Thea B31 Fall 2008 FINAL EXAM - STUDY GUIDE

Ch 1 - Photography:

Realism Cinema - A style of filmmaking which attempts to duplicate the look of reality as it’s commonly perceived, with emphasis on authentic locations & details, long shots, lengthy takes, eye-level placements of the camera, a minimum of editing & special effects.

Cinema Verite (also known as direct cinema) - A method of documentary filming, using aleatory methods (depending upon chance) that don’t interfere with the way events take place in reality. Such films are made with a minimum of equipment, usually a hand-held camera & portable sound apparatus. (falls under Realism Cinema, but more extreme)

Classical cinema : - the mainstream of fiction films produced in America, roughly from the maturity of D. W. Griffith in the mid-teens until the late 1960’s. The classical paradigm (model) is a movie strong in story, star & reproduction values, with a high level of technical achievement, and edited according to the ‘conventions’ of classical cutting. The visual style is functional & rarely distracts from the characters in action.

Expressionism/Formalism Cinema : A style of filmmaking which distorts time & space as ordinarily perceived in reality. Emphasis is placed on the essential characteristics of objects & people, not necessarily on their superficial appearance. *Typical expressionist techniques are fragmentary editing, a wide variety of shots, extreme angles & lighting effects & the use of distorting lenses & special affects.

THE SHOTS: The shots are defined by the amount of subject matter that’s included within the frame of the screen.

Extreme long shot - taken from a great distance, sometimes as far as a quarter of a mile away. It’s almost always an exterior shot & shows much of the locale. Extreme long shots also serve as spatial frames of reference for the closer shots & for this reason are sometimes called ‘establishing shots’The most effective use of these sots is often found in epic films, where locale plays an important role: westerns, war films, samurai films, & historical films.

Long shot - Usually, long shot ranges correspond approximately to the distance between the audience & the stage in the live theater. The closest range within this category is the full shot.

Full shot - just barely includes the human body in full, with the head near the top of the frame & the feet near the bottom. Thea B31 2008 Final Exam Study Guide p. 2

Medium shot- contains the human figure from the knees or waist up. A functional shot, it’s useful for shooting exposition scenes, for carrying movement & for dialogue. There are several variations of the medium shot: a. the two shot contains two figures from the waist up b. the three shot contains three figures; beyond three, the shot tends to become a full shot, unless the other figures are in the background. c. the over-the-shoulder shot usually contains two figures, one with part of his or her back to the camera, the other facing the camera.

Close Up shows very little if any locale & concentrates on a relatively small object--the human face, for example. Because the close-up magnifies the size of an object, it tends to elevate the importance of things, often suggesting a symbolic significance. The Extreme close-up is a variation of this shot. Thus, instead of a face, the extreme close-up might show only a person’s eyes or mouth.

Deep-focus shot -usually a long shot consisting of a number of focal distances & photographed in depth. Sometimes called a wide angle shot because it requires a wide angle lens to photograph, this type of shot captures objects at close, medium & long ranges …simultaneously, all of them in sharp focus.

Establishing shot - usually an extreme long or long shot at the beginning of a scene, providing the viewer with the location of the subsequent closer shots

The Angles *The angle is determined by where the camera is placed, not the subject photographed.

Film realists tend to avoid extreme angles. Most of their scenes are photographed from eye level, roughly 5-6’ off the ground--approximately the way an actual observer might view a scene. Virtually all directors use some eye-level shots, especially in routine exposition scenes.

There are five basic angles in the cinema:

Bird’s eye view - the most disorienting angle of all, for it involves photographing a scene from directly overhead.

High (camera) angle - Ordinary high-angle shots are not so extreme & therefore not so disorienting. The camera is placed on a crane, or some natural high promontory, but the sense of spectator omnipotence is not overwhelming. High angles reduce the importance of a subject. A person seems harmless & insignificant photographed from above. A high camera angle puts the subject low in the frame.

Eye-level shot - roughly 5-6’ off the ground, approximately the way an actual observer might view a scene. Thea B31 2008 Final Exam Study Guide p. 3

Low (camera) angle - low angles have the opposite effect of high. They increase height & are useful for suggesting verticality. Psychologically, low angles heighten the importance of a subject. The figure looms threateningly over the spectator, who is made to feel insecure & dominated. A person photographed from below inspires fear & awe. For this reason, low angles are often used in propaganda films or in scenes depicting heroism. In films about Christ, he would be in the top of the frame…powerful…unless he was being persecuted.

