DOCSLIB.ORG

Battleship Potemkin" (1925)

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Battleship Potemkin 1 VIDEO AUDIO Original poster for Narrator: Directed by Sergei Eisenstein "Battleship Potemkin" (1925). and released in 1925, "Battleship Potemkin" is one of the first films to use what is now referred to as Soviet Montage Theory. Old stock still images of Narrator: These editing concepts a film making set. Several were pioneered by filmmakers such as shirtless men stand behind Kuleshov and Eisenstein himself, and the camera. The huge film were used to make as many as 30 films camera is pointing towards during the 5 year period it was used us. (1925-1930). Fade to black. Fade in to still portrait of Narrator: Kuleshov was the first to Lev Kuleshov. use editing to elicit meaning from arranging shots in a certain way. Stock clip of one of the Narrator: The man’s expression followed Kuleshov effect videos. by the bowl of soup makes us assume A shot of a man looking he is hungry, or is thinking about his emotionlessly into the camera food. is followed by a bowl of soup. The same shot of the man Narrator: This time, the girl in the is shown. This time, it is coffin makes us think that the man is followed by a shot showing a somehow related to the girl, and is small girl in a coffin. grieving because of her death. A still portrait of Kuleshov, Narrator: Kuleshov may not have set to the side with a still realised the importance of what he’d portrait of Eisenstein fading done, but this was to be the basis in after 5 seconds on the for the rise of montage editing, and other side. Eisenstein’s inspiration for pioneering Soviet Montage Theory. Fade to black. A still image of the Narrator: Eisenstein joined the State Gerasimov Institute of Film School, now known as the Gerasimov Cinematography, taken in Institute of Cinematography. present day. 2 VIDEO AUDIO Stock image of Eisenstein Here he learnt from Kuleshov, who had examining a film reel’s joined the institution a year after its negatives with a quizzical founding. look on his face. A poster for "Strike" (1925). Narrator: While Eisenstein’s first Soviet Montage Theory production was "Strike" (1925), "Battleship Potemkin" is arguably more resonant with the concepts in question. Fade to black. Stock footage from Narrator: In this film, Eisenstein, "Battleship Potemkin". Many who both directed and edited the small ships gather around a masterpiece, uses several different large battleship. There are types of Soviet Montage Theory, medium shots of people waving enhancing the visual impact of the film cut into the wide shots of and also eliciting more meaning. He the boats on the water. referred to these techniques as "Cinema of Attractions". A black screen. The following Narrator: The main methods of Soviet words appear as they are Montage pre-Eisenstein were: metric, spoken by the narrator: rhythmic, tonal and overtonal. Metric, rhythmic, tonal, overtonal and intellectual. A still image from Narrator: All of these methods can be "Battleship Potemkin". 2 seen in "Battleship Potemkin", but one lines of sailors face each method not on this list is possibly the other on the upper deck. The most significant of them all. screen is dominated by two huge cannons. A portrait of Sergei Narrator: Eisenstein believed that Eisenstein in 1935. He montage was "an idea that derives from is looking content and is the collision between two shots that staring off to the right. are independent of one another”. By editing together two or more images, a "tertium quid" or "third thing" could be created. This was the creation of intellectual montage. 3 VIDEO AUDIO A stock image of eyes is Narrator: For example, a shot of eyes followed by a stock image followed by water could illicit the of water droplets falling. meaning of crying. Stock footage from "October". Narrator: Many strong examples of A crowd of people is seen intellectual montage can be seen in the fleeing from an open square, film, particularly those that relate to cut in with shots of a mad the propagandal nature of Eisenstein’s looking man firing a large masterpiece. gun. Stock footage from Narrator: The first example of Soviet "Battleship Potemkin". As Montage Theory editing comes when a two sailors walk by, the commanding officer of the battleship door next to them opens and a is first introduced. This happens stern looking man in officer through 3 cuts, Eisenstein