (3 ♯ 102-1/102-2)

Essay: film choice What film did you chose for your essay? [10 mins] Please, remember to choose only an English-speaking film (No Chinese films). If you want to write about more than one film, you need to submit a topic by next week, explaining how you will link the films you chose. Learning how to write a good Essay is essential to succeed in your final Dissertation ( 毕业论 文 ). Next week (Week 7) Manu & Niko will held a “Essay Clinic”, to help students understand how to write an Essay. [ Tuesday at 7.05].

Film Competition at Star College Thursday, April 15, 19.05/20.00 (Week 7) - First introductory meeting. Star thinking about an idea, prepare a team and be ready to start.

This Week Style 1: Editing. Why do we cut & paste different scenes in a specific order? Characterization: recap Social Drama: recap

Style 1: Editing ( 剪接 ) What is “editing”? Stanley Kubrick noted that the editing process is the one phase of production that is truly unique to films. Every other aspect of film making originated in a different medium than film (photography, art direction, writing, sound recording), but editing is the one process that is unique to film. Kubrick once said: "I love editing. I think I like it more than any other phase of film making. If I wanted to be frivolous, I might say that everything that precedes editing is merely a way of producing film to edit."

Stanley Kubrick

Editing: Graphic Editing Sometimes shots are cut together to achive an aesthetic effect (= a particularly beautiful effect) Usually, this aesthetic effect would reinforce the meaning of the film. These cuts are often presented as dissolve cuts ( 溶化 ) Similarly, often dissolve cuts would be examples of graphic editing Clip: 2001: A Space Odyssey [0:15:00]

Editing: Rhythmic Editing Sometimes editing is used to set the ‘pace’ of a film. In other words, it is used to give the film a rhythm (slower or faster). Rhythmic Editing emphasises elements by placing them in close proximity to other significant elements (shots change quickly). When editing was still a very new technique, many directors used rhythmic editing to dictate the pace of their films.

Editing: The Kuleshov Effect Clips: Kuleshov Effect, Hitchcock Editing and context – how does your interpretation of the expression of the face change depending on the images pasted after it? Editing as a tool vs editing as necessity – sometimes editing is used to create a special effect to show; most of the time it is used to hide (eg film roll cut, actors performance, story = Elision [remember Narrative!!])

Editing: what do you think? Clip: Un Chien Andalou (Luis Buñuel ) [Surrealism: 超 现实 主 义 ] In at least one paragraph (100 words or more) write what do you think about Editing. What can Editing achieve, why it is used and why is important? [10-15 minutes]

Readings for next week Must make sure to have read by next week: Unit 1: History & Genres Unit 2: Character and Performance Unit 3: Narrative Unit 6: Blockbuster Films Unit 7: Comedies Unit 8: Social Drama Film

Films analyzed For next week, you MUST have watched at least the following films (if you watch more films, you increase your chances of having a good score in your final essay and exam). -The Matrix -Forrest Gump -American Beauty