Oblique angle - involves a lateral tilt of the camera. When the image is projected, the horizon is skewed (tilted). This angle is sometimes used for point-of-view shows --to suggest the imbalance of a drunk or someone who has been drugged. Oblique angles are not used often, for they can disorient a viewer. In scenes depicting violence, however, they can be effective in capturing precisely this sense of visual anxiety.

Light & Dark Key light is the main source of illumination for a shot high key light (comedies & musicals) - bright, even illumination w/few conspicuous shadows. low key (mysteries, thrillers, gangster films) diffused shadows & atmospheric pools of light

High contrast (tragedies & melodramas) harsh shadows of lights & dramatic streaks of blackness.

Film noir - refers to a kind of urban American genre that sprang up after WWII, emphasizing a fatalistic, despairing universe where there is no escape from mean city streets, loneliness & death. Stylistically, noir emphasizes low-key & high-contrast lighting, complex compositions & a strong atmosphere of dread & paranoia.

Backlight - when the lights for a shot derive from the rear of a set, thus throwing the foreground figures into semidarkness or silhouette--soft & ethereal effect. Love scenes are often photographed with a halo effect around the heads of the lovers to give them a romantic aura.

Fill light - are secondary lights used to augment the key light-the main source of illumination for a shot. Fill lights soften the harshness of the key light, revealing detains that would otherwise be obscured in shadow.

Available lighting - the use of only the light which actually exists on location, either natural (the sun) or artificial (house lamps).

Overexposure - is when too much light enters the aperture of a camera lens, bleaching out the image. Useful for fantasy & nightmare scenes. Thea B31 2008 Final Exam Study Guide p. 4

Stylized lighting - used in films such as sci-fi fight scenes/Star Wars

Color Since earliest times, visual artists have used color for symbolic purposes. In general, cool colors (blue, green, violet) tend to suggest tranquility, aloofness & serenity. Warm colors (Red, yellow, orange) suggest aggressiveness, violence & stimulation. They tend to come forward in most images.

Lenses, Filters & Stocks:

The telephoto lens (long lens) is often used to get close ups of objects from extreme distances.

The focal distance of long lenses can usually be adjusted while shooting (focus shift) so the director is able to guide the viewer’s eye to various distances in a sequence--a technique called rack focusing.

The Wide Angle Lens, also called a short lens, has short focal lengths & wide angles of view. These are the lenses used in deep-focus shots, for they preserve a sharpness of focus on virtually all distance planes. The wider the angle, the more the image tends to warp, especially at the edges of the image. Fisheye lens, the shortest of the wide angle lenses causes the image to ‘bow’/distort.

Film Stocks Fast stock is highly sensitive to light & in some cases can register images w/no illumination except what’s available on location, even in nighttime sequences. Fast stocks are commonly associated w/documentary movies, for their great sensitivity to light. The documentarist is able to photograph people & places w/o having to setup cumbersome lights, but the images are more grainy.

Slow stock is relative insensitive to light & requires as much as ten times more illumination than fast stocks. S low stocks are capable of capturing colors precisely, without washing them out.

Ch 2 Mise-en-Scene:

Mise-en-scene: The arrangement of visual weights & movements within a given space. Objects & people are arranged within a three-dimensional space (depth, height & width).

Masking: Masking is too obvious of a filmmaker’s attempt to frame the subject for Realist & Classical filmmakers. They would choose to use objects within the frame to frame the subject (ie-subject between two trees or a tall person between the vertical lines of a doorway. The frame selects what we are to see--isolates the part of the whole the filmmaker wants our attention directed to. Thea B31 2008 Final Exam Study Guide p. 5

Filmmakers can use certain areas within the frame symbolically: 1) Central portions-reserved for the most important visual elements. Objects placed in the center tend to be visually undramatic. Favored by Realist filmmakers--most unobtrusive, most natural placement. Allows us to concentrate on the objects without distraction.