using uniform steps outside. He rhythmic editing to change angles at first looks over at the key points of movement. This belittling situation below, before shot of the sailors is symbolic of the closing the door. It cuts historical context of the film. The just before he closes the February protest of 1917 overthrew the door, and again as he begins Tsar government, freeing the people to move away from the door. from the oppressive rule of their A low angle, close up shot superiors. Given that "Battleship of the officer looking down Potemkin" is a propaganda film above precedes a match on action everything else, this sequence is meant shot of his view, the sailors to symbolise the Tsarist oppression of grouping and discussing on the times. the deck below. Stock footage from Narrator: The next apparent use "Battleship Potemkin". of Soviet Montage Theory is when Sailors line up on either the rebellious sailors are about side of the upper deck of to be rounded up and killed by the the ship. Two huge cannons commander’s guards. The music is very dominate the centre of the vigorous and implies marching and screen. Guards march into control. It synchronises with the line, and then the tempo of guards’ feet, and with the cuts that the cuts start to conform show the reactions of the commanders to the beat of the music. and the sailors. This is metric Shots of the guards marching editing, as the timing of the shots and the sailors’ reactions goes with the music, and the time of are cut in. Shots that show each cut is not affected by what is dialogue are also included in happening on the screen. the timing of the cuts. 4 VIDEO AUDIO Stock footage from "Battleship Potemkin". A sequence that shows the rebellious sailors evading and fighting the guards. The cuts work with the movements on screen. Shots of feet running down stairs are followed by shots of said people arriving at the bottom of the stairs. This is all cut very quickly. Many more shots of sailors running around and mocking the guards. Narrator: Rhythmic montage is used when the sailors escape and begin fighting with the officers who are trying to catch them. The rhythm is kept fairly constant, as the sailors round up all the officers who previously oppressed them. The tone of the music makes the sailors seem like a swarm of insects taking over an enemy hive. This works very well with the ryhthmic montage editing that is evident throughout this scene. Fade to black. Stock footage from Narrator: The "Odessa Steps" sequence "Battleship Potemkin". A is possibly the most famous sequence crowd flees down the steps in the whole film. This is because it of Odessa. A line of Tsarist uses all the different kinds of Soviet guards appear from the Montage. The sequence lasts around 7 top and start shooting the minutes, and shows how the rebelling escaping citizens. public are dealt with by the government troops. Firstly, rhythmic editing is used throughout, often showing actions of the troops and the fleeing citizens that are happening simultaneously. Intense orchestral music. 5 VIDEO AUDIO As the crowd initially reacts Narrator: This is one of the major uses to the arrival of the troops of intellectual montage in the film. and starts fleeing down the This is intellectual montage because steps, we see the troops the statue is a symbol for the power of enter the frame of the shot the government and its tyrannical rule from underneath the blocking over its people. The effect is pulled of a statue. This statue is off because the statue is looking out of some important Russian over the steps, the people are running leader, and he is gesturing away from its position, and because the in a manner that makes him troops appear from underneath it. The seem he is encouraging the blocking and the angle of the shot are attack on the people. The the reason this intellectual editing is people then run away from the possible. statue down the stairs, with the statue towering above them in the background. A woman with a baby in a The music intensifies and increases in pushchair is shot, and the tempo. pushchair starts to roll down the steps. The further it Narrator: Metric editing is also used rolls, the more intense the in this scene. The music here is just music gets, and the faster like the previous scenes, except the cuts are. The music and the tempo is much faster. There is a the visuals cooperate to recurrent trumpet melody being played make the montage a lot more that keeps the tension. intense. Stock footage from Narrator: The last example of "Battleship Potemkin". The intellectual editing is when the shots of the bombing itself battleship bombs Odessa. These shots are followed by 3 shots of of the lions can be interpreted in a lion statue in different many ways, but one possible reason positions. The first shot for Eisenstein to include this figure shows the lion sleeping, is to symbolise the Russian people’s while the next shot is from uprising, and their realisation that the same angle, but the lion defying the rule of the government is is looking up.