2) Top of the frame-can suggest ideas dealing with power & aspiration, grandeur. controls visual elements below. Images suggesting spirituality, placed in top of frame conveys a Godlike splendor. Also a top of a mountain or a castle.--Only true when the other figures are the same size as the dominating figure or smaller. Also, threatening subjects, ie monsters are often filmed at the top of the frame--looming over the subjects below.

3) Near Bottom of Frame-(opposite meaning than the top) subservience, powerlessness, vulnerability, endangered.

4) Left & right edges-suggests insignificance (can be cropped from widescreen to conventional size screen (TV). Objects & figures near the edge are near darkness (symbolically the unknown, unseen, the fearful--also oblivion & even death).

Dominant Contrast- The director guides our eye across the surface of the image through the use of dominant contrast also known as the dominant.

An actor can be photographed in any of five basic positions, each conveying different psychological undertones: 1) full front--facing the camera, the most intimate, the character is looking in our direction, inviting our complicity--we can observe them with their defenses down, more vulnerable. On rare occasions, the character will address the audience directly--Woody Allen uses this technique. 2) the quarter turn--favored position of most filmmakers, provides a high degree of intimacy, but with less emotional involvement than the full-front position. 3) profile--looking off frame left or right 4) The three quarter turn is more anonymous--useful for conveying a character’s unfriendly or antisocial feelings. 5) back to camera - when a character has his/her back to the camera, we can only guess what’s taking place internally--often used to suggest a character’s alienation from the world--conveys a sense of concealment, mystery--we want to see more.

Framing--tightly framed shots indicate confinement of some sort for the characters, loosely framed shots tend to suggest freedom. Prison films often use tightly framed close-ups & medium shots because the frame functions as a kind of symbolic prison. Thea B31 2008 Final Exam Study Guide p. 6

Proxemic patterns--the relationships of organisms within a given space. Climate, noise level & degree of light all tend to alter the space between individuals. The four major proxemic patterns: 1) the intimate (ranges from skin contact to about 18” away, the distance of physical involvement-of love, comfort & tenderness between individuals. This distance would be intrusive with strangers. 2) the personal--ranges from about 18” to about 4’ away--individuals can touch if necessary-- this distance reserved for friends or acquaintances rather than lovers or family members. Personal distances preserve the privacy between individuals. 3) social distances range from 4’ to 12’--usually reserved for impersonal business & casual social gatherings.--friendly, yet somewhat more formal than the personal range. 4) Public distances extend from 12’ to 25’ & more.--less formal & rather detached. Important public figures are generally seen in the public range.

In general, the greater distance between the camera & the subject, the more emotionally neutral we remain.

Open & Closed forms: In terms of visual design, open forms emphasize informal unobtrusive compositions--preferred by realistic filmmakers. Space is continuous in these shots. The drama leads the camera (pans).

Aleatory techniques--not planned out in advance, depends on the elements of chance--usually used in documentary situations

Closed forms--the mise-en-scene is more precisely controlled & stylized, more densely saturated with visual information.The camera anticipates the action. Objects & actors are visually blocked out within the confines of a predetermined camera setup (anticipatory set ups).

Chapter 3-Movement:

DIRECTIONAL MOVEMENTS: Vertical Movement: Upward--movements in this direction often suggest aspiration, joy, power & authority (same as the upper part of the frame). Downward--suggests grief, death, insignificance, depression, weakness, etc. In some instances, movements from the top to the bottom of the frame can create the sensation of being cramped or squeezed. *Movement in film is closely related to mise-en-scene--the top of the image suggests power, control, bottom of image suggests vulnerability.

Horizontal Movement: Left to right -psychologically natural. Frequently is the movement of the protagonist. Right to left -creates tension & discomfort for the viewer. Often the movement of the antagonist *Both Left to right & Right to left movement can indicate determination. Thea B31 2008 Final Exam Study Guide p. 7

Toward the camera: a) if the character is the villain, movement toward the camera (us) can seem aggressive, hostile & threatening. If someone is approaching ‘us’ who seems nervous/scared, that too will seem threatening to us. b) if the character is attractive, movement toward the camera seems friendly, inviting, sometimes seductive. *In either case, movement toward the camera is generally strong & assertive, suggesting confidence on the part of the moving character.