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Japanese Modernism and “Cine-Text”: Fragments and Flows at Empire’S Edge in Kitagawa Fuyuhiko and Yokomitsu Riichi
    CHAPTER 24 JAPANESE MODERNISM AND “CINE-TEXT”: FRAGMENTS AND FLOWS AT EMPIRE’S EDGE IN KITAGAWA FUYUHIKO AND YOKOMITSU RIICHI WILLIAM O. GARDNER In November 1930, literary critic Inoue Yoshio wrote that the “belief in the eye” evident in Kitagawa Fuyuhiko’s recent poetry had progressed from a faith in the human eye to a belief in “that which is all the more precise, all the more objective: to the machine eye—to the lens” (17).' This critical comment, strongly evocative of Soviet filmmaker and theorist Dziga Vertov’s conception of the “cine-eye” {kinoglaz), builds upon Kitagawas own statement that “the poetry of tomorrow is advancing toward the ‘victory of the eye’” (Usawa 30). As Inoue suggests, Kitaga­ wa’s poetry circa 1930 displays a tendency to emulate the film camera, rather than the human eye, in presenting objects that are disassociated from the viewpoint of any single subjective viewing position. This aspiration to the free-ranging and “objective” viewpoint of the “machine eye” is part of a broad confluence between the literary and the cinematic in Kitagawa’s work, which we can also identify in his exploration of the poetic genre of the “cinepoeme,” as well as his coinage of the term “prose film” in his later critical and theoretical writings on cinema. As I will 572 TRANSLATION ZONES explore in this essay, Kitagawa’s writings from the 1920s and 1930s, together with the contemporaneous works of prose author Yokomitsu Riichi, are strongly marked by this confluence of the literary and the cinematic—so much so that we might term Kitagawa and Yokomitsu’s writing from this period “cine-text”: literary and critical texts permeated with cinematic qualities and concerns.
    [Show full text]
  • Editing and Montage in International Film and Video Theory and Technique 1St Edition Pdf
    FREE EDITING AND MONTAGE IN INTERNATIONAL FILM AND VIDEO THEORY AND TECHNIQUE 1ST EDITION PDF LuГѓВ​s Fernando Morales Morante | 9781138244078 | | | | | Editing and Montage in International Film and Video [Book] Montagein motion pictures, the editing technique of assembling separate pieces of thematically related film and putting them together into a sequence. With montage, portions of motion pictures can be carefully built up piece by piece by the director, film editor, and visual and sound technicians, who cut and fit each part with the others. Visual montage may combine shots to tell a story chronologically or may juxtapose images to produce an impression or to illustrate an association of ideas. An example of the latter occurs in Strikeby the Russian director Sergey Eisensteinwhen the scene of workers being cut down by cavalry is followed by a shot of cattle being slaughtered. Montage may also be applied to the combination of sounds for artistic expression. Montage technique developed early in cinema, primarily through the work of the American directors Edwin S. Porter — and D. Griffith — It is, however, most commonly associated with the Russian editing techniques, particularly as introduced to American audiences through the montage sequences of Slavko Verkapich in films in the s. See also photomontage. Montage Article Additional Info. Print Cite. Facebook Twitter. Give Feedback External Websites. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article requires login. External Websites. Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working Editing and Montage in International Film and Video Theory and Technique 1st edition that content or via study for an advanced degree Editing and Montage in International Film and Video Theory and Technique 1st edition Article History.
    [Show full text]
  • The Narrative Functions of Television Dreams by Cynthia A. Burkhead A
    Dancing Dwarfs and Talking Fish: The Narrative Functions of Television Dreams By Cynthia A. Burkhead A Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Ph.D. Department of English Middle Tennessee State University December, 2010 UMI Number: 3459290 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. UMT Dissertation Publishing UMI 3459290 Copyright 2011 by ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. This edition of the work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest LLC 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 DANCING DWARFS AND TALKING FISH: THE NARRATIVE FUNCTIONS OF TELEVISION DREAMS CYNTHIA BURKHEAD Approved: jr^QL^^lAo Qjrg/XA ^ Dr. David Lavery, Committee Chair c^&^^Ce~y Dr. Linda Badley, Reader A>& l-Lr 7i Dr./ Jill Hague, Rea J <7VM Dr. Tom Strawman, Chair, English Department Dr. Michael D. Allen, Dean, College of Graduate Studies DEDICATION First and foremost, I dedicate this work to my husband, John Burkhead, who lovingly carved for me the space and time that made this dissertation possible and then protected that space and time as fiercely as if it were his own. I dedicate this project also to my children, Joshua Scanlan, Daniel Scanlan, Stephen Burkhead, and Juliette Van Hoff, my son-in-law and daughter-in-law, and my grandchildren, Johnathan Burkhead and Olivia Van Hoff, who have all been so impressively patient during this process.
    [Show full text]
  • In Cinema, Editing Is Also Called “The Invisible Art.”
    In cinema, editing is also called “the invisible art.” For our purposes, think of “the gutter” as “the edit.” The edit is at the very heart of cinema! According to Soviet “Montage is an idea that montage theory, to edit arises from the collision of between two different shots independent thoughts.” creates a collision of ideas. Soviet Montage Theory (1920s) Another Resilient Ancient P.O.V. Montage is French for “assembly.” The montage technique is one that implies no real temporal continuity whatsoever. Montage is achieved with a collection of symbolically related images, cut together in a way that suggests psychological relationships rather a temporal continuum. Methods of montage Methods of montage Metric - where the editing follows a specific number of frames (based purely on the physical nature of time), cutting to the next shot no matter what is happening within the image. This montage is used to elicit the most basal and emotional of reactions in the audience. Metric montage example from Eisenstein's October. Rhythmic - includes cutting based on continuity, creating visual continuity from edit to edit. Rhythmic montage example from Il Buono, il Brutto, il Cattivo where the protagonist and the two antagonists face off in a three-way duel Another rhythmic montage example from The Battleship Potemkin's "Odessa steps" sequence. Tonal - a tonal montage uses the emotional meaning of the shots -- not just manipulating the temporal length of the cuts or its rhythmical characteristics -- to elicit a reaction from the audience even more complex than from the metric or rhythmic montage. For example, a sleeping baby would emote calmness and relaxation.
    [Show full text]
  • Typologies: the Extended Version) 1.5 to 2-Minute Video Posted On-Line (Youtube Or Vimeo); Due: Thursday, April 23, 2015
    Art 280 Introduction to Photo & Video Instructor: Amy Hicks Contact: [email protected] Project 4 – Insert Yourself (Typologies: the extended version) 1.5 to 2-minute Video posted on-line (YouTube or Vimeo); Due: Thursday, April 23, 2015 Matt McCormick, The Subconscious Art of Graffiti Removal, 2001 and Jenny Odell, Pipe Dream, 2014 I NTRODUCTION As discussed in class, the order (sequence) of images and how they are juxtaposed with other elements is one way to build new associations and meaning in your work. Our next project opens up the opportunity to work in either an observational OR constructive mode AND adds two additional layers to manipulate—sound and duration. The order of images in time—what comes first, second or third—and the combination of images with audio will change how a viewer responds to the subject matter. Montage is defined as “a technique in film editing in which a series of … shots are edited into a sequence to condense space, time, and information.” Soviet montage theory, according to filmmaker Sergei Eisenstein, is "an idea that arises from the collision of independent shots" wherein "each sequential element is perceived not next to the other, but on top of the other." (Wikipedia) A SSIGNMENT You just completed a photo series using the concept of typology as an organizing principle. You now have the opportunity to take your initial research and investigations a step further. Reshoot your subject and use audio to provide context. What most interested you about the typology you created? Did you find that you began to form an opinion about the person, place, or thing that you documented? Did your series open up more questions for you? How can you use audio, duration, and the act of editing to point more effectively at your subject? Through editing and montage, you will revisit your “typology” to create a time-based piece with video, audio, and/or stills.