Away from the camera: Implies opposite meaning than toward the camera. Intensity is decreased & character grows remote. In some contexts, this movement can seem weak, fearful & suspicious.

*Most movies end with a withdrawal of some sort--camera from the locale or the character moves away from the camera ie: “rides off into the sunset” or the plane takes off, etc.

Epic films tend to use long shots for their effects (a sense of sweep & breadth), stressing action, whereas psychological films tend to use the closer shots (concerned with depth & detail), stressing ‘reaction’.

THE MOVING CAMERA:

A stationary camera tends to convey a sense of stability & order unless there is a great deal of movement within the frame. The moving camera, by its very instability can create ideas of vitality, flux & sometimes disorder.

There are four basic types of camera movements:

PAN & TILT SHOTS: A pan, the camera scans the scene horizontally. This is not lateral (l-r) movement of the ‘subject’ within the frame. A tilt the camera scans the scene vertically. The most common use of the pan is to keep the subject in the frame--to follow the movement. In epic films, the audience can experience the vastness of a locale Reaction Pan: movement of the camera away from the central attraction--usually the speaker--to capture the reaction of the onlooker or listener (preserves the cause & effect relationship between the two subjects

Swish Pan : (also called a flash pan or zip pan): often used as a transition between shots. The camera is panned so fast that the images are blurred (used in Citizen Kane-breakfast scene montage) Thea B31 2008 Final Exam Study Guide p. 8

Dolly Shots: (tracking or trucking shots) taken from a moving vehicle (dolly of some kind. The vehicle literally moves in & out or with a scene while the action is being photographed (ie. alongside a moving stagecoach).

If the experience of the movement itself is important, then the director is likely to dolly. One of them most common uses of the dolly shot is to emphasize psychological rather than literal revelations. By slowly tracking in on a character, the director is getting close to something crucial. The movement acts as a signal to the audience that we are about to witness something important.

Crane Shot: Essentially an airborne dolly shot. A crane is a kind of mechanical arm, often more than twenty feet in length. It can lift a cinematographer & camera up & out of a scene.

Aerial Shots: A variation of the crane shot, usually taken from a helicopter The Shining--car traveling up the winding road to the lodge.

Zoom Lens: A combination of lenses from close-up to wide angle with the camera in the same position--can zip in & out of a scene faster than a crane or dolly shot.

MECHANICAL DISTORTIONS OF MOVEMENT: * Most of these mechanical distortions were discovered by the French filmmaker, Georges Mieles in the late 1890s!

ANIMATION: The subjects in animated films are usually drawings or static objects (models).

PIXILLATION is a form of animation where live actors are photographed frame by frame creating cartoon-like jerky motions. *Another use of pixillation is with model animation-- miniature models (claymation too) with moving parts.

FAST MOTION: Events are photographed slower than 24 fps, then projected at normal speed-- the effect is one of acceleration--sometimes used to intensify the natural speed of a Scene. When a person’s actions are speeded up, the effect is comedic.

SLOW MOTION: Events are filmed faster than 24 fps (ex: 48fps). When projected at the normal speed, the actions move at half the normal speed & take on a choreographic gracefulness. Speed tends to be the natural rhythm of comedy.

REVERSE MOTION: photographing the action with the film running in reverse. When projected, the events run backwards. Usually used as a gag. Thea B31 2008 Final Exam Study Guide p. 9 FREEZE FRAME: Suspends all movement on the screen. A single image is selected & reprinted for as many frames as is necessary to suggest a halting of motion. A freeze frame can be used for comic purposes, thematic purposes, as metaphors for dealing with time (time stands still). The total absence of movement is often associated with .

Ch 4-Editing:

*Most films condense time. Movies can compress years into hours of projection time. The FIVE basic styles of editing are: sequence shots, cutting to continuity, classical cutting, thematic montage & abstract cutting.

1. A sequence shot, is a single lengthy shot, usually involving complex staging & camera movements. Now it is more commonly called a master shot. (Lumiere Brothers)

2. Cutting to continuity (root word: continue) is a type of editing in which the shots are arranged to preserve the fluidity of an action without showing all of it--an unobtrusive condensing of a continuous action. (French filmmaker Georges Melies

3. Classical cutting is a style of editing developed by D.W. Griffith, in which a sequence of shots is determined by a scene’s dramatic & emotional emphasis rather than by physical action alone---parallel editing, & intercutting between long shot, medium shot & close shot, & also using an establishing shot & reestablishing shot to reorient the audience during the edited shots in the sequences.