    [Show full text]
  • Reassembling Documentary: from Actuality to Virtuality Emine Selmin Kara Wayne State University
    Wayne State University Wayne State University Dissertations 1-1-2011 Reassembling documentary: from actuality to virtuality Emine Selmin Kara Wayne State University, Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.wayne.edu/oa_dissertations Part of the Film and Media Studies Commons Recommended Citation Kara, Emine Selmin, "Reassembling documentary: from actuality to virtuality" (2011). Wayne State University Dissertations. Paper 354. This Open Access Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by DigitalCommons@WayneState. It has been accepted for inclusion in Wayne State University Dissertations by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@WayneState. REASSEMBLING DOCUMENTARY: FROM ACTUALITY TO VIRTUALITY by SELMIN KARA DISSERTATION Submitted to the Graduate School of Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY 2011 MAJOR: ENGLISH (Film & Media Studies) Approved by, _____________________________________ Advisor Date _____________________________________ _____________________________________ _____________________________________ © COPYRIGHT BY SELMIN KARA 2011 All Rights Reserved ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This project would not have been possible without the intellectual, professional and emotional support of my academic mentors, colleagues from the documentary film community, friends, and family, who are spread across several countries and three continents. First of all, I am profoundly indebted to my chair and advisor, Richard Grusin, whose
    [Show full text]
  • FTMA M170: Digital Editing 1
    FTMA M170: Digital Editing 1 FTMA M170: DIGITAL EDITING Originator clarson Co-Contributor(s) Name(s) Block, Nicole (nblock) Grimes, Michael (mgrimes) Snowden, Lauren (lsnowden) Beaton, Jason (jbeaton) Petrello, Rolland (rpetrello) College Moorpark College Discipline (CB01A) FTMA - Film, Television, Media Arts Course Number (CB01B) M170 Course Title (CB02) Digital Editing Banner/Short Title Digital Editing Credit Type Credit Start Term Fall 2020 Formerly RT M04, FTVM M70 Catalog Course Description Introduces theory and application of film and video editing techniques using digital non-linear editing systems. Includes critical analysis of the editing process, editing complex scenes and creating visual effects. Focuses on the aesthetics and use of non-linear software for film and television including both narrative and non-narrative forms. Taxonomy of Programs (TOP) Code (CB03) 0604.00 - *Radio and Television Course Credit Status (CB04) D (Credit - Degree Applicable) Course Transfer Status (CB05) (select one only) B (Transferable to CSU only) Course Basic Skills Status (CB08) N - The Course is Not a Basic Skills Course SAM Priority Code (CB09) D - Possibly Occupational Course Cooperative Work Experience Education Status (CB10) N - Is Not Part of a Cooperative Work Experience Education Program 2 FTMA M170: Digital Editing Course Classification Status (CB11) Y - Credit Course Educational Assistance Class Instruction (Approved Special Class) (CB13) N - The Course is Not an Approved Special Class Course Prior to Transfer Level (CB21) Y - Not Applicable
    [Show full text]
  • On the Meaning of a Cut : Towards a Theory of Editing
    ORBIT-OnlineRepository ofBirkbeckInstitutionalTheses Enabling Open Access to Birkbeck’s Research Degree output On the meaning of a cut : towards a theory of editing https://eprints.bbk.ac.uk/id/eprint/40391/ Version: Full Version Citation: Dziadosz, Bartłomiej (2019) On the meaning of a cut : towards a theory of editing. [Thesis] (Unpublished) c 2020 The Author(s) All material available through ORBIT is protected by intellectual property law, including copy- right law. Any use made of the contents should comply with the relevant law. Deposit Guide Contact: email ON THE MEANING OF A CUT: TOWARDS A THEORY OF EDITING Bartłomiej Dziadosz A dissertation submitted to the Department of English and Humanities in candidacy for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Birkbeck, University of London October 2018 Abstract I confirm that the work presented in this thesis is my own and the work of other persons is appropriately acknowledged. This thesis looks at a variety of discourses about film editing in order to explore the possibility, on the one hand, of drawing connections between them, and on the other, of addressing some of their problematic aspects. Some forms of fragmentation existed from the very beginnings of the history of the moving image, and the thesis argues that forms of editorial control were executed by early exhibitors, film pioneers, writers, and directors, as well as by a fully- fledged film editor. This historical reconstruction of how the profession of editor evolved sheds light on the specific aspects of their work. Following on from that, it is proposed that models of editing fall under two broad paradigms: of montage and continuity.