4. ‘Thematic’ montage was first introduced by the Soviet filmmaker Sergei Eisenstein. Shots are linked together not by their literal continuity in reality but by symbolic association. The Odessa Steps sequence in his film, Potemkin, an example of Eisenstein’s theory of “collision montage”.

5. Abstract editing is purely a formalistic/expressionistic style of editing--Avante-Garde.. The shots are connected in a more subjective manner, divorced from any recognizable subject matter--very personal expression.

Flashbacks are sometimes intercut to explain to the audience why a character is behaving a certain way or bits of memory returning to a person with amnesia.

Flashforwards are peaks into the future. (The Shining--”Tony” would show “Doc”, the boy bits of the future in order to forewarn him). Thea B31 2008 Final Exam Study Guide p. 10

Ch 5-Sound:

High pitched sounds, including music, are generally strident & produce a sense of tension in the listener. High pitches sounds are often used in suspense sequences, particularly just before & during the climax. L ower frequency tones are heavy & less tense.--more often used to emphasize the dignity or solemnity of a scene. Low pitched sounds can also suggest anxiety & mystery. Frequently a suspense sequence will begin with such sounds (The Shining--crane shot of car driving up Sidewinder).

Sound volume works much in the same way-- 1. L oud sounds tend to be forceful, intense & threatening. 2. Quiet sounds strike us as delicate, hesitant & often weak. 3. These same principles apply to tempo . The faster the sound, the greater the tension. (Again- in The Shining the climax scene where Nicholson is chasing Danny through the snowy maze).

Off screen sounds expands the image beyond the confines of the frame.

Sound Motifs In Hitchcock’s Psycho, Bernard Herrmann’s score consisted entirely of strings-- suggests shrill bird noises. Sound motifs in Citizen Kane

Sound effects can also express internal emotions

Like absolute stasis (no movement) in a shot, absolute silence in a sound film tends to call attention to itself. Any significant stretch of silence creates an eerie vacuums--a sense of something impending, about to burst. Like the freeze frame, silence in a sound film can be used to symbolize death--sound represents ongoing life.

The final scene from a movie is often the most important. Because of its privileged position, it can represent the filmmaker’s summing up the significance of the previous scenes

Music Beginning with the opening credits, music can suggest the mood or spirit of the film as a whole. Music can be used as foreshadowing

Mickeymousing is purely descriptive music (so named because of Disney’s experiments in animation). Each note is a literal equivalent to the image (Wolf sneaking off)

Modern atonal & dissonant music (discordant) generally evokes a sense of anxiety in listeners. This type of music doesn’t seem to have a melodic line & can even resemble a series of random noises ( The Shining )

Music can also be used to signify internal emotional shifts. Thea B31 2008 Final Exam Study Guide p. 11 Music can also provide ironic contrast

Characterization can be suggested through musical motifs

The Interior monologue is one of the most valuable tools of filmmaking for it can convey what a character is ‘thinking’.

Voice over is nonsynchronous spoken commentary in a movie, often used to convey a character’s thoughts or memories. It can be a monologue/commentary or internal monologue. A voice over omniscient commentator can move the story along & refer to what various characters are thinking.

(NOTHING ON CH 6)

Ch 7 - Drama:

The basic construction in the theater is the scene, everything going on is within the procenium arch & the amount of dramatic time that elapses during a scene is roughly equal to the length of time it takes to perform.

The basic unit of construction in film is the shot & the average shot only lasts 10-15 ‘seconds’ or as brief as a fraction of a second so the cinematic shot ca lengthen or shorten time more subtly.

The stage is basically realistic in its handling of time & space & film is basically formalistic.

Ch 8-Story The story can be defined as the general subject matter, the raw materials of a dramatic action in ‘chronological’ sequence. The plot involves the storyteller’s--method of superimposing a structural pattern over the story--if told in flashbacks

Many movies are structured around the Grand Hotel formula (so called after the 1932 film featuring an assortment of characters who are thrown together in a single location or who are united by a common concern or ‘shared lifestyle’. Longtime Companion centers on a group of (mostly gay) friends & how they cope with a strange new disease--AIDS. The Poseidon Adventure, Inferno are other films that follow the Grand Hotel formula.