    [Show full text]
  • ©2016 Tara Coleman ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
    ©2016 Tara Coleman ALL RIGHTS RESERVED RE-VISIONS OF THE PAST: LYRICISM AS HISTORY IN CONTEMPORARY CHINESE POETRY AND FILM by TARA COLEMAN A dissertation submitted to the Graduate School – New Brunswick Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey In partial fulfillment of the requirements For the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Graduate Program in Comparative Literature Written under the direction of Weijie Song And approved by _________________________________ _________________________________ _________________________________ _________________________________ New Brunswick, New Jersey October, 2016 ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION Re-visions of the Past: Lyricism as History in Contemporary Chinese Poetry and Film By TARA COLEMAN Dissertation Director: Weijie Song This dissertation investigates the role of lyricism in mainland Chinese and Taiwanese poetry and film. The project centers on the directors Hou Hsiao-hsien and Jia Zhangke, whose films are frequently described as lyrical despite their detailed, realistic recreation of the past. The analysis of these filmmakers is paired with chapters dealing with poetry by Ya Xian, Bei Dao, Xi Chuan and others. Drawing on concepts from both the Chinese and Western traditions, the dissertation identifies key poetic strategies that are operative in the films while taking into account the particularities of each medium. Lyricism is a flexible term that has been applied variously to these poems and films in an attempt to capture the way they translate the affective layers of historical experience into comprehensible artistic forms. Much more than a genre or style, lyricism is the result of a particular activation of the reader or spectator, who must participate in the meaning- making process and therefore bring something of his or her own emotional and personal resources to the work.
    [Show full text]
  • A Phenomenological Approach to the Film Editing Practice: Legacy of Maurice Merleau-Ponty
    KADİR HAS UNIVERSITY GRADUATE SCHOOL OF SOCIAL SCIENCES FILM AND TELEVISION DISCIPLINE AREA A PHENOMENOLOGICAL APPROACH TO THE FILM EDITING PRACTICE: LEGACY OF MAURICE MERLEAU-PONTY DOĞA ÇÖL SUPERVISOR: PROF. DR. ÇETİN SARIKARTAL MASTER’S THESIS ISTANBUL, JANUARY, 2018 A PHENOMENOLOGICAL APPROACH TO THE FILM EDITING PRACTICE: LEGACY OF MAURICE MERLEAU-PONTY DOĞA ÇÖL SUPERVISOR: PROF. DR. ÇETİN SARIKARTAL MASTER’S THESIS Submitted to the Graduate School of Social Sciences of Kadir Has University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master’s in the Discipline Area of Film and Television under the Program of Film and Television. ISTANBUL, JANUARY, 2018 TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................... iv ÖZET ................................................................................................................................ v INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................... 1 1. HISTORY OF FILM EDITING ................................................................................ 3 1.1.Early Film Editing ....................................................................................................... 4 1.1.1.Georges Méliès ........................................................................................................ 4 1.1.2.Edwin S. Porter .......................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Pragmatism and Bricolage in Microbudget Feature Filmmaking
    Shoestring Theory: Pragmatism and Bricolage in Microbudget Feature Filmmaking Stuart James McBratney BVA FTV Prod (Hons) (Brisbane) A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Design December 2017 This research was supported by an Australian Government Research Training Program (RTP) Fees-Offset Scholarship. 2 I hereby certify that the work embodied in this exegesis is my own work, conducted under normal supervision. This exegesis contains no material which has been accepted, or is being examined, for the award of any other degree or diploma in any university or other tertiary institution and, to the best of my knowledge and belief, contains no material previously published or written by another person, except where due reference has been made in the text. I give consent to the final version of my exegesis being made available worldwide when deposited in the University’s Digital Repository, subject to the provisions of the Copyright Act 1968. Stuart McBratney 2 3 TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT 5 TITLE DEFINITIONS 5 Pragmatism 5 Bricolage 6 Microbudget 7 Feature Film 7 THE CREATIVE WORK AND ITS EXAMINATION 7 Chapter Breakdown 10 Research Overview 12 METHODOLOGY 14 Methods 19 Autoethnography and Tacit Knowledge 20 LITERATURE REVIEW 24 The Gap 26 Pragmatism 28 Bricolage 35 Creativity 38 Design Thinking 42 Reflective Practice 49 Theory vs Practice 54 CASE STUDIES 65 Breathless 70 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days 72 Slacker 74 Clerks 77 Pi 80 PROFESSIONAL BACKGROUND 83 Early Years 83 Professional Filmmaking 84 CREATIVE WORK – “POP-UP” 85 Pragmatism and Bricolage in practice 86 Writing 90 3 4 Casting 104 Funding 106 Locations 109 Crewing 110 Production Design 113 Photography 116 Editing 130 Sound Mixing 133 Music 136 The Completed Film and its Exhibition 139 SUMMARY 140 REFERENCES 148 4 5 ABSTRACT In this exegesis I argue that the filmmakers who have enjoyed the most success in creating ultra-low budget feature films are those who most successfully practice pragmatism and bricolage.
    [Show full text]
  • The Aesthetic of Montage in the Films of Kamei Fumio
    『映画研究』10 号（2015） Cinema Studies, no.10 The Aesthetic of Montage in the Films of Kamei Fumio Fedorova Anastasia This paper approaches the problem of cultural exchange in cinema by considering the work of a prominent Japanese documentary filmmaker Kamei Fumio (1908-1987). Prior to becoming a film director, Kamei spent two and a half years living in the Soviet Union (1929-1931) and later continued to play an important role as a cultural mediator between the two countries.1 Kamei’s exceptional talent, as well as his fascinating biography (i.e. early experience abroad, imprisonment, frequent confrontations with the ruling authorities) inspired a number of investigations into his life and work (Nornes 148-182; Satō 159-202). While it is widely acknowledged that Kamei’s interest in editing was prompted by his visit to the USSR, it has never been entirely determined just how his study abroad experience influenced his future filmmaking. In the 1920s, Soviet cinema was experiencing a golden age in regards to its avant-garde film movement, and it is logical to assume that Kamei’s interest in editing developed under the influence of “Soviet montage”. In Japan, Kamei’s public image has been continuously crafted in association with the word montage (montāju) 2 – the word which does not simply mean “editing”, but specifically points to the stylistic and ideological tendencies of 1920s Soviet cinema. 3 Yet Kamei himself never admitted to deliberately adopting the editing principles promoted by the leading Soviet filmmakers (Sergei Eisenstein, Dziga Vertov, Vsevolod Pudovkin). Moreover, even though avant-garde Soviet filmmakers all agreed on the importance of editing, and the need to serve political objectives declared by the Communist Party, their definitions and practical implementations of “montage” were exceedingly diverse.
    [Show full text]