The classical paradigm is a certain kind of narrative structure . This type of structure begins with an overt conflict which is increasingly intensified with the rising action of the following scenes. To add urgency to the conflict, filmmakers sometimes include some kind of deadline, thus intensifying the emotion. The escalation is treated in terms of cause-effect, with each scene implying a link to the next. The conflict builds to its maximum tension in the climax. Here the protagonist & antagonist clash overtly. One wins, the other loses.

Reasistic narratives include a non-intrusive implied author; loose, discursive plots with no clearly defined beginning, middle, or end: “slice of life”, episodic structure ie: M.A.S.H.; conflict not always clear cut; structures often borrowed from the cycles of nature Thea B31 2008 Final Exam Study Guide p. 12

Formalistic narratives revel in their artificiality; often employ intrusive author; often use fragmented structure

The four main cycles of genre movies 1. primitive (first Western made was The Great Train Robbery 1903, Edwin S. Porter) 2. classical 3. revisionist (first one=High Noon (where Shanghai Noon title came from) 4. parodic ie Blazing Saddles, Shanghai Noon

As social conditions change, so do genres- they reflect the anxieties, concerns & morals of the audience ie: Invasion of the Body Snatchers (Communism)

Ch 9 -Writing:

Realistic films tend to use symbols less densely than formalist movies & the symbolism is almost always contextually probably . In The Seven Samurai, in addition to being a symbol, the fire in these scenes is also a fire.

In the cinema, an overt reference or allusion to another movie, director or memorable shot is sometimes called an homage. (ie: High Anxiety, dir. Mel Brooks included many references to several of Hitchcock’s films & his use of camera angles - dutch tilt)

Ch 10-Ideology:

In the American cinema especially: a) the star system is often a clue to values, especially when the protagonist is played by a personality star like John Wayne. b) Actor stars are less likely to be ideologically weighted. c) Good looks & sex appeal are compelling traits predisposing us in favor of a given character. d) Underdogs almost automatically win us over to their side. e) Emotionally vulnerable characters appeal to our protective instincts. f) People who are funny, charming, and /or intelligent are similarly wining .. g) Negatively drawn characters incorporate such traits as selfishness, mean spiritedness, greed, cruelty, tyrannical behavior, disloyalty & so on. Villains & other repellent characters are often played by actors who are ‘made to look’ unattractive Thea B31 2008 Final Exam Study Guide p. 13 International Versus Nationalistic Leftists are global in their perspective, emphasizing the universality of human needs irrespective of country, race or culture. They often refer to “the family of man” as a more appropriate perspective than the narrow limits of the nuclear family.

Right-wingers tend to be strongly patriotic, often regarding people from other countries as vaguely inferior. “Family, Country & God” is a popular slogan in many right-wing societies. American director, John Ford’s epic westerns are fervently nationalistic

Relative Versus Absolute People on the left believe that we ought to be flexible in our judgments, capable of adjusting to the specifics of each case.

Rightists are more absolute in judging human behavior. Children are expected to be disciplined, respectful & obedient to their elders. Right & wrong are fairly clear-cut & ought to be evaluated according to a strict code of conduct.

A movie’s tone refers to its manner of presentation, the general atmosphere that a filmmaker creates through his or her attitude toward the dramatic materials. Tone can strongly affect our responses to a given set of values.

Ch 12-Citizen Kane:

Citizen Kane is the life story of a powerful newspaper magnate, Charles Foster Kane. It is loosely based on the ruthless publishing baron, William Randolph Hearst

Citizen Kane was the first film to use sets with ceilings. The ceilings were symbolic of how Charles Kane was confined by his possessions.

Welles was drawn to the lighting theories of two successful theatrical designers & many of the techniques of German Expressionism

FILMS WE WATCHED: There will be questions on these films. If you were there, you should be able to answer them with no problem. The Black Stallion Road to Perdition Strictly Ballroom Philadelphia The Shining Citizen Kane North by Northwest Vantage Point Hotel Rwanda Rainman The Usual Suspects What Dreams